Board Member Profiles
Ryan LaLonde, President
Elected to the Alameda Unified School District’s (AUSD) Board of Education in November of 2022, Board President Ryan LaLonde become the first openly LGBTQ person elected to any office in the city of Alameda. Ryan was endorsed by Alameda’s school employees and teachers, local trade unions, the Alameda County Democratic party, Victory Fund and a host of education leaders from across California.
Ryan’s is an active AUSD parent, husband/father, artist, LGBTQ+ and foster youth advocate, author and PTA leader. Ryan has worked most of his life to create better outcomes for those in need ranging from work in HIV/AIDS prevention in tribal communities to reducing stigma around children’s mental health. Ryan has been active in local school leadership for more than 5 years and is proud of the work the community has done to make our schools stronger, more inclusive safe havens for our students, teachers, staff and families.
Ryan co-led the passage of Alameda’s Measure B in June of 2022. The bond provides more than 300 million dollars to modernize middle schools, fully renovate high schools, and upgrade sports and arts facilities.
Ryan works full-time as an illustrator, designer and mixed media artist with an active studio in Alameda. Ryan’s creations are a reflection of his love and passion for color, nature and storytelling. His current works are an exploration of layering of color in acrylic in whimsical depicts of people, animals, nature and still-life.
Ryan also volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for youth in foster care and was recently appointed to the County Measure A Oversight Commission and elected as a Director on the Alameda County Fair Board. Ryan grew up on the family farm in rural Michigan and honed his art at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design with a BFA in 1997. Ryan currently resides in Alameda, CA with his husband of more than 28 years, Chris and their son Farber.
Heather Little, Board Vice President
Board Vice President Little received a BA in Psychology/Communications from Miami University, Oxford and a MEd in Special Education from California State University Sacramento. In her master’s work, she focused on students with moderate to severe disabilities.
Ms. Little currently works at Alameda Family Services, a community-based organization that offers premier mental health services, early childhood education, and family support. She is the agency's Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for supporting the agency's infrastructure efficiencies, including overseeing the Quality Assurance Department, the day-to-day administrative functioning and ensures agency projects are strategically integrated to meet client and community needs.
Previously, Ms. Little was the Systems Director for First 5 Association, a nonprofit membership organization that focuses on building early childhood systems and supports to ensure that California’s young children are safe, healthy, and ready to succeed in school and life. She also worked for 16 years with the Seneca Family of Agencies, a non-profit that provides vulnerable students with a continuum of community and school-based services, including mental health, education, permanency, and juvenile justice programs. As a teacher, principal/assistant, and quality assurance assistant director at Seneca, Board Member Little says, “I gained a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of children's social-emotional development and well-being, and students' education experiences.”
Ms. Little joined the Board of Education because “I am passionate about education and I am committed to making Alameda schools a place where ALL students learn and thrive, and where teachers and staff are fulfilled and supported,” she says. “I am deeply committed to my community and to engaging with stakeholders in a way that will allow us both to realize the opportunities born out of this struggle with COVID-19 and use the lessons learned to improve education in Alameda.”
Gary K. Lym, Trustee
A native Alamedan, Gary Lym attended Otis Elementary, Lincoln Middle, Alameda and Encinal High Schools and attributes his commitment to public education to his experience in AUSD schools.
He first began attending Board of Education meetings as Lincoln Middle School student as a result of a civic assignment for social studies. “My attendance at these meetings allowed me to understand the important role the school board played in shaping policy for the district,” he says, and also the importance of public service.
Mr. Lym received his undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley and his MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He has worked as an accountant, a professor of accounting, a Director of Finance, and a Controller for several companies.
As a parent, Mr. Lym has served as a room parent, math tutor, lunch supervisor, PTA board member, and member of School Site Council, Principal Selection, and English Language Advisory Committees. He also co-founded a local basketball and volleyball club that provides year-round sports opportunities for more than 300 Bay Area youths and has served as a Board Member and President of his local homeowners’ associations.
In 2022 he was elected to his third term as a Board Member.
Carrie Hahnel, Trustee
As an Alameda parent, community member, and longtime Alameda Unified School District volunteer, Carrie Hahnel joined the board because she is committed to the success of Alameda schools, and because she knows how important strong governance is to a school district’s success. “I believe every student in AUSD should feel seen, supported, and challenged — and that they should graduate prepared not just for college or careers, but prepared to be thoughtful citizens who lead purposeful lives,” she says. “ Realizing that vision demands excellent district leadership and governance, including clear-eyed decisions about how we use our resources to achieve our goals.”
Ms. Hahnel served on the Measure A/B1 Oversight Committee from 2016–17 to 2022–23, including six years as chair, and on the Maya Lin School Site Council in 2017–18 and 2018–19. She also volunteered for the Measure A and Measure E campaigns in 2020 and 2024.
Ms. Hahnel has 25 years of experience in public education policy, research, and advocacy, working to ensure all students — particularly those historically underserved — have access to excellent learning opportunities. She is regarded as a state and national expert in education finance and accountability, and her research and commentary have been covered by CalMatters, EdSource, Education Week, The Los Angeles Times, PBS, the San Diego Union Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle, among others. She currently serves as a Senior Associate Partner at Bellwether, a nonprofit that supports education leaders to deepen their impact and shares research-based insights with the field.
She has previously held leadership roles with the Opportunity Institute, the Education Trust-West, and the KIPP Foundation. Ms. Hahnel is also a Senior Fellow with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a nonpartisan nonprofit governed by faculty at five California universities, and a board member with Create CA, which seeks to expand arts education in California.
Reflecting on how her profession informs her perspective as a board member, Ms. Hahnel says, “My work keeps me in conversation with state and national education leaders — helping AUSD anticipate policy shifts, navigate new funding challenges and opportunities, and advocate for changes that strengthen our district’s position.”
Carrie has a B.A. in Studio Art from Carleton College and a Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was appointed as a Trustee of the Alameda Unified School District in November 2025 and is serving a one-year term.