Beacon Director at AP Giannini Middle School
Mandy was born in the Bay, raised in Rocklin, CA, and matured in great cities all over the country. A BA in Comparative Literature from UC Irvine landed her a job at the Laguna Playhouse in the youth theater department and her time and experience there thrust her on to pursue a Masters in Educational Theater and English at New York University. While in New York, Mandy acted in a school touring troupe called Shakespeare to Go and coached running for the New York Road Runners in the Young Runners program. Missing mild California weather, she returned to the Bay Area after graduation and lead summer day camps in Mill Valley before finding the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center. Here she sharpened her youth development chops as a program leader and West Sunset Rec Connect Program Coordinator. After four years with SNBC, she rose to the challenge of becoming the executive director for Kids Konnected in Orange County; but Southern California could not keep her. After two years she moved back to the Bay, went back to work with the amazing communities served by SNBC, and has suddenly found herself in the position of A.P. Giannini Beacon Director. Mandy is thrilled and grateful her journey has brought her to supporting the youth and families where she started.