Our Board of Directors is accomplished, passionate and dedicated to helping families succeed
Michelle Droz
President
Michelle Droz specializes in benefit plan strategy and management. Her primary focus is helping clients develop benefit solutions that meet a company’s insurance needs and fit within the organization’s budget and corporate culture. Michelle is responsible for ensuring the execution of all benefit initiatives and is accountable for overall client satisfaction.
Prior to joining Alliant, she was a Partner/Shareholder and Senior Vice President within the San Francisco office of a full-service regional insurance and employee benefits consulting firm for nearly 11 years.
Michelle is a noted speaker, advocate, and philanthropist. She is an Executive Director for The San Mateo County API Caucus, Founder of San Mateo County API Foundation, Business Council Leader for Asian Health Services and hosts nonprofit executive roundtable events quarterly. Michelle founded and led Alliant’s AAPI Employee Resource Group (ERG). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors, Cum Laude, in Management and Public Administration from Golden Gate University.
Bob Daoro
Treasurer
Bob is a retired Director of Finance at Baker Tilly. He was a Founding Partner of DZH Phillips, with extensive experience in audits, reviews, compilations and tax planning, strategic planning, and succession planning. His expertise also includes management consulting and advisory assistance. He is a long-time board member of Compass Family Services and has served as treasurer and on the Executive Committee. Bob was treasurer at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture and now serves as Chair of their Audit Committee. He is a past treasurer of the Educational Foundation of Orinda. Bob joined the Wu Yee Board to help with the very important task of providing excellent child care and education for all children, right from the start. Bob currently serves as a member of the Finance, Strategic Planning, and Real Estate Committee.
Jim Chappell
Board Member
Jim is a retired urban planner, and 15-year president and executive director of SPUR, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. He has served on a number of non-profit boards, including community organizations, professional associations, and educational institutes. His primary work has been in public-private partnerships, community building, and civic betterment. He has a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dean Marotta
Board Member
Dean is Senior Vice President-Sr. Audit Director and Senior Management Committee member at Bank of the West, a BNP Paribas Company. He was previously Chief Audit Executive, AIG Companies in Japan; Managing Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Tokyo Japan, Financial Services Advisory; Executive Vice President–Risk Management at Zions Bancorporation and Executive Management Committee member in Salt Lake City; and Vice President-Audit Director with Merrill Lynch in Tokyo. Dean also served as Vice President – Audit Director with Citibank in London, covering capital markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Vice President-Global Markets Audit with JP Morgan in New York. Dean is a graduate of Fordham University in New York and completed the RMA Advanced Risk Management Program at Wharton School of Business-University of Pennsylvania. Dean was born in New York City and among his hobbies are skiing, music, wine appreciation, travel and quality time with family, friends and his dog.
Michael Lai
Board Member
Michael Lai is an entrepreneur, educator, and community builder. Most recently, he was founder & CEO of Tinycare, an innovative network of micro daycare centers that was acquired. Before that, he helped launch Promise, an early childhood venture studio, and was a Director of Outreach at Minerva, a new university funded with $100M dollars. Michael helped start co-living communities in SF, and organizes Chinese / Asian American heritage events. Michael’s passion for education starts from the classroom – as a volunteer preschool teacher, including at Wu Yee, and in college as a volunteer student teacher for 4th, 5th, and 8th grade. Michael graduated with honors from Harvard College, where he studied government.
Tarsha Jordan
Board Member
Tarsha Jordan is a distinguished career educator and passionate early childhood education specialist who has dedicated herself to enhancing the early learning experience. She has 25 years plus of experience working with young children. Her career has spanned roles as both a teacher and administrator, reflecting her deep commitment to fostering educational excellence from multiple perspectives. Her pedagogical approach is characterized by a commitment to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that all students have access to quality education and opportunities for growth. She is a fervent enthusiast of S.T.E.A.M. education (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics), believing in its transformative power to engage and inspire young minds. Tarsha’s role extends beyond the classroom as she serves as an impactful conference facilitator and goal-driven early childhood education consultant. Currently pursuing her doctoral degree, Tarsha Jordan enjoys collaborating with teacher cohorts, schools, districts, and organizations to drive meaningful change in early childhood education. Her mission is to collaborate with teams to empower early learners for a lifetime of learning, embodying her vision of creating lifelong learners who thrive in diverse educational environments. “Let’s celebrate learning because learning is fun!”
Eva Leung
Board Member
Prior to Asana, Eva held senior investor relations roles at Oracle Corporation and NetSuite, and equity research positions at UBS Securities and Deutsche Bank, covering technology and telecommunications companies across North America and Asia. She began her career at National Semiconductor Corporation in various finance roles.
Eva holds an MBA in Finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and dual bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Economics from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She is a CFA Charterholder and is fluent in English and Chinese.
Eva is passionate about supporting early childhood education and bringing her strategic and financial expertise to help Wu Yee create pathways for children and families to thrive.
Blanca Rocio Cendejas, MD
Vice President
Rocio is a Pediatrician at Kaiser San Francisco where she serves a diverse patient population with a strong focus on Latinx families. Before completing her medical training, Rocio devoted her early professional career to international medical aid working for Direct Relief, an organization active in over 80 countries with a mission to improve the health of people affected by poverty and humanitarian crises. Today, outside her clinical practice, Rocio is involved in various community-based projects focusing on early childhood education and early developmental screening, as well as health outreach in minority and low-income communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a strong interest in education, she also serves as a UCSF volunteer clinical faculty teaching UCSF medical students and pediatric residents. Proud daughter of immigrant parents, Rocio is passionate about programs and initiatives that foster access to high-quality childcare and early education for all communities in need. Rocio received her medical degree from the UCSF School of Medicine and completed her specialty training in Pediatrics at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
Milu Maggin
Secretary
Milu became involved with Wu Yee Children’s Services in 2016 when her son started preschool at Wu Yee’s New Generation Child Development Center and served as the Chair of the New Generation Family Committee for two years. She also joined Wu Yee’s Policy Council in 2016 where she served as Chairperson in FY16-17 and FY17-18. After her son began kindergarten, Milu continued to serve on the Policy Council as a Community Representative. Born and raised in San Francisco, Milu is passionate about early education, special needs education, and creating opportunities for these populations. She graduated with a B.S. in Economics from University of San Francisco.
Salim Bensaidani
Board Member
Salim is a finance and operations professional with a strong foundation in budgeting, financial reporting, and data analysis. He previously held key roles in the telecom sector, where he applied data-driven insights to improve business processes and support strategic decision-making. He currently works as a building engineer, managing building systems, ensuring safety compliance, and supporting facility operations.
Salim holds a degree in statistics from the School of Applied Economics and Statistics in Algiers, equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, and a certificate in data analytics from UC Berkeley extension. He is also certified as a Fire and Life Safety Director and in HVAC/R.
This year, he is serving his second term as chairperson of the policy council at Wu Yee Children’s Services, supporting leadership and families in advancing policies for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. He lives in San Francisco and enjoys soccer and community engagement.
Soumya Bej
Board Member
Mark Liang
Board Member
Mark is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, in the firm’s San Francisco Bay Area offices, where he focuses his legal practice on intellectual property and technology litigation. Mark has helped guide some of the world’s largest technology companies through their most challenging litigation matters. He is a thought leader on IP/patent practice and technology policy, in addition to the interplay between IP and artificial intelligence, as he publishes and speaks regularly on those issues. Mark has lived in San Francisco for over the past decade and is active in local bar associations. He obtained his B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Samira Khan
Board Member
Samira Khan is a San Francisco Bay Area–based social impact leader with over 15 years of experience working across the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia. She has worked at the intersection of social innovation and technology with organizations including Microsoft and Salesforce, advancing initiatives in ESG, digital inclusion, and global impact.
Her work spans corporations, governments, and the social sector, where she has led efforts to design innovative solutions to complex societal challenges. With a background in strategy and management consulting, she has also played a key role in building social impact initiatives internationally.
Samira is especially passionate about empowering women and youth, and is committed to advancing equity, wellbeing, and purpose-driven innovation.