Board of Directors

Gabriel Marshank

Chair

Gabriel Marshank joined the board of East Bay Montessori a full 40 years after he entered the school’s inaugural class as a student – and son of the founder, Jane Wechsler. A lifelong Montessorian, he considers the intellectual curiosity sparked at the school to have been the formative experience in his life. It led him to study at Yale University, and then pursue a career in investment research first in New York City and then in London. His three daughters were born in the UK and transitioned seamlessly from their Montessori school there back to EBM in 2018. One can still be found roaming around the Upper Elementary classroom.

Erik Housh

Treasurer

Erik Housh is a co-founder and Managing Partner of MRE Commercial Real Estate. Erik’s broad-based skill set spans all asset types, with great expertise in sales, leasing, development entitlements and property management, as well as asset and project Management.

Erik is a lifelong resident of the East Bay, where he and his wife raised their two children. His passions include coaching, backpacking, fishing, photography, writing, vegetable gardening and above all, being a dad and a newly minted grandad. Erik is a founding board member and director of Oakland Field of Dreams, the non-profit foundation that built and maintains Rickey Henderson Field, home field of the Oakland Tech Baseball Team. He served for 12 years as a board member of Noll/Soll (North Oakland South Oakland Little League) and has been the President of the Board of Directors for MRE Commercial Real Estate for the past 32 years.

In addition to his coaching activities at Oakland Tech High School, Erik spent significant time tutoring and mentoring young men, and he has coached youth baseball teams in Noll/Soll, American Legion and at Oakland Tech for the past 30 years.

Summer Lee

Secretary

Summer Lee is an experienced admissions and enrollment professional dedicated to fostering inclusive, mission-aligned school communities. She currently serves at Aurora School, where she leads and supports the admissions process, partnering with prospective and current families, faculty, and staff to strengthen enrollment and community engagement. Her work centers on thoughtful communication, relationship building, and ensuring a welcoming and informed admissions experience for all families.

Previously, Summer served as Associate Director of Admission at The Athenian School, where she collaborated across constituencies to design strategic admissions events, guide families through the application process, and build lasting community relationships. She also held the role of Director of Admission at The Academy School, leading enrollment initiatives and expanding outreach efforts across departments.

Summer holds a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys traveling, exploring new restaurants with family and friends, and finding any excuse to stay in bed a little longer.

Tessa Rudnick

Member-at-Large

Tessa Rudnick brings a deep connection to East Bay Montessori, both as a former student and as a current parent. Tessa attended Lower and Upper Elementary as a student of school founder Jane Wechsler, and is proud to pass on the tradition to her daughter, who is in Upper Elementary. She credits her Montessori foundation for being curious and brave.

Tessa served on the El Cerrito City Council from 2020 to 2024 and served as Mayor of El Cerrito in 2024. She is a graduate of the Government Alliance on Race and Equality (GARE) and was a founding member of the Bay Area Network of Jewish Elected Officials. She is a former Chair of the West County Integrated Waste Management Authority (RecycleMore) and served as Vice Chair of the League of California Cities (CalCities) Public Safety Policy Committee. In her professional life, she is a Manager for the City of San Rafael's Department of Digital Service and Open Government and previously worked for the City of Berkeley and the City and County of San Francisco. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration.

When she's not working or volunteering, Tessa enjoys going on local adventures with her daughter and not-so-secretly loves Star Trek.

Alex Moore

Member-at-Large

Alex is a cofounder of Boomerang, a Berkeley-based software company that builds productivity tools used by millions of people worldwide. His work centers on helping people and teams do focused, meaningful work in a world full of digital noise, drawing from research on attention, meetings, and time management. He and his family came to East Bay Montessori drawn by its commitment to nurturing independent, curious learners, and he has children in the UE and LE classrooms. 

He brings to the board a background in organizational leadership, operations, and productivity, along with a parent's investment in seeing the school thrive. Outside of work, Alex is an enthusiastic home cook whose kitchen experiments range across cuisines, and on the weekends, he can be found exploring the East Bay with his kids and watching Alabama whip everyone else in football.

Alissa Stolz

Head of School & Ex-Officio Board Member

Alissa is a multi-credentialed Montessori practitioner, teacher trainer, field consultant, Montessori Coach, and international knowledge presenter with a specialty in adolescent developmental frameworks and education. In a variety of capacities, teaching has been her lifelong work. Guiding learners both young and not-so-young towards self-discovery and autonomy and the belief that this work is essential to the fullest development of the human inspires her each day.

A Bay Area native who moved ‘back home’ in 2009 to launch the EBM middle school, she remembers from childhood where the Cheeseboard used to be. Down time might find her playing cards or board games somewhat raucously at home with friends and her family: a sweetheart of 30 years, two East Bay Montessori alums (Middle School, '13 and '15), and a collection of animals who have strayed in the back gate and decided to stay.