Our management team brings years of experience in education and nonprofit organization management.
Monica Walters
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to joining Wu Yee Children’s Services as Chief Executive Officer, Monica served as Executive Director of Cameron House in San Francisco from 2009-2012. Monica is passionate about advancing equity for underserved families because she believes that everyone deserves the best start possible.
Monica has over 30 years of experience in providing social services and advocacy to address chronic poverty, domestic violence, and economic equality. In her former position at the YWCA, Monica led a $40 million capital campaign. In her current role at Wu Yee Children’s Services, she successfully more than doubled the Head Start and Early Head Start program, expanding from 5 to 12 early learning centers, to become San Francisco’s largest program provider.
Monica is a proud member EveryChild California and National Association for the Education of Young Children, former Chair (2017-2019) and current member of San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council, a member of the API Council and recently appointed to the Citizens Advisory Committee of San Francisco Office of Early Care and Education.
Monica holds an M.A. in Education, Guidance and Counseling from Whitworth University, B.A. in Sociology from Gonzaga University, and a Certificate in Human Services Agency Management from the University of Washington.
Monica believes nothing is more essential than excellent child care and education for all our children, right from the start. She is committed to partnering with parents, individuals, and organizations across the State to provide a network that strengthens and connects a diverse, resilient community around our children.
Mark Tao
Chief Financial Officer
Mark is a seasoned executive in the nonprofit sector. He joined Wu Yee in 2017. Previously, Mark was the CFO at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture (FMCAC). While there, he helped grow FMCAC’s annual revenue by nearly 40% as well as building FMCAC’s reserves from nominal to multi-million dollars. Mark was instrumental in the $40 million Pier 2 renovations, the largest in FMCAC’s history. Mark also led lease negotiations with more than twenty organizations housed in FMCAC.
Prior to FMCAC, Mark was the CFO at YWCA of San Francisco and Marin for five years. While there, he managed the financials for two legally separated YWCA entities and oversaw the operation of a senior housing project with a HUD Section 8 contract. Mark is a CPA (inactive status), and he has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, both from San Francisco State University. Mark is a recipient of the San Francisco Art Institute’s prestigious Douglas G. MacAgy Award.
As an immigrant who has encountered countless hardships when he first came to the United State in 1998, Mark has a deep understanding of the needs for the underserved community. As a result, he has decided to devote his career to the nonprofit sector. During his downtime, Mark loves to read, cook, do yoga, and play with his beloved dog, a miniature schnauzer named Cooper.
Mike Neumann
Chief Operations Officer
Mike’s career has focused on affordable housing, child care, senior care, recreation and parks, fitness centers, museums, performing arts, libraries and schools. His history with Wu Yee began many years ago, when he managed the construction and renovation of Wu Yee’s child care centers at 700 Velasco, 888 Clay, 831 Broadway and 1010 Montgomery. Mike is on the On Lok Senior Health Services Board of Directors. He received his education at Wayne State University.
Virginia Cheung
Director of Advancement
Virginia has over 10 years of non-profit development experience helping organizations create and implement fundraising strategy and infrastructure. In her previous roles, she helped raise funds for the Chinese American International School, Artspan and Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. She also co-founded Give a Beat in 2013, a foundation channeling the power of music to raise awareness of youth and families impacted by mass incarceration. Her role at Wu Yee Children’s Services provides an outlet for her passion in supporting immigrant, women and children’s rights.
Cheryl Horney
Child Development/Head Start Director
Cheryl has been in the field of early learning and care for over seventeen years and has been at Wu Yee since 2009. She has held a number of roles such as teacher, mentor coach, and manager, and now serves as the Child Development Program Director. She currently serves on the San Francisco Child Care Advisory Planning Committee and formerly served on the board of California Association for the Education of Young Children, the East Bay Association for the Education of Young Children, and the San Francisco Women’s Building. Cheryl holds a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a Master’s degree from San Francisco University. Cheryl cares deeply about nature, equity, women and children’s issues and is the proud mother of a preschooler.
Michelle Lott
Human Resources Director
Michelle is a San Francisco native, born and raised in the Bayview Hunters Point community, with 30+ years of human resources leadership experience. A graduate of San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Personnel and Industrial Relations and General Management, Michelle spent her early career working in the private sector with Conagra Foods, Visa International and Moscone Convention Center, and has spent the last fifteen years leading the HR function of one of the largest non-profit organizations within San Francisco. Michelle is an exceptionally strong strategic business partner, chief negotiator, and team builder who possesses a keen understanding of the organization’s mission and cultural effectiveness with the ability to counsel leaders to enable growth and retain staff. Michelle is a passionate activist with a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Easter Calvit
Director of Family and Community Services
With 17 years of nonprofit management and development, Easter brings a wealth of experience to Wu Yee. She previously served as Director for three non-profit agencies and a county government agency. Two of the non-profit agencies focused on providing Early Head Start and Head Start services to families living at or below the Federal poverty level; the third focused on providing services to unhoused families in San Francisco. Easter holds a Doctorate of Education-Educational Leadership and Master of Public Administration from California State University, Stanislaus; a Master of Education from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona; and a Bachelor of Public Administration from Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi. For her Doctorate, Easter conducted research on the lives of African American and Latinx women who participated in the Early Head Start Expectant Families Program in California’s Central Valley. This resulted in a Dissertation entitled, “A Mix Methods Study of African American and Hispanic Women and Their Journey Through an Early Head Start Expectant Families Program” (2014). Easter has continuously worked within programs impacting children and families living at or below the poverty level.