Manifesto
We envision a world where families are kind, empathetic, and understanding of differences.
Each of us, individually, exhibit a passion for reaching out and helping to meet community needs. Together, we hold to a compassionate philosophy of living, actively working to teach kids to be kind and to serve others.
Within each of our families, we have personally committed to raising compassionate problem solvers. Because our board members’ families come in many shapes and sizes, just like the families across the globe that we work with, we focus our efforts in strategic ways that families can transition to a kindness lifestyle without stress. We don’t want stress. So, we aren’t going to set you up to stress either.
We each consistently integrate acts of kindness into daily life in our own ways. Approaching this process as a journey, we rise to meet the challenge and creatively using resources to meet the needs of others.
Meet the Board of Directors
Pennies of Time is an established 501(c)(3) organization entirely run by unpaid volunteers and guided by a Board of Directors.
Diana has been a dedicated educator and an advocate for social responsibility throughout her careers in banking, education, and motherhood. After several years working with families through her role in private wealth management, she shifted gears to teach young children, focusing on the early elementary grades. She specializes in understanding how young children come to learning, and is currently teaching Kindergarten at The Dorris-Eaton School in San Ramon, CA. Most importantly, she’s a wife and a mom to two inspiring kids who teach her daily about the capacity to learn and grow and change. She truly believes in the power of our youngest citizens to change the world and realizes that family engagement is crucial.
Diana holds a BA in Social and Behavioral Science from The Johns Hopkins University and M.Ed in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
What matters most, she believes, is what we can do for others.
Erik has worked in a variety of careers fields around the world, which makes him good at creating solutions because he views issues and solutions from many perspectives. Fresh out of high school, he fought forest fires in California. Then he did missionary and humanitarian work in Russia and Estonia, where he witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. This prompted him to study Russian and Economics at the University of Texas at Austin. After he finished his undergraduate degree, he moved to Venezuela where he ran a pilot for a for-profit humanitarian organization concept he created. Erik earned his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He has worked in 14 countries on issues from change management, pricing, process improvement, workforce planning, and risk management.
Erik also serves on the Board of Directors for Tri For Better, a nonprofit that supports those with those with primary immunodeficiency and chronic illness.
Jennifer is a writer, producer, mother, arts educator, and compassionate voice for the needs of others. She earned a BA in International Relations from Sarah Lawrence College and MA from Harvard University in Middle Eastern Studies. She writes about filmmaking and about her experiences as a mother and educator; her writing has been featured by Ms. in the Biz, The Good Men Project, No Kid Hungry, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Mama Scout, Imagination Soup and in many other online publications. Her own blog, The Good Long Road (active from 2012-2015), has been featured by Good Housekeeping, Little Pickle Press, Nomad Parents, Kid World Citizen, and Inspired By Family Magazine. Her first novel, The Leeches, is currently in the hands of an editor, and her latest film project, Rachel’s Pitch (a production that was the “wish” of a pediatric cancer patient in South Carolina) is currently on the film festival circuit.
Michelle is the mother to two young girls and a leader in motivating moms to serve with their kids. She is crafty and creative as she recognizes and works to help meet the needs in her community. Through her projects and through her site www.trustmeimamom.com, she provides a voice to support families that have children living with speech development concerns and to moms everywhere that need a lift and encouragement.
“It’s very important to me, though, that I teach my daughters how to be polite, kind & to serve others often.”
Monique is an experienced business professional with a passion for process engineering, service design, and leading teams. She graduated from St. Louis University and has spent most of her career in business consulting and financial services.
Monique is inspired by the common threads that connect us all, including the human capacity for love and empathy. “In spreading kindness, we can connect with our potential as a species to do amazing things and make this world a better place for all living creatures.”
Susan is a mother of two and experienced business leader with over 20 years of experience in Finance and HR management roles. She earned her MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Susan has experience in a range of industries and as a Board Member and volunteer to many non-profits.
Susan is focused on building and cultivating cohesive teams and believes in the importance of kindness and compassion in all aspects of business and personal life.
Sheila brings to life acts of kindness and service projects that kids can do. In her daily adventures of serving with her young boys, she has witnessed the awesome things that happen when kids serve others. She started serving daily with her kids in 2012, when they were 3 and 5 years old. What started as a way to teach her kids empathy has transitioned to a way of life and a connection with thousands of others!
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Special Education from The University of Texas at Austin and her Masters of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has taught in a variety of settings from a classroom in small-town Texas, to a psychiatric unit in Chicago, to the US Department of Education. As an educator and professional with 20 years of experience in working with children and parents, she truly believes that teaching kids to be kind results in a happier family.
Her goal: For families to choose to complete an act of kindness as often as they go to soccer practice or to the movies.
“Let’s elevate the meaningful activities that we do as a family and lessen the activities that isolate us from one another.
