Meet Pasadena Educational Foundation New Board Members

PASADENA — ColoradoBoulevard.net:

Pasadena Educational Foundation announced the election of seven new members to the Board of Directors.

By News Desk

The new board members are: Karen Burgess, Karina Montilla Edmonds, Carina Jacob, Richard Kidd, Steven Miller, Mabell Garcia Paine, and Patrick Zarifian. The election was held at the April 19, 2022 Board of Directors meeting via Zoom and new board members officially began their tenure at the June 29, 2022 Annual Board Meeting.

PEF Board President Luisa Rengifo said:

The Pasadena Educational Foundation is excited to add seven outstanding individuals with diverse skills and backgrounds to our Board of Directors. Their expertise, energy, strength, and professional experiences will be great assets to our leadership in supporting public education. We look forward to their contributions.

PEF is led by a diverse group of volunteer board members who are deeply rooted in the community, committed to the mission of the organization, and passionate about public education and Pasadena Unified schools. Board members are business and civic leaders, educators, parents, and professionals who collectively work toward PEF’s mission to achieve excellence and equity for all our PUSD schools.

New Board members

Karen Burgess:

• Born and raised in Pasadena, Karen Burgess is a proud PUSD alumna – having attended Allendale, Jackson, McKinley, and John Muir. She went on to earn a BA in Psychology and German from Smith College, a MA in Communications from University of Pennsylvania and is a recent graduate of the 2022 Leadership Pasadena Program.
• As a product/program management executive, Karen began her career working for Caltech start-ups here in Pasadena. Most recently, she spent 20 years leading Business Solutions for The Walt Disney Company’s Brand Management team. Karen was an active PUSD parent volunteer throughout the school years of her daughters, Hayley and Kinsey, who both graduated from Pasadena High School. Along with her husband, Tim, Karen has been a long-time supporter of PEF.

Karina Montilla Edmonds:

• Karina Montilla Edmonds is a globally recognized visionary leader in the field of innovation, technology transfer, and commercialization. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Academies and University Alliances at SAP, a multinational software corporation with offices worldwide.
• Karina earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in Aeronautics from California Institute of Technology and her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Rhode Island.Karina serves on several boards including the National Science Foundation (NSF), University of Rhode Island, and IU Group, a holding company behind IU – International University of Applied Sciences, Germany’s largest private university group. She has received numerous national recognition and awards and is also a registered U.S. Patent Agent.

Carina Jacob:

• Carina Jacob is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Director for the League of Women Voters for the Pasadena Area. She also serves on the League’s Communications Committee. She has served as a Board Member of the John Muir High School Alumni Association (JMHSAA) for 18 years.Carina attended Pasadena Unified School District for K-12th grades. She attended Burbank Primary School, Washington Elementary School, Eliot Jr. High, and John Muir High School.
• Carina earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in Communications and minored in Sociology. At this time, Carina is earning her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

Richard Kidd:

• Richard Kidd, a second generation local, attended Pasadena Unified schools before graduating from Pasadena High School in 1964. The only time Rick has lived outside of the area was during his four-year enlistment in the U.S. Air Force. Upon discharge, he returned to finish his A.A. at PCC before transferring to CSULS where he earned a B.A. in Political Science.Rick worked in middle management for many years.
• Richard earned his M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Phillip’s Graduate Institute. Upon earning his license, Rick established a private counseling practice in Pasadena/Sierra Madre, where he served individuals, couples, and families for nearly 30 years before retiring. Rick served on the board of the Sierra Madre Community Nursery School, a parent co-op, where his wife, Myrna, is a preschool and kindergarten teacher. Today, Rick focuses his time on volunteering at his granddaughter’s school, Sierra Madre Elementary.

Steven R. Miller:

• Steven R. Miller, Ed.D. began his career over 34 years ago in LAUSD as a teacher of mathematics. Dr. Miller came to PUSD in 2002 as the Principal of Marshall Fundamental Secondary School. He remained at Marshall Fundamental for six years and often shares these were the most rewarding years of his career serving the needs of the students, staff, parents, and the community.
• Dr. Miller later served as the Director of Human Resources for PUSD, then as an Assistant Superintendent and later the Deputy Superintendent, Human Resources for the Lawndale Elementary School District. He returned to PUSD in 2018 as the Chief Human Resources Officer. As a resident in Altadena for 12 years, it has been a pleasure to support the school district and the community.

Mabell Garcia Paine:

• Mabell Garcia Paine is the President of Viridis Consulting, a Pasadena-based clean energy consultancy certified as a Minority Woman-Owned (MWBE) and Small Business (SBE) firm. Her expertise is in program design and customer engagement across a variety of distributed energy resources such as energy efficiency, demand response and decarbonization efforts such as building and transportation electrification.
• Mabell is a native Angeleno raised in the Pico-Union neighborhood and has lived in Pasadena for over 20 years. She previously served on the board of Heritage Housing Partners and as a chairwoman of two Huntington Hospital SCRUBS fundraising efforts. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Northridge and a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Southern California. Mabell lives in the Caltech neighborhood of Pasadena.

Patrick Zarifian:

• Patrick Zarifian is the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at the $4.2 Billion California Credit Union located in Glendale CA. Patrick is a 24-year veteran of the financial services industry and was hired at California Credit Union in 2007. For the past 15 years Patrick has had an essential role within the organization in supporting partnerships with various school districts in Southern California, including PUSD.
• This last spring, Patrick served as one of six judges for CCU’s Scholarship program, awarding 10 scholarships of $1,000 to high school students in Los Angeles County. Patrick graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Marketing. He and his wife, Magda, have two children, Nathan (15) and Talia (13). As a family, they enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and paddle boarding.

Edited by Ann Hunnewell

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