Board of Directors

Annie Noonan, Esq. | President

Annie Noonan is a Co-Founder of Avalon and is volunteering her time as Co-Executive Director.

Annie was awarded an Honours Degree in Law from the University of Westminster School of Law in London, England in 1981. She graduated as a Barrister-at-Law from the Inns of Court School of Law the following year and was called to the Bar of England and Wales in July 1982.

After relocating to California, she worked for six years in the Employment Law Department of a large San Francisco law firm. She passed the California Bar Examination and was admitted to practice in June 1991.

Practicing for several years at two San Francisco law firms, Annie advised employers on a wide variety of employment matters. She represented employers in litigation and authored several legal articles. Annie was Vice-Chair in 1993 and Chair in 1994 of The Labor and Employment Law Committee of the Barristers Club of San Francisco. In 1995, she was certified by the Human Resources Management Program at San Francisco State University. Annie is a member of the Board of The Community Alliance for Special Education, a non-profit advocacy organization based in San Francisco.

Annie has two children, a boy and a girl. Her son, who has had cerebral palsy since an illness at 14 months, inspired her vision of this brand new school so that he, and children like him, would have the opportunity to excel and be happy and productive in a fully supportive environment.

Lynette Mullens, M.D., Ph.D. | Chair

Lynette Mullens is a Co-Founder of Avalon and is volunteering her time as Co-Executive Director.

Lynette qualified as an M.D. with Honours from the University of London, England, in 1987. She was awarded a Ph.D. from the same university in 1993 and subsequently joined the headquarters of GlaxoWellcome, a major multinational pharmaceutical company. Lynette specialized in clinical research and development of drugs for the treatment of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. She was the principal physician on the international team responsible for the development of the antiepileptic drug Lamictal in both the U.S. and Europe . This drug is commonly used for the treatment of seizures associated with conditions such as cerebral palsy in both children and adults.

After moving to California in 1999, Lynette worked for a start-up company which collaborated with non-profit organizations to provide patients with online access to clinical trials. This experience inspired her to contemplate a new venture aimed at enhancing the lives of children who have cerebral palsy.

Lynette has three children, the eldest of whom has cerebral palsy.

Amanda Wallis, B.A. | Treasurer

Amanda Wallis is the market executive for Northern California at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management

With more than 30 years of financial services experience, Amanda joined U.S. Trust from American Express in London where she served as executive director and EMEA Region Head of the American Express Private Bank. In that role, she led a region of over 106 countries including seven international locations. Prior to her role at American Express, Amanda spent over 10 years at
Legacy Private Bank of Bank of America serving in several leadership capacities in San Francisco and London. In 2007 she was named one of the “20 Most Influential Women in European Wealth Management” by Global Investor Magazine.

Amanda earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College and completed the executive program in Leadership and Managing Change at Stanford Business School.

Kinga Czegeni, M.A., Secretary

Kinga Czegeni is a Co-Founder of Avalon.

Kinga holds an M.A. in Special Education (with an emphasis in Physical and Health Impairments) as well as a California teaching credential. She is also a Lecturer at San Francisco State University (S.F.S.U.) where she teaches a graduate course in the Special Education Department. Many of her graduate students visit Avalon as part of their training.

Kinga entered the field of special education at the International Peto Institute in Budapest, Hungary. She graduated with High Honors in 1996 with a degree in elementary education majoring in special education of motor-disabled children.

Kinga was recruited to California in 1997 where she contributed to the establishment of two programs for children with cerebral palsy. Prior to Avalon, Kinga had been the Director of Step by Step CEC in Millbrae for 7 years.

Kinga is a certified practitioner in the Anat Baniel Method®. She is a graduate of the Mastery Program which encompasses children with special needs. Kinga has an extensive private practice dedicated to children and teenagers with special needs.

Russell Vernick, M.S.

Russell Vernick was awarded a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University in 1990 and a Masters in Computer Science from North Carolina State University in 1993. Since 1994, he has worked as a systems developer and manager in the San Francisco Bay area, primarily with Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

Russell has two sons, his eldest having cerebral palsy due to a stroke in utero. His family’s experience in seeking medical and therapeutic assistance for his son inspired him to create more enriching, welcoming places for those with special needs.

He was first introduced to The Avalon Academy in 2005 and joined the board in 2008.

William (“Bill”) H. Wolf, Jr., M.B.A.

Bill Wolf is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lobo Leasing a specialized aircraft financing company focused on leasing commercial helicopters to U.S. and international rotorcraft operators.

Bill graduated in 1987 from Amherst College with a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in Economics.  Prior to business school, Bill was a financial Analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co.  After graduating from the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1991 with a Master’s in Business Administration, Bill was an investment banker and financial advisor.  From 1991 to 2004, Bill was in positions of increasing responsibility at Goldman, Sachs & Co., retiring in 2004 as a Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division and Head of the U.S. Retail Industry Practice.  Subsequently, he became a Managing Director and Global Sector Head for the Retail and Distribution Industries at HSBC and later joined Credit Suisse as Managing Director and Co-Head of the Americas Retail Group.

Bill left investment banking in 2008 and entered private practice, where he invested on behalf of a family office based in Austin, Texas in service, energy, retail, aviation and financial private companies. In this connection Bill and members of his family have formed Wolf Partners and Lobo Leasing to invest in and arrange financing for private companies in the energy, aviation, and financial services among other sectors.