HIGH TECH HIGH FOUNDATION BOARD

Mr. Gary Jacobs is the Managing Director of Jacobs Investment Company LLC (JIC). JIC was created in 1997 to participate in real estate development throughout the United States. In partnership with several developers, JIC has invested over sixty million dollars in projects ranging from government services to residential to commercial. Mr. Jacobs serves as Chairman of the Board of Nutrinia Ltd. Mr. Jacobs is also a director of Next Generation Technologies, and Flourinex Active Ltd.

In the community, Mr. Jacobs serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of High Tech High charter schools, Graduate School of Education and national high school reform movement. HTH is founded on three design principles: personalization, adult-world connection, and a common intellectual mission. He also serves as Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Social Sciences at University of California at San Diego UCSD. He and his wife, Jerri-Ann, created the Gary and Jerri-Ann Graduate Fellowship in Social Sciences Endowment and the Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs Chair in Social Sciences.

In addition, Mr. Jacobs is Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors of JCC Association of North America; and past president of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County. He and Jerri-Ann have endowed the Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs Teen Director position and created an endowment for the senior department at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus. Mr. Jacobs is also a board member of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, Jewish Community Foundation, The San Diego Foundation and the UCSD Board of Overseers.

In the summer of 2000, Mr. Jacobs created and funded the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute. The institute brings together ten Jewish teenagers from San Diego, ten Jewish teenagers from the Shaar HarNegev region in Israel, ten Israeli Bedouin teenagers from Segev Shalom and ten Palestinian teenagers from Gaza for a year long program during which participants and staff travel together to San Diego, study historical Muslim/Jewish relations in Spain for a week and then in Israel for a week to study with a modern perspective.

Mr. Jacobs graduated in 1979 from the University of California at San Diego with a B.A. in Management Science. He worked as a Software Programmer and Engineer at Linkabit Inc. and QUALCOMM from 1979 through 1996, then as a Senior Education Specialist until 2000 working with K-12 educational institutions to enhance science and math studies.

Mr. Jacobs lives in Del Mar with his wife Jerri-Ann, and their dogs, Sunny and Winston. They have four adult children, Adam, Sara, Beth and Dylan.

Therese Hymer is an attorney whose practice included twelve years in employment law at Gray, Cary, Ware & Freidenrich, and nine years as General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources at Clark Security Products, a nationwide distributor.

Ms. Hymer has served as President and Secretary of the Explorer Elementary Charter School Board of Directors (now High Tech Elementary Explorer), President and Treasurer of the Unitarian Cooperative Preschool Board, has held a number of parent leadership positions supporting various High Tech High schools, and served on the board of Big Sister League of San Diego.

Ms. Hymer received a B.S. in Economics from Miami University in 1983 and a JD from Stanford University in 1986.This is a long form text area designed for your content that you can fill up with as many words as your heart desires. You can write articles, long mission statements, company policies, executive profiles, company awards/distinctions, office locations, shareholder reports, whitepapers, media mentions and other pieces of content that don’t fit into a shorter, more succinct space.

Natalie Bantom is the Head of Leader & Team Experiences at Meta where she is responsible for developing the leadership of thousands of employees. Prior to that, she worked in the education field for 12+ years, starting her career as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher. From there, she coached teachers, led teams of teacher coaches and implemented teacher training across the country. In all her roles, she has focused on impact by developing the leadership of others, including her students. 

She has a BS in Nutrition and Chemistry from the University of Arizona and a Masters in Education – Teaching from the University of Hawaii Manoa. And she now lives in Escondido with her husband and two sons.

Lisa is a San Diego native who brings a blend of non-profit management experience as well as real estate experience, facility management knowledge, project management and business experience to her position at NTC Foundation.  In addition, she has a strong background in philanthropy both from professional and volunteer perspectives, having served as a fundraiser for many community-based organizations.

Lisa has been in her current role since 2015 and, just prior to this, was the Executive Manager of a branch of the YMCA of San Diego County.  Before taking on the position of Executive Manager at the Y, Lisa was a volunteer board member at the Y for ten years.  Before working at the Y, Lisa worked for The Corky McMillin Companies, Master Developer for Liberty Station, and was with them when they moved their offices to Liberty Station from their headquarters in National City.

Johnson and her husband, a retired San Diego police officer and practicing attorney, have two grown daughters and live in Bonita. She has been extremely active in civic activities and was past president of the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Chula Vista. She is also past chair of the grants committee of the Chula Vista Community Foundation and current board chair for this organization. Lisa is a longtime member of the South County Economic Development Council, a past chair of the Southwestern College Foundation Board of Directors, and she continues to serve on this board.  Lisa has prior careers in law enforcement as a federal agent, Protective Services worker, supervisor, and manager for the County of San Diego, and has been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for over 20 years. 

Courtney Baltiyskyy (she/ her) is an advocate for children, youth, and their families. She has over 15 years of experience in child and youth program development and is now the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy with the YMCA of San Diego County. She also facilitates the Children First Collective San Diego and is a Board Member of the Partnership for Children and Youth. She helps strategize for social impact focusing on multiple policy issues including child care, expanded learning programs, youth homelessness, and mental and behavioral health services. Courtney has a knack for leveraging the intersection between public, private, philanthropic, and nonprofit agencies for community impact through a collaborative spirit, innovative thinking, and evidence-based decision-making. She holds a BA from Whittier College and a MPA from San Diego State University. Connection to nature through gardening and exploring outside brings her joy. Her two kiddos attend High Tech Elementary Chula Vista and she is grateful for the opportunity to support the HTH community through participation on the Foundation Board. 

Lieutenant Commander Bradley Bowen is a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy and currently serves as the Fleet Scheduler at United States Third Fleet in Point Loma. He is the parent of a High Tech Explorer Elementary student and is a 2007 graduate of High Tech High. Bradley has a B.A. in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross and a M.A. in Defense and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College. 

He has previously served as a Communications Officer, Training Officer, Fire Control Officer, Operations Officer, and Combat Systems Officer onboard several U.S. Navy ships and has completed several deployments to the Middle East as well as the Western Pacific. Bradley’s experience has focused around operations, scheduling, leadership development, strategic planning, and program management. He currently lives in Pacific Beach with his wife and three daughters.