Kate Young’s story is one of passion and building community. She spent her early years growing up on the Peninsula and in Monterey County in California. As she grew older, she developed a desire for adventure and exploration, which led her to pursue higher education in the Pacific Northwest, followed by teaching English as a Second Language in Seattle and Japan and later graduate studies on the East Coast. As part of her graduate program, she worked at St. Joseph’s Social Service Center in New Jersey, where she learned firsthand the significant positive impact community-based social service agencies can have.

Kate’s love for her family and the West Coast ultimately drew her back to California and her Peninsula roots. In 2003, she joined Alta Housing, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit focused on building affordable housing. For the last two decades, she had the opportunity to build Alta Housing’s Resident Services Division from scratch and led a team that provided food security, youth, empowerment, and wellness programs on a weekly basis to nearly 900 low-income households.

Her commitment to supporting the community, especially during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, earned her and her Alta Housing team the well-deserved Angel Award from the Palo Alto Kiwanis Club in 2021. Kate is also a skilled partnership builder, successfully uniting diverse stakeholders around initiatives like DreamCatchers – a program that is closing the opportunity gap for low-income middle school students in the Palo Alto Unified School District.

Kate coaches young students on the six Cs, Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Curiosity, and Compassion, which she believes are critical skills in building a connected and peaceful world. Kate’s dedication to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, and her strong belief in reciprocal support and equity, make her an invaluable asset in her new role.

On a personal level, Kate is passionate about exploring global culinary history & cuisines, cooking with friends, advocating for effective dyslexia intervention, and Pitbull love. She resides in Redwood City with her husband, son, and Pitbull.

Jackie has been a part of the St. Francis Center since 2001. There are some people who are absolutely irreplaceable- Jackie is one of those people!!! She keeps the donation process running smoothly, assists all of the volunteers, and when not at the Center, she is managing all of our low-income apartments. More than that, Jackie is an integral and irreplaceable member of the St. Francis Center family.

Kathleen joined the teaching staff at Holy Family School in 2019, but she has volunteered at the St Francis Center for over a decade for the Christmas Toy Program and some ESL tutoring.  Kathleen had a prior career working with the Cardiac Surgery team at UCSF and Sequoia Hospitals. She then followed her true heart and started teaching Middle School Science at St Raymond Elementary School, Menlo Park for 10 years. She also taught Religious education at St Raymond Church for 15 years.  Kathleen currently teaches both science and religion to all the students at Holy Family School.

Kathleen attended University of California, Los Angeles  (Go Bruins!) with a BS in Neurobiology, and also obtained a Graduate degree from Stanford University (Go Cardinal!).

Kathleen hopes to bring enthusiasm, passion, rigor, and fun to her students. She is astounded and impressed with her students’ love of learning each and every day. She is honored to have the privilege of serving this special community that Sister Christina has formed.

She has lived in the area for many years with her husband and they have raised 3 children and 2 therapy pups together. Kathleen finds herself fortunate to have Faith, Family, and Friends present in her life….and especially Holy Family School.

Edgar Tenorio grew up in the Bay Area, and attended Santa Clara University. There, he studied Biology and Public Health. He first joined Siena Youth Center through the Public Allies Americorps program. He spent two years as the Health and Wellness coordinator, and eventually moved into the Director position. Edgar is passionate about health and education equity, and making sure that the students at Siena Youth Center have access to the resources they deserve.

Sean has a lifelong passion for learning. He began his pilot training at age 13. He went on to get his private pilot’s license at age 17. Sean attended San José State University where he studied Aviation Maintenance Management. Sean worked for a regional airline for 12 years as both a first officer and a captain. In 2012, Sean took a leave from the airlines and began to work at Siena Youth Center as a tutor. Sean found the work with the community to be profoundly meaningful. He decided to change careers and pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology to serve the community.

Sean has created numerous educational and enrichment programs to expand the opportunities available to youth in the community. He believes strongly in fighting social inequity by providing mentorship, support, and educational experience for youth. Some of the programs that Sean has developed include Pilot’s Academy, Bulldog Surfers, Music Class, Art Class, and Chess Club. Sean heads the Education Department at SYC. He also provides after school tutoring and homework support for students. Sean graduated from Palo Alto University in June with a masters in Counseling Psychology. He is currently working on programs to help address the mental health needs of the community by creating better access to services and support.