MDS Board of Directors Bios

Marlene Moresi has been on the Marin Day Schools Board of Directors for twenty years. Marlene graduated from Golden Gate University with a double major in accounting and communication. She received a Masters in Business Administration also from Golden Gate University. Marlene began her career at the CPA firm of Barlow, Davis and Wood. Based on her interest in serving the community, Marlene became a "Grants Division" accountant for the City and County of San Francisco, which included the S.F. Community College District. Marlene spent many years working for Stauffer Chemical Company as a cost accounting supervisor, tax accountant and auditor before opening her own business consulting firm, Account Works, in San Rafael. She continues to participate in local issues benefiting children; she was on the San Rafael Schools District Budget Committee and the Terra Linda High School Site Council. Marlene has been a member of the MDS Board of Directors since 1986. Her skills as a certified internal auditor and as a data processing auditor and tax accountant have been extremely beneficial to Marin Day Schools. Marlene lives in San Rafael with her husband and loves to visit her adult children; a son in Tahoe and daughter in Montana.

Leslie Spanier is presently a Division Vice President of Operations for Bright Horizons Family Solutions. In this role she manages sixty-five early childhood programs (infant/toddler, preschool, schools-age, employer sponsored, and community based programs) that are located in California, Oregon, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Leslie has been with Bright Horizons for twenty-one years. Leslie holds a Master of Science Degree in Education from the University of Southern California. Her extensive experience in the education field includes a background in teaching and directing preschool and teaching elementary school in both the public and pr ivate sectors. She holds a current California teaching credential for preschool through college level. Leslie joined the Marin Day Schools Board of Directors in 2003. Leslie and her husband live in the Los Angeles area and have a daughter in college.

Howard Wynn joined the Marin Day Schools Board of Directors in 2009. Howard holds a BS from the Boston University School of Management; a JD from Suffolk University Law School; and is a member of the Massachusetts State Bar. Howard's early professional experience was in real estate finance with New England Securities, The Residence Inn Company, and the Low Income Housing Fund. For the past fifteen years, he has been engaged in the practice of commercial and primarily residential real estate, including the past nine years at Pacific Union Real Estate, where he consistently has been recognized as one of its top producing and most respec ted brokers. Howard has contributed many hours of real estate advice, counsel and advocacy to Marin Day Schools. He is a coach and supporter of youth programs in his home town of Mill Valley, including the Mill Valley Little League, Mill Valley Girls Softball, and the Mill Valley Soccer Club, and is an active supporter of the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation. Howard and his wife live in Mill Valley and have two children who attend their local public school.

David Levine, a MDS Board member since 2009, currently works with Beech Street Capital. David grew up in Los Angeles and has a B.A. in Economics from Skidmore College. Mr. Levine has nearly twenty years of experience in both the securities and commercial finance fields, having worked in the affordable housing group at Fannie Mae, UBS and Prudential Securities as a mortgage-backed securities trader and at PNC in their commercial real estate group. David, his wife and their two children live in San Francisco where they are very active in local cultural, religious, and charitable organizations. David is extremely interested in education and providing educational opportunities through the arts and recreation for the children of San Francisco. His school-age children graduated from the MDS Congregation Sherith Israel Campus of MDS and now attend an independent elementary school in San Francisco. He has served on many Boards and currently is the Chair of the Board of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, and is a past trustee of The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco.

Sylvia Mestayer-Collins is the newest member of the MDS Board of Directors, joining the MDS Board in August 2010. Sylvia is a native of San Francisco and attended public primary and high schools in San Francisco, City College of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco. Sylvia and her husband, Dr. Edward Collins have a 13 year old son who is a graduate of the Congregation Sherith Israel Campus of Marin Day Schools. As a toddler and young preschooler he attended the MDS Laurel Heights Campus. Their son currently attends The Town School for Boys. Sylvia has been actively involved with helping Town School develop interactive, on-going, in depth community outreach diversity programs and initiatives for the past several years. Sylvia currently owns and operates a spa in Berkeley, CA. and has previously owned another business in San Francisco as well. Prior to owning her own business she worked as a commercial real estate property manager and leasing agent for a local real estate developer. At the University of California Medical Center she designed and co taught a course in medical terminology in Spanish for medical professionals. Sylvia's family is originally from Nicaragua. She is a fluent Spanish speaker who continues to enjoy spending time in that country with her husband and son.

Dayna West joined the MDS Board of Directors in 2012. She spent time working in various capacities at Marin Preparatory School where she drew on her background in education and psychology. She has her undergraduate degree in psychology and Spanish from Pomona College in Claremont, California, and received her M.Ed. and bilingual  teaching credential from UCLA. She earned her PH.D. in Clinical Psychology from Alliant University with an emphasis in Child, Family and Multicultural studies. Dayna loves exploration and adventure. She has visited every continent and has held numerous teaching positions from preschool through high school, in the United States and Europe. She was the Elementary School Counselor and Asst. Principal at Asociacion Escuelas Lincoln, the International School in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dayna was a Staff Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital Oakland where she did most of her clinical training and where she also held the position of Asst Dir. of Training. Dayna lives in Marin County where she enjoys exploring the Bay Area's beauty and abundance with her school- aged d aughter.

Jill Cohn joined the Marin Day Schools family in 1991 when her then two year old son began attending the Sherith Israel campus. She volunteered constantly over the next four years, both in the classroom and with many school events, including the Marin Day Schools fundraisers. Not wanting to leave the wonderful environment of MDS when Ben, her son, graduated in 1995, Jill officially became part of the MDS team as the Business Manager of the Redwood City campus. She also became a co-chair of the fundraising committee. In 1999, MDS opened their Laurel Heights campus, and Jill enrolled that program and the rest is history. She still serves as a fundraiser co-chair, and is as involved with the other MDS campuses and classrooms as time allows. Jill lives in San Francisco with her husband. Their son has since graduated from college, and is exploring the world, country by country. She says she owes his success to Marin Day Schools.