meet the team

molding the future of our students

board of directors


The Carmel High School Foundation’s Board of Directors brings a seasoned, well-rounded portfolio of expertise, from a variety of professional backgrounds

  • Now retired, Marvin Biasotti was the Superintendent for the Carmel Unified School District for 15 years. During his tenure, he oversaw major district-wide renovations, including: a new library, science wing, performing arts center for Carmel High School; a classroom at the MEarth Hilton Bialek Habitat at Carmel Middle School, and several other projects that revitalized schools throughout the district. Biasotti now serves as President of the Carmel High School Foundation Board, bringing decades of administrative experience to continue to help students who are the future of our community.

  • Lisa Barnett graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Accounting, and worked for Ernst & Young prior to moving to Carmel Valley, where she worked for Fresh Choice Produce as Director of Strategic Planning and Analysis. She then joined River Ranch Fresh Foods as Corporate Controller, before joining Fresh Network as Controller. Barnett was also a partner at Pessagno Winery. She has served the Board of the National Charity League, with volunteer work including the American Cancer Society, (organizing a team for Relay for Life); Art Docent, Proctor for extracurricular math class, and Board member of Carmel High Athletic Boosters. She enjoys competitive tennis, and other outdoor activities with her husband and their six children.

  • Dale DePalatis has been teaching English at Carmel High School for 30+ years, and also serves as Board Secretary and Chair of the CHS Scholarship Committee. He loves students and is committed to doing everything he can to help them develop healthy lives. Part of that is doing anything possible to encourage the development of the Carmel High School Foundation, in order to increase the quantity and dollar amount of college scholarships. Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, DePalatis received a B.A. in English and Italian Literature and an M.A. in English Literature from Stanford University. He has a passion for languages, literature and culture, and has lived and studied in Italy, Japan, and China.

  • Jean Stivers has served as a Director on the CHSF Board since 2017. She is also a former Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of CA, and former associate at Latham and Watkins. She is involved with several local boards, including the Gen Giammanco Foundation, the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, and the Carmel Public Library Foundation. Stivers also served as Attorney Coach for the Carmel High School Mock Trial team. Stivers has worked in operational and fundraising capacities for a variety of local youth organizations. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Stivers received her BA in Political Science and Rhetoric from Occidental College, where she competed on the National Championship tennis team, followed by her JD from SMU Law School. She and her husband David reside in Pebble Beach and have four children.

  • Graeme A. Robertson immigrated to Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1965 from Edinburgh, Scotland. He attended Carmel River School, Carmel Middle School and graduated from Carmel High School in 1977. Robertson graduated from San Diego State University in 1982 where he earned a degree in Business Management and played on the tennis team. He has served as President of the Carmel-by-the-Sea Rotary Club along with serving on the Boards of the Carmel Chamber of Commerce, Carmel Public Library Foundation, Church in the Forest, MEarth, Carmel Youth Center, Monterey Peninsula Rotary Fund and the Carmel-by-the-Sea Business District Advisory Committee. He lives in Carmel-by-the-Sea with his wife, Christine Robertson. They have two grown children: Andrew, a United States Marine and his wife Morgan who currently are stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and Austin, currently living in Carmel. Robertson is a Client Associate with Merrill Lynch in Carmel.

  • Mike Kelly, a Carmel native, attended Carmelo Elementary, Carmel Middle School and graduated from Carmel High School in 1984. Kelly attended UC Berkeley where he played baseball for the Golden Bears. Upon graduation from Cal, he returned to Carmel and established his own local insurance company, Michael B. Kelly Insurance Services. Kelly is active in his company and the Carmel business community. Kelly has also been an active coach in the community for youth sports and at Carmel High School. He coached football at CHS from 1989 to 1996 and baseball from 1990 to 2007. Kelly returned to coaching baseball at the high school in 2018 and was named the Head Varsity Baseball Coach in 2019. He and his wife Nicole, also a Carmel High School alumnus ’84, live in Carmel with their three children.

  • Scott Wilsdon grew up in Carmel and attended public local schools, graduating from Carmel High School in 1978. Scott left the Monterey Peninsula after graduating, first to attend college at Stanford (’82) and, later, law school at UC Hastings (’88) in San Francisco. In between, Scott worked for Leon Panetta in Washington, D.C. After briefly practicing law in San Francisco, Scott moved to Seattle, where he founded a law firm specializing in intellectual property litigation. Scott and his wife Michelle Rico (CHS ’77) returned to Carmel in 2017. That move coincided with the departure for college of the youngest of their five children. Though mindful of the old saw “you can’t go home” because the place you return to won’t be the same as you remember it, highlights of Scott’s return include rekindling friendships from CHS and, happily, living next door to CHS swim and water polo coach Jim Agan. Scott currently practices law in Seattle and Carmel. He looks forward to giving back to a community that gave him so much.

  • Cynthia Buhl was born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula. Cynthia attended Carmel River and Carmel Middle schools and graduated from Carmel High School in 1983. Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing from San Jose State University. Cynthia moved back to the Monterey Peninsula in 1999 after living in Silicon Valley for over 14 years and working in the commercial real estate industry. Cynthia has been the General Manager of The Crossroads Carmel since 2004. Prior to coming to The Crossroads, Cynthia was the Assistant General Manager at Del Monte Center in Monterey. 

    Cynthia is active in the business community and has previously served as Vice Chair, Chair of the Board, and Past Chair as well as a board member for both the Monterey Peninsula (“MPCC”) and Carmel Chambers of Commerce and board member on the Monterey County Hospitality Association. During her time as a board member of MPCC, Cynthia served as Co-Chair of MPCC's Government Affairs Committee. Currently, Cynthia is finishing out her final term as a board member of Carmel Chamber of Commerce, but will continue to serve as Co-Chair of the Government Affairs Committee as well as a committee member on the Shop Local and Sponsorship committees. Cynthia has received numerous recognitions and awards for her work in support of the business community.

    Cynthia lives in Pacific Grove, California.

  • Sara Harnish grew up In Carmel and attended the local public schools, graduating from Carmel High School in 1974. Harnish attended MPC and graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in English Literature in 1978. After a stint as a paralegal in San Francisco, she attended Hasting College of the Law but transferred to Boston College Law School, graduating in 1983. Harnish was a law clerk for the Massachusetts Superior Court and a litigation associate for several years. A re-connection with a friend changed her trajectory and she found her intellectual and ethical calling, working in the field of human subjects research protection at the Dana-Farmer Cancer Institute where she oversaw the Institutional review process at Dana-Farber and the Dana-Farmer/Harvard Cancer Center. Most recently, Harnish was the Executive Chair for the Advarra IRB, and now is a consultant evaluating institutional research programs. During her time in Boston, Harnish raised two wonderful children, Corinne and Connor and was an active volunteer in their schools. Harnish returned to Carmel in 2019 and is enjoying renewing old friendships and all the beauty this area has to offer. She is currently a volunteer at Carmel Host Lions Club, Meals on Wheels, Sunset Center and is a member of the Hacienda Carmel board. She is excited to work with the Carmel High School community and hopes to be able to give back to a school that provided her with a creative and stellar education.

  • Bridget Randazzo has been teaching at Carmel High School for 22 years and is also an alumna from the class of 1994. Formerly a Spanish teacher, she currently teaches AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and Strategies for Success and also works in Academic Support at Carmel High School. AVID is a college readiness program to support students in their college aspirations and Strategies for Success is designed to assist students with high school graduation coursework. Her passions include helping students find academic success at CHS and reach their college and career goals, finding the best-fit college or after high school experience, and building relationships with students and families. Randazzo received a BA in Spanish from Arizona State University with coursework at the Universidad de Granada Centro de Lenguas Modernas, a teaching credential from San Francisco State University, and a Specialized Certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego Extension. She and her husband Mark, CHS class of 1988, live in Carmel Valley with their two daughters.

  • Jamie Stracuzzi, a Carmel Valley native, attended Tularcitos Elementary, Carmel Middle School and graduated from Carmel High School in 2014. Jamie attended the University of South Carolina where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport and Entertainment Management, Marketing, and Advertising. Upon graduation from USC, she returned home and began working in event planning and marketing at Laguna Seca Raceway. During the pandemic, she ran a distance learning tutoring center from her home and it inspired her to change career paths. She currently works for Taylor Farms, one of the world’s largest salad and fresh-cut vegetable processor, as their Corporate Communications Manager. While she continues to plan and design large scale events in this role, she’s also an advocate for the health, education and wellbeing of 22,000 Taylor Farms employees and their families across the country. 6,000+ of which are local, making up 20% of all ag workers in Monterey County. Jamie is active in the Monterey County Community, personally and professionally, and has a passion for youth development and education. Jamie also sits on the school board of a local charter school in Salinas and participates in several other local organization committees and boards. She and her husband Henry, CHS alumnus and CMS sweetheart, recently moved into their first home together in Seaside.

Emeritus

  • Carola Barton served on the board for 3 years as the Managing Director of the Foundation and currently sits on the Emeritus Board. She has worked in the non-profit sector in numerous capacities, including as Director of Commitments for the Clinton Global Initiative in Asia, working with philanthropists and business leaders to identify projects for support, Executive Director for the Global Institute for Tomorrow, providing training for emerging leaders in Hong Kong, and Vice President of Saga Foundation. She has been key in business development for a non-profit television station, two medical research organizations, and consulted for a variety of other domestic and international organizations. She has also worked with philanthropists on strategies for social change.

  • Diane Hanger is a retired Silicon Valley desktop publishing business owner. Carmel-born, Hanger attended Carmel schools from K-12, graduating from Carmel High School in 1951. She received an AA from Monterey Peninsula College in 1953. Hanger then engaged in fourteen years of private music study (piano). She gave piano instruction from 1967 – 1980. Hanger has lived abroad in a variety of places including Melbourne, Australia and Caracas, Venezuela, and speaks fluent Spanish. Hanger's volunteer affiliations include: the CHS Scholarship Committee (2001-2016), and Auke Bay Elementary School, Juneau, Alaska (1968-73). She was also involved in the development of the new library, where she selected and purchased initial book titles for the Juneau/Douglas (Alaska) Arts & Humanities Council. There, she served as President from 1975-76, and Secretary from 1973-75. Hanger is the author of Eve’s Rib, Eve’s Family, Carmel’s Heroes, and ten cookbooks.

  • Donna Krasnow taught at Carmel High from 1987 until her retirement in 2004. She taught a variety of social studies classes, served as department chair, was a member of the Carmel High School Scholarship Committee and supported the development of the Carmel High School Foundation. She now lives in Portland, Oregon to be close to her grandsons, the joy of her life, and has used retirement to see much of the world.

  • Ron Stoney is the Founder of the Carmel High School Foundation and served as its Chairman for fifteen years. Dr. Stoney is a retired vascular surgeon and Emeritus Professor of Surgery at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He is a graduate of CHS, class of 1951, attended Santa Clara University with a B.S. in biology in 1955, and received his M.D. from the University of California San Francisco in 1959. Dr. Stoney is the Trustee and co-founder of Pacific Vascular Research Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing death and disability from vascular diseases. He is a trustee for the Myelin Repair Foundation, a health advocacy advisor and a long time member of the CHS Scholarship Committee. Dr. Stoney has a passion for education, and for supporting our local youth through providing academic opportunities that may otherwise not be available to all students.

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