FH Volunteer Spotlight- Amber
By Deepika Gajaria
Amber, you and I have known each other for over six years now when both our oldest kids were in 2nd grade. I’ve had a front-row seat to your journey here as a theatre mom,wonderfully brutal spin instructor and friend. Long before you ever officially became the PTA President, it felt like you were just woven into the fabric of Forest Hill—whether it was helping out in classrooms, running events, or just being that friendly, high energy, familiar face always volunteering on campus.
Deepika, your introduction brought tears to my eyes. I feel so lucky to know you and call you a dear friend. Thank you for all you have done for us at Forest Hill. You do so much behind-the-scenes work that most people don’t even know about. You are one of the main reasons we were able to bring back the Living Classroom to our school… We have you to thank for that! Not only the Living Classroom, but your help with planning and executing the multicultural potluck event, all your hours in the classroom, and then starting these special interviews. Thank you so much. We love and appreciate you!
Before we begin, I would be so remiss if I did not say how incredibly grateful I feel to have been able to work side-by-side with so many amazing Forest Hill parents and families over these years. I know I am not winning an award or giving a farewell speech, haha! But I sincerely need to thank so many people while I have the chance to do so, so please bear with me. I feel so lucky that I have had a front-row seat to be able to watch and learn from so many rock-star parents at Forest Hill!
Thank you to the board from 2024-2025
Sondra Herbert (VP), Fareena Azhar (Fundraising VP), Ana Kolendo (Treasurer), Ainsley Chong (Financial Secretary), America Jimenez (Communications), Viri Fonseca (Secretary), Emmy Bryson (Parliamentarian), Connie Fong (Financial Reviewer), and Mrs. McClean, Mr. Potthoff and Mrs. Barclay (Teacher Reps), Diane Burbank and Chelsea Armann (Principals)
Thank you to the board from 2025-2026
Fareena Azhar (VP), Ana Kolendo (Treasurer), Shauna Pullela (Communications), Roshan Revankar (Secretary), Ainsley Chong (Financial Secretary), Randy Ksar (Fundraising VP), Alice Chen (Financial Reviewer), Flora Wang (Membership), Mythili Malladi (Financial Reviewer), Maranatha Rodriguez (Historian), Ms. Tina Lee (Teacher Rep), and of course Katie Berg and Chelsea Armann (Principals).
And a special thanks to all the amazing parents who stepped up to lead or help in all the amazing events we had this year and last.
Varitka Chandra (Multicultural Potluck, Garden Lead, Volunteer Coordination Fall Festival and Spring Party, Fundraising VP 23/24, volunteer extraordinaire)
America Jimenez (Project Cornerstone Lead, Walk-a-thon, Teacher/Staff Appreciation, and Decorations for Fall Festival 1st year)
Andrew Montez (Teacher/Staff appreciation, Lemonade and hot chocolate sales and all the food at the Fall Festival and Spring Parties)
Sangeetha Katta (Craft Fair and Performance Art Showcase, Multicultural potluck)
Deepika Gajaria (Living Classroom, Multicultural Potluck, newsletter interviewer and all things volunteer)
Shauna Pullela (Being in Charge of all the whats app groups and website and beautiful Newsletters)
Sondra Herbert (All the Book Fairs and Silent Auctions)
Alice Chen (Ice cream Socials/ Friday sales)
Flora Wang (STEM event Lead, Huge help in Fundraising, Garden prep for school, Science Fair co lead)
Roshan Revankar (STEM event help, Science Fair Co Lead, and Community Swap, and a huge help in getting the Garden ready for the school year)
Mythili Malladi (Bike Rodeo)
Heather Atkinson (Science Fair)
Susan Gardner (All things Volunteer and Cake Walk and decorations for Fall Festival the 1st year)
Leela Mohan (Mathkangaroo for the last 2 years)
Aileen Sanchez-Montemayor (Dining Night Outs)
Emmy Bryson (Volunteer Coordinator for Fall Festival 1st year)
Maranatha Rodriguez (Decorations for Fall Festival 2nd year)
Fareena Azhar (HUGE shout out to being our Fundraising VP 24/25, 2 years in a row organizing our donations for Have a Heart, and yearbook)
Randy Ksar ( HUGE shout of to Randy for being Fundraising VP 25/26 and always being there to support and help in anyway possible)
Silvana Tase (Yearbook lead)
Kristin Grunderhoefer (5th Grade Yearbook Dedications and was the Communications VP in years past)
Yuni Lee (Dedicated Garden Volunteer)
Ana Kolendo (Ana has been the lead on so many of the events at our school over the last few years.. Teacher appreciation, bike rodeo, spring party, she has done it all. She is also the most amazing Treasure a board could ask for! Thank you thank you)
1. Before we dive into all that you do at FH, why don’t you introduce yourself to folks who don’t know you as well?
Well, not sure how far back you want me to go, haha! But I am originally from St. George, Utah. I grew up just 45 minutes away from Zion National Park, Kolob, and Bryce Canyon—it was a pretty magical childhood.
Growing up, I played soccer, basketball, and softball in high school, and then went on to BYU in Provo, Utah, where I even got to play rugby for a short time. I ended up earning my degree in exercise science, with a minor in business and nutrition.
We moved to the Bay Area 15 years ago for my husband's job, and we absolutely love the beauty of this place! We have four daughters—we are the house of Little Women. It's so fun. Even our dog is a girl, ha! Next year I will have a 9th grader, 8th grader, 6th grader, and 2nd grader.
I teach fitness classes at the YMCA down the road, so if you ever want to come to a class, let me know! I would LOVE to have you. I also have my real estate license, but haven't done much with it yet. Maybe I will dare to do something with that in the future!
I also want to add that when I was growing up, my mom and dad were really involved in the community. Even with their busy schedules and lives, they were constantly serving and volunteering. They taught me through their example that if you want to enjoy the benefits of living in a community where people care for, serve, and lift each other, then you have to be willing to put in the work and be the person who does just that. You have to become the person who is volunteering, lifting, serving, and helping others. That has always stuck with me. The mentality of, “If you want to see change, you have to be the change,” and, “If you want something to happen, you have to be the one to make it happen—because if you don’t, who will?”
2. Since you were already giving so much of your time to the school just as a volunteer, what was the moment or the spark that made you decide to take that massive leap into executive leadership and run for PTA President?
Well, it all started when my good friend Vartika Chandra asked me to join the PTA board :). Vartika is the most amazing person you will meet. She is such a great example to me of someone who "lifts where they stand", she lifts others, and lifts the school to make it a better place.
When she reached out to me, I was in a place in my life where I could see myself being able to offer a little bit more to help out the school. I thought this was a good way for me to dip my toe into the PTA. I did not realize what I signed up for taking on the PTA board position as Fundraising VP, haha! It was challenging and definitely took me out of my comfort zone, but in the end, it was really rewarding and Vartika helped me the whole time.
I feel like the more we stretch ourselves and take on things that are uncomfortable and hard, we realize we are so much more capable than we realize… Life lessons! :)
That same year, as I finished up being the Fundraising VP, Mohit was finishing his second year as PTA president and there was not a clear person to replace him. If we don’t have a President, Treasurer, or Secretary, then you cannot have a PTA. We knew as a board that was not an option—Forest Hill is what it is today because of the PTA, so we needed a solution. As we were thinking through people, I of course wanted to run away from the situation because I knew how much time and work it would require, but then I kept thinking, “If not you, then who?”
Ana Kolendo so kindly volunteered to take on the role as Treasurer, and I decided that if Ana was willing to be the Treasurer, I would be willing to be the president. I knew we would make a great team together. Thank goodness for Ana! She is so dependable and smart. She was such an amazing treasurer for our school, and I am so grateful for her and all her time and efforts, and that I got to work so closely with her these last 2 years! Ana, we are all so grateful for you!
3. Being part of the PTA is managing multiple stakeholders- Parents, Teachers, Administration and all this while keeping our kids in mind. What has been the most challenging and the most rewarding piece of this journey so far?
The most challenging part has definitely been all the administration and behind-the-scenes work that no one sees: hours and hours of emails, organization, reaching out, thinking ahead for events and communications, and all the scheduling. Year one of being president, I spent many of my hours trying to keep the website updated (I am not great with tech) and trying to push communications in a way that would reach everyone.
The game changer for communications this year was Shauna!! Shauna helped me so much to lighten that load, and I am so grateful for her. She was and is such a miracle worker with her efforts on the website and all things communications. I cannot remember a time in my nine years at Forest Hill where communication has been so great and looked so beautiful. Thank you so much, Shauna!
So, admin was and is the worst part, but the best part has been getting to work with all the amazing parents and staff at Forest Hill. I also feel so lucky to have been able to work so closely with our principals, Katie and Chelsea—they are the coolest and so fun! Getting to know as many people as I can through events, activities, and meetings, and seeing people bring their talents and gifts to the table and being willing to share them with the kids and community, is amazing to watch and learn from.
One of the most rewarding things came from bringing back the Fall Festival and making the Spring Party a party again. When I came in as PTA President, one thing that was really important to me was to help facilitate and bring back more elementary fun, magic, and community building. Before COVID, Forest Hill had something called the Country Fair. It was a huge undertaking with large committees to pull off. We decided to go for it and changed the name to the Fall Festival so people wouldn’t have the same expectations as the Country Fair. Sondra Herbert took the lead on the Silent Auction and I took the lead on the event. We were able to pull it off with a lot of help from America, Susan, Emmy, Year 1 and Year 2: Andrew Montez, Maranatha, Susan, Vartika, and so many others.
The Fall Festival, along with the Spring Party, has really added that new level of fun for the school, and I hope it continues going forward!
4. We aren’t letting you leave the school completely for a few more years, but as you officially wrap up your time as PTA President, what are your parting thoughts for our families and staff?
Elementary school flies by. It is such a short time; you don’t think it will ever end, and then sadly, one day, it ends all too quickly. It is the only time in your child's life that you actually GET to be in the classroom helping and participating in community-building events.
Your kids will remember. They will remember you helping in the classroom. They will remember the extra effort you put into making the school a more magical and fun memory for them. Do something to get involved now—don’t wait. This time will come and go before you know it. No one is ever really in a perfect place in their life to volunteer; we just all have to step up and do something instead of expecting others to do it. Many hands make light work. And it takes a village, so be a participating villager! :)
Forest Hill used to have expectations for each family to volunteer for at least one event a year, and I think that expectation was lost during COVID, but my challenge is that each family does just that. See where you can help; it really does make a difference. Whether it's in the classroom, joining a committee that you are passionate about (Fall Festival, Performance Art Showcase, Craft Fair, Multicultural Potluck, Science Fair, STEM Event, Spring Party), or helping in the garden, it will make a huge difference. Get more involved. YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT. The thing you might actually regret is looking back at this time and saying, “I wish I would have…”
Think about what is most important to you about your child's elementary years, and then jump right in to make sure that aspect of elementary school happens for them by participating now.
When you are involved, you tend to be a little more aware of what is going on around you. You notice others pitching in more, you notice important dates you don’t want to miss, you realize that the school runs on PTA funds donated by parents like you and me, and you realize the PTA funds all the amazing things that we get to do at our school. Don’t stay in the dark—get involved, and you will naturally start to care a little more about the small things.
5. The "Retirement" Plan: Now that you are officially handing over the presidential gavel, what are you going to do with all your newfound free time?
I am so excited to not be thinking about the admin side of things, haha! I will still be the lead on both the Fall Festival and the Spring Party, so if you are passionate about these events, or just want to help, please do it! We will be so excited to have you join us!
Thank you again, Deepika, for this opportunity. I know we are losing you this year due to your 5th grader graduating—we will miss you so much! I am grateful to be at Forest Hill for a few more years to come, so here's to many more amazing years at Forest Hill!