Our Team

Sarah Mummah Founder and Executive Director BA Candidate '10, Stanford University

After launching DreamCatchers in June of 2008, Sarah and DreamCatchers were recognized by the City of Palo Alto with a Community Star Award for Outstanding Public Service. In spring of 2009, Sarah was awarded the Bingham Fund for Student Innovation, given by the Program in Human Biology at Stanford, in order to launch the new DreamCatchers Fellows Program to engage Stanford undergraduates in becoming leaders in education. This past summer, she was awarded a Haas Summer Fellowship to continue her work with DreamCatchers, strengthening the program, bringing on new staff, and building its Board of Advisors.

Sarah is currently a senior at Stanford University majoring in Human Biology with a concentration in Public Health and Social Entrepreneurship and a Minor in Modern Languages. She is writing her Honors Thesis in Human Biology and is a member of Cap and Gown, an honor society for women leaders at Stanford.

Fagan Harris Co-founder and Board President Scholarships & Internships Program Director, College Track

Fagan, a 2009 alumnus of Stanford University, received the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award, the highest honor given to an undergraduate. As a Chappell-Lougee Scholar, Fagan researched the use of social incentives to engage disadvantaged youth in service while fostering academic achievement. He studied social issues and education as a John Galbraith Fellow, and continued that research in the townships of South Africa as a Mellon Mays Fellow. While serving as Student Body Vice President, Fagan founded a campus-wide civil service system and brought together disparate student interests to legislate and implement a public finance program for campus elections, opening the door for low income students to run for office in student government.

Fagan is currently spearheading an effort to design and implement a fellowship and internship placement program at College Track, a leading education nonprofit in Oakland, California promoting college access for underserved youth.

Dr. Michael Dunson PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Education

Michael Dunson recently received his Ph.D. from the Stanford University School of Education. He completed a Master of Arts in history education at Columbia University, Teachers College and then taught high school history for five years. His research interests include the history of educational politics and the decision-making processes involved in educational policy.

Professor Amado Padilla Professor of Education, Stanford University

Amado received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of New Mexico and has taught at the State University of New York at Postdam, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, and Stanford University. He has written extensively on a wide variety of topics with approximately 180 journal articles and book chapters. In addition to the numerous honors he has received, he holds Fellow status in the American Psychological Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Amado has always tried to combine his academic interests with local school and community service. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Palo Alto Unified School District and served a four-year term. Over the years, he has also served on numerous local, regional, and national boards dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth.

Dr. Kara Rosenberg Co-founder Principal, Palo Alto Adult School

Kara has been principal of the Palo Alto Adult School since 2000. She has been passionate about educating immigrant children and adults since she began teaching in 1970. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership in 2010. She is proud to be affiliated with DreamCatchers, which strives to help students be academically successful.

Kate Young Co-founder Director of Resident Services, Palo Alto Housing Corporation

As Director of Resident Services, Kate oversees Palo Alto Housing Corporation's family, senior and SRO resident services programs, which includes providing community resource connections and individualized support to maintain, enrich and foster stable housing. Kate holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Puget Sound, a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Seattle University and completed master's coursework in Intercultural Relations from the School for International Training. She has six years of experience in social service program design and delivery and four years experience teaching English as a Second Language, including living and teaching in Japan for two years. Kate is also a Board Member for the Palo Alto Family Resources Foundation and a member of the National Women's Law Center's Progressive Leadership and Advocacy Network.

Dr. Carol Zepecki Co-founder Director of Student Services, Palo Alto Unified School District

Carol is the Director of Student Services for the Palo Alto Unified School District. She has been involved in education for over 40 years at every level from preschool to college. Carol holds a Doctorate in Educational Policy from the University of Southern California. She currently resides in Morgan Hill and has five grandchildren attending school in Santa Clara County.

Jaclyn Le Managing Director BS Candidate '12, Stanford University

Prior to joining DreamCatchers, Jaclyn served as a student tutor for the Irving Independent School District and led multiple student groups on her high school campus such as the orchestra and National Honor Society. Her experience also includes working as an administrative intern at Earning by Learning, an education nonprofit in Dallas, TX that encourages children to read. Jaclyn is currently a sophomore at Stanford University and plans to major in political science and sociology.

As a first-generation college student, Jaclyn is passionate about instilling the value of education in all students, supporting underserved and disadvantaged minorities, and building strong communities conducive to personal and academic growth. She is interested in education policy and reform as well as innovative education programming.

Adeva Cha Associate Tutoring Program Director BA Candidate '11, Stanford University

Before joining DreamCatchers, Adeva was involved in organizing the first Stanford Hmong Outreach Program for promoting education among ethnic Hmong high school students in California. She has also volunteered as a teacher assistant at Aim High Child Care in Brentwood, California. Adeva is currently a junior at Stanford University and is majoring in Human Biology.

Though Adeva intends to eventually work with children in a medical setting, she is still very passionate about promoting the value of education among disadvantaged students within underserved communities.

Carlos Guzman Tutoring Program Director BS Candidate '12, Stanford University

Prior to joining DreamCatchers, Carlos gained a great deal of experience leading teams and after-school enrichment programs. During his junior year of high school, Carlos founded the Academic Community & Cultural Enrichment Program for Triumph (A.C.C.E.P.T.), a program grounded in his passions for education, public service, and cultural awareness. Currently, Carlos serves as the Executive Director of A.C.C.E.P.T., and continues to work extensively to further the development of the program, working towards his vision to establish the group into a national nonprofit that promotes higher education, community service, and cultural enrichment.

As a native Spanish speaker and first generation college student, Carlos is in touch with the demographic of students and families that DreamCatchers serves. As a former tutor and tutee himself, Carlos understands how crucial it is to instill a sense of excitement for learning in young students. He hopes to continue to exercise his passion for education through his work with DreamCatchers. Carlos is currently a sophomore at Stanford University and is pursuing a degree in Political Science.

Janelle Leatherwood Marketing Director BA Candidate '10, Stanford University

Before joining DreamCatchers, Janelle spent most of her out-of-class time studying adolescents at an eating disorder and obesity clinic in Mountain View. She's excited to have the opportunity to continue working to create more supportive and encouraging environments for adolescents, recognizing education as an exciting and under-appreciated means for inspiring optimism and change. She is currently a senior at Stanford, majoring in Human Biology with a focus on the Biological and Psychosocial Influences on Creativity and Innovation. She is also pursuing a minor in Studio Art.

Although her passion for promoting health and wellness has lead her to imagine herself working in the fields of either medicine or art therapy, because of her work at DreamCatchers, Janelle is beginning to seriously consider a future in teaching instead.

Lincoln Liburd Outreach Co-Director BS Candidate '12, Stanford University

Prior to joining DreamCatchers, Lincoln has been involved in a myriad of public service activities including founding an after-school program serving at-risk students on his island of St. John, working as an Executive Fellow on the ASSU Public Service committee to bring Stanford its first Public Service Summit, mentoring children of abused women at a Los Angeles battered women's shelter, and serving on a panel that provided the Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress with the student's perspective of how to provide a better education system for at-risk youth. During his senior year of high school, he filmed a documentary on the state of education in the Virgin Islands and provided solutions to some of the systems largest problems.

Lincoln is currently a sophomore at Stanford University majoring in Management Science & Engineering and minoring in Computer Science.

James Rimbakusumo Outreach Co-Director BS Candidate '12, Stanford University

James comes to the DreamCatchers team with years of experience working in public service and local government positions. Previously, James served as an intern for the City of Lake Forest Park for three years, where he took on and implemented projects in the information technology, municipal court, and police departments. During his senior year of high school, James was appointed as a judge and leader of the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Youth Court, a program affiliated with the local courts that provides an viable alternative for local teens faced with a fine and a traffic infraction on their records.

In addition to his position at DreamCatchers, James is currently a Residential Computer Consultant (RCC) at Stanford University. James is a sophomore at Stanford and is planning on majoring in Computer Science and/or Architectural Design.

Daniel Stringer Evaluation and Fellows Program Director PhD Candidate, Stanford University School of Education

Daniel comes to DreamCatchers after working in a variety of public service roles in the Silicon Valley area. He has acted as a curriculum developer for Shelter Network, a local organization providing transitional housing for families, and as a volunteer for East Palo Alto's Boys and Girls Club. In addition, Daniel has done post-Katrina redevelopment in Louisiana and Mississippi, and marketing and customer support work with Google, Inc.

Daniel is a third-year PhD student at Stanford University School of Education, where he studies the role of culture, identity, and technology in education. Daniel graduated from Stanford in 2006 with a B.S. degree in Science, Technology, and Society with Honors, and a Minor in Arab and Middle Eastern studies.