Woodside School District - Board Member Profiles

Board Member Profiles

JENNY HAYDEN — President
Email
Jenny grew up in Woodside and attended Woodside Elementary School from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. Jenny moved back to Woodside with her family in 2014 and has three children currently attending Woodside School. Jenny served on the board of the Woodside School Foundation, worked on the parcel tax campaign renewal and actively volunteers in the classroom.

Jenny completed her undergraduate studies at Boston College with a degree in Economics and received an MBA from Duke University. Jenny’s career has been in finance at GE Capital in the Financial Management Program and strategy consulting at Bain & Co.

Woodside has been a special place for Jenny’s family since they moved here 40 years ago. The community involvement and support of the school was a big reason why she wanted to move back here and have her children attend Woodside School as she did.

_______________________________________________

NEIL SEQUEIRA — Vice-President
Email
Mr. Sequeira currently has three children attending Woodside School and his wife, Julie, is also an active board member of the Woodside School Foundation.

Neil founded Defy, a leading venture capital firm in 2016 and based it in Woodside. He was previously a Managing Director at General Catalyst Partners for over a decade and before that was an executive at AOL, TimeWarner, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Accenture. He sits on many boards including a number that focus on leveraging technology to improve education.

Neil is a product of a public school education for the entirety of his childhood in the Bay Area. He graduated with a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barabara and an MBA from Harvard Business School. As the son of immigrant parents, attending great public institutions was a necessity until graduate school, and it resulted in Neil developing a passion for inclusion, diversity and academic rigor. He is honored to be a steward for this incredible institution.
_______________________________________________

DAN SIMON — Trustee
Email

Dan and Helena moved to Woodside in 2015 particularly to send their children to Woodside Elementary School. As parents of three, the Simons are truly grateful to have such an exceptional and dedicated community of teachers, parents, and kids. As a board member, Dan hopes to support our community approach and with it, grow Woodside’s reputation as one of the most enviable public schools in the state.

Dan is a proud product of San Mateo County’s public schools, all the way through the College of San Mateo. He has a BS in Political Science from Santa Clara University, a DDS from Columbia University, and specialty training with a Master in Medical Science from Harvard University. After his residency Dan served overseas as a US Air Force officer and returned home in 2008. He has since taught post-graduate Endodontics and cares for patients in his private practice.
_______________________________________________

BRETT WESTERVELT — Trustee
Email

Brett has two children attending Woodside School and his wife, Melody, is the current president of the PTA.

Brett is a product designer and currently is the VP of Product Design at Instagram. He previously led design teams at Facebook, OpenTable, and Ness Computing. In practicing design and leading design teams, Brett's developed a passion for developing products and systems that meet people's needs in thoughtful, human-centered ways. Brett has an MS in Product Design from Stanford and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Woodside has been a special place for the Westervelt family since they moved here in 2017 and they care deeply for the school and the community. Brett is humbled by the opportunity to support Woodside School as a trustee.
_______________________________________________

AMANDA PEIFFER — Trustee
Email

Amanda is honored to serve the children, parents and community of Woodside. She and her family have been in Woodside since 2015 when the oldest of her four children entered first grade. Since then she has volunteered in many areas of the school, including seven years on the Woodside School Foundation and as coach of girls' volleyball and basketball, and served on the COVID Reopening Task Force. Amanda has a BA in Public Policy from Brown University and a JD from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California where she was actively involved in the Public Interest Law Foundation and the clinical programs in immigration and employment law. Before devoting herself to motherhood and community service, she worked as a marketing manager and a plaintiff-side employment attorney. Currently, Amanda serves on the board of directors of Tipping Point Community and the Pinpoint Foundation.
_______________________________________________