Silicon Valley Staff
The key to our success is the incredible enthusiasm and dedication of the Playworks staff. Meet some of the people who are bringing play to Silicon Valley. Please note: Our direct school programs are led by the efforts of our program coordinators in each school in each of the cities we serve. While they are too numerous to list here, they are essential to the success of the program.
Phuoc Nguyen
Phuoc has been with Playworks for seven years. After four years of commuting to the Playworks Oakland office, however, he was wildly enthusiastic when Playworks expanded to his hometown. He is in charge of all of the management operations within the Silicon Valley. Phuoc has always appreciated how Playworks uses the universal language of play to break down barriers of language, cultures, and socio-economic background.
Matt Hovik
Entering his fourth year with Playworks, Matt is excited to lead others (and continue to learn) during his second year as a program manager. A true people person, Matt is playful and loves to laugh. Matt says his dream would be to one day have the San Francisco Giants field a team for corporate kickball.
Josh Miller
Josh was a program coordinator for two years at Lowell Elementary in San Jose before moving into a program manager role for two years, training and supervising 10 program coordinators. In his role as a program director, he now oversees the program at 32 schools in the Silicon Valley. With a background in Elementary Physical Education, Josh loves the opportunity Playworks has given him to improve the health of children in low-income communities. In his spare time Josh likes to surf, exercise, and travel to new places.
Jessica Nill
Jessica has spent the last two years as a program coodinator at an elementary school in Silicon Valley. Her belief in the power of play has driven her to new opportunities to spread the Playworks culture as a program manager. If she could, she would love to play a game of four square with The Three Stooges.
Michael Tran
Michael started with Playworks as a flex coordinator, serving all schools in the Playwork Silicon Valley network. Prior to joining the office staff as a program manager, he spent two years as program coordinator at O.S. Hubbard Elementary in San Jose, CA. He loves the immediate impact that Playworks makes on the lives of the students, school, and community it works with. Michael looks forward to helping Playworks make a difference in the world one playground at a time. In his off time, he likes to read, sing, go camping and hang with friends.
Jessica Williams
Jessica came to Playworks first as a an AmeriCorps program coordinator in 2006 at Shields Elementary in San Jose, and then moved into the Silicon Valley office to assist with program logistics and funding. Jessica grew up in the Silicon Valley, and is looking forward to one day sending her 2 daughters, Olivia and Natalie, to a Playworks school.
