Board Of Directors
Patrick Connor has been a Board member since January 2012 and is Chair of the Marketing Committee. Patrick has held executive positions with top companies in the entertainment, consumer package goods and fundraising industries. Most recently, he was Managing Director of The Ride to Conquer Cancer that raised over $120 million for four cancer foundations in three years. He has hands-on experience at all stages in the integration of brands, consumer products and causes into the marketplace. He earned his BS from Northwestern University and MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Patrick and his wife Carolyn live in Pasadena, California with their 3-year old daughter and 1-year old son. Patrick attends weekly RIE Parent-Infant Guidance classes with his son.
Polly Elam (President), RIE Associate and Early Childhood Consultant, has served on the Board of Directors since 1986. She has previous experience as a Regional Child Development Program Administrator and Community College Instructor. She is a PITC Graduate and Partners for Quality Instructor and has worked extensively with both parents and child care professionals, both nationally and internationally. Polly served on the California Association for the Education of Young Children State Board of Directors, 1988–1997.
Marc Futterman (Secretary) has participated in numerous RIE Board efforts including the Governance Committee; branding and website development; strategic plan; facility move; and developed a building program, design criteria, and preliminary concept design for a new RIE home. A Los Angeles native, Marc has a Bachelor of Science (Architecture) from USC and a Master of Philosophy in Urban Design and Regional Planning from Edinburgh University. After a successful career in real estate development, Marc is now an entrepreneur with a start-up company that provides web-based market analytics and business intelligence software to public libraries, public agencies, and companies nationally. Marc and his wife Mayee live in Encino, California with their eight year old son Jake, a “RIE baby.” Marc loves coaching Jake’s baseball, soccer, and basketball teams and is learning how to be Jake’s golf caddy.
Deborah Greenwald joined WestEd in 2002 as a Senior Program Associate at the Center for Child and Family Studies. She directs the Infant/Toddler Guidelines Project for the California Department of Education and is a faculty member of the Program for Infant/Toddler Caregiver Institutes. Prior to working at WestEd, Greenwald spent 15 years in infant/toddler group care. She also taught Parent-Infant Guidance classes and was an infant/toddler specialist in a resource and referral agency. Deborah received a BA in Child Development from Humboldt State University and an MA in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. She also holds certificates from the American Montessori Society and Resources for Infant Educarers. She edits the Educaring newsletter for RIE and provides training on infant toddler care and development around the country. Deborah resides in Pensacola, Florida.
Irving Michael Gustilo, CPA (Treasurer) has over 20 years experience in tax, accounting and business planning. He has a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Drexel University. Irving started his career in public accounting in New York with Eisner LLP in 1988 and became a CPA in 1994. He has since held positions in publicly-traded and privately-held companies. Irving was the Controller of Forever 21, Controller and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Accounting Manager of Health Valley Foods and Senior Financial Analyst at Nestlé USA.
Ruth Anne Hammond is the author of Respecting Babies: A New Look at Magda Gerber’s RIE Approach (Zero to Three, 2009). She is a specialist in infant/toddler development and caregiving, and has been leading the Pacific Oaks Infant-Toddler/Parent Program in Pasadena since 1996. She is President of the RIE Board of Directors and a RIE mentor/teacher, having studied under its founder, Magda Gerber. Ruth Anne also teaches in the Human Development Department of Pacific Oaks College, and currently studies affective neuroscience under Dr. Allan N. Schore of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
Janet Lansbury is thrilled to be introducing a global audience to RIE’s Educaring™ Approach through her blog http://janetlansbury.com. She was introduced to RIE 18 years ago when her daughter was three months old. She went on to study with Magda Gerber and became a Parent-Infant Guidance Class Facilitator in 1994. Janet has served on the Board of Directors for 15 years, currently volunteering as Parent-Infant Guidance Class Coordinator. Besides writing about RIE, she enjoys teaching two weekly classes at RIE and spending time with her three RIE babies, ages 18, 14 and 9.
Sonny Lulla is a Senior Vice President of Guggenheim Global Infrastructure Company (GGIC) and has over 17 years of experience in infrastructure M&A, operations, and financing. Sonny also serves as CEO of Infrastructure India plc. Prior to co-founding GGIC, Sonny was employed by The AES Corporation where he was President of AES Brasil Energia with responsibility for several businesses in Brazil generating over US$1 billion in annual revenue. Additionally, Sonny served as special assistant to the chairman of AES, was responsible for the US$2.4 billion restructuring of AES’ investment in Eletropaulo and Light, and led numerous acquisitions in the US and Latin America. Sonny held positions in power and utilities financing and operations at Morgan Stanley, CMS Energy Corporation and Credit Suisse First Boston. He lives with his wife and daughter in San Marino, California.
Elizabeth Memel (Vice President) is a RIE Mentor Teacher who began years of studying with Magda Gerber in 1984, is Vice President of RIE’s Board of Directors and has facilitated Parent-Infant Guidance classes for over twenty-five years. Liz instructs all the RIE adult education programs, including outreach certification training in Arizona. Having studied at the Pikler Institute in 1993, Liz was a presenter at the 2004 Pikler Symposium in Budapest and a contributing writer to Authentic Relationships In Group Care for Infants and Toddlers, RIE Principles Into Practice. With her MA from Pacific Oaks College in Human Development, specialization in infants and toddlers, Liz was adjunct instructor in the child development department at Los Angeles City College for fourteen years. In 2007 she designed and implemented a thriving community non-profit Parent/Infant/Toddler space near Ojai, California where she lives.
Mendes Napoli is the president and owner of Napoli Management Group, one of the premier broadcast talent representation firms in the country. Mr. Napoli founded NMG because he wanted to put his broadcast management expertise to work helping on-air talent further their careers. Napoli Management Group represents 475 of the most talented broadcast journalists in the industry, working at all levels of the media. When Mr. Napoli founded NMG in 1993, he brought with him more than 23 years of experience and expertise in the broadcast industry as a general manager, news director and corporate executive. A Pennsylvania native, Mr. Napoli graduated from Cleveland State University with a BA in communications in 1973. Mr. Napoli has served on the board of various nonprofit organizations over the years. He recently served two terms as Chairman of the Board of Gay Lesbian Elder Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and developing affordable housing for GLBT seniors. Mendes Napoli and his partner are the proud RIE parents of twins, a boy and girl. The family currently resides in Los Angeles.
Dave Ryan (Chair) joined the board in 2001 and helps RIE stay consistently focused on its vision and strategic direction. He pays particular attention to leadership development, financial sustainability, marketing expansion and good governance. A 27-year veteran of the high tech industry at IBM and Intel, Dave has held technical, marketing and executive roles focused on ramping new businesses globally across multiple industries. At Intel, he currently leads exploration of new healthcare businesses. He lives in Fair Oaks, California with his wife Patricia Ryan (RIE Associate) and their 13-year old “RIE baby” daughter. Dave earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University. He is a Trustee of the Sacramento Country Day School and a guest lecturer at California State University Sacramento. 
Tracy Silver represents clients in all areas of business, entertainment, intellectual property and employment law. Ms. Silver received her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1993 and was awarded a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. Recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as a “Rising Star” in its “Super Lawyer” issues, Ms. Silver has published various legal articles, including in Los Angeles’ esteemed legal newspaper, the Daily Journal.
Deborah Carlisle Solomon (Los Angeles, California) has been a RIE Associate since 2004 and Executive Director of RIE since 2006. She teaches the RIE Foundations, Parent-Infant Guidance, Before Baby and Nurturing Nanny courses. Deborah has presented at various national and international conferences and workshops, and studied at the Pikler Institute in 2005 and 2006. Prior to her work at RIE, Deborah produced in various formats, including theatre and special events. Deborah.Solomon@rie.org
Honorary Lifetime Board Members
Ruth Money is a RIE Foundations Mentor Teacher, and an Honorary Lifetime member of the Board of Directors. She worked as a psychologist (MA) before getting into preventive work in early childhood education. Ruth met Magda Gerber in 1985 and became her student and friend. Ruth founded the first RIE Demonstration Infant-Toddler Care Center in 1988 which functioned for ten years. Ruth and three fellow RIE Associates established a Sacramento hub offering RIE Foundations training and workshops, a Parent-Infant Guidance class, consultation to infant/toddler programs in center care, and a home-based care program. Ruth lives in Carmichael, California.
Carol Pinto, who provided the garage where Magda Gerber taught her first Parent-Infant Guidance class many decades ago, graduated from RIE in 1981 and was a member of the Board of Directors from 1980 to 2009, serving as President for many years. She is a RIE Foundations Mentor Teacher and Parent-Infant Guidance Class Facilitator. Carol studied at the Pikler Institute in 1986, 1996, 2002 and 2006 and was a speaker and presenter at the 2004 Pikler Symposium. She is also a Feldenkrais Practitioner (GCFP). Carol lives in Los Angeles, California.