Shamala Hinrichsen is a medical scientist by training having worked in research organizations, corporate, biotechs, and at policy level for governments.
Board of Directors
GISSV is a California nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Directors comprised of GISSV parent volunteers. Elected by its Society, the Board legally represents GISSV, while also establishing the strategic direction for the school. The Board consists of 11 members, each of whom is elected to serve a term of three years. Members of the Board can be elected for up to three three-year terms with a two-year break in services after the second term. The Board holds regular meetings to perform its duties as specified in the By-Laws (amended and restated on May 5, 2022) and in accordance with the Board-adopted Business Rules and Code of Conduct.
Organizational matters are regulated and approved by the Board in coordination with the Head of School. On behalf of the GISSV Board, the Head of School is responsible for the daily management of the school. The GISSV Head of School as well as a representative of the German Consulate General in San Francisco attend Board meetings as non-voting members.
Upon resolution of the Board, additional persons may participate in an advisory capacity during Board meetings, or may be consulted on individual topics on the agenda. Typical guests are the Head of School, the Head of Administration and the Parent Association (PA) presidents or their representatives. The PA presidents present topics related to the school community as discussed at PA meetings for consideration by the Board.
2024-2025 Board of Directors
- Shamala Hinrichsen, President
- Brigitte Binkert, Vice President
- Zouhair Belkoura, Treasurer
- Lisa Gimbel, Vice Treasurer
- Rachel Beckert, Secretary
- Zahar Barth-Manzoori, Vice Secretary
- Onur Cinar
- Matthias Grundmann
- Holger Ippach
- Berna Nicklisch
- Keerthi Vishnudas
MEET THE 2024-2025 BOARD MEMBERS
Brigitte is currently the owner and principal at Binkert Law, a boutique law firm specializing in wills and trusts, probates and trust administration in Mountain View.
Dr. Zouhair Belkoura was born in Germany and raised in Karlsruhe where he attended the European School, an international K-12.
Lisa is a CPA with 20+ years of experience at KPMG, DocuSign, Salesforce and is now the Chief Accounting Officer for PubMatic, a publicly traded company.
Rachel Beckert is an attorney and small time real estate investor. She previously served on GISSV's Board of Directors from 2013 - 2019.
Zahar Barth-Manzoori is the Director of the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) in San Francisco.
Onur has two decades of engineering leadership experience gained from prominent roles at leading high-tech firms in Silicon Valley, including Google, Skype, Microsoft, and Samsung. He is also recognized for his contributions as an author of several technology books focusing on mobile application development.
Matthias serves as a Director of Research at Google, leading a dynamic team of 100+ professionals/experts. With a passion for innovation and technology, Matthias shapes the development of industry-leading on-device machine learning and artificial intelligence platforms and solutions.
Holger Ippach is a General Manager with significant experience defining the business strategy for sales, marketing, and operations for leading hardware and software technology companies.
Berna Nicklisch is the founder and owner of merhabakids, an online language program for kids.
Keerthi is an Indian American, imaging scientist, and a Californian passionate about health and wellness.