Our Team

5 Poletto dogs on patio

Sarah Sande Poletto

Co-Executive Director

Sarah shares the Co-Executive Directorship for The Blue Rose Foundation with Hilarie Sander.  

Sarah has a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington where she met and became fast friends with her Co-Executive Director, Hilarie.  Sarah has a MNA (Master’s in Nonprofit Administration) from the University of San Francisco.   

Sarah started working in the nonprofit sector with her father in Uganda. She fell in love with the county and the work while living in Uganda with an Infectious Diseases organization.  Sarah went back to school for her MNA after returning from Uganda while she worked at a research institute in San Francisco. 

Sarah and her husband started The Blue Rose Foundation in 2015. The overall goal for TBRF is to start our future leaders on the path to a successful educational career. 

Sarah lives in Northern California with her husband, their two children and five dogs. 

Klein cat with curved whiskers and eyes closed

Hilarie Sander

Co-Executive Director

Hilarie shares the Co-Executive Directorship for The Blue Rose Foundation with Sarah Sande Poletto. 

Hilarie has a BA in English from the University of Washington where she was lucky enough to meet her soul sister and Co-Executive Director, Sarah. Hilarie has a JD from University of San Francisco and previously practiced law at K&L Gates. 

Always drawn to the nonprofit sector and passionate about early childhood support, she jumped at the opportunity to work with The Blue Rose Foundation on its admirable mission to provide equal access to preschool resources. Starting our future leaders on an early pathway to success, strengthening our families and communities. She was previously a board member of a Seattle non-profit focused on providing children and parenting programming and support, and a neighborhood foodbank. 

Hilarie lives in Seattle with her husband, Geoff, twin girls and just one cat.

Board

Chair Emeritus

Joe Poletto

Joe Poletto is a media and technology executive, whose work has brought him to the forefront of the television, Internet, music and entertainment industries.  

In 2015, Joe founded The Blue Rose Foundation, with the mission to provide grants to preschools for resources and scholarships for children with economic need, helping them start their educational adventure off on the right foot.  Joe served as president of the Board of Directors of The Blue Rose Foundation for 6 years and retired from that post in February 2021.  He was unanimously voted Chair Emeritus in April 2021.  Joe is still personally involved in The Blue Rose Foundation providing advice, and donations.  Thank you, Joe for your constant and unwavering support of The Foundation and all the kids that benefit from preschool scholarships. 

A native of Roxbury, CT, he now makes his home in Sonoma,  California with his wife and two children.

Board of Directors

  • Sarah Sande Poletto

    President: Sarah Sande Poletto
  • Edward Hearn

    Vice President: Edward R. Hearn, Esq., Principal, Law Offices of Edward R. Hearn, PC.
  • Jennifer Ryan Middleton

    Board Member: Jennifer Ryan Middleton, Elementary Educator
  • Ken Collins

    Board Member: Ken Collins, Superintendent of Lake Stevens School District
  • Lisa Bove Young

    Board Member: Lisa Bove Young - Senior Director of Business Development - Law School Admission Council (LSAC)
  • TBRF Board Member Debbie Novograd

    Board Member: Debbie Novograd - Executive Food & Beverage Industry

  • Board Member: Dave Esbin - Executive Director of CQEL (Californians for Quality Early Learning)

Jr. Ambassadors

The Junior Ambassadors are students who understand the importance of a preschool education for all children. Most, if not all, of the junior ambassadors attended preschool and understand the importance of starting their education with preschool because preschool prepares children to succeed in their education and their life. 

We all can recall a positive experience or memory from preschool which helped shape who we are today. We also understand how fundamental preschool is to all children’s sense of self and belonging which is why we strive so hard to bring awareness and help the next generation. 

The Junior Ambassadors are currently working on a series of newsletters with the board to bring awareness to the schools TBRF helps to support by engaging with preschoolers in their schools, reading, playing and even decorating cookies. This has given us a chance to bond with the kids and build a sense of care that the foundation and Junior Ambassadors strive for. We hope that through these newsletters more people will come to understand the importance of preschool for every child and want to help them access a preschool education.  

The Junior Ambassadors are currently run by two high school students, and work closely with the board to make sure that the message is reaching as many people as possible.  With more awareness, we hope the true meaning of preschool will shine and that one day all children will be able to get a quality education regardless of other outside factors.

Our Duties Include: 

  • providing content for social media posts, 
  • creating and filming informational videos, 
  • helping with planning and 
  • executing fundraisers, 
  • but our main goal is to bring as much awareness as we can to the fundamental need for preschool for all children.

Give Back

Donate

100% of your donation supports preschool
education for underprivileged children

100% is tax-deductible

Tax ID (EIN) 47-2603416

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Ambassador

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