The GAIS Board of Directors currently has eight members, including the President and the Vice President. Board members are elected annually for two year staggered terms.

The Board of Directors has primary responsibility for overseeing the management of the school and preschool. This includes setting the annual budget, tuition and fees, contracting for facilities, hiring the head of school, teachers and staff, and supporting the administration and teachers in their operation of the school.

Half of the Directors are elected each year at the January meeting of the GAIS Members: they serve two year, staggered terms. All board members are GAIS parents. Anyone can run for election. If you are a current parent and are interested in running for a seat on the Board of Directors, please contact the Secretary (currently Kristen Hughes) for additional information.

Board Members

Jon Kessler (President)

Jon Kessler is Executive Chairman of HealthEquity and directs day-to-day operations of the Company. He joined the Company in 2009.

Jon previously founded WageWorks, the nation’s largest administrator of employer-sponsored benefit accounts. During his tenure as Chairman and CEO, WageWorks grew to nearly $100m in revenue, was named to the Inc. 500 list of US private growth companies three consecutive years, and completed four competitive acquisitions.
Jon was previously a senior economist in the Clinton and Bush (Sr.) Administrations, and a director in the tax consulting practice at Arthur Andersen LLP. He is also board chairman of health insurance startup Healthcharge and of the German American International School in Menlo Park, California.
Jon holds a masters degree in public policy economics from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a bachelors degree from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Jon's current term will end in January 2013.

Allison Marakovic (Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair)

Allison has two children at GAIS. Her household is tri-lingual, with Croatian, German and English being spoken.

She holds an MBA in Finance from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree from Williams College. She is a former corporate and investment banker and hopes her financial expertise can help the school weather current economic conditions.

Allison’s current term ends in January 2013.

Kristen Hughes (Secretary, Policy Committee Chair)

My husband, Tony Loeser, and I have two children at GAIS; we have been a part of the GAIS community for over 6 years. GAIS was a forgone conclusion for our family: I attended a bilingual elementary school (the French school in San Francisco); Tony has German, and I have Austrian heritage; GAIS is the second-closest elementary school to our house; and most importantly, we love the educational program. We were first attracted to the school because of the preschool and the Vorschule (kindergarten) year. Now that both of our kids have graduated into the elementary school, we are very happy with the entire IB program, the excellent curriculum, and the teachers at GAIS.

I've spent my career in high tech and venture capital, and currently manage a private investment fund. I volunteer with Collective Roots, a gardening and nutrition nonprofit, and in addition to GAIS, I serve on the boards of SwiftTest, Inc. (a technology company) and the Palo Alto Community Fund (which funds local nonprofits).

While neither Tony nor I speak German with the kids, we appreciate the supportive academic and social environment at the school. Our children are not only growing up bilingual, but also growing and learning in an environment committed to nurturing open-minded inquirers!

Kristen's current term will end in January 2012

Laura Vaughan (Facilities Committee Chair)

Laura was raised in the Bay Area and currently lives in Menlo Park with her husband, Brannan, and their three sons. Her family has been at GAIS for four years. They chose this school because they believe in the IB philosophy and program, and they are proud that their children will be fluent in a language which they do not speak at home.

Laura works in the biopharmaceutical industry, and has been involved with GAIS for the past two years as the Preschool Parent Representative. Laura is serving on the Board because she would like to make a contribution to GAIS encompassing both the Preschool and the School.

Laura's current term ends in January 2012.

Indra Pachtner (Fundraising Committee Chair)

Indra is originally from Frankfurt, Germany, where she grew up and worked for over ten years in investment banking for various financial institutions like J.P Morgan and Deutsche Bank.

In 2000, the Pachtner family emigrated to the Bay Area. The family has four children; three are currently attending GAIS. The Pachtners have been with the school for almost five years and since then Indra has been a parent representative for different classes, has organized several “Sommerfest” events, and has helped out with GAIS's annual fundraisers.

As a board member, Indra wants to take on more responsibility to help shape the future of our school. She is proud to be a part of this unique educational institution and strongly believes in the quality of the program.

Indra's current term will end in January 2012.

Martin Doettling (Endowment Committee Chair)

Born and raised in the Black Forest mountains of Germany, Martin moved to the West Coast in 1987 to begin his career at the Monterey Institute of International Studies as an Associate Professor and Director of the German Studies Program. After several productive years in academia, Martin moved to the Bay Area where he began his career as a product and marketing executive at a number of global software companies.

Martin has been a part of the GAIS community for seven years; he served on the Board of Directors previously and continues to be passionate about his daughter’s multi-cultural education and the success of this extraordinary IB school.

Martin's current term will end in January 2013.

Matthias Hausner (Education Committee Co-Chair)

Matthias grew up in Switzerland near Basel. He moved to the Bay Area in 1997 and now lives in Belmont with his partner Davina. Since 2008, they have one child at GAIS. They have been actively involved at the school. Davina is a classroom helper and is involved in the library.
Matthias holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from ETH in Zurich. He has worked for a number of software companies as engineer and manager. For the last 8 years he has worked at VMware in Palo Alto. As a board member, Matthias would like to help GAIS in its continued growth, and be actively involved in his daughter's education, as well as that of all GAIS children.

Matthias's current term ends in January 2012.