P   O   L   A   R   I   S
Education And Guidance Services, Inc.
Phone: 510.845.9426
E-mail: polaris@flash.net

ABOUT POLARIS

POLARIS is a not-for -profit educational organization founded in 1995. Since its beginnings it has provided a menu of education, training, and direct intervention services to local educators and youth. Our founders Nina  Ziskin and Martin Francisco Muller have experience and expertise in developing and managing education and guidance programs in Bay Area schools (see bios). In addition we are currently developing an adventure based youth leadership program designed to include a focused & directed mentoring component.

Join the POLARIS Mission & stay in touch for further developments.

Polaris Leadership is ...

Nina Ziskin has more than twenty years of experience teaching and counseling learning disabled and emotionally disturbed children and adolescents in a variety of therapeutic and educational settings. She was the Behavior Specialist for the Oakland Unified School District until 2006. She has a Special Education Credential, a Pupil Personnel Services Credential, and an MA in Educational Psychology from UC Berkeley, as well as a Single Subject Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University.  Additionally, Nina has more than 10 years experience as a professional white-water rafting guide.

Martín Francisco Muller has worked in the education field for more than 15 years as a teacher, counselor, and school administrator. He served as a Board Trustee of the Solano County Office of Education and a lecturer at the USF School of Education. He holds a Master's Degree in Non-Profit Administration from the University of San Francisco. He is a certified Professional Assault Response Trainer (P.A.R.T.), and outdoor educator (Outward Bound & National Outdoor Leadership School). He is bilingual - fluent in Spanish.

Personal & Professional Coaching:
Inner-spiritual/being & Outer-performance are explored as complimentary faces of persons integrated life experience.

Martin Francisco Muller brings his authentic experience and "highly developed" sense of humor to our coaching relationship. His deep respect for the Life Process blended with apparent rreverence for habitual conventions allows him to "connect" with people at different stages of their Journey (he is truly gifted in working with youth). His life Path has included roles as teacher, counselor, alternative school director, outdoor educator, Aikido enthusiast, and practitioner of various "change technologies" including NLP.

Board of Directors:

Martin Francisco Muller, President
M.A. Nonprofit Management, USF. Former director of alternative school program for troubled youth. Former Trustee, Solano County Board of Education.

Steven Lanum, Vice-President
Attorney, Charles Schwab Corporation, San Francisco.

Carol Eggers, Financial Officer
M.B.A Stanford University. Executive Director of the Music at Kohl Mansion series.

Stephen Traiger, Secretary
M.A. Education, Tufts University.Teacher in the Oakland School District.

Rhonda Jones
Attorney, NASDR, San Francisco

Professional Advisory Board:

Alan Calvin, Ph.D.
Professor and former Dean of Education, University of San Francisco. President, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology.

Harold Kahn, Ed.D
Superintendent, Lakeside Union Elementary School District.

Mae Lee Billet, Ph.D.
Past-President, California State Psychological Association.

Eva Vasquez, R.N., M.A.
Child Development Consultant, California State Department of Education, Retired

Ed Bispo, Ed.D.
California State Department of Education, retired.

Laura Ziskin
Executive Producer, Sony Studios.