Leadership
Our Steering Group team consists of dedicated and highly motivated individuals with diverse professional backgrounds and a commitment to the success of EBGIS. Each is an expert in his or her respective field. All our Board and Steering Group members are also proud parents of EBGIS students.
Sascha Becker | GISSV Transition
Sascha moved to the United States from Germany in 2000 after meeting his American wife during a university exchange program. He studied law in Germany and Australia, economics at UC Berkeley, and worked on the intersection of law & economics as a Fellow at Yale Law School. Sascha currently lives in Oakland and is excited to support EBGIS as it grows to become a thriving hub of German education and culture in the East Bay. On a personal level, he looks forward to seeing his two children, now in preschool and first grade, graduate from EBGIS. Contact Sascha at sbecker@ebgis.org.
John Mack | Marketing
John is a technology marketing leader who specializes in strategy, programs, and operations for companies in the business-to-business segment. His technology industry experience spans analytics, networking, cloud, mobility, and The Internet of Things (IoT). He has over 25 years of professional experience overall, including industry experience in technology, aerospace/defense, and finance. He currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for ThingLogix, an early-stage IoT company that helps enterprises build, deploy, and operate their smart, connected solutions faster and more efficiently. Earlier in his career, he served as a United States Army officer, with most of his active duty service in Germany. John earned an MBA from Duke University and a BA from Claremont McKenna College. His studies included coursework in Economics at Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany. John lives in Berkeley and his son will attend the preschool program at EBGIS. Contact John at jmack@ebgis.org.
Stephen Moore | Human Resources
Stephen grew up in Portland, Oregon to a mother from Berlin and a father from Ireland. He and his wife own and operate a local swim school, AquaTech. Prior to AquaTech, he worked as a Technology Project Manager for large finance and technology companies, including Visa, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He highly values the distinctly international educational experience at EBGIS and has enrolled all three of his children in the program. Contact Stephen at smoore@ebgis.org.
Kay Naumann | Operations
Kay grew up as a “global citizen,” spending her early childhood through young adult years in North Africa and South East Asian countries, and ultimately receiving her undergraduate and law degrees in the United States. She began practicing law 25 years ago, initially focusing on litigation and insurance coverage work in the maritime/insurance field, and eventually shifting to more transactional work. Currently, she owns and operates an insurance consulting and claims firm in Oakland, California. Kay’s family heritage is German, although her father did not pass down his German language skills. Determined to bring the German language back into the family, Kay and her husband enrolled their daughter in the school’s kindergarten program several years ago and she will be in the sixth grade at EBGIS. Contact Kay at knaumann@ebgis.org.
Kirsten Nordlof | Finance
Kirsten is a lawyer by training and a finance professional by experience. She started her career in the Mergers and Acquisitions Tax practice at PwC, where she advised technology companies and private equity clients on structuring complex transactions. She went on to work as an M&A consultant for over a decade in San Francisco, Washington DC, and Berlin. Currently a Vice President of Finance at Autodesk, she has spent the last five years leading global teams responsible for tax, treasury, stock plan services, 401k programs, deferred compensation, payroll, accounts payable, procurement, strategic sourcing and insurance. Kirsten is married to a German and their two children attend EBGIS. Contact Kirsten at knordlof@ebgis.org.
Rufus Pichler | Legal
Rufus grew up in Berlin, Germany, and has lived and worked in the Bay Area and New York City for almost twenty years. He studied law at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and at Stanford Law School. He is currently a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP, where he advises clients on a wide range of transactional matters involving technology and intellectual property. Rufus lives in Berkeley with his family. His two boys will attend EBGIS in the first and fourth grades. Contact Rufus at rpichler@ebgis.org.
Kathrin Rees | Programs
Kathrin grew up in the Black Forest region of Germany. At the University of Heidelberg, she focused on special education with an emphasis on speech-language pathology. After completing her studies, she worked as a special education teacher, diagnostician, and parent counselor. Kathrin also conducted continuing education for kindergarten teachers on issues relating to child language development, such as how to foster multilingualism. At McGill University in Montreal, she conducted doctoral research in communication sciences, focusing on joint media engagement by preschoolers and their parents. Kathrin has two sons, aged eight and fourteen, with whom she speaks three languages (German, English, and French). Contact Kathrin at krees@ebgis.org.