Jennifer Peck | Executive Director
Jennifer Peck was a founding staff member of the Partnership in 2001 and became its executive director in 2003.  Since that time, she has developed and implemented initiatives to finance and build after-school and summer-learning programs, and increase access to school meals and nutrition education programs in the Bay Area’s lowest-income communities.  Under her leadership, the Partnership has brought more than $70 million in public funding to schools and their community partners, enabling thousands of low-income children to participate in these programs.

Jennifer has built the Partnership into an influential policy-development and advocacy organization that has improved the effectiveness of public funding for youth programs in low-income communities across California.

In December 2010, Jennifer was appointed Senior Policy Advisor and Transition Team Director for Tom Torlakson, the newly-elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In this role, Jennifer oversees the transition planning process and ensures that the superintendent’s goals are articulated through policy and organizational development at the California Department of Education.

In 2006, as California prepared to launch Proposition 49’s substantial new investment in after school programs, Jennifer led the development and advocacy for state legislation that dramatically reformed the initiative and prioritized funding for schools in the lowest-income communities. For this work, then-State Senator Tom Torlakson named Jennifer “Woman of the Year” in 2008.

Jennifer created the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance, the state Legislative Task Force on Summer Enrichment, and she leads a coalition of California organizations advocating for new federal policies to improve the effectiveness of after-school and summer-learning programs.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Jennifer spent eight years as an appointee of President Bill Clinton at the U.S. Department of Education, where she supported implementation of numerous initiatives including student loan reform, School-to-Work, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.  Jennifer has a B.A. in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Colgate University.

Jennifer serves as Co-Chair of the West Contra Costa Public Education Fund. She is married to John Gioia, and they are parents to Christopher, 18, and Emilia, 6.

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Beth Zygielbaum | Office Manager
Beth joined the Partnership in 2010. She handles the day-to-day operations of the office, as well as event planning, travel management, and logistics. Beth has over six years experience working as an Event Planner and Executive Assistant. Before joining the Partnership, she worked as a festival event planner and executive assistant for the Crucible, a non-profit industrial arts school in Oakland. Prior to this, she worked for several years in the concert industry as an assistant in the booking and marketing department as well as running venue box offices.

Beth has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Master of Science degree in Geosciences from San Francisco State University. In addition she is a registered yoga instructor teaching adult and children's yoga around the Bay Area.

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Deanna Niebuhr | Senior Director, Community Schools Initiative
Deanna joined the Partnership in 2004 and directs the Community Schools Initiative. In this role, Deanna leads the Partnership’s efforts to create a state-level policy framework supportive of the development and sustainability of community school implementation at the local level. Among Deanna’s areas of focus is the building of a state-wide network of community school advocates and stakeholders. Deanna also oversees the Partnership’s targeted technical-assistance work with local communities to initiate and grow community school partnerships. 

Prior to joining the Partnership, Deanna worked for seven years with adolescent girls in a group home and non-public school setting. Later, as an analyst for Alameda County’s Social Services Agency, she worked on child welfare policy issues at the county and state levels. Deanna has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley.

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Jennifer Hicks | Technical Assistance Manager, Out of School Time Initiatives
Jennifer joins the Partnership in 2011 in the newly-created role of technical assistance manager for our out-of-school-time initiatives.  Jen has worked in the out-of-school-time spectrum for more than 11 years, and is skilled at developing and delivering engaging professional development and instructional coaching to youth workers.

In 2000, Jennifer began as peer counselor for the Healthy Start program at James Logan High School. She later transitioned to intern for Youth Employment Partnership Inc., in Oakland, where she mentored and supported over 200 youth in job readiness and placement for the 2005 Mayor Summer Job Program.

In 2005 Jennifer began working for YMCA of the East Bay, providing service in several capacities over five years.  As site director of the Explore Middle School after school program she earned a 2007 Service of Excellence award from Oakland Unified School District. In 2009, Jen was promoted to fiscal management director with the lens of after school program strategy and compliance.

During the 2008–09 school year Jennifer worked with OUSD’s complementary learning department as a consultant in the after school program office.

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Jessica Gunderson | Policy Associate
Jessica joined the Partnership in 2011 from the Vera Institute of Justice. Before joining Vera, she pursued her Master of Public Administration and Non-profit Management degree at the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU. While studying at Wagner, Jessica worked as a research intern at Casey Family Programs and a program coordinator at the NYU Wagner Research Center for Leadership in Action. Prior to graduate school, she worked for California State Assembly Majority Leader Karen Bass on child-welfare and social-service issues.

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Katie Brackenridge | Senior Director, Out of School Time Initiatives
Katie Brackenridge joined the Partnership in 2004 and directs the Out of School Time initiatives. She has helped hundreds of school and community-based after school programs develop sustainability plans, plan and submit 21st CCLC and Prop 49/ASES grants, access additional funding sources and improve their program practices for after school and summer programming.

Katie also supports the Partnership’s work to develop and improve policies that make out-of-school-time programming more accessible and effective. She serves as Co-Chair of the Quality Committee of the California Afterschool Network, working to advise and inform the Network, the California Department of Education and other stakeholders about systems and strategies to support quality programming across the state.

Katie has been teaching, managing and providing technical assistance to youth programs since 1990. Most recently, she spent nine years directing a community-based organization, the Jamestown Community Center, which provides comprehensive out-of-school-time services to young people in the Mission District of San Francisco. Katie has a Bachelor's degree in history from Williams College and a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

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Robin Ferguson | Director, Finance and Administration
Robin joined Partnership for Children and Youth in 2007, and is responsible for the fiscal and administrative areas of the organization. Prior to joining the Partnership, she worked in a broad range of nonprofit organizations in New York City for more than 25 years, including a community foundation, a health education theater program for young people and an organization that provides quality health care in underserved communities.

Robin has nearly 20 years of experience in nonprofit management. Her skills include financial management, budget development, grants management and office administration.

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Steven Wirt | Director, Communications and Development
Steven joined the Partnership in 2010 and is responsible for conceiving, implementing and managing the organization's outreach and development strategies. Among Steven's areas of focus is growth of the Partnership's brand presence in print, online and broadcast media. He is continually working to enhance and refine the Partnership's online channels, including the organization's website and social-media spaces.

In 2011, Steven was appointed to the Planning and Oversight Commitee of the Oakaland Fund for Chidlren and Youth.

Steven comes to the Partnership for Children and Youth after six years as communications director with the California Division of the American Cancer Society. Prior to his time at the Society he worked extensively in both traditional and new media, and in public-interest law. Steven has a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

Steven is a road, track and commuter cyclist, and a lapsed surfer. When not at work he can often be found volunteering at the Oakland Animal Shelter.

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