Leadership

Betsy Nikolchev is the Executive Director of Stretch To Kindergarten. She is also the Executive Director of the Family Engagement Institute at Foothill College, an institute focused on closing the opportunity gap by opening doors to continued education and community resources through free parenting and family programs. Betsy has over 25 years of experience in the field of education as an early childhood teacher and director, parent educator, teen parent educator, adjunct faculty, and program coordinator for both the Even Start Family Literacy and FIRST 5, SCC Parenting Workshop programs. She received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and a California Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Pacific Oaks College, where she has completed her coursework for an M.A. in Human Development and is currently finishing her thesis that focuses on family engagement and support for all families in raising healthy, successful children.

Carmen M. Ponce is the Director at Stretch to Kindergarten. Carmen has over 25 years of experience in Education including being a Preschool Teacher, Associate Director, and Program Co-Director at the Mountain View Whisman School District for over 16 years. Originally from Peru, Carmen worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years. After moving to California, she worked at the Children Center of Stanford Community for over six years. She was very involved in volunteering for the Mountain View Whisman School District, where her children attended school. She also worked as a Parent Educator and Teacher in the Even Start Program, designing and implementing an appropriate family literacy curriculum for both. Currently, Carmen is Adjunct Faculty at Family Engagement Institute (FEI) at Foothill College. With her bilingual and bicultural background, she is able to provide underserved families in the community with opportunities and resources to help their children succeed. Carmen holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and a Program Director Permit. She is dedicated to the work she does and is committed to closing the readiness gap for children in our Community.

Elizabeth Simons is the president of STK and its primary funder, the Heising-Simons Foundation (HSF), a family foundation that supports causes relating to equity in education, alternative energy research, and environmentalism. She serves on the Reading Partners Silicon Valley regional board, the Stanford K-12 Advisory Council, the board of the Daily Californian, and the advisory board of Palo Alto Partners in Education. She is also involved in a number of other non-profits, including A Level Playing Field Institute and Family Engagement Institute (FEI.) She received a B.A. in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Stanford University, and taught high school English and, subsequently, bilingual and ESL elementary school classes for several years.