Larry Schlenoff, Chair
Larry has extensive experience at all levels of financial and general management with senior executive experience at: the North Peninsula Jewish Campus (CEO), Semio Corporation (COO), Zitel Corp (CFO), and IBM (various executive positions).
Larry has served on various boards including: ETEC (a semiconductor equipment manufacturer), Kehillah Jewish Day School, the Mental Health Association of Westchester, the Lincolndale Guidance Clinic, the Foundation for Religion and Mental Health, the Children’s Psychological Trauma Center, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He has an MBA in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University.
Marjorie Schlenoff, Vice Chair
In private practice in San Francisco, Marjorie is a psychoanalyst with over 40 years of experience treating individuals, couples, and groups. Marjorie has served as chairperson of the Program Committee of the NCSPP, Board Member of the Psychoanalytic Association WCSPP, and on the Advisory Council of Planned Parenthood of America.
She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland and has a Masters of Social Work from Columbia University, with a Certificate in Psychoanalysis from Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, White Plains, New York.
Michael W. Adler, Secretary
A NY transplant to the Bay Area since the late 70s Michael spent his working life as a licensed general contractor, retiring in 2023.
Michael has held a number of positions, board and committee roles, with Bay Area non-profits and has been on the TWA Board since 2016. Michael, his wife Martha, and daughters Sarah and Hannah live in Half Moon Bay. He is proud to be able to support and advance the mission of Teach With Africa.
John Gilmour
John Gilmour is an educational social entrepreneur and change-maker who has piloted and scaled a programme to cultivate the holistic development of marginalised children living in townships in South Africa. Incensed by the inequality in the education system and its overemphasis on cognition, he made it his mission to flip this pedagogy to integrate much neglected social and emotional learning (SEL) as part of the school curriculum with a focus on self-liberation, self-empowerment and the development of personal resilience.
John obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cape Town. He taught English and Geography and was a student guidance counsellor at Bergvliet High School and Pinelands High School, before being appointed as Principal at Abbott’s College for five years.
John founded the first LEAP Science and Maths School serving the township community of Langa in 2004. LEAP’s founding premise is that every human being—regardless of physical and socio-economic condition, ethnicity, gender, and religious beliefs—has the capacity to become a creative, productive change agent and champion within any community in the global village.
As the founder and Executive Director of LEAP until the end of 2022, John has overseen the growth of the organization from a single school with 72 learners in 2004 to its current organisation of six low-fee schools impacting the lives of 1670 learners who reside in the township communities of: Langa and Crossroads in the Western Cape; Alexandra, Diepsloot, and Ga-Rankuwa in Gauteng; and Jane Furse in Limpopo.
Mindful of the need for educational transformation to be systemic, John co-founded and serves in a number of organisations, whose mission is to improve the educational outcomes for children living in resource-poor communities through collaboration, networking and peer-learning. He co-founded BRIDGE, focusing on linking and replicating innovation in education through communities of practice. In collaboration with other leaders in education, John co-founded The South African Extraordinary Schools Coalition (SAESC). John is the founder and board chair of the Global Teachers Institute and BRIDGE. John chairs the board of REALISTIC and is a founding Board member of NASCEE. John is the founder and interim executive director of the LEAP Institute developing transformative capacity to leverage change in education hubs across Africa.
John is an Ashoka Fellow, a member of Catalyst, and a Paul Harris Rotary fellow. He is a member of the international Club of Rome and the USA Club of Rome. John is the chairperson of the philanthropic Get It Done Foundation, disbursing grants to innovative education entities in South Africa.
Dave Hollister, Treasurer
Dave is an experienced leader in digital transformation, marketing technology, and e-commerce. He enjoys helping build and grow organizations of all sizes in the areas of retail, direct-to-consumer brands, and of course, education. He and his wife, Rachel, are energized by working on efforts to help children achieve their potential.
In addition to working with several non-profits and schools in San Francisco since 2001, he has spent time in South Africa and Zambia with Teach With Africa understanding the issues and pressing educational needs there. Dave has become involved with Teach With Africa and has recently joined their board of directors advancing their mission of building teacher partnerships with Sub-Saharan Africa.
Emily Brinkmoeller Karem
Emily Brinkmoeller Karem has built her career at the cross-section of international operations and education. She is a consultant engaging clients in strategic planning and operational implementation services. Emily earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s University Kellogg School of Management; a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky; an international business development certificate from Thunderbird University; and a certificate in Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, from Kellogg’s Center for Non-Profit Management.
Emily took her first trip to South Africa as part of a Kellogg program in 2005, where she fell in love with LEAP. She has been involved with the schools in some way since, currently serving as a board member of Teach with Africa.
Michelle Lawton
Michelle Lawton is the founder and director of Stretch the Imagination Preschool in San Francisco. She grew up with a strong connection to South Africa traveling back and forth to visit family as her mother is a Johannesburg native. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Duke University, where she studied Education and Sociology. She has also studied under Dan Siegel at the Mindsight Institute in Los Angeles.
Michelle is a pioneer in Nature Classrooms, starting the Natural Classroom at Stretch in 2010 to bring children out of the classroom and into nature during their weekly school days. She has presented numerous times at both the Children Learning with Nature Conference in the Bay Area and Children Nature Network conferences around the country.
Michelle believes strongly in life-long learning and mentoring young teachers. She supports the professional development and growth of Stretch educators and educators around the Bay Area. Most recently she worked with the Oshman JCC in 2022 and 2023 as a mentor to their Early Childhood educators. As a mom and educator, Michelle is dedicated to the right of all children to access early childhood education.
Maureen Murphy
Maureen has been involved in health care and education for her entire career. She has founded several local psychoanalytic training organizations: including the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, where she continues to play an important role, and NCSPP, the local chapter of the APA Division of Psychoanalysis.
She has also played prominent roles in national and international organizations, such as the International Psychoanalytic Association, where she represented North America as a Board member. Maureen describes her visit to the LEAP School as a transformative moment in her ideas about innovative educational models.
Robert Smith
Robert Smith is the Director of Admissions at Kehillah Jewish High School in Palo Alto. Prior to his work at Kehillah, Robert worked in the educational technology sector developing platforms to support students through the college exploration process. For the past six years, Robert has served as the chair of the board of directors of the East Bay School for Boys in Berkeley. Over nearly two decades, Robert has taught students throughout the US, Latin America, and China as a college instructor and classroom teacher. While a doctoral student at Stanford University, Robert received a Fulbright Fellowship, and he received his Bachelor of Science in Asian and Latin American Studies from Georgetown University.