Ninth District PTA Board of Directors, 2025-2027

District President

Anne Emfinger
president@ninthdistrictpta.org

Biography:

Anne Emfinger has been involved in PTA for over a decade, serving in many capacities on the unit, council and district levels. She began volunteering with the PTA when her oldest was in kindergarten. She has served a variety of positions (including president, executive vice president, membership, parliamentarian) at her children's elementary, middle and high schools. She has also held positions on the Vista Unified Council of PTAs (including president, executive vice president, leadership VP, secretary and parliamentarian). This is her sixth year on the Board of Directors at Ninth District PTA. Last term, she served as the Leadership Services Director.

Anne has deep roots in North San Diego County, where she currently resides with her husband of 25 years, Doug, and their two children. Her oldest will be starting college and her youngest will be a high school sophmore in the fall. Prior to her own children starting school, she worked as a teachers' aide and the before- and after-school program director at a small K-8 school. It has been her joy and privilege to be a stay-at-home mom since her oldest started kindergarten. Being a part of the "sandwich generation," she is now helping care for her elderly parent, as those needs rise.

When she has free time, Anne enjoys reading, spending time with friends and finds solace in being at the beach. She is excited to serve as the Ninth District President and looks forward to working with all the local PTA leaders. Her goal is to provide support and be a cheerleader for other PTA leaders. She believes that when we work together, we can do great things.

Shawna has two adult sons, and a future daughter-in-law. She lives in Carlsbad with her husband of 30+ years, and her three cats. If you’ve been on a Zoom call with Shawna, you have met the cats!

She was first elected to a PTA position when her youngest son was finishing kindergarten. She has held office (including president and treasurer) for her children's elementary and middle schools in Carlsbad. She has also served as North Coastal Council PTA president and treasurer. She has been a member of the Ninth District PTA District Board for at least 15 years and is the immediate past Ninth District PTA President. If she isn't in a PTA meeting, she enjoys travel that involves outside activities such as hiking, biking or kayaking.

Denae Senise lives in Escondido and has served on unit and council boards for 13 years as parliamentarian, historian, treasurer, president, executive vice president, Reflections chair and art docent. She has served on the Ninth District PTA board for the past 8 years and her passion is leadership and organization.

Denae is married to Mike, a middle school teacher, and has a transgender son who is almost 20. She enjoys art and art galleries, horror movies, succulent gardening, and hard rock/heavy metal. She also spends a great deal of time spoiling the family dog, Leo.

Jemima has been an active and dedicated PTA leader since 2016, serving in a variety of roles at the unit, council, and district levels. As a unit President at her elementary school and at middle school, she helped lead both schools to earn the prestigious National PTA School of Excellence recognition. At the council level, she has held positions including Secretary, Reflections Chair, and President, while also contributing her voice to school site councils and district-wide committees. Most recently, she served as Communications Director for Ninth District PTA, where she continues to champion efforts that build strong school communities and support student success.

Sonya Vargas has dedicated over a decade to the PTA, proudly serving at the unit, council, and district levels. She continues her deep commitment to the South Bay Council of PTAs, where she will serve as Parliamentarian. Expanding her leadership impact, Sonya is also stepping into her first term as Secretary for the Foothills Secondary Council of PTAs. Throughout her extensive PTA tenure, she has held numerous vital roles, including President, Executive Vice President, Secretary, Historian, and Communications Director.

Professionally, Sonya works as a financial representative specializing in retirement savings, life insurance, and annuities. She is particularly passionate about educating educators on their pension plans and helping them bridge critical financial gaps. Her professional journey also includes several years as an administrative assistant, which followed her honorable ten-year service as a medic in the U.S. Air Force.

Outside of her community and professional work, Sonya enjoys cross-stitching, sewing, writing, and singing. As a proud, lifelong Star Trek nerd, she truly believes in boldly going where no one has gone before—both in life and in her passions.

Betsy Mueller currently is on the Ninth District PTA as the VP-Community Concerns and volunteers as the Chair of the SDUSD Independent Citizens Oversight Committee and is a San Diego Chapter-Leukemia & Lymphoma Society volunteer. She has held the following officer positions at La Jolla High School PTSA – President (July 2014-June 2015 & July 2010-June 2012), Vice President of Leadership (July 2015 – June 2016), Executive Vice President (July 2012-June 2014), E-News Editor/On-line Newsletter (June 2012 – June 2016). She has volunteered in various organizations that began when she was 16 years old as a candy-striper at Grossmont Hospital. Betsy has a B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University. Betsy has two sons who attended the following SDUSD schools: Sunset View Elementary, Torrey Pines Elementary, Muirlands and both sons graduated from La Jolla High School.

Coming Soon!

Mary has been active in PTA for 18 years+. She has energetically served at the Unit Level, Council level and District level PTAs. The many positions she has held include Health VP, Secretary, and Member Services at the district level. President, Secretary, VP Leadership, VP Membership, Character Counts Chair, Reflections Chair and Historian at the Council and Unit level PTAs. Her commitment to advocate for all children is very important to her. As a military spouse, she was Military Installation Volunteer Manager, Event Coordinator and proudly served as Girl Scout Troop Leader, Trainer and Service Unit Manager for several Military Installations. She enjoys volunteering and advocating for the safety and well-being of all children within the community.

Prior to becoming a full time mom, Amy held executive positions focused on Organizational Planning & Development and Succession Planning in the wireless telecom industry. She has 2 boys, one who graduated from SDA, and the other from LCC. Her youngest is a special needs student, who is on the autism spectrum.

She has served as a PTA President and various other roles in EUSD and SDUHSD, such as ICOC, Social & Emotional Wellness Committee, SPED Taskforce, SPED Transition Taskforce. She was also on the executive board for NCCSE, which oversees 14 school districts for northern San Diego County. For the City of Encinitas, she served as Environmental Commissioner, Planning Commissioner, Cyclovia, Climate Action Plan & City Ordinances.

Being involved where her energy and efforts can benefit the kids and communities is what she enjoy the most.

Coming Soon!

Christina Hicks has been rocking the PTA life since 2005—basically, if there’s a PTA position out there, she has probably done it! From units to council to Ninth District, she loved every minute of helping schools and families thrive. By day, she is the office manager at a local elementary school (aka the glue that holds things together), and by night, you’ll find her hanging out with her awesome family or getting lost in a good arts and crafts project. She believes school should be fun, community matters, and there’s always room for a little glitter.

Deborah Childers holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction of Mathematics and dedicated 34 years to education before retiring in 2023. Throughout her career, she taught math and science to students in grades 4 through 8, while also sometimes delving into language arts, social studies, physical education, and STEAM.

A passionate advocate for parent involvement in education, Deborah has been an active PTA volunteer for over 20 years. She first joined PTA as a parent when her oldest child started kindergarten and has since served at the unit, council, and district levels. While she has held many roles—including president, secretary, and membership chair—she especially enjoys working as treasurer or financial reviewer, thanks to her love of numbers. As a teacher, Deborah deeply understood the value of strong parent-school partnerships and continues to support that mission through her PTA work.

Originally from Tucson, Deborah moved to San Diego in 1996 to marry her high school sweetheart. They have two college-aged children, both currently studying in San Diego. When not helping PTA units with their financials, she loves to be outdoors improving the landscaping around her house, traveling or spending time with her 4 cats.

Holly Butte is serving her second year as Council Treasurer. She has been active at the PTA Units where her daughter attended school, Capri and Diegueno. She recently was a part of the Foundation at SDA. She has held many roles in PTA, Secretary, Treasurer, VP, and President and has been involved in many volunteer activities. She is an alumna of TP, Earl Warren, and Solana Beach.

David has served as President and Treasurer at both the Unit and Council level (as well as other Unit roles), and is excited to join the District PTA as the Financial Reviewer.

Aside from the PTA, David is the primary caregiver to his two children, supporting his wife in her career as a Human Geneticist. David also works part time for ThirdPath Institute, a work-life integration non-profit, though his training is in Developmental Genetics and he has degrees in Genetics, Biology, Psychology, and Theatre.

He enjoys cooking and has rarely repeated a recipe in the past 13 years. Recently, David started singing with the San Diego Master Chorale and it brings him a lot of joy.

Sue King began her PTA adventure as the ice cream chairman when her daughter was in first grade at the elementary school PTA. She served as the Fourth District PTA District President at the turn of the century followed by California State PTA Vice President for Leadership Services, Communications and Member Services and is a past California State PTA parliamentarian and membership chairman.

At Ninth District PTA Sue is currently serving as parliamentarian. Past service in Ninth District includes Executive Vice President, Vice President for Leadership Services, leadership mentor and Secretary.

She has more than 45 years’ experience with PTA. She was active in band boosters and youth soccer. Her family includes her supportive PTA husband Michael, two adult children, Stephanie and Andy (Brenda), six grand-daughters ages 31 to 16 years old.

Lori has served on PTA for 25 years. She started at Mt.Vernon in Lemon Grove, then Cajon Park Elementary in Tierra Del Sol Council (Santee), and finally Santana in Foothills Secondary Council. She has served on Foothills Council board for many years and nine years ago started working on committees at Ninth District PTA with 2026-27 being her 6th year as an elected officer of the Ninth District Board of Directors. Throughout her 25 years, she has met a lot of great people she considers friends. She currently works as an Executive Director of a non-profit insurance association which she has done since 2003. She has been married for 35 years and has two children that are 31 and 28. She remains committed to PTA to help support families and be a part of an organization that advocates for all children!

Angela Guerra is a positive, people-first leader who loves bringing people together, creating calm through organization, and helping others succeed. Since beginning her PTA journey in 2006, she has served in leadership roles at the unit, council, and district levels, partnering with volunteers to support schools, strengthen communities, and create meaningful experiences for families.

Professionally, Angela's background spans marketing, operations, and project management, where she enjoys turning big ideas into organized, successful plans. Whether coordinating an event, streamlining a process, or helping someone find the right answer, she believes the little details can make a big difference.

As Ninth District PTAs Office Coordinator, Angela strives to create a welcoming and supportive environment where everyone feels comfortable asking questions and knows they'll be met with a smile. She is honored to help preserve Ninth District PTA's more than 100-year legacy while supporting the volunteers who are writing its next chapter. If she doesn't have the answer, she'll gladly help find it.  

Outside of work, Angela is the proud mom of Logan and Quinn and enjoys traveling to spend time with family and friends, taking in beach vibes, cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs, and finding any excuse to create a new spreadsheet or organize the next adventure. She believes that love truly is in the details.

Matthew Cheng is a retired software engineer. He has a 6th grader at Pacific Sky School in DMUSD. He joined PTA membership since his son entered Sycamore Ridge's kindergarten in 2019 but had not volunteered for PTA and had no idea what it was about. When the new Pacific Sky School opened in 2022, he jumped in and served as the first Pacific Sky PTA President and learned a lot about PTA. Since 2023, he has served on NCC (North Coastal Council of PTAs) board as Communications Chair/Webmaster and continues to learn more. He is currently serving as President on NCC board and IT Administrator on Ninth District PTA board.