Our Leadership
Elaine Glissmeyer
Executive Director
Elaine Glissmeyer is Executive Director of El Camino YMCA. She began her YMCA career as a lifeguard at the Stonestown Family YMCA in San Francisco. After serving in a variety of positions, including Active Older Adults Director and Health and Fitness Director, she was named Associate Executive. She relocated to San Diego as Associate Executive of Development at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas. In 2005 she returned to the Bay Area as Executive Director at Northwest YMCA in Cupertino. Elaine is now pleased to provide her leadership to the El Camino YMCA.
Jenny-Rebecca Saccardo
Associate Executive Director
Jenny-Rebecca began her YMCA career in 1999 as a childcare counselor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She held several positions throughout the Old Colony YMCA Association including Program Director, Camp Director and Senior Program Director for the Youth Division. After a short hiatus working in the for profit sector, she is now back at the YMCA as the Associate Executive Director for the El Camino YMCA.
Jenny-Rebecca holds a BA in Psychology and Business from Elmira College. She recently moved to California with her husband and is extremely excited to rejoin the YMCA family. She enjoys spending time with family, hiking and traveling.
Danny Koba
Associate Executive Director
Since 1998 Danny has promoted the YMCA focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility while serving in a variety of roles at YMCAs in Mountain View, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto. He began his career in child care before being named Sports Director at El Camino YMCA. In 2006 he began serving the East Palo Alto community as the Youth and Family Development Director and helped in the opening of Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA. In 2008 he moved to Palo Alto Family YMCA as Senior Program Director of Youth and Community. In 2011 he was named Associate Executive Director of Community and Youth Development and returned to El Camino YMCA, where he began his career.
Juan Gomez
Director of Facilities and Maintenance
Juan has served at the YMCA of Silicon Valley, El Camino Branch since October of 2006. His previous experience was working as Operations Manager for the National Head Start Program in Southern Alameda County where he was responsible for all custodial, building engineering, security and access controls, monitoring staff safety, emergency responses, property management, and design and project oversight for all major and minor maintenance related to capital improvement projects.
Juan has a degree in Early Childhood Development, is a Certified Pool/Spa Operator of Aquatic Facilities through the National Swimming Pool Foundation, and was recognized as Director of the Year in 2007 by the YMCA of Silicon Valley association. He is certified by the American Red Cross and American Safety & Health Institute as a CPR/AED & First Aid Instructor. Juan also serves as a member of the Board of Director of Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center and Regional Council member of the American Cancer Society Greater Bay Area.
Saadia Aurakzai
Childcare Program Director
Saadia joined the El Camino YMCA in Spring, 2001. She started as a Kids' Place childcare leader, and then went on to serve seven years as the Site Director at Huff Kids' Place. She is currently the Childcare Program Director and oversees our preschool, childcare, and child watch programs.
Saadia grew up in Los Altos and has lived and worked in Mountain View since 2000. She grew up in YMCA resident camps, day camps, and after school childcare, and is truly proud to be part of this organization and amazing community. She has dual Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Behavioral Science from San Jose State University, and in her free time, loves visiting her favorite places: Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Disneyland.
Grace Ihn
Director of Communications
Grace joined El Camino YMCA in January 2011 as our Youth & Community Program Director. She began her YMCA career in 2004 as a Childcare Youth Leader in San Diego. She was promoted through many positions, including Assistant Site Supervisor, Camp Leader, Camp Unit Leader, Camp Coordinator and Camp & Teen Program Director.
Grace has a BA in Art and a Teaching Credential from University of San Diego. She enjoys drawing, painting, going to the movies and local art and music scenes.
Sha Foland
Senior Program Director of Health & Wellness
Sha began her YMCA career in 2001 at the Downtown YMCA in Omaha, Nebraska. She completed her internship there while earning her degree in Exercise Science from Creighton University. Soon after graduating, she had a brief opportunity to serve as Fitness Director on two cruise ships. After that, she knew that she wanted to return to the YMCA and moved to California for an opportunity at the Page Mill YMCA, where she was the Healthy Lifestyles Director. Sha has held a variety of positions with the YMCA in fitness and membership departments. She has also had the opportunity to teach YMCA trainings in Taiwan. She is passionate about the mission and the ability to make an impact each and every day. When not at the YMCA, she enjoys training for endurance events, spending time with friends, traveling, and exploring the beautiful Bay Area.
Jeanette Somo
Group Exercise Director
Jeanette YMCA experience began with swim lessons and tumbling classes as a child. The gentle instructors and encouraging atmosphere were memorable and influenced Jeanette to bring her own children for swim lessons and camps at the El Camino YMCA. Encouragement from an instructor persuaded Jeanette to pursue a Pilates certification in 2003 and she soon after began teaching classes. In 2006, she was hired as a Group Exercise Coordinator, and was recently promoted to her current position as Group Exercise Director. Jeanette is thrilled to be working with an organization that has a mission and focus to help children and adults be as healthy and happy as they can be. She looks forward to serving the staff and members at El Camino YMCA.
Heidi Peterson
Associate Child Care Program Director
Heidi began her Y story in 2003 at the Eugene Family YMCA in Eugene, Oregon. There she worked as a childcare teacher and later as a Site Coordinator after receiving degrees in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Oregon. In addition to her eight years at the Y, she spent eight summers working for the Girl Scouts as a resident camp counselor, climbing instructor, lifeguard and Camp Director in Oregon and Colorado.
After moving to the Bay Area in 2010, Heidi was able to join the El Camino Y team and loves supporting the Y mission through building relationships in our community. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, outdoor climbing, swimming, and watching plenty of Oregon football.
Avery Wu
Aquatics Director
Avery began his career in aquatics in 1996, working for San Francisco Parks & Recreation and the University of California of San Francisco. His extensive background includes competitive swimming and coaching. He received a bachelor’s degree in business finance from San Jose State University and worked in public relations for three years. After a three-year hiatus from aquatic management, he decided to return to his passion of aquatics and began his Y career with Palo Alto Family YMCA in 2008. He assumed his current role at El Camino YMCA in 2012.
Trinh Nguyen
Associate Health and Wellness Director
Trinh joined El Camino YMCA in 2012. He previously served as the Aging Programs Coordinator at Generations Community Wellness, overseeing all aging and healthy living activities. His motto has always been to get people to live without limits by harnessing their fears, reservations and obstacles into opportunities to be successful. Trinh received a master’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise physiology and an emphasis in healthy living at San Jose State. His original master’s thesis on Improving Functional Fitness for Older Adults recently was on display at the National American College of Sports Medicine Conference in San Francisco. His abstract was published in their Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise Journal.
Bryan Cook
Camp and Teen Program Director
Bryan is responsible for directing summer day camp and teen programs, including Youth & Government, at the Y. He began his YMCA career in 1993 as a Camp Counselor at the Ridgewood YMCA resident camp, YMCA Camp Bernie, in Port Murray, New Jersey. Over the next 12 years, he served on the camp’s summer staff in a variety of roles, including Senior Counselor and Program Director. In 2006 he transferred to Southwest YMCA in Saratoga as Child Care Site Director for Discovery Charter School. In 2008, Bryan moved to South Valley Family YMCA and directed all teen programs, the Adventure Guides program, and summer day camp. In 2012, Bryan assumed his current position at El Camino YMCA. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history from San Jose State University.
Scott Poff
Director of Customer Service and Safety
Scott began his career at the Y as a financial manager in 2007. In 2008, he was named the Associate Membership Director for the branch, where he found his passion for wanting to help strengthen people, families and the community. After a brief hiatus from the Y in 2010, Scott returned to the Y as Director of Customer Service and Safety.
Sandrine Hill
Director of Administration
Sandrine began her YMCA career in 2008 as a Membership Associate. She was named an Administrative Assistant in 2009 and assumed her current position in 2012. She is passionate about the cause of the Y—to strengthen the foundations of community— and is proud to work for an organization that helps to support others.
Jeff Maier
Sports Director
Jeff joined El Camino YMCA in 2012 and enjoys supporting children, adults and families through sports leagues, clinics and camps. Prior to that, he served as Director of Youth Sports and Family Programs for two years at Palo Alto Family YMCA. He received a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration from Cal State Hayward.
Jimmy Horwege
Membership Director
Jimmy began his Y career in 2010 as a Membership Coordinator and assumed his current position in 2012. He comes to the Y with customer service experience in a variety of industries.
