Presenter Information

Jane McGonigal

- Futurist, Game Designer, Bestselling Author, 

and Director at the Institute for the Future

Jane McGonigal is a futurist, game designer, and bestselling author. As the Director of Game Research and Development at the Institute for the Future, her research focuses on how games are transforming the way we lead our real lives and how they can be used to anticipate hard-to-predict futures, ready ourselves for any future scenario, and increase our resilience and well-being. The games she designs, from world-renown apps like SuperBetter to custom mini-games used in her interactive presentations, challenge players to tackle real-world problems such as their own symptoms of anxiety, depression, and chronic pain as well as larger societal issues including poverty, hunger, and climate change.

Her games have been used by organizations including the World Bank, the New York Public Library, the International Olympics Committee, and the American Heart Association. Combining decades of psychological and neurological research with extensive gaming expertise, Jane’s books bring to light the power that games have on us and the world at large.

Her newest book, Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything – Even Things That Seem Impossible Today, teaches us how to train our brains to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable using the same tools she used to predict the COVID-19 pandemic. SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient, which debuted at #7 on the New York Times Advice bestsellers list, explains how we can cultivate resilience in everyday life by bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when gaming to our real-world goals. In her bestselling first book, Reality Is Broken: How Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World, Jane reveals how we can use the lessons of game design to fix what is wrong with the real world and ultimately make humans happier.

Jane is a two-time winner of the Association of Professional Futurists’ Most Important Futures Work of the Year award and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She was named one of 50 people making the biggest impact in games by Game Developer Magazine and one of 20 most inspiring women in the world by O Magazine. She received her PhD in performance studies from University of California at Berkeley.

HR Workshop and Facilities Workshop Keynote Speaker

John Amussen, Director of Finance and Business Operations, Marlborough School

John Amussen has been working at independent schools since 2015. He is the Director of Finance and Business Operations at Marlborough School in Los Angeles. Previously, he was CFO/COO at Milken Community Schools. John received an A.B. in American Civilization from Brown University. He moved to Los Angeles to attend the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, and spent nearly two decades in the film industry, working for Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox. After leaving Fox in 2006, John consulted for a wide variety of clients on financial projects before focusing on the nonprofit sector. When not at work, John can be found driving his 10 year old twins to various destinations in the San Fernando Valley.

Brian P. Walter, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Brian Walter represents clients in all aspects of employment and labor law, including litigation, counseling on employment and labor relations matters, training and presentations, employee discipline matters, administrative hearings, and investigations. Brian has handled class actions and collective actions in federal and state courts and is Chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Brian has extensive experience handling FLSA issues and representing law enforcement agencies, including successfully defending employee discipline matters for sworn and civilian law enforcement personnel.

Michael Blacher, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Michael Blacher is a partner and Chair of the firm’s Private Education Practice Group. His practice is solely focused on representing California private schools. He brings passion and creativity to the practice of law and works collaboratively with clients to solve their most challenging and important issues. His approach is proactive and thoughtful. Michael works with schools on virtually every aspect of education law. He frequently advises boards on governance issues and administrators on employment and student matters.

Grace Chan, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Grace focuses her practice on education law, employment law, risk management and non-profit governance and represents independent and private schools as well as nonprofit organizations. Grace serves as a trusted advisor to boards, heads of school, business officers and human resources professionals, and works with clients to mitigate risk and develop best practices, while supporting the advancement of each client’s operational needs and mission.

Grace advises schools and nonprofits in all aspects of employment matters, such as negotiating and drafting employment and executive agreements, preparing employee handbooks and employment policies, addressing claims of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and advising on disability accommodation issues, leaves, wage and hour compliance and employee misconduct and discipline.

Grace also advises schools on all aspects of student and parent issues, including preparing enrollment agreements and student handbooks, managing effective student and parent relationships, addressing concerns of harassment, bullying and student misconduct, as well as advising on student discipline, privacy, disability accommodations, mandated reporting, tuition disputes and breach of contract claims. Grace regularly advises on legal considerations pertaining to diversity, equity and inclusion, including how to engage in such work while mitigating risk.

Grace works extensively in the area of non-profit governance, including advising on governance structure, board functions and operations, conflict of interest issues, fiduciary duties and membership termination procedures, as well as preparing governance documents such as articles, bylaws and board and corporate policies.

Jessica Tam, Associate, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Jessica Tam (Lee) is an Associate in Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s San Francisco office. Jessica provides advice and counsel to clients in education, labor, and employment law. Jessica’s primary focus is working with independent schools and nonprofit organizations, as well as school districts on a range of labor, employment and education matters. Jessica is experienced in providing advice and counsel on a range of matters, including drafting and revising employment and enrollment contracts, student and employee discipline issues, misconduct investigations, wage and hour compliance, and employee leaves and accommodation issues. Jessica also advises non-profit clients in areas of corporate governance and business and facilities, including drafting and negotiating contracts with third parties on behalf of clients.

Jessica also provides training on a range of employment and student related issues, including Professional Boundaries; Preventing Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation; and Mandated Reporting.

Prior to joining Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Jessica was a law clerk for a school district in Southern California where she assisted in updating board policies to comply with provisions of the Education Code. Jessica is a graduate from the University of the Pacific and received her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law.

Stephanie Berger, President / Consultant, Centered Insurance Solutions

Stephanie began her career in insurance at one of California’s largest general agencies, where she was instrumental in building their middle market department. Since 2007, her passion is helping employer groups in California find affordable health care coverage, customized to their needs. All her clients are kept current with stringent insurance mandates, technology resources and mandated trainings. Stephanie advocates regularly on behalf of California health care consumers in Sacramento and in Washington DC. Stephanie is actively involved with the industry’s trade organization, the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP), formerly NAHU. She has served in numerous roles at the local, state, and national levels. Stephanie was the youngest elected president of the California chapter, and proudly served from 2017-2018. Stephanie was a founding member of the association’s first Women’s Leadership Summit. The first summit in 2019 was sold out and registration tripled the following year. She is currently the NABIP Secretary and most recently served on the NABIP board of directors as the Region 8 Vice President and prior to that the Professional Development Council chair . Stephanie is the President of the Elevate Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation providing grant money to women starting in the insurance industry.

Julie L. Strom, Senior Counsel, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Julie L. Strom provides representation and legal counsel to Liebert Cassidy Whitmore clients out of our Los Angeles office in matters pertaining to education, employment and labor law. Julie works extensively with LCW’s private school clients on a wide range of matters, including enrollment agreements, employment contracts, Board and governance matters, investigations, tuition disputes, employee and student/parent handbooks, disciplinary issues, mandated reporting, terminations and severance agreements. Julie also trains on subjects such as mandatory reporting, harassment, and employee evaluations. Julie is an experienced investigator and conducts employment-related investigations for both private and non-profit organizations as well as public agencies.

Chad Christoff, Managing Director, Stifel Public Finance

Chad Christoff is a Director in Stifel's Education & Nonprofit Finance practice. Mr. Christoff specializes in transactions for independent school borrowers across the country as well as private colleges and universities. He has spent more than 10 years at George K. Baum & Company (now Stifel) working with educational institutions to prepare for, evaluate, and execute tax-exempt debt financings.

Rohan D'Souza, CEO, Avante

Rohan D’Souza is an entrepreneur and technologist focused on the practical applications of AI in enterprise software. He is the Co-founder & CEO of Avante, an AI-native platform that helps HR and benefits teams streamline operations, automate workflows, and make data-driven decisions.

With a background in AI, automation, and healthcare technology, Rohan has spent his career building companies and products that transform complex data into actionable insights. Previously, he served as CPO & CTO at Olive, where he led the development of AI solutions for 30% of U.S. health systems and payers. As VP of Product at KenSci, he worked on interpretable AI models for predictive healthcare, securing patents in responsible AI. Earlier, he led population health initiatives at eClinicalWorks, where his work helped manage health data for over 30% of the U.S. population.

Rohan is passionate about using AI to reduce complexity, improve decision-making, and create more meaningful work. He lives in Seattle, WA, with his wife and two children.

Adam Cole, Director of Campus Facilities, Archbishop Mitty High School

Adam is well versed in electrical construction and project management practices and is currently the Director of Campus Facilities at Archbishop Mitty High School. His previous experience included roles as a project engineer and project manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #332 in San Jose, CA. Adam has a bachelors degree in Liberal Studies & Education from Notre Dame de Namur University, an associates degree from Foothill College, and a Facilities Management Certificate from UC San Diego.

Heather DeBlanc, Partner, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Heather DeBlanc is the Chair of the firm’s Business and Facilities Practice Group. She practices education, construction, business, contract and employment law (with an emphasis in benefits), representing both nonprofit and public entity clients. Heather has been practicing construction law for over 20 years, advising clients as to appropriate project delivery methods, contracting, the construction process, and construction disputes. Heather assists project owners in developing and negotiating design professional agreements and construction contract documents. She is adept at identifying and minimizing risk in construction contracts because of her familiarity with the construction process.

Jessie Lenhardt, PMP, Senior Manager, Moss Adams

Jessie specializes in organizational development work including strategic planning, succession planning, process improvement, organizational and operational assessments, compensation benchmarking, and structure and staffing assessments. Jessie has a keen ability to identify areas for improvement and implement targeted interventions to enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and improve overall organizational effectiveness. She is known for her collaborative approach, integrity, and solution-oriented mindset, driving tangible and sustainable improvements within any organization.

Jessie is also a leader in the firm’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practice. She provides strategic insights to organizations navigating the complexities of ESG at any phase of their journey, including start-up, ESG strategy development, ESG risk assessment and management, reporting, policies, procedures, and governance practices. She works closely with organizations across industries to support integrated business practices and achievement of goals. Jessie holds the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Fundamentals of Sustainability (FSA) credential.

Linda Rabitoy, Director of Finance, Mayfield Junior School

Linda Rabitoy is the Director of Finance at Mayfield Junior School of the Holy Child Jesus. With over 20 years of experience in finance, she previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Claremont Lincoln University for nearly a decade and held key positions at Methodist Hospital of Southern California. Linda's expertise encompasses financial management, budgeting, and compliance, enabling her to drive fiscal responsibility and strategic planning within educational institutions.

Mary Beth Ricks, Head of School, Bowman School

Mary Beth Ricks has been involved in both public and independent education for over 35 years as a teacher, division lead, Director of Curriculum, and Head of School. She has served the last 17 years as the Head of School at Bowman School in Palo Alto, Calif. and, in that time, has raised enrollment from 180 to 300 students, garnered accreditations from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and the International Montessori Council (IMC), and brought innovative programs focused on experiential learning to the school. Bowman is a year-round, preK to 12th grade Montessori / IB program.

Carmel Wynkoop, Partner Strategy - Business Analytics, Armanino

Carmel has over 25 years of experience applying software solutions to achieve strategic business objectives, currently serving as the Partner in charge of AI, Automation, and Analytics. She leads a dedicated team in implementing a range of AI projects for diverse clients, focusing on enhancing operational efficiency and fostering innovation. With a strong track record of guiding organizations through digital transformations, Carmel specializes in strategic AI deployment to create competitive advantages.

Shayne Hale, Director of Facilities,

The Harker School

Shayne Hale, Director of Facilities for The Harker School located in the San Jose, CA, oversees 4 school campuses and various other properties held by the school.

With over 20+ years managing school facilities in the public and private sector including numerous K-12 schools, districts, community college sites and private schools in San Jose, San Francisco and Stockton. Shayne is also a Cal-ISBOA board member serving on the facilities outreach committee.

Matthew Gard, CPA, Partner, Audit, Armanino

Matt Gard is a partner at Armanino, serving clients in the firm’s Audit practice. He joined the firm in September 2006, and he works extensively with clients in the nonprofit, financial services, and manufacturing and distribution industries. Matt graduated from St. Mary’s College with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of both the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs. He is also a member of the firm’s Technical Committee and Management Advisory Board.

Michelle Jones, Director of Human Resources, Branson High School

Michelle Jones is the Director of Human Resources at Branson, a 9-12 high school in Ross. Michelle, with over 25 years' experience in human resources, joined Branson in 2018. Her dedication to fostering positive workplace relationships is evident through her extensive professional background in both independent schools and corporate settings.

Joe Rayburn, Director of Partner Development, Building Solutions

Joe Rayburn, Director of Partner Development at Building Solutions, is responsible for new sales and business development. He brings over 20 years of sales and business development experience in the A/E/C industry. Having come from a consultative background, he is well-versed in the many facets of delivering complex projects and effectively communicating those solutions to our clients. Joe has spoken to varying groups including PAISBOA, Cal-ISBOA, MISBO, TCSA, and NBOA.

Angela Oliver, Director of Human Resources, Sage Hill School

Angela Oliver is the founding Director of Human Resources at Sage Hill School and is in her 22nd year at Sage Hill. She started as the Controller in 2001 and moved into the HR in 2007. She has served as a Board member of Cal-ISBOA and helped to launch the HR Symposium. She has presented on HR topics at both national and state conferences. Prior to being in HR, she worked at Windward School as their Business Manager. Angela enjoys watching sports of any kind and Hallmark movies!

Julia Yzaguirre, CFO, Turning Point School

David Weil, CFO, Harvard-Westlake School

Maria Chan, SVP, National Nonprofit & Institutional Banking, City National Bank

Jessica McCullagh, Director of Human Resources, The Archer School for Girls

Sean Dwyer, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management, Polytechnic School

Jared Mata, Director of Facilities, St. Andrew's Episcopal School