Deanna Gumina, Board President

Deanna Paoli Gumina, PhD, BCET is President of the Board of Directors of Moving Forward and is one of the past presidents of the MF Parents Association.  Deanna is a psychologist in private practice in San Francisco specializing in the assessment of children and adults who present with various concerns about learning and developmental difficulties. She has been an administrator in learning disabilities programs as well as an admission director and instructor; has been a professor of Special Education on the university level teaching and supervising graduate students; is a consultant to schools and faculties; and is a Board Certified Educational Therapist.  Deanna and her beloved Emma, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, go to elementary schools where struggling readers read to Emma.  (Emma has now “read” the Frog and Toad series.)

David Pyle, Board Vice President

David Pyle has been a general dentist in Walnut Creek, California for 35 years.  Before earning his dental degree David served on a medical evacuation team with the Air National Guard and worked as a computer programmer in the aerospace industry in our push to reach the moon. He has been married to his wife Susan for 41 years, has 2 adult children and 1 grandchild.  He and Susan are founding parents of Moving Forward and David was Moving Forwards 1st board president and has served in various capacities on the board since it’s inception. In his free time David enjoys being a husband, parent, and grandparent and also enjoys camping, fishing and travel.

Merilee Bennett, Board Secretary

A third generation Californian, Merilee Ann Bennett was born and raised in Redlands, California.  She graduated from the University of California at Riverside in 1975 with a degree in German Culture and Civilization. Her interest in European Culture began when she joined her husband in Germany for two years during his military service commitment. Upon her return she finished her education while working in a variety of jobs, including YMCA Program Director, Bookkeeper, Activity Director and Restaurateur, until, after earning a Certificate in Interior Design, she settled into her true calling as a Residential and Commercial Interior Designer. She has been in private practice for 28 years. Merilee has served on many Boards and Community Service projects including: The Jr. League of Riverside where she was Treasurer, Sustainer to the Board and Raincross Award Recipient, The Old Riverside Foundation, Panhellenic Alumni Association, Trinity Summer Camp, Riverside Art Museum Board, Riverside Community Health Foundation Board President, Riverside Medical Foundation Board President, Kimberly Crest Foundation  Board and Moving Forward Towards Independence Parents Assn President and Board Member/ Secretary. Merilee is married to Bruce Bennett and resides in Newport Beach, California. She has two adult sons, enjoys singing, genealogy research and floral design in her spare time.

Diana Gordon, Board Treasurer

Diana brings 30 years of experience with non-profit management, both public and private, in the areas of development and implementation of programs, financial management, fund raising, media management, organizational systems development, legal and regulatory requirements, facilities management, recruitment and admissions, team building, training and supervision of staff. Diana co-founded with Leslie Medine, Alternatives In Action, HOME, the Bay Area School of Enterprise, HOME Sweet HOME Preschool, Moving Forward, On The Verge and On The Move.  Diana is currently the Chief Financial and Operating Officer for On The Move in addition to running Explorations, a youth college and career center.  For the past two years she has run the Workforce Investment Board youth programs, including the Summer Youth Employment Program. In 1996 Diana began working with a core group of parents to develop make a reality Moving Forward.  Together with those parents and the six founding residents, Diana successfully opened Moving Forward in 1998 under the umbrella of Alternatives in Action.  In 2000 Diana moved Moving Forward into its own non-profit organization, filing for and being awarded the 501c3 non-profit status by the IRS and the State of California.  Diana left shortly thereafter to return to the work she started at Alternatives in Action.  In 2009 Diana joined the Board of Moving Forward.

David Nolley, Board Member

David Nolley, a board member since 2005, received his Ph.D. in Psychology in 1974 specializing in the neurophysiologic bases of behavior, after graduate study in behavior analysis and therapy, from Syracuse University. Dr. Nolley currently maintains a clinical practice in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset and in the City of Santa Clara specializing in families of conduct-disordered adolescents, troubled families, traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, developmental and learning disabilities. Dr. Nolley also consults to public and non-public agencies on policy, conducts staff and parent trainings, including Continuing Education events for California Department of Social Services credit, and provides vendored direct services to persons with disabilities who are troubled by unacceptable sexual expression and/or have been target of sex offenses.

Clarence A. Kellogg, Jr., Board Member

Clarence A. Kellogg, Jr., received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of California at Berkeley, and holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.  Clarence was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972, and has been practicing law since then, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate practice.  Clarence has also been a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) since 1968. Clarence has a junior college teaching credential, and has taught at several junior colleges, at UC Berkeley extension, UC Santa Cruz extension, and Lincoln Law School.  Clarence has also served a number of charitable organizations, including being a past president of the Mountain View/Los Altos High School Foundation, and the Villa Montalvo Art Center Audit Committee.  Clarence has two children, one who resides at Moving Forward, Alison, and two grandchildren.  Alison prior to enrolling in Moving Forward was in the Threshold Program at Leslie College in Cambridge, Massachusetts for two years and in the Independence Center, a residential program in Los Angeles.

Paulette Litz, Board Member

Paulette Litz, a Moving Forward board member since 2009,  received her Bachelors Degree  from Northwestern University, and her Masters in Education degree from Boston University,  both in Speech Language Pathology.  She has worked in private practice, acute care and rehabilitation hospitals,  school systems, and publicly funded agencies for children with special needs. She has worked directly with students with communication impairments, but also has participated in parent and staff trainings. Paulette has served on the Policy Council for Head Start and the North Bay Public Policy Committee for the Alzheimer's Association. She has lived in Napa for over 24 years, loves this community and is proud of her three adult children.  Her favorite past-times include reading, music, cooking, traveling, theater, and playing parlor games--especially word games! – and cards.

Kathy Girsch, President of the Parent Association

Kathy Girsch received her BA in Education from the University of Northern Iowa, and she spent several years teaching elementary school, grades one through five, in Iowa and California.  She went on to earn a post baccalaureate degree in Spanish Language from Oregon State University and an MA in Spanish Literature from the University of Oregon.  She spent twenty years teaching undergraduate level Spanish at Western Oregon University and Oregon State University before retiring in 2009.  Kathy presently invests her time in the kinds of volunteer activities she has long enjoyed: primarily working as a reading tutor for children in an elementary school and teaching English as a Second Language to adults.  She loves spending time out-of-doors (rain or shine). She is an enthusiastic traveler, a creative cook, an avid reader, and a devoted moviegoer.