Board & Staff

Lisa is excited to join Mentor Tutor Connection and eager to partner with the Board, staff, volunteers and donors to deepen the organization’s impact. She is passionate about supporting tutors and mentors as they foster meaningful connections and help students gain the confidence and skills they need to thrive. In the executive director role, she draws upon her extensive nonprofit-sector experience in fundraising and program management, which has focused on enhancing educational opportunities and well-being. Lisa enjoys meeting new people and looks forward to deepening her involvement in the Los Altos and Mountain View communities.

Christy Flahavan has spent the past two decades investing in programs that enhance the lives of youth. She brings her experience as a community volunteer and MTC Tutor Program Manager in the Los Altos School District to the Director of Programs role. Prior to focusing on educational programs, Christy specialized in marketing and corporate communications for both the non-profit sector and medical device industry. In both her professional and personal endeavors, Christy has a passion for partnering with organizations that prioritize improving the wellbeing of those served. Christy is a firm believer in the impact of caring adults on the youth in our community and she values her role in facilitating those connections through Mentor Tutor Connection.

Jackie began as an MTC tutor in 2020 and joined the MTC staff in fall 2022. She brings more than fifteen years of experience as a volunteer and team leader in school-parent associations and youth programs. She served on the board of a local youth orchestra and has a professional background in law and banking. In her current role, she is responsible for onboarding new volunteers, supporting day-to-day operations, and helping ensure MTC’s systems and processes run smoothly.

As the Community Engagement Manager, Gloria drives marketing and engagement initiatives to further MTC’s mission. Before joining MTC, Gloria gained extensive experience in market strategy and insights at a Fortune 50 healthcare company. She has been actively involved as a volunteer in local schools and through her work with National Charity League. Gloria is passionate about MTC’s mission to help students reach their potential and thrive. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and searching for the Bay Area’s best matcha latte with her teenage daughters.

Fionnuala Loughran is a Tutor Program Manager with MTC working with our tutors in the Mountain View Whisman School District. Fionnuala has a finance and program management background in the public and voluntary sector, and has been an involved parent in local schools and an active volunteer in PTA, Girl Scouts and her kids soccer since arriving in the U.S. from Ireland ten years ago.

As the Tutor Program Manager for MTC, Vanessa Hannan leads efforts to enhance tutoring initiatives in the Los Altos School District. Before her move to the Bay Area, Vanessa was in business development at Amazon. After relocating to California and starting a family, she became deeply involved in the local community. Vanessa dedicated her time to various roles, including contributing to the Springer auction committee, serving on the PTA board, acting as the VP of Volunteering and Membership, Project Cornerstone, and numerous local charities. Driven by a profound commitment to giving back, Vanessa is passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of others. In her free time, Vanessa enjoys running, biking, volleyball, and skiing with her family and friends.

Mela brings to this role her experience in teen programming and wellness coaching. She was a director of Google’s “Tech Day” teen event, where she & her team worked with volunteers to deliver a fun, exploratory STEM experience for hundreds of local high school students. Now, as a wellness coach, Mela helps her clients reflect and take intentional actions towards improved well-being, as they define it. Both of these experiences contribute to MTC’s mentoring program aims, and Mela is grateful to bring it all together in this role. Outside of MTC, you may find Mela browsing bookstores for character-driven fiction, hiking with her sketchbook, or biking to a pickleball game at Rengstorff.

Iris joins Mentor Tutor Connection with a background in operations, program management, and a deep commitment to community service. Originally from Madrid, Spain, she spent over a decade living in Ireland and England, where she worked for leading global technology companies before relocating to the United States in late 2023. Since then, Iris has been actively involved in local school volunteering and her church community. She is excited to bring her experience and enthusiasm to support the mentors and students at Los Altos High School. Iris is also a mother of three young children and enjoys spending time with her family, being in nature, and sharing her love for Spanish culture and home cooking.

In her role as a Mentor Program Manager, Shannon creates and supports matches between volunteer mentors and Mountain View High School students to help foster each student’s social and emotional growth. Shannon brings her years of experience as a mental health program director and counselor to the role, where she developed a school based social and emotional learning skills program and facilitated a teen advisory council.  Shannon’s background in counseling and program management guide her in her role as Mentor Program Manager. She is passionate about strengthening the social, emotional and mental wellness of youth in our community. Shannon also spends her time at the dog park with her golden retriever, grabbing boba with her teen daughters and hiking with her husband and friends.