staff

Kait Schroeder, Executive Director
Ryan Cooney, Outreach Director
Lindsey Roark Yee, Program Director
Melissa Mayes, College and Financial Aid Advisor
Colleen Klus, Program Associate
Alexandra Walter, Program Associate
Leslie Armell, Bay Area Events Specialist
Jaime Lockwood, Bay Area Grants Specialist
Lindsey Moriguchi, Bay Area Development Associate
Cristina Perez, Bay Area Alumni Coordinator
Alicia Reza, Bay Area Development Associate

Kait Schroeder, Executive Director
kschroeder@summersearch.org
A native of New England, Kait graduated from Haverford College in 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a minor in education. After college, Kait spent three years at Millbrook School in New York State teaching chemistry, working as a dorm parent, coaching field hockey, and guiding a community service group. This reinforced for her the importance of a holistic approach to helping high school students develop their leadership. In the summer of 2004, professional development funds allowed Kait to travel to the Samburu region of Kenya with the Earthwatch Institute as part of a conservation research team. This expedition strengthened her firsthand understanding of the power of experiential education. After moving back to Boston in 2005, Kait joined Summer Search as a Program Associate. In 2008 she became Associate Director of the Boston site to oversee programming for 300 students and 600 alumni, as well as lead mentor training for a staff of 14. In April 2010 Kait was thrilled to move to California and step into the role of Executive Director for Summer Search North San Francisco Bay.

Ryan Cooney, Outreach Director
rcooney@summersearch.org
Ryan was born and raised in Mill Valley, California. He graduated from Tamalpais High School in 1999, and continued on to California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California on a partial baseball scholarship. Ryan graduated in 2003 with a Bachelors Degree in Sociology and realized his passion for helping others, especially youth, through his many volunteer experiences during college. Ryan is passionate about helping kids see their full potential and being a positive role model in their lives and strives to create equal opportunities for all kids. This in turn led him to Summer Search. After college, Ryan began working with kids in all levels of the public school system, including Elementary and Middle School and at the Junior College level. Most recently, Ryan worked in ESL classes at Mill Valley Middle School and served as the assistant baseball coach at College of Marin. He is excited to be a new member of our team, and to have a positive impact on the lives of Summer Search students.

Lindsey Roark Yee, Program Director
lroark@summersearch.org
Lindsey Roark grew up in Grass Valley, California, a small town at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She attended UC Davis and graduated with a B.A. in Communication and Art Studio. During her time in Davis, Lindsey developed a strong sense of leadership and teamwork as a member of the UC Davis softball team, helping to lead them to a National Championship in 2003. For four years Lindsey worked with youth for the City of Davis in their Outdoor Education Program before moving to Sonoma County to attend graduate school. Lindsey studied Organization Development at Sonoma State University and graduated with a Masters of Psychology in 2007. Looking for a position where she could help students learn to make meaningful and sustainable changes in their lives, Lindsey was delighted to find Summer Search. Lindsey is thrilled to combine both her studies and passion for empowering youth here at Summer Search in the North Bay.

Melissa Mayes, College and Financial Aid Advisor
mmayes@summersearch.org
Melissa Mayes is originally from Colorado. A mountain girl at heart, she has spent time enjoying the coasts as well-- for her undergraduate work, she went to Pepperdine University, in Malibu, California, where she became interested in social justice issues through work experiences as a Volunteer Coordinator with the Pepperdine Volunteer Center, as well as courses in a Social Action and Justice Colloquium in which she took part. Based on these experiences, she created her own major in Social Awareness and Activism. Being a first-generation college student, issues of access to education have been close to her heart, which is why she went back to work for federal college access TRIO programs in Colorado after graduating, and also, why she decided to go on to graduate school in Boston at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in the Risk & Prevention program. Melissa has been a Summer Search mentor in San Francisco for two years and is thrilled to be supporting students this year as the North Bay College and Financial Aid Advisor.

Colleen Klus, Program Associate
cklus@summersearch.org
Colleen grew up in Burbank, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago.  Through encouragement from her family and her teachers at St. Bede’s and Queen of Peace, Colleen began exploring her passion for empowering youth. She started volunteering for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Camp, which incited her fervor to experience life through different perspectives and impelled her to create positive, lasting change by helping others achieve their fullest potential.  Colleen continued on to Miami University of Ohio where she served as philanthropy chair for Alpha Chi Omega sorority, interned for Make-A-Wish Foundation, and volunteered for Animal Adoption Foundation.  After graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in English Literature, she was accepted to serve as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia.  In the village of Otjimbingwe, Colleen taught 7th grade English, and used her free time to start a library, develop a community theatre project, and establish a counseling support group for students.  Her Namibian family taught her about the resiliency of the human spirit and the power of even a single voice.  Upon returning home in 2010, Colleen was inspired by the parallels she found between the Summer Search mission and her own life experiences.  She is incredibly appreciative of the limitless love and support from family and friends and couldn’t be happier about her next great adventure in life and being a part of the Summer Search team!

Alexandra Walter, Program Associate
awalter@summersearch.org
Alexandra Walter was born in Ohio and grew-up with a supportive family that valued hard-work and the importance of education. Alexandra’s awareness of the significance of giving back to the community surfaced early, and when she was a middle school student she began volunteering with underserved youth. Armed with passion for helping young people reach their personal and academic potential, Alexandra continued her commitment to service and civic engagement during college at Ohio State University. She volunteered as a mentor with the Boys and Girls Club and Reach Out and Read and led her peers on service-oriented Spring Break trips. Prior to graduating Suma Cum Lade from Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s in Communication, Alexandra expanded her Spanish language skills and cultural competency during a study abroad trip to Mexico and advanced her development and writing skills as a fellow with the John Glenn Institute of Public Service and Public Policy. Alexandra’s penchant for service then led her to volunteer as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow with St. Joseph’s Circle of Sisters, an afterschool violence prevention program for at-risk girls, where she was consistently impressed by the resilience, tenacity and strength of the program participants. Following AmeriCorps, she worked as Grants Coordinator for a Member of Congress, where she observed the influence cogent public policy has in shaping social change. Alexandra is proud of her most recent accomplishments: summiting Mt. Whitney and joining the Summer Search team, where she is excited to share her experience, skills and passion to support the organization’s work and mission.

Jaime Lockwood, Bay Area Grants Specialist
jlockwood@summersearch.org
Jaime grew up in a small town in West Virginia but has spent her adult life city-hopping between Washington, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia before moving to the Bay Area. Originally working in politics when she first graduated, she made the transition into education a few years later, teaching history and social studies in the middle and upper schools at Friends Select School in Philadelphia. Being in the classroom was very gratifying but Jaime also felt the urge to combine her passion for helping others through politics with her desire to work in the education realm. In 2010 she completed her Master’s in Politics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and simultaneously began to run a farm education program at Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia. The farm program opened her eyes to the world of education for social justice and she became passionate about working with at-risk students, reaching them through innovative programming that could expand their world perspective and keep them engaged in positive activities and off the street. Farming, advocating for urban agriculture programs, and running farmers’ markets helped Jaime become well-rooted in the communities in which she worked, and she continues to be involved in food justice work now that she is in the Bay Area. Jaime became Bay Area Grants Specialist for Summer Search in June 2011 and is excited to be contributing to the ongoing success and efforts of such a transformative program for young adults.

Cristina Perez, Bay Area Alumni Coordinator
cristina@summersearch.org
Cristina has a BA in Psychology and an Ethnic studies certificate from University of San Francisco, and a Masters in Social Work from San Jose State, with an emphasis in schools and special education. Before joining Summer Search, she worked as a clinical social worker in the community-based agency, La Clinica de la Raza, with children, youth, adults, and their families. She first learned about the strength and uniqueness of Summer Search through her brother’s experiences as a Summer Search student. Cristina joined the San Francisco office in 2002 as a Program Associate and within two years became the Program Director. She continued to mentor students, and managed and trained staff to ensure program quality. In 2007, Cristina became the Associate Director of Summer Search North Bay, partnering with the Executive Director to hire and train mentors to increase student capacity. Under Cristina’s leadership they doubled mentors, implemented training structures that have allowed staff to learn the mentoring in a third of the time as in the past. Cristina also helped increase second year student retention rates from 80% to over 90% each year. Fall 2009 Cristina transitioned to a new role as the Bay Area Alumni Coordinator and is excited to oversee the success of the Alumni Program

Alicia Reza, Bay Area Development Associate
alicia@summersearch.org
Alicia was born and raised in Orange, California. She remains a proud Southern Californian albeit happily relocated to the Bay Area. She attended the University of California at Santa Cruz and holds a BA in Sociology. During her 4 years there, her main focus was the evolution of the Juvenile Justice System in the United States and its reform. The child of two educators, Alicia is a natural advocate for educational equality and, therefore, a great fit for Summer Search. Outside of work she enjoys photography, spectator sports, beach vacations, and kickboxing