Amy Sukumar hails from the Sierra foothills where she was born and raised. She made the move south to attend UC Berkeley, married her husband Sumanth, enjoyed San Francisco living for several years, and eventually transitioned to Burlingame for the same reason that many of us did, the excellent public schools. “I believe wholeheartedly in public schools and the many benefits it can provide individuals, society and our economy,” said Amy. “We moved to Burlingame for the schools but what I didn’t know at the time is that behind Burlingame’s great schools is BCE.” A product of California’s public school system herself, and the daughter of a public school teacher, Amy has seen firsthand the detrimental effects of insufficient state funding resulting from Prop 13. “Our district is fortunate that BCE’s annual grant closes the gap in California’s barebones funding. We would not have the rich, well-rounded educational experience that we value and want for all of our students if not for our community’s support of BCE.” Previously, Amy worked as a CPA, both for a public firm and in industry, and spent time working in operations in the nonprofit sector. These days, the first time BCE volunteer is enjoying doing the important work as BCE VP of Scholars Circle. When not strategizing about raising money for BCE, Amy stays busy chasing after her wobbly 15-month old baby boy, and assisting with distance learning for her Hoover Elementary boys in 4th and 1st grades. Additionally, she has a multiracial family and actively seeks to grow an anti-racist mindset and community. Like many parents, Amy looks forward to family downtime, playing board games, entertaining, and hiking. Be sure to say hello to Amy when you see her at school or over Zoom!