| Judith (Judy) Brunk
Executive Director
| Judy has been the Executive/Program Director of Hill & Dale since 1978. She started her career in early childhood education four years earlier when she joined Hill & Dale as a teacher. She has a BS degree in science and home economics education and a teaching credential for kindergarten-junior college. After joining Hill & Dale, she realized that early childhood education and supporting parents was her passion. She enrolled in Pacific Oaks College & Children's School to get a credential in early childhood education and to study human development and counseling. She is married and has 3 children and 3 grandchildren. Her work at Hill & Dale is about building relationships and living a life full of meaning and purpose. |
| Lytha Roddy
Administrative Director | Lytha has a Degree in Social and Developmental Psychology and close to 20 years of experience in the field of early childhood education. She has been working with Hill & Dale for over 15 years. While at Hill & Dale, she has held a variety of positions. She has been a camp counselor for Camp in the City, a teacher, a lead teacher, site supervisor at the Discovery Center, an administrative assistant and the Administrative Director. She attended Hill & Dale as a child and feels fortunate to have her children attend Hill & Dale as well. She has one son, a Hill & Dale alumnus, in elementary school and another son who currently attends Hill & Dale. |
| Marian Niles, RN, PNP Parent Educator
My Family and Me | Marian has been a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in our community for over 20 years. In that role she has counseled many families with children of all ages. Marian is the mother of two grown sons and has been on the Hill & Dale Board for many years, including serving as Board President for at least 15 of them.
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| Mary Barsoum
Site Supervisor
Learning Center | Mary’s passion in early childhood education began very early in her life as the oldest of four. She obtained a B.A. degree in Child and Adolescent Development and an M.A. degree in Educational Psychology and Counseling with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Cal State University of Northridge. She has close to ten years of experience in the field of early childhood. She has professional experience as a consultant, tutor, teacher and director. Currently she is the Site Supervisor at the Learning Center. |
![]() Rebecca Thomson Site Supervisor
Discovery Center | Becky has worked in the field of early childhood education for over fifteen years, seven of which have been with Hill & Dale. She obtained her B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development from California State University Northridge. While at Hill & Dale she has been a teacher, administrator and served as Site Supervisor at both the Discovery Center and Learning Center. She also has the pleasure of being a parent at Hill & Dale; her oldest child is an alumnus, and she has two other children, one attending each of our sites |
Afagh Hamid Lead Teacher Infant Room
| Afagh was born and raised in Iran where she got married 37 years ago. She has one son, one daughter and three beautiful grandchildren. Due to the political climate in Iran, her family came to the United States 21 years ago. She attended Venice Skills Center, Santa Monica College and UCLA Extension to obtain her certification as a teacher of young children. She has been with Hill & Dale for over 20 years. During this time, she became the Lead Teacher of the infant room and learned many things, such as the importance of relationships with children, parents and staff through the Hill & Dale philosophy. During her time at Hill & Dale, Afagh has personally helped raise over 250 babies! |
![]() Tasha Brunk
Lead Teacher
Learning Center | Hill & Dale has been part of Tasha’s life for the past 14 years. While at Hill & Dale, her various roles include teacher’s aide in the Pre-K program; nutritionist at both of the centers preparing snacks and lunch for children and staff; counselor; and then coordinator of the Camp in the City program. Currently she is a Lead Teacher in the Toddler Program at the Learning Center. She is also a parent of a 10-year-old alumnus of Hill & Dale. She has units in early childhood education from Santa Monica City College and is continuing her studies with the goal of achieving a B.A. |
![]() Agatha Perez
Lead Teacher
Learning Center | Agatha’s first experience as a caregiver occurred when she was 14 years old; working as a teenage teacher’s aide. Since then, children have remained her passion and she is currently working on her fourth year at Hill & Dale. During this time she has assisted with the My Family and Me classes, worked as a floater in the toddler room and worked in the infant room. She is a strong believer in the importance of respectful relationships with both families and children. Currently, she is avidly pursuing her degree in early childhood education, while parenting an 8 year old Hill & Dale alumnus. |
Douglas Santos Lead Teacher
Discovery Center | Douglas has been working in the early childhood education field for over 7 years. He first began as a volunteer at his former primary school, where his siblings were enrolled at the time. After high school, he moved on to work for the City of Beverly Hills where he started as an Assistant to the After School Enrichment Program and then became the Director of the program. He currently attends Santa Monica College where he is working on his AA Degree in Early Childhood Education as well as a Certificate of Achievement in ECE. Douglas discovered Hill & Dale through a college course that required him to be a mentor student at a local preschool. Douglas has been working with Hill & Dale for over 2 years while he continues to learn as a student and lead as a teacher. |
Trustees Hill & Dale’s Board of Trustees brings a long history of compassionate service to our operations. Made up of community members, alumni, current parents and early childhood education specialists, the Board is charged with upholding the mission, setting policy, ensuring financial stability and working with the Executive Director to support long range planning and vision for the organization. The Board takes great care in balancing the needs of our various constituencies – be they children, families, educators, the administration or the early childhood community at large – and is steadfast in its efforts to separate the interests of Hill & Dale from the individual needs of any one of its constituents. |
Jennifer Letscher
Board President
Program officer | Jennifer has worked in nonprofit arts and education for more than 17 years, holding leadership positions in program development, planning, marketing and fundraising. For the past 10 years, she has worked with private family foundations that fund education, arts and environmental programs. Previously, she ran a management/capacity-building academy for nonprofit executives and helped facilitate organizational development and growth in strategic planning, leadership, conflict management, program development, personnel/staff development, fund development, board development and evaluation. Currently, she works for a private family foundation in Santa Monica. She holds a BA in English and American Studies from the University of Oregon and pursued graduate studies in creative writing at UC Galway in Ireland. |
Marian Niles, Immediate Past President Pediatric Nurse - Practitioner |
Erica Warren, Vice President Admissions Associate |
Dan Kolhoff, Treasurer Export Consultant & Attorney |
Tricia Cross, Secretary Attorney |
Samina Merchant, Parent Association Co-Chair Director of Accounting |
Jennifer Borgese, Parent Association Co-Chair |
Lauren Behrendt Project Manager |
Wendy Butts
Contract Compliance Officer |
Gustav Koven Sound Designer |
Noelle Mogush
Preschool Teacher (Developmental Kindergarten) |
Philip Seifer
Physician |
Erica Stephenson Educator |
Rina Welles Attorney |
| Hill & Dale Family Learning Center By-Laws
Whistleblower Policy
Board of Director's Trustee Conflict of Interest Policy
Board of Director's Trustee Pledge
501(c)3 Tax Letter
2009 - 2010 Annual Giving Brochure
City of Los Angeles 2009-2010 Annual Giving Solicitation Information Card
City of Los Angeles 2009-2010 Silent Auction Solicitation Information Card
Hill & Dale Family Learning Center's financial statements and 990s are available at the Administrative Office upon request.
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