Chair

Monterey, California. Associate with Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects L.L.P.
Kenneth Turgen has been an MBCS board member since 2011 and chair since 2016. He has two alumni daughters who both attend Monterey High School and another daughter in third grade at MBCS. Mr. Turgen was a member of the Design Review Board and Chair of the Planning Commission for the City of Marina from 2007 through 2015. Kenneth is a staunch booster of MBCS and his booming voice can be heard at May Faire every year as our Town Crier. His love
for this community can be seen throughout the region in his designs including hospitality, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, multi-family housing, medical and civic projects. Kenneth is an associate at Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects and holds both a Bachelor and a Master’s degree in architecture from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.

Vice Chair

Prunedale, California.
Tomi Burgess joined the Monterey Bay Charter School School Board in the fall of 2011. She has been a non-profit volunteer for the past 28 years. Tomi has enjoyed different roles in event planning, park restoration, and child advocacy. Tomi has also served on the Monterey Bay Charter School Foundation Board, played a critical role in establishing and managing the donor database, has chaired multiple fundraisers, community events, and Parent Circle. Tomi currently lives in Prunedale with her husband and two children. Tomi’s oldest son attended Monterey Bay Charter School from kindergarten through eighth grade and is currently attending Monterey High School. Tomi’s second child is currently enrolled at Monterey Bay Charter School. Tomi is also pursuing a career in Early Childhood Education.

Secretary

Monterey, California. Lawyer for Driscoll’s Berries
Ryan Commons joined the board in October 2019 when his son Luke started transitional kindergarten at MBCS. His son George will start at MBCS in 2022. Prior to serving on the MBCS board, Ryan served on the boards for the San Joaquin River Parkway & Conservation Trust and the Fresno Economic Development Corporation. In addition to prior board experience, Ryan brings to the board a deep passion for Waldorf education, a love for all things outdoors, and a background in corporate governance and transactional law. Ryan currently works as corporate counsel at Driscoll’s, Inc. and he received a B.S. from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a J.D. from Santa Clara Law.

Director

Marina, California. Educator for Salinas School District.
A husband and a father of a MBCS 4th Grader, Antonio moved to the Monterey Bay area in 2015.  He is an educator of twenty years having served communities in Los Angeles, New York City, Soledad, and now Salinas. His passions include music, cooking, the outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

Director

Yhashika Lee is an instructor and a faculty associate in Teaching and Learning Assessment at CSUMB. She has a B.A. from UC Berkeley and J.D. from UCLA Law with a concentration in Critical Race Theory. Yhashika is passionate about helping faculty create culturally inclusive classrooms. She uses her background in Critical Race Theory to re-imagine solutions to the structural inequality that shapes our education system and continues to create barriers for students of color. She is also trainer of trainers in racial justice work and is currently in the process of being a certified diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Board Chair

Bio TBA

Vice Chair

Susan Breen has been President/Owner of Breen Consulting (BC) for 25 years and is licensed in California as a Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB). She has been successfully providing service as a marketing and public relations professional to a variety of businesses and nonprofit organizations. In a recent expansion, a full team of experts can now offer additional expertise to clients. The range of consulting services include graphic design, web development, grant writing and Internet consulting. HR and legal assistance can be made available when
requested.

Her qualifications as a board director for numerous non-profit organizations provides her with the efficiency, decision making, strategic planning, fundraising, community relations experience activities needed to serve on the Foundation Board of the Monterey Bay Charter School. Susan and her husband Bill have lived in Monterey County for the last dozen years and have 3 adult children.

Secretary

Ben Bence is the founding director of Outside The Box Consulting LLC, a local outdoor education organization that focuses on getting students and classes out in nature. Ben studied Liberial Studies with a linguistics emphasis at CSU Monterey Bay and is currently working on his multiple subject elementary teaching credential. He was the 2017 Paul Walker Ocean Leadership Award Recipient for his 2,000+ volunteer hours and work experience in Monterey’s environmental education community. The Monterey native spends his free time on a paddle board or hiking a trail.

Director

Jacob Shafer is the development director at Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula. He spent seven years in Mongolia as a Peace Corps volunteer and working in community outreach with Rio Tinto Global. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. If you see Jacob, his wife Natalie, son Tenuun, and daughter Indira on campus or in the community, be sure to say hello.

Director

Shannon Conner, MA is a passionate conservation educator. Currently working for the Bird School Project as an outdoor education instructor in the Salinas Union High School District, teaching students and staff the value of being outdoors. She is the founder of the up-and-coming Dudleya Nature Center in Seaside, California and also worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in various capacities over the last decade. When she isn’t hiking around Monterey County with her dog, Shannon can be found working in her garden or crafting various projects around her house.