Our Board

Isabel Alvarado (Dees)

Board President

Isabel Alvarado (Dees), she/her/ella, is the Systemwide Title IX Deputy Director at UC Office of the President. She joined UCOP after serving as the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor, Equity & Equal Protection at UC Santa Cruz where she held the plenary titles of Title IX Coordinator, Locally Designated Official (LDO), ADA Coordinator, & Equal Employment and Opportunity (EEO) Director.  Originally from the Los Angeles area, Isabel has lived and worked in the Santa Cruz area since 1998. Isabel is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, first in her family to attend university. She received her law degree from Monterey College of Law and completed her B.A. in Politics at UC Santa Cruz.  Isabel is a queer educational rights advocate with over 15 years-experience working on compliance in higher education. She identifies as a member of the disability community which informs a holistic approach to compliance focused on meaningful inclusion through agency models of service and transformative justice principles. Isabel is a fluent Spanish speaker, bi-cultural and bi-literate, and fiercely proud and grateful of her cultura. Isabel loves local state parks and enjoys baking, knitting, and gardening.

Michael Kubo

Board Vice-President

Mike is a Research Scientist for the SETI Institute at NASA Ames Research Center and holds a B.S. in Chemistry from UC Santa Cruz. His research helps to elucidate the energetic habitability of environments analogous to those found on Mars and the ocean worlds of Europa and Enceladus, and to better understand the types of chemical biomarkers that potential life on those worlds might leave behind. In addition, he is the co-developer of the NASA Lassen Astrobiology Internship Program – a collaboration between NASA, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and Red Bluff High School – a Title I high school in rural Northern California.

Always looking for ways to engage with his community, Mike has 10+ years of experience serving on the board of the Santa Cruz Roundtree HOA, as well as 3+ years on the board of directors at Coastal Community Preschool – serving in at-large and leadership capacities on both boards.

When he’s not working or engaging in board service, Mike enjoys winemaking with friends, cooking, and spending time with his wife and 7-year-old daughter.

May Roen

Board Treasurer

May has worked in strategy, finance operations, and HR for 20 years. For the last 10 years, she has managed finance operations for tech start-ups in the Bay area, many with international operations and global presence. Besides finance, she has managed HR, tax, and compliance. She is currently the CFO at Lookback, a venture capital-backed Bay Area software company, started in Sweden. She is also a co-founder and part-time CFO in Pathogenomix, a Santa Cruz bioinformatics company.

May has a bachelor's degree in Civil and Structural Engineering, a master's degree in Landscape Architecture, and MBA in finance and business. She has also volunteered on the Boards for several organizations connected to education, science exchange, art, and cultural exchange.

May was born in Norway and relocated to Santa Cruz in 2011. When she is not working or volunteering she loves spending time with her two kids and husband, going on road trips exploring California, enjoying Santa Cruz nature and wineries, walking or running on Westcliff, or reading books on Cowell's beach.

Miyoko Sakashita

Board Secretary

Miyoko Sakashita (she/her) directs the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity, where she works to secure protections for imperiled marine life and ecosystems. Miyoko holds a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she also earned a bachelor of science in conservation and resource studies. Prior to launching her legal career, she worked in philanthropy at the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Miyoko also served on the advisory board for the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at Berkeley Law for several years. Currently, her practice focuses on using science and environmental law to address climate change, plastic pollution, and other threats to whales, sea turtles, corals and other nifty wildlife. Miyoko enjoys hiking, surfing, rock climbing, and other outdoor adventures with her family.

Layla Franks

Board Member

Layla Franks is currently the Executive Director of the Society for Fetal Urology, focusing on managing the day-to-day operations of a medical organization of fetal urologists with 360 national and international members. With an educational background in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, she has built a successful career in medical research and leadership. As a Research Associate for the Department of Urology at the University of California, San Francisco, she used her highly effective organizational and time-management skills to maintain a database on renal trauma and urethral reconstruction. Since the 1980s, this database has been used to write more than 250 peer-reviewed journal articles.

In 2012, Layla became a founding member of the Santa Cruz Philanthropy Society for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. As part of the Executive Committee, she assisted in raising over $1,000,000 for various medical programs that improved the health of the Santa Cruz community – programs that supported cancer care, palliative care, women’s & children’s programs and pediatric behavioral health. She has 6 years of Event Chair experience for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Gateway School, playing a leading role in event planning, fundraising and community building.

With her increased enthusiasm for community engagement, Layla is excited and honored to be a member of the PCS Board of Directors.

Carrie Mulcaire

Board Member

Carrie Mulcaire has served as the Grant Development Director of Cabrillo College since 2015. Carrie oversees the Grants Office to pursue funding that advances the college’s mission to support student success equitably and inclusively and student’s pursuit and completion of college and career pathways. During her tenure, she has helped to secure over $55 million in state and federal funding for educational and workforce initiatives. Carrie holds a master’s degree in city planning from the University of California at Berkeley, where she also earned a bachelor’s of science in business administration at the Haas School of Business. She has worked more than 15 years in grant development and management of federal, state, and private sources of funds to support education, workforce development, community and economic development. Prior to moving back to her home state of California, she worked in Washington, DC for nine years at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) where she directed the growth of a national program for post-disaster economic recovery with grant funding and worked on applied research and consulting projects. She has lived and worked in the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China. When not working or volunteering, Carrie enjoys traveling, cooking, mountain biking, and hiking around Santa Cruz County with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs.

Bernie Tershey

Board Member

I live in Santa Cruz with my wife, Erika Zavaleta, and two youngest children. My two older children, my brother and his family, and my 100-year-old mom live nearby. In addition to being a dad, I’m a conservation entrepreneur. I helped start:

1. Freshwater Life, which protects endangered freshwater species from extinction.
2. Island Conservation and Conservación de Islas, which protected 460 species from extinction and formed 4 million acres of protected areas.
3. Conservation Metrics, a for-profit social venture monitors that wildlife and land use.
4. Henry Arnhold Fellows Program, which finds and supports great people with proven conservation solutions.
5. Conservation Action Lab and the Coastal Science & Policy Program at UCSC which trains new conservation leaders from all over the world.

Joy Flynn

Board Member

Single mother

South county resident 

Rosamaria Garcia

Board Member

Rosa Garcia is the Systemwide Human Resources Complaint Resolution Officer for the University of California, Office of the President where she serves as a subject matter expert in the areas of EEO, ADA, Title IX and Abusive Conduct. Rosa oversees key compliance-related activities affecting the ongoing establishment and maintenance of a culture of safety, non-discrimination, and acceptance at the University of California. Her work includes compliance governance, policies and procedures, training and education, communication and reporting, internal monitoring, and auditing in order to foster a more inclusive environment, free from harassment and discrimination.

Rosa was born and raised in the East Bay but has lived and worked in Santa Cruz since 2003. Her previous experience includes working in various roles at UC Santa Cruz, starting at the Disability Resource Center as an accommodations coordinator, later as an investigator in their Title IX Office, and most recently as the Senior Director of Equity & Equal Protection where she also served in an inaugural role as the ADA Compliance Officer for the campus. Prior to entering higher education, she held various positions working in community mental health.

Rosa has extensive expertise in disability law and policy as well as issues of disability and access in higher education. She has years of experience in stewarding the interactive process to facilitate meaningful access for persons with disabilities while ensuring the integrity and excellence of educational programs.

Rosa also brings years of expertise conducting discrimination and harassment complaint resolutions processes in both workplace and higher education settings.

Rosa is a UC Santa Cruz alum, having received her BA in American Studies. She has an ABA Certification as a Paralegal from Cal State East Bay and also holds a Master of Science in Mental Health & Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from San Francisco State University.

Tessy Paikeday

Board Member

Tessy Paikeday Le Duc (she/her/hers) is a Partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, a national full-service law firm. For the last 15 years, she has focused her law practice in corporate finance, assisting start-up companies in the Bay Area with securing capital, and venture capital firms with deploying it. Prior to joining Fox Rothschild, Tessy worked at Latham & Watkins LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, the Office of the Inspector General of the Los Angeles Police Department and McKinsey & Co.

Tessy received a B.A., summa cum laude, in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2001.

Tessy moved with her family to Santa Cruz in 2015. She is passionate about education, and serves on the Yale Alumni Schools Committee. In her free time, Tessy enjoys traveling, reading, gardening, biking, playing tennis and exploring the beaches and trails of Santa Cruz with her husband, son and dog.

Brandon Smith

Board Member

Brandon is an experienced technology and product development leader and currently serves  as the Director of Mechanical Engineering at Generac Clean Energy. Brandon has been  instrumental in developing over 15 products that have shipped in the millions globally over a 15  year career in Silicon Valley. Brandon is a named inventor on13 issued patents with additional  pending. 

Brandon holds B.S. & M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and  leverages his engineering experience in the development of STEM programs, organizational  planning, budgeting, team building, facilities maintenance, and general problem solving.  

Originally from Southern California, Brandon moved to Santa Cruz County with his wife and  two daughters in 2014. Brandon enjoys spending time with his family when he’s not  developing next generation products, or completing a project around his home.