Kiddo! Names Bill Lampl as New Executive Director

After a four month search to replace retiring Kiddo! co-founder Trisha Garlock, the Mill Valley School District foundation has chosen local teacher, businessman and community volunteer Bill Lampl as its new leader.

He starts July 1 as executive director. Garlock will stay on until the end of the year to help with the transition, and will remain an advisor to the foundation.

“I can’t tell you how important it is to me to leave this incredible organization in the best possible hands when I retire,” Garlock said. “And in Bill I feel we have found a strong, capable leader who will work collaboratively with the community in guiding this organization beautifully and responsibly for years to come.”

Lampl has an eighth-grade son at Mill Valley Middle School and a daughter at Tamalpais High School. He’s served as a substitute teacher in the district for several years while managing his own management consulting firm and is also a well-respected community volunteer who’s helped fundraise for Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Middle School and Park School PTAs, the Tam High Foundation and the Mill Valley Public Library.

You also may have seen him in the dugout as a Little League manager, on the field as a coach for the Mill Valley Soccer Club, and on the court as a coach for Mount Carmel CYO basketball teams.

“In my role as a teacher, I have seen firsthand the educational value of our Kiddo! programs,” Lampl said. “As a parent whose children have gone through Mill Valley schools, I understand the joy we all feel when our kids shine on stage, in the art room, and on the playing field.”

After 31 years of building Kiddo! into the organization it is today, Garlock announced in January that she planned to retire once a suitable replacement was found. 

The search drew more than 60 applicants from the Marin and Bay Area, as well from across the country, said Kiddo! Board Chair Kira Keane.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Bill’s caliber and dedication to carry on Trisha’s legacy at Kiddo!,” she said. “Bill is a passionate advocate for the arts and education, and he is a deeply committed member of our community.”

Kiddo! was born in 1982 when Garlock and her next-door neighbor Penny Weiss, who was the PTO president at Old Mill School, decided to do something to save the arts programs that faced elimination due to cuts in school funding brought on by Proposition 13. They co-founded Kiddo! and raised about $5,000 that year.

“We started the organization to save art and music,” Garlock said. “That has been our foundation, and we have added many other things since then."

Three decades later, Garlock is retiring from an organization that just met it’s $2.7 million annual fundraising goal, and has contributed more than $20 million since 1982 to supplement the Mill Valley School District. The foundation currently funds a wealth of programs that includes all art, music, dance, drama and poetry as well as some technology initiatives and mini-grants to support innovative teaching in the classroom. That list also grew to include physical education this year.

The foundation has also been creative in its fundraising approach. In addition to donations from district families — which included contributions from — Kiddo! has established shopping programs, business partnerships, and even launched custom branded sportswear for cyclists.

“I am deeply honored and excited to be taking on this responsibility as Kiddo!’s new executive director,” Lampl said. “Trisha had the vision and built an organization that is now a fundamental part of our community. I will continue that work with our wonderful volunteers and staff, generous donors and business partners, to ensure our kids reach their full potential.”

Here's what else is happening on Mill Valley Patch:

• State Parks Supporters Nab Eclectic Lineup for Mount Tam Jam Benefit
• Police Blotter: Pet Hospital Break-In, Clueless Drivers and a Basketball-Sized Sinkhole
• Police Arrest Alleged Drunk Driver After Crash into 2am Club
• Edna Maguire Won't Be Ready in the Fall — District to Extend School Day to Make December Move Work
• New Homes For Sale in Mill Valley This Week
• Mom Home With Two Kids Deters Kipling Drive Burglars
• Man Accused of Scamming Marin Couple Out of $1.6M Alleges 24-Hour Jail Lockdown
• Lt. Gov. Newsom Bails on Supes Meeting to Hail Marin Voter Turnout
• Marin Residents: Slow Down Plan Bay Area Housing Plan
• State Releases New Numbers on Suspensions and Expulsions at Tam High
• Chase Bank Looks to Build Branch at Blithedale-Camino Alto Gas Station Site
• Evacuation Drill in Panoramic & Edgewood Areas Planned for May 4

For local news like this wherever you go, follow us! And don't forget to sign up for our daily e-newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

"Like" us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for the daily Mill Valley Patch newsletter | Start a blog