Guadalupe Ramirez

Program Manager

Focus: Student Coaching, Program & Project Management, Trauma-Informed Support

Guadalupe Ramirez is a Program Manager for Peace Club, where she leads programming that supports high school newcomer students through mentorship, leadership development, and academic enrichment. She is dedicated to creating inclusive spaces that empower youth to build confidence, develop life skills, and achieve their educational goals. In addition to her role with Peace Club, Guadalupe has over six years of experience as a College Ambassador, helping first-generation students navigate the college application and financial aid process. As a bilingual professional in Spanish and English, she is passionate about serving diverse communities and is committed to help students do better both at home and in school.

Katrina Certeza

Teacher Liaison, SFIHS

Focus: Classroom Connection, Student Engagement, Curriculum Development Support

Katrina Certeza is an artist and educator who has taught art in San Francisco for the past five years. Originally from Manila, Philippines, she immigrated to the United States  while in high school. As someone who experienced immigration herself, she understands the importance of having a community where young people can feel seen, heard, and connected to their culture. She has supported the Peace Club as an ally and through photo documentation. She sees the club as a wonderful community for immigrant youth and is passionate about giving back by creating spaces where students can share their stories, celebrate their cultures, and develop leadership skills.

Kien Ngo

School Site Coordinator, SFIHS

Focus: School Site Coordination, Attendance & Scheduling, Teacher Communication

Kien Ngo is a math teacher at San Francisco International High School.  She grew up in Vietnam and immigrated to the USA when she was twelve years old.  She became a teacher in 2010 and has taught in both private and public schools.  She speaks Cantonese, some Vietnamese and Mandarin.  She knows some words in French, Spanish and Arabic.

Erin-Kate Escobar

Board Chair

Focus: Strategy, Operations, Programs

Erin-Kate Escobar (they/them) is rooted in building belonging and values-aligned organizations with over 20 years of experience as an organizer, activist, and educator. They work with organizations across the United States designing trauma-informed retreats, facilitating strategic planning, and building workplace cultures rooted in care and belonging. As current Board Chair of I M U, they advise and support development and growth and internal structure for I M U. Erin-Kate brings their commitment to equity, healing, and leadership development to support immigrant youth in building the skills to build community and navigate the future.

Alan Lingxiang Hu

Board Member

Focus: Finance, Infrastructure
Alan (Lingxiang) Hu, a former Peace Club leader from 2017 to 2020, is a senior at UC Berkeley. He is majoring in Public Health with a minor in Data Science. Alan believes that I M U Peace Club has not only been significant for him, but is also very important to the school community and the student body. It has opened students’ eyes to the diverse cultures of our world. As a Peace Club leader in training, Alan learned many things that aren’t taught in school, such as non-violent communication and the three-chair strategy (used in external and internal conflict mediation and developed by John Kinyon, based on NVC). Alan also found his best friends in Peace Club. Taught to respect and embrace other people’s cultures, Alan also developed his leadership and teamwork skills. Alan has benefited greatly from this program; he feels it has made him a better person. Alan strongly believes that with these opportunities, youth leaders and participants will make an amazing positive impact on their community, and spread peace and love!

Elaine Yee Ling Liang

Board Member

Focus: Communications
Elaine Liang, currently in her third year at UC Berkeley studying Data Science, serves as the Treasurer Assistant for I M U Peace Club. Her journey with I M U began through an introduction by her friend Alan, sparking an enduring commitment to the organization. Elaine deeply resonates with I M U ‘s vision of fostering a global community that embraces and celebrates diverse cultures and languages. She believes that I M U ‘s dedication to creating safe spaces for high school students to dialogue, along with I M U’s focus on social justice and cross-cultural awareness, is crucial for personal growth and societal development . Elaine finds her role in I M U particularly fulfilling as it aligns with her values of diversity, empathy, and non-violence, and offers her a platform to contribute to building a world where individuals appreciate and support one another in their self-exploration and development.

Mariah Cone

Board Member

Focus: Infrastructure, Finance, Operations, Programs

Mariah Cone, Ed.D., is President of Holonomy Consulting, where she partners with schools and districts on leadership development, strategic planning, and equity-centered systems change. She designs and facilitates instructional leadership growth experiences for principals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders, and supports organizations with strategic planning, decision-making, and framework design. Over a career spanning classroom teaching, instructional coaching, and organizational leadership, she has built deep expertise in coaching frameworks and culture work, holds a doctorate in education, and grounds her practice in Daniel Lim’s Regenerative and Liberatory Culture model, moving at the speed of trust rather than the speed of urgency. What distinguishes her work is a refusal to separate technical rigor from human process, helping leaders make sound decisions without bypassing the people those decisions affect. She leads Holonomy to help educational organizations build cultures where missing voices are centered and equity is a core practice.

Vlada Teper

Founder and Executive Director

vlada@imuproject.org

Vlada Teper is the Founder and Executive Director of I M U, where she designs learning experiences that help multilingual immigrant youth lead and thrive. A refugee from Moldova who arrived speaking no English, Vlada went on to study at Stanford and Oxford Universities. With deep expertise built over 20+ years as a teacher, curriculum developer, and educational leader, including as a founding teacher at San Francisco International High School, she partners with schools to strengthen belonging, confidence, and leadership across differences. Fluent in Spanish and Russian, Vlada built I M U on what she has lived: youth who are seen and supported find success and contribute to their new communities.