• Jerry Smallwood

  Founder

  
  Contact Jerry Smallwood
  
  

  Jerry was on the POE board from 1984 until her passing in 2020. For the first 20 years of POE she was the sole mentor for all the students. She was the heart, soul and driving force behind POE. She both taught and worked as an aide in elementary schools for over 20 years and was also active as an environmental docent in the schools as well as an organizer of the Palo Alto Girl's Softball League.

• Richard Smallwood

  Founder

  
  Contact Richard Smallwood
  
  

  Dick is an entrepreneur and mathematical modeler who taught formal courses for many years in Stanford’s School of Engineering, and has also served as a mentor for many younger colleagues in the practical world of management consulting.

Directors

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  Carol Mullin
  President, Board Member since 2000
  Contact Carol Mullin
  
  

  Carol worked as an engineer and toy designer before having children. Now that she is an empty nester, she works in finance for a small hedge fund and runs the POE SF Peninsula program.

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  Jean Dawes
  VP Mentoring, Board Member since 1995
  Contact Jean Dawes
  
  

  Jean’s career has been in education, from elementary grades through high school. As a high school college counselor for over 20 years, her responsibilities included student scholarship programs. She is also a current board member of Palo Alto Housing, a non-profit affordable housing provider.

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  Anne Battle
  VP Mentoring, Board Member Since 2004
  Contact Anne Battle
  
  

  Anne has worked many years as a volunteer as well as a paid aide at a local high school. She works predominantly with underserved students who desire a college education. Anne has set up several programs dedicated to this purpose.

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  Carol Ann Smallwood
  Mid-Atlantic, Board Member since 2011
  Contact Carol Ann Smallwood
  
  

  Carol Ann has worked for many years in the publishing industry at both National Geographic and Addison Wesley. She runs POE Mid-Atlantic which she started with her husband in 2008. She and her husband have three children and all enjoy hiking, biking and kite-boarding together.

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  Colene McBeth Vort
  Secretary, Board Member since 2011
  Contact Colene McBeth Vort
  
  

  Colene worked at Microsoft (both in the US and UK) for 18+ years focusing on global business strategy, marketing, and product management. She now spends her time consulting with start-ups and volunteering at her children’s schools.

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  Dana Fenwick
  Treasurer, Member of Board since 2016
  Contact Dana Fenwick
  
  

  Dana has been the Treasurer for both CASSY (Counseling and Support Services for Youth) and PACCC (Palo Alto Community Child Care). Prior to moving to Palo Alto to raise three children, she had a 12-year career in finance as a commercial banker.

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  Tracy Neistadt
  Board Member
  Contact Tracy Neistadt
  
  

  Tracy has been involved with POE since 2014. She is an attorney with experience in litigation and real estate law. Currently she is a mediator with Project Sentinel for their Civil Harassment and Small Claims Day of Court programs and is on their Community Panel. Tracy was also a mediator for the County of San Jose’s Restorative Justice Program with juveniles. She raised two children in the Palo Alto public schools where she was an active volunteer and member of the PTA Board.

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  Ed Camarena
  Board Member since 2024
  Contact Ed Camarena
  
  

  Ed and Judy, now empty nesters, have two boys. Over the past 15 years, he became involved in Palo Alto Soccer, managing his boy’s team and honed his action photography hobby. He later joined the board, helping the club grow to serve over 1500 local players year-round. Ed became a POE mentor in 2017 through Carol's involvement with PASC. Ed's work centers on delivering market-transforming software solutions. Since he joined Byga in 2018, he is helping improve youth sports clubs via the Byga software platform.

Directors