Courtyard School Board of Directors
Franco Garcia is a long-time real estate owner/broker. His firm, Garcia Realty, was Northern California’s first Hispanic brokerage. His knowledge of the city planning process has been integral to Courtyard as the school purchased and moved to its current, permanent site. He is a member of the national, California and Sacramento realtors’ associations and serves as a board member of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce fundraising committee. He is a regular helping hand with Habitat for Humanity and enjoys traveling, music, and guitar playing. He and his wife, Dorothy, are thirteen year residents of Midtown where they are raising Sebastian (4th grade) and Emika (future Courtyard kindergartner), and dog, Lottie.
Chris and his partner Peter have been Courtyard parents for 8 years. Chris spends his workdays on campus at UC Davis where he is a budget policy official advising campus leaders on issues that involve graduate professional schools and student fees. Outside of work, Chris and Peter dedicate time to their vintage Sacramento home and supporting their son’s play on a year-round, competitive baseball team. It’s a good thing they enjoy baseball! The family also fosters newly weaned kittens for the county animal shelter until they are old enough to be altered and placed for adoption.
Marc Porter brings to Courtyard construction and facilities knowledge from his ten years plus as a residential sales manager for Carrier Corp. He has a passion for all things Sacramento having been a fourteen year resident of Midtown Sacramento within a short distance from the school. He is an ardent Kings’ fan and season ticket holder, loves to cook, enjoys great wine, and being able to live in a city where he can walk to great restaurants. He spends much of his free-time coaching soccer, both at Courtyard and the East Sacramento soccer league. Marc and his wife Jenni have sons Ryan and Michael, both Courtyard students.
Julie Sauls has over a decade of professional political experience concentrating her time within the Capitol arena and has worked with members of the legislature to develop both their political and policy strategy. Julie currently serves as the Vice President of External Affairs for the California Trucking Association. She and her husband Jeff reside in the Natomas area with their two children Jack (3rd grade) and Matthew (Kindergarten) and their Beagle, Lucy. Julie enjoys travel especially to destinations near a beach, watching her children play sports and learn. She coaches her youngest son in soccer and spends her free time in the garden and cooking.
Kelly is an Associate Vice Chancellor at UC Davis (in Davis) with responsibility for the campus budget and institutional research. She has been associated with UC Davis for over 25 years as a student, alumnus and staff member. She currently leads a team of professionals that provide analysis about a wide range of financial, enrollment and policy issues for the entire campus. Kelly has lived in East Sacramento for over 16 years with her partner Carol and their two children Samuel (1st Grade) and Michele (future Courtyard Kinder). The family loves to travel including trips almost every year to Germany to visit grandparents and great-grandparents.
Jacob Appelsmith and his wife Beth have lived in a Victorian on Capitol Avenue for fifteen years. Jacob has been a litigator for 20 years, and he is currently the statewide head of the California Attorney General's employment-law section, managing the work of more than 100 attorneys and paralegals. He is a Berkeley native, and he loves all things Midtown, especially Courtyard. He plays in several garage bands, including his 1st grade daughter Violet's band, The Black Tomato.
Corey Brown is an attorney with more than twenty-five years of experience working with nonprofit organizations on environmental protection issues. He spent more than eighteen years as a conservation advocate urging the State Legislature and various agencies to adopt stronger conservation policies. He now works for the Resources Law Group which assists private foundations and individual donors in achieving permanent conservation successes and formerly served on the faculty of the McGeorge Law School where he taught the Legislation and the Law of Politics Course. He lives in Midtown with his wife Marcy and daughter Natalie (2nd grade). The family enjoys travelling, hiking, bicycling the American River Parkway, and spending time with Courtyard families and other friends.
Cynthia lives with her husband, Robert, and daughter, Paloma (4th grade), in Midtown Sacramento in their 1912 craftsman bungalow. Cynthia is clinical audiologist but has focused her recent time and energy on community organizing and activism. She is dedicated to children's health and welfare issues and neighborhood community building efforts. Her family has enjoyed being a part of the Courtyard community and they love being able to walk to school everyday.
Beth Jonas Robbins
Kevin Donnelly