Board of Governors

As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Park is overseen by our Board of Governors. The Board works closely with the Executive Director, senior staff and community liaisons to chart the Park’s direction in line with our mission and support ongoing programs. The Board encourages members’ input and participation on public committees, key projects and special events. Please contact us if you would like to get involved with one of our public committees. We welcome your participation.

The Board of Governors is voted on by the Park membership and serve in active, volunteer (non-paid) positions.

Person riding a white horse and jumping over a water obstacle in an equestrian event.
Woman petting a brown horse in a grassy field

  • Eileen grew up in southern California and didn’t take up riding until she was 40! Now she’s an avid eventer, and keeps several horses at the Park. Her daughter, a former Pony Club member, evented as well. Eileen is the pulse of the Park, ever-present, with a hand in everything, including membership aspects, fundraising, emergency preparedness and compliance, operations support, and board development and guidance.

    Eileen, a graduate of Stanford University, spent 20 years in sales and marketing before retiring to raise two children with her husband, whom she met on a blind date. In addition to horses, she is a passionate skier and traveler. Eileen served on the Board of the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford and has served the Park for more than a decade in varying roles on the Board of Governors.

  • Kristin has enjoyed the breadth of equestrian sport throughout her lifetime: Pony Club, pack mule trekking, eventing, dressage, barrel racing, hunters and equitation, but she’s found her true passion in Grand Prix show jumping. As Board Vice President, she is a contemplative and inspiring master of organization, deftly handling tasks such as spearheading Park communications, promoting thoughtful facility planning and land management, and offering input from financial aspects to fundraising.

    Kristin earned a BS from Duke University and an MS from the University of Utah. She continued her graduate studies at Harvard Law School, UCLA, and Stanford. After a decade in academia and the public policy sector, she transitioned to “medtech” – medical devices and digital health. She worked up the ranks to become COO of Experien Group, working with leadership teams of early-stage startups and corporate giants alike. Kristin is also an advocate for breast cancer research and patient care.

Person riding two horses on the beach near the ocean shoreline

  • Barb, a journalist and lifelong rider, participated in Pony Club in Canada and Africa, then went on to compete in eventing and hunter/jumpers, before ultimately transitioning to endurance riding. Along with being the Board Secretary, she spearheads the annual Galloping Gazette, and assists with other writing aspects related to the Park, including public relations.

    She has a BA from the University of Calgary, earned a Masters at Stanford University, was a News Writer/Producer in San Francisco for two decades, then went on hiatus to raise a son with her techie husband. She serves on the Portola Valley Trails & Paths Committee, the PV Horse Fair, the SMC Parks Volunteer Horse Patrol, and is a past member of the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede. In the interest of having sons and mothers do community service together, she helped found the local chapter of the Young Men’s Service League, YMSL Alpine.

Portrait of a smiling man with glasses and gray hair, wearing a black turtleneck, against a white background.

  • When his last child left for college, Larick joined his wife on a trail ride at a camp for inner city at-risk youth. He ended up bringing home the horse he was riding. This started him on an odyssey of riding in parks from California to Wyoming to Texas and points in between. Larick is on the Park’s Operations Committee, offering guidance relating to site planning, infrastructure development and architectural and engineering issues.

    Larick founded his own architectural and engineering firm more than three decades ago and has completed a wide range of residential and commercial projects. He’s involved in a variety of equine organizations including the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Mounted Search and Rescue, SMC Parks Volunteer Horse Patrol, SMC Large Animal Evacuation Group, Los Viajeros Riding Club, San Mateo County Horsemen’s Association, and Woodside Horse Owners’ Association (WHOA). He earned his MA in Architecture at the University of Utah.

A woman standing next to a large black horse outdoors, with trees in the background.

  • Victoria rode as a youngster in Minnesota, then devoted 10 years to school and a career. She circled back to horses in order to end a recurring nightmare of sitting on a horse unable to go into the jump ring. She now competes in eventing. As the Vice President of Fundraising and Public Relations, Victoria is dedicated to development efforts for the Park, and she also works actively on the cross country course committee.

    During three decades in Asset Management, Victoria worked at Robertson Stephens, Bank of America and Barclays Global Investors. She was an early pioneer of exchange-traded funds (iShares) at BGI, and spent 10 years running the global sales until BGI’s sale to BlackRock. Victoria has a BS in Chemistry from the University of Puget Sound, and continued her graduate work in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge in England. She serves as co-chair of the Pacesetters fundraising effort for the local charity, Riley's Place.

A smiling middle-aged woman with short blonde hair, wearing a white top, outdoors in a park with blurred greenery in the background.

  • Lesa grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and started her riding adventures in Western before moving on to ride hunters and then transitioning to eventing. Her last horses lived out their lives retired at the Park. Another is in her future, but for now you can see her walking her white husky mix rescues Loki and Skye. Lesa is the Board Treasurer, supporting financial planning and reporting, working to keep the Park on budget, and offering advice relating to all monetary matters.

    Lesa, a certified public accountant in California and Minnesota, recently retired from PwC where she was a Global Mobility Partner within the firm’s People and Organization practice. Prior to PwC, she worked with the 3M Corporation while attending St. Catherine University. She and her husband have three children.

A person riding a gray horse over a showjumping obstacle outdoors.

  • Katrina was raised in the Philippines, and as a young girl traveled internationally to compete in Pony Club events. She is now an active competitor at jumper shows. Katrina is the Park’s Vice President of Membership, leading the annual member survey, assisting with Board recruitment and committees, and assisting with the Galloping Gazette.

    Katrina graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS in Information and Computer Science. She’s spent her career in the software industry. Her specialty includes hiring and managing engineering teams, computer networking and web server development. She most recently was the VP of Engineering at Archimedes, and before that worked at Oracle, PointCast, E-Stamp and ChemConnect.

A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, wearing a gray and white patterned top, smiling outdoors.

  • Born and raised on the peninsula, Michele was active with the San Mateo County Horseman’s Association before moving on to eventing. She changed disciplines to dressage while she was at college and has competed in the realm ever since. Michele assists the Park with operational improvements, budget planning and resource management.

    Michele is the owner and President of Peninsula Debris Box Service LLC.  Before that, she worked as a tutor while raising her five children.  She has a BA from The University of Southern California and completed graduate work at San Francisco State University, relating to severely handicapped education.  Michele in on the board of the San Francisco Peninsula Chapter of the California Dressage Society, is very active with the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce and helps NCEFT with fundraising efforts.

A man in a suit with a distressed facial expression walking on a city street.

  • On Rob's 40th birthday his wife gave him a trail horse. That started the Solomons down the path of bringing many horses into their family, as they taught their three kids to ride. Rob recently added a buckskin Quarter Horse named Shiner's Royal to the family, so he can ride at the Park with his wife and daughter. His focus on the Board of Governors is fundraising, but he also helps with strategic planning and development.

    Rob has spent the last 25 years working as a technology executive and investor in Silicon Valley. Most recently he served as the CEO and Chairman at GoFundMe. He has also held management roles at Yahoo, Sidestep/Kayak, and Groupon. He was a Venture Partner at both Accel Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). Rob attended UC Berkeley where he was a member of two NCAA national championship water polo teams and earned All-America honors.

  • Mary grew up riding the trails of Portola Valley and participated in Pony Club at the cow pasture which eventually became The Horse Park at Woodside. She took a hiatus from horses to attend NYU and work, but brought them back into her life when she married and had children, and has two horses now. Her focus at the Park is land management, having spent hundreds of hours rebuilding the original Native Garden, along with beautifying many other areas. 

    Mary worked in the fashion industry for 10 years, then volunteered heavily in the school system and worked on the Horse Show and Barn Committees at Menlo Circus Club. While serving on the Conservation Committee of the Town of Portola Valley, she helped draft the standards and guidelines for the town’s General Plan. Then she went on to design, grow and fundraise for the internship program for the Anatomy and Physiology Lab at Stanford University.