Our Team
Michelle Griffith, Director of Community Schools & Partnerships, was born and raised in Redwood City. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in liberal arts, then earned her teaching credential from San Jose State University. She then earned her masters and administrative credential at San Francisco State University. She has worked with children for all of her adult life, beginning as an after school counselor, director for YMCA youth programs, followed by a number of years as a classroom teacher, staff developer/resource teacher, assistant principal, principal, and now as the Director of Community Schools and Partnerships. All of her 33 years in education have been in RCSD. She continues to dedicate her life's work to the amazing students, families and staff of the Redwood City School District.
Veronica Lobos, Community School Coordinator, Roosevelt is fluent in Spanish. Previously, she was the RCSD Family Engagement Coordinator and has been with RCSD for over 17 years. She has an MPA with an emphasis in Public Affairs from Norte Dame De Namur University and a Bachelor's in Social Work from San Jose State University.
Cynthia Cardona, Community School Coordinator, McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT) was raised in Redwood City and is a product of the Redwood City School District, later she joined the district as a teacher and now as a Community School Coordinator. She is bilingual in Spanish and English, graduated with a B.A. from San Francisco State University and a Masters degree in Human Services. She has lived in different countries which have taught her a lot about different cultures. Her biggest passion in life is serving others. When she is not doing that, you will usually find her taking long walks with her dog, Lola.
Liz Calderon-Garcia, Community School Coordinator, Kennedy Middle School has been the Community School Coordinator at Kennedy Community School since August 2014. Liz has a master's in Public Administration from Cal State East Bay and she completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at San Jose State University. She enjoys reading and spending time with her family during her free time.
Jose Luna, Community School Coordinator, Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion started his career in education here at RCSD in 2011 as an Instructional Aid at Adelante Spanish Immersion. Once he completed his degree in Public Relations at Cal State Northridge, he returned to RCSD as a substitute teacher. He continued his work, which led to a return to his hometown district and spent a few years as a Family Engagement Outreach and Equity Specialist for Hayward Unified School District. In 2021, he returned to RCSD as the Community School Coordinator at Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School. In his free time you can find him in the kitchen trying out a recipe he found on TikTok, binge watch reality tv, or out hiking.
Elsa Aispuro, Community School Coordinator, Taft graduated form UC Davis and has been part of our community ever since! She started as an Americorps Volunteer, then transitioned to the first ever SparkPoint Center Director and is currently the Taft Community School Coordinator. She enjoys a good book and the great outdoors on her time off.
Ixchel Baltazar, Community School Coordinator, Hoover was born in Redwood City where she attended school in her early elementary school years. She obtained her degree in Psychology and Social Action from Palo Alto University and is fluent in Spanish and English. Her career in education started in the year 2018 at the Hayward Unified School District. She began her career as a Senior Administrative Secretary to the Academic Directors and eventually became a Family Engagement Outreach & Equity Specialist. She is passionate about the work she does and is grateful to be part of the Hoover Community. She enjoys baking, reading and going on hikes.
Lizette Hernandez, Community School Coordinator, Garfield has been the Community School Coordinator since 2019. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations in 2017 and is currently pursuing her masters degree in counseling psychology. Previously she worked with The Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula at Bellehaven School and at Garfield. You can usually find her camped out at the Garfield Student Store, collecting funny memes, discussing TikTok trends with students, embarrassing herself, or on the basketball court. In her time off, she likes to read, binge watch Netflix, and traveling, far, far away.
Last Modified on February 28, 2022