Board of Directors

Nghiem Bui, Chair

Nghiem graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in Theology with a focus in social justice and ethics. After graduating, he went on to teach in Chicago Public Schools as part of the Inner-City Teaching Corps where he was a teacher’s assistant, lead teacher and mentor teacher for grades Kindergarten through fourth. Nghiem also has a Master's of Education from Northwestern University, where his thesis project explored how technology can bridge the gap between low-income families and student achievement.

​As an alum of NGS, he continues to have close ties to the program's mission, students and families. Nghiem is currently the Assistant Director of Admissions at Marin Academy where he outreaches to prospective schools, supports current students and families, helps manage the database of incoming applications, and helps oversee the Admissions Fellows and Daily Visit programs.
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Outside of work, Nghiem can be found exploring the Bay Area with his family and friends, watching and playing all types of warm-weather sports, learning about and trying new types of food, and on the dance floor where he's been known to do a pretty good Bruno Mars impression.

Education:
  • B.A. - Boston College
  • M.Ed. - Northwestern University

Sarah Lee

Sarah is an NGS alum and a recent graduate. She earned her B.A. in Linguistics and minored in Consumer Psychology. Her two seemingly unrelated interests in language and marketing merged perfectly when she became Linguistics Project Manager for Lexicon Branding in Sausalito. In addition to engaging with a wide network of linguists in over 80 different countries, she also conducts her own research on the way the sounds in a brand name can change a consumer's perception of that company or product.
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As a Korean speaker at home but an English language learner in school, NGS helped Sarah turn her split lifestyle into a powerful passion for linguistics and education. Sarah is excited to be joining the board to ensure her fellow NGSers feel empowered too.

Education:
  • B.A. - University of Pennsylvania

Lilly Fu, CFO

​Lilly currently serves as the Senior Director, Finance and Administration at the George Lucas Educational Foundation. She has previously worked at GreatSchools.org as CFO, the Stupski Foundation that funds district-level education reform, and in finance positions at Sony Pictures, AT&T and Oracle.
Lilly was one of the first recruits of Teach for America and taught elementary school in Oakland. She currently lives in Mill Valley and has two school-age kids.

Education:
  • B.A. - Wellesley College
  • M.P.Adm. - JFK School of Government (Harvard University)

Tony Nethercutt

Tony grew up in Watsonville, CA.  He is the proud product of an impassioned grade school teaching mother and a strong middle school administrator father.  He learned early that certain segments of school going children had both challenges and opportunities that needed to be addressed.  Tony brings the same energy and passion he had during the 30+ years of his television and digital advertising career to NGS and the many philanthropic relationships he has today.  He has lived in San Rafael for the past 27 years with his wife Laura.  Their son Zander graduated from Kenyon College in May of 2016, and is now selling advertising for Yelp in Chicago.

Education:
  • B.S. - Marshall School of Business (University of Southern California)​

Kenji Treanor

​Kenji was born and raised in Marin County, in San Anselmo and San Rafael. He attended public schools and graduated from Sir Francis Drake High School. At NGS, Kenji oversees the organization’s fiscal management and general administration. He also supports Sally with facets of executive management, and provides leadership with strategic planning, board relations and governance. His professional experience includes service at several nonprofit and educational institutions, in both administrative and program-focused roles. He is currently Director of Strategic Grantmaking at the Sobrato Philanthropies, where he leads funding and program strategies to improve outcomes, Pre-K to college, for English Learner and low-income students in the South Bay and in select communities across California. Kenji served previously as Senior Program Officer at Sobrato, and has held prior roles at The James Irvine Foundation, San Francisco State University, as a consultant to the San Rafael City Schools, and at the Youth Leadership Institute. Early in his career, he enjoyed teaching in the Ross Valley School District and in a rural village in Japan through the JET Program.

Education:
  • B.A. - University of California Santa Cruz
  • M.P.Adm. - University of San Francisco