Speakers

Wrapping gifts for local schoolchildren in the community. 

Dr. Kenneth Geisick began his role as Superintendent of Saratoga Union School District on September 3, 2019. Dr. Geisick most recently served as the Superintendent of Schools in the Orland Joint Unified School District in Orland, CA. 

“I am honored to be selected by the Board of Trustees to lead the outstanding Saratoga Union School District as the new superintendent,” Geisick said. “The district has a long tradition of excellence in providing students with an exceptional education and I look forward to building on the district’s strong foundation and many accomplishments. Coming to Saratoga will be something of a homecoming for me, I grew up in the area and attended nearby Union School District and Campbell Union High School District. And, my mother actually attended Saratoga Elementary School some years ago.”

Prior to his tenure as superintendent at Orland, Geisick held positions as Chief Educational Services Officer for THINK Together, an academically oriented after-school learning program that serves over 100,000 children each year; as Superintendent of Schools in Riverbank Unified School District; and as a high school and middle school principal.

Geisick began his career in education as a classroom teacher at Andrew Hill High School in San Jose, teaching social studies, English language development, and journalism.

Joyce Mercado, Rotary Club of Alameda President, is available to give Rotary Clubs a presentation on her new book “Save the Planet in Your Spare Time – A Climate Protection Handbook for the Busy Person.” The book chronicles Joyce’s journey to becoming a climate protection leader in Alameda so others can learn from her experience.  The book covers:

·         Reducing your emissions

·         Creating and distributing a checklist of 70 action items to protect the climate and a resource list to help individuals take action

·         Writing for the local press

·         Jumping at opportunities as they present themselves

·         Partnering with other organizations

·         Building leadership actions into your daily life

·         Taking political action

·         Presenting on climate change

·         Maintaining your optimism

Leaders influencing others in their communities to protect the climate, community by community, is an essential element in fighting climate change and Rotarians can be an effective part of the solution to the climate crisis with the guidance in this handbook. Anyone can be such a leader, even if you have a busy life. We need thousands of leaders like you in communities nationwide and worldwide to solve the climate crisis.  Together we can make a difference!

Joyce Mercado’s bio:

Joyce Mercado has been an effective climate activist in her community of Alameda for the last twenty years even while holding a full-time job as a Technical Sales Manager for IBM and raising two children with her husband David. Joyce is a monthly climate protection columnist for the local press, an Al Gore program-trained Climate Reality Project Leader who has given dozens of presentations on climate protection, a member of many climate protection organizations, creator of the Alameda Climate Protection Checklist and Resource List with 70 actions individuals can take and has been recognized by the City of Alameda for her climate protection leadership. The climate emergency prompted her to write this book when she retired so others could learn from her experience to become climate leaders in their communities. Joyce is a proud Rotarian having served as Community Service Chair and President of the Rotary Club of Alameda. Joyce has a Bachelor of Science in Physics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Joyce went to graduate school at Princeton University to study plasma (electrically charged gas) physics for two years.  Joyce decided plasma physics was not for her, attended her first on-campus interview, and got a job at IBM for the next 35 years. Joyce lives in Alameda, California with her husband David.

Karyn Sinunu-Towery is a 30-year veteran prosecutor in Santa Clara County who has volunteered with the Innocence Center. She will tell the story of how she helped gained the freedom for Jeremy Puckett through the Center. Karyn Sinunu-Towery is the past president of the San Jose Rotary Club. 

The Innocence Center is an independent non-profit law firm dedicated to freeing the innocent from prison, educating the public on the causes of wrongful conviction, and assisting freed clients as they reenter society. 

The Innocence Center launched in 2023.  The Board and Staff have decades of innocence work under their belt, all having worked at the California Innocence Project as a staff or faculty member.  Collectively, the group has freed more than 40 people who have served 560+ years in prison for crimes they did not commit.  The team has been responsible for getting a dozen laws changed to prevent future injustices and make it easier to free the innocent.  The Innocence Center is a member of the Innocence Network.

Cousins Peter Teahen and John Ockenfels, piloted a single piston-engine airplane around the world in 2023 to raise awareness and money for Rotary’s End Polio Now program. The flight took 90-days, made 37 landings in 19 countries, and involved 24 fundraisers. Only 702 pilots in history have ever achieved this feat, and less than 270 are alive today! Both Peter and John are longtime Rotarians and members of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians. They are both recipients of Rotary’s two highest honors, “Service Above Self”, and the “Service Award for A Polio Free World”. As pilots, they have qualified for the prestigious Circumnavigator Diploma from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Peter and John departed Cedar Rapids, Iowa on May 5, 2023 in their 1977 Cessna T210M airplane, and successfully returned home 90-days later on July 30. Today Peter and John will share their powerful story of: “Around the World: Flight To End Polio”.

Alzheimer's is a global health problem with more than 6 million people
living with the disease in the US alone. Tremendous gains have been made in
the understanding of the science and basic biology underlying Alzheimer's
and other dementias. These advances are leading to great strides in
strategies for prevention, detection, diagnostics, and therapeutic
interventions. The Alzheimer's Association is a global leader in research,
mobilizing the field to advance the vision of a world without Alzheimer's
and all other dementia.

 

Matt Morley brings a wealth of experience to our city. He joins us from his recent position as Assistant City Manager with the City of Cupertino where he provided direction to five of the seven city departments and was instrumental in addressing Cupertino budget challenges while enhancing services to the community. Prior to Cupertino, Matt served as the Parks and Public Works Director for the Town of Los Gatos, and before that, he worked for the City of San Jose as Deputy Director of Public Works. 

A native of the South Bay Area, Matt holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in Political Science and German, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix in Business Administration.

Matt Morley shared his excitement about the new role, stating, “I am honored to join the City of Saratoga and look forward to working with the community, City Council, and staff to continue making Saratoga a wonderful place to live and work.”

Please join us in welcoming Matt Morley to the City of Saratoga!