Board of Trustees

 

April Northrup
President

April Northrup was elected to the Board in 2022.  She has a BA in History from Harvard and is working on her MA in Education at San Francisco State.  April has been a public school teacher in Los Angeles, Massachusetts, and Belmont-Redwood Shores.  April began advocating for our schools in 2017 when her youngest child entered TK.  April was the Co-Chair of the successful Measure K campaign in 2018.  She has been a School Chair for SchoolForce, PTA President, and a member of PTA Council.  April served as Chair of the Parcel Tax Oversight Committee for three years.

April is the Belmont-Redwood Shores Rotary Club representative for Interact Club at Carlmont High School.  April serves as a board liaison to PTA Council, Cipriani Elementary School, and Ralston Middle School. She is a member of the 2X2 Committee with the Sequoia Union High School District Board.  April and her husband live in Belmont with their three kids, who attend or have graduated from BRSSD schools.

 

Jackee Bruno
Vice President

Jackee Bruno is the father of 2 young girls, one currently at Nesbit and the other soon to be there. He has 17 years of experience working in schools. His career has been dedicated to impacting youth and making memories. He started as an assistant athletic director and coached basketball, football, track & field at the club, junior high, JV, and varsity levels. He then became an activities director in charge of student government, student activities programming, and community service, among other responsibilities. He is a hard-working and versatile community member that works to build relationships with all levels of stakeholders in a community to gain perspective and create genuine feelings of inclusion and belonging.

Jackee has served on and led many community organizations including PTA President and Chairperson of the school site council at Nesbit School, Executive VP on the PTA council, Board Secretary on the Footsteps board, and is also a new board member on the Peninsula College Fund.

He is a passionate advocate for all youth and is dedicated to student voice and empowerment. Jackee is also a  presenter and facilitator for professional development and conferences on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. He has a BA from Stanford University and aspirations of a graduate degree in the near future.

 

David Koss
Clerk

David grew up in Connecticut and attended K-12 public schools. He has lived in the Bay Area since 2008 and the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District since 2016. He and his wife have two children who attend Nesbit School. Professionally, David has a tutoring business that specializes in academic support, test preparation, and college counseling services. He has tutored K-12 students in the Bay Area since 2008. Prior industry experience includes financial services, market research, and organizational consulting. He is currently on the Nesbit school site council (SSC), serves as a school chair for SchoolForce’s annual Reading Power fundraiser, and has held other volunteer positions such as room parent and chaperone.

David is bilingual in Spanish having studied abroad in college and later worked professionally for a couple of years in Madrid, Spain. David has a BA in Comparative Literature from Hobart College, an MBA from The University of Denver, and a MA in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. David enjoys coaching his two children’s sports teams in his spare time. He is an avid skier and tennis player, plays tennis in local USTA leagues, and spends time with his family exploring all the Bay Area has to offer.

 
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Samuel Leinbach
Trustee

Sam is the father of a child who attended Central Elementary and Ralston Middle School. His family has been living in the Bay Area since 1999 and in Belmont since 2012. Sam was appointed to the Board of Trustees in June 2019 and reelected in November 2020. He currently serves as a liaison for Belmont & Redwood City 2x2x2, San Mateo County Committee on School District Organization, PTA Council, Central Elementary, and Ralston Middle school.

Activities in the community also include San Mateo County School Boards Association Executive Committee, San Mateo County Committee on School District Organization Vice-Chairperson, Measure R and Measure K Parcel Tax Oversight Committee Chairperson, SchoolForce Executive Board, Central PTA Executive Board, Celebrate The Music Planning Committee, and Belmont-Redwood Shores American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) Region 108 Coach and Board member.

Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University and a certification from the Advanced Project Management school at Stanford University. His professional background is in the eCommerce software space as an advisor and leader of innovation and growth and is a visionary and founder of a Silicon Valley software startup. You may see him jogging through the local neighborhoods or enjoying an exhilarating hike or mountain bike ride in Waterdog Lake Park.

 
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Jim Howard
Trustee

Jim Howard grew up in Campbell, California and is a product of California public schools. He attended UC Davis where he earned a BS in Biochemistry. He moved down the state to Los Angeles where he earned a PhD from the UCLA Department of Biological Chemistry and his medical degree from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He moved back to the Bay Area in 2005, where he completed residency in General Pediatrics and fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at UC San Francisco, and studied stem cell-based therapies for severe lung injury. He later shifted the focus of his career to clinical medicine, medical education, and quality improvement, and moved his practice to Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland where he is an attending physician in the intensive care unit and director of medical simulation, among other things.

Dr. Howard’s children began school at Nesbit elementary in 2013. At Nesbit, he has been a member of the school site council and served two years as PTA president. He has been a champion for community building, public service, multi-lingual communication, food security, STEAM education, and equity. He has worked to stabilize local school funding through PTA and building relationships with School Force, local businesses and community service organizations, and was an integral member of the Measure K get out the vote committee. In Fall, he volunteers as a team doctor for Carlmont football.

Dr. Howard has been happily married to his wife of over 15 years, Dr. Cate Baker (a Family Practice physician who patiently puts up with his shenanigans), and his two daughters attend Nesbit K-8. 

 

School Board Roles and Responsibilities

 

 

Non-Discrimination

The District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression; or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.  Additional bullying resources can be found at this link.

If you believe you have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, you should immediately contact the school site principal and/or Director of Administrative Services (CCR Title V and Title IX Officer) Julie Eastburn, at 650-637-4800, jeastburn@brssd.org. 

Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

District Hours
Monday - Friday | 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

2960 Hallmark Dr
Belmont, CA 94002
Phone (650) 637-4800