MPA Advisory Board

Gabe Aponte serves as the Learning and Development Manager for the County of San Mateo’s Human Resources Department. In this role, he is responsible for the countywide implementation of the organization’s various development strategies and initiatives. Prior to his appointment in 2022, Gabe served in various technical, analyst, and program management roles with the County since 2008. In addition to serving as Vice President for PSHRA’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, Gabe leads the Regional Training and Development Consortium’s Planning Committee. Gabe graduated with his MPA from San Francisco State University in 2013 and is an IPMA-HR Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP).

Deputy Director, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, and Director, Children’s Waiting Rooms, San Francisco, California

A recognized advocate for a humane criminal justice system, Dinky is co-author of Renewing Juvenile Justice, which offered model designs for juvenile justice reforms. Dinky is an alumna of our MPA program.

Assistant Director, United States Government Accountability Office

As the GAO provides Congress, heads of agencies, and the public with timely, non-partisan information, Erin has led its various research efforts in the areas of education, workforce and income security issues.

Traci Lester is a long-time nonprofit executive currently working as a consultant to philanthropies and nonprofit organizations. She was most recently the Executive Director of The Center for Fiction, a literary arts organization. Before that, she was the Executive Director of National Dance Institute (NDI), an arts education organization founded by legendary dancer Jacques d’Amboise in the belief that every child should have access to learning in and through the arts. She has also held other leadership roles, including Executive Director of Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, an early literacy, school readiness program.

Traci has been recognized by the Manhattan Borough President as a Cultural Leader in New York City. She is the recipient of the American Association of University Women’s Selected Professions Fellowship, the National Association of Health Service Executive’s Community Service Award, and was named to TheGrio’s 100 List as an African-American history maker and industry leader in the field of education. She is also a member of the American Society for Public Administrators Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society. In addition, she serves as Board Co-Chair of The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable.

She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers University, a Master of Public Administration degree from San Francisco State University, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University's Institute for Nonprofit Management. Additionally, she is currently pursuing an EdD in Leadership and Innovation at New York University.

City Councilor, Daly City, California

Juslyn is one of our recent MPA alumni to have successfully held elective office in the Bay Area. Before running for her Daly City post, Juslyn was recognized for her housing and organizing service among low-income and Filipino-American communities.

Economic Development Manager, Meta (formerly Facebook)

Lesley provides the Board with a unique perspective from the tech industry. In her role as Data Center Economic Development Manager, Lesley leverages her background in economic development strategy, public policy and state and local tax to help drive economic impact in the data center communities that Meta calls home. Prior to joining Meta, Lesley was a Tax Manager with Deloitte’s Multistate Credits and Incentives practice, where she helped set up the recruitment pipeline for other MPA candidates. Lesley is an alumna of our MPA program and is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD).

Principal at Neu Consulting

Her experience includes being an Executive Director for two Bay Area nonprofits (Young Audiences of the Bay Area, Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula).  Regina has also taught nonprofit administration courses at the undergraduate and graduate level at SFSU and at CSU East Bay. She has also been working as a consultant, primarily with small to mid-sized nonprofits, helping increase their efficiency, manage change, and overcome challenges. Her expertise is in board development (training and facilitation), transition management, leadership coaching, needs assessment, and strategic planning.

Newly appointed Director of Administrative Services, City of Livermore, California

Highly experienced in steering the administrative, budgeting, and financial activities of different types of public agencies, most recently the City of Pleasanton, Tina is also an alumna of our MPA program.

Regional Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor

Chris is a skilled federal executive in data analysis, strategic planning, and communication. He graduated from our MPA program with Distinction and co-led efforts in arriving at our program tagline, Passion.Skill.Leadership.

Director of Student Equity and Success, Mission College, California

Ken provides leadership and direction of Mission College’s Office of Student Equity and Success which oversees campuswide diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism efforts. He seeks to continue his life’s work of transforming institutions through centering the needs of BIPOC communities while decentering whiteness with an equity, anti-racism, social justice lens.

Human Resources Director, City of Burlingame, California

Maria has over 30 years of Human Resources administration experience at the state and local government level, with increasing responsibilities in public agency education and hospitality. She has broad project management experience in local government, including oversight of franchise agreements, liaising with public transit agencies, and working collaboratively with internal departments and external stakeholders. She also obtained the SFSU MPA degree with Distinction.

Jim Schutz held the title of City Manager or Assistant City Manager for about 20 years of his over 30-year career. He has worked in municipal government in cities as small as 20,000 residents and as large as a million residents. Jim has a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California Santa Barbara in Environmental Studies with a concentration in City Planning. Jim has published over a dozen articles on local government issues such as governance, executive leadership, strategic planning, and retail development. He has international professional experience through serving in the US Peace Corps in West Africa and participating in exchange work programs in Australia and Cambodia.