Ann Levy Walden is a passionate and dedicated leader in the education sector with a deep commitment to serving vulnerable students and fostering equitable learning environments for all. As CEO of the San Francisco Ed Fund, she has spent the past year and a half strengthening educational opportunities and experiences across San Francisco. Ann previously served as Executive Director at The Primary School in East Palo Alto, piloting an innovative Birth through 8th grade education model with a focus on integrating health and community services. From her time at Chicago Public Schools Ann gained experience working in complex districts, focusing on school improvement, performance management, and wrap around school support. She holds dual master’s degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Broad Residency program at Yale. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Ann is thrilled to be back in her home, raising her two kids. In her free time Ann enjoys reading science-fiction, coaching youth soccer, and gardening.

Anwar McQueen grew up with a single mother in Washington D.C. during the 1980s. A standout student-athlete, he earned a scholarship to UC Berkeley, playing alongside legends like Jason Kidd and leading the Golden Bears to three NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet 16 run. After playing professionally in Europe, he transitioned to coaching and later became an executive at Hudl, revolutionizing sports tech. Inspired by his own journey from poverty, McQueen founded TEAM Inc. to empower underrepresented youth to explore careers in technology. He holds a Master’s in Sport Management from USF and lives in Oakland, CA.

Christina Ortega is the President and CEO of Mission Bit, a nonprofit dedicated to providing under-resourced high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area with free, project-based computer science education. A San Francisco native, Christina is passionate about ensuring all youth graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today’s digital world. As someone who graduated high school without knowing what computer science was, Christina is committed to inspiring youth of color to explore STEM and tech careers, including non-technical roles, through education that embraces their identities and empowers them for the future.

Eduardo Caballero is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of EDMO®, an award-winning CA nonprofit engaging 10,000 kids annually in STEAM & SEL after-school & summer programs through school district partnerships. He has led workshops and panels at the National Summer Learning Association, BOOST, and SXSWedu national conferences. He is an active CA Afterschool Advocacy Alliance steering committee member. He is also Leadership for Equity & Opportunity alumni and former coach practitioner. Eduardo is passionate about creating programs and partnerships to ensure ALL children and staff have the opportunity to pursue their passions in life.

With two decades of experience in San Francisco’s community organizations, Carlo has witnessed the transformative power of paid internships and career readiness support for youth. At Enterprise for Youth, he champions equitable access to opportunities, empowering young people across all neighborhoods. Carlo’s expertise includes roles as Community School Coordinator with SFUSD, Director at Bay Area Community Resources, and Senior Partnership Manager at MyPath. Dedicated to collaboration, he ensures Enterprise for Youth continues its impactful legacy of fostering success and growth for the next generation. Outside work, Carlo enjoys time with his daughter and performing music across the Bay Area.

JG Larochette is a passionate education leader who has been pioneering comprehensive mindfulness programming in education for the last 12 years. He has a BS in Psychology from Saint Mary’s College, received his BCLAD Teacher Credential from Cal State East Bay and is a graduate of Leaderspring’s 2 year leadership program. JG is an award winning teacher and in his over two decades in education, JG has championed creating deep belonging and empowerment for youth through holistic and equitable educational experiences. His career started at Playworks in Oakland and Richmond which motivated him to become a teacher. In 2012, after being a teacher at Coronado Elementary School in Richmond, CA, for nearly a decade JG created Mindful Life Project with his 3rd graders, as he saw an opportunity to improve student and teacher mental and emotional well-being simultaneously through the programming being piloted. Since then MLP has become the largest direct service mindfulness organization in the country as they specialize in tier 1 and tier 2 mental and behavioral health programming. MLP currently serves over 40,000 students and educators in over 75 schools across California.

Jesús Galindo is the CEO of Aim High, committed to increasing educational equity by providing enriching learning experiences for middle school students and educators. Over a decade with Aim High, he served as Lead Teacher, Site Director, Trustee, and Board Chair. Originally from Compton, California, and the first in his family to graduate college, he taught eight years at Lincoln Elementary in Richmond’s Iron Triangle as a 2013 Teach For America Corps Member, working with his community to help his whole school achieve unprecedented success. As a union contract negotiator and lead organizer with the United Teachers of Richmond/California Teachers Association, he worked secured a historic 14.5% salary increase and codify Community Schools language–one of the first in the nation. He is also the founder and owner of Longshore Handyman LLC, a construction company established in 2019.

Lauri Adachi is a passionate social impact leader and advocate for social justice with expertise in corporate partnerships, strategic planning, and nonprofit development. A graduate of San Jose State University with a B.A. in Advertising and Marketing, Lauri spent over 15 years in media sales and corporate partnerships with the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, and NBC Sports Bay Area. She later transitioned to education-focused nonprofit leadership, currently serving as Director of Development for the Japanese Community Youth Council. Her previous roles include Interim Executive Director for the 49ers Academy, and Executive Director/Chief Advancement Officer for the San Jose Evergreen Community College District Foundation. In her downtime, Lauri enjoys Bikram yoga, cheering on her favorite Bay Area sports teams, and walking her dog, Bella.

Lillian Samuel is CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area. Under her leadership, the agency has received three national awards for quality and growth. With a passion for making a difference in her community, she serves on boards for causes she cares including VolunteerMatch, a national nonprofit, the Los Altos Kiwanis Club, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Links Inc., Jack and Jill of America, Alumni Committee for the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her BA, and the University of San Francisco, where she earned her MA in Nonprofit Management. In 2023, Lillian was recognized by the Marcus Foster Education Institute as a Visionary for Diversity.

Matin Abdel-Qawi has been an equity-centered educational leader in Oakland Unified School District for nearly thirty years. As a middle school teacher, he realized the need to bring Oakland’s legacy of social activism to the classroom. He advocated for every scholar to have access to algebra in the eighth grade ending a decades long practice of assigning Black and Brown scholars to general math while creating nearly all white Algebra classes. In 2004 as the Founding Principal of East Oakland School of the Arts, he created a small autonomous school founded on the belief that any student will perform at high levels when given the love and support needed. After leading the school for seven years, he took his experience of advocating for Black male students and became the Director of OUSD’s African American Male Achievement’s Manhood Development Program and designed and started several programs at schools around the district. In 2013, Matin became the Principal of Oakland High School where he created systems and programs that are rooted in equity, diversity and access for every student. In 2020 Matin was promoted to OUSD’s High School Network Superintendent. One of the first initiatives Matin led was to engage all of the high school principals in a learning and discovery experience focused on understanding and dismantling anti Blackness practices, policies, and procedures at schools and replacing them with ones that Engage, Empower, and Encourage all Black scholars. After nearly three decades in the Oakland Unified School District Matin left OUSD to join Kingmakers of Oakland as its Chief Program Officer. In this new role Matin is responsible for making sure that all of our district partners receive best-in-class services. Matin holds a BA from Stockton State University, NJ and an MA from the University of California, Berkeley.

With a multi-generational family history in the Oakland arts community, Mike has a strong sense of pride as a long standing member of the OSA team. Soon after joining OSA in 2006, He made a commitment to ensuring an inviting school culture and equitable educational experience for all students. His focus has been on developing pathways that provide career and college preparation for all OSA students. He feels strongly that art should not be optional and he is humbled by the opportunity to ensure OSA students bring the essential value of the arts into the career paths of their choosing.

Michelle has over 26 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and serves as the Executive Director of The Richmond Neighborhood Center in San Francisco. Originally from Ohio, she moved to the city in July 1999 for her second AmeriCorps stint and decided to make it her permanent home, drawn by its diversity, social justice focus, and vibrant culture. Inspired by the teachings of Ram Dass, she approaches her work with a servant mindset, fostering compassion, humility, and interconnectedness in service to others. Michelle excels in program development, fundraising, and building community. She also enjoys true crime, scuba diving, pop music, and traveling with her husband and friends.

Scott’s career spans nearly 20 years across K-12, higher education, and workforce development. Scott currently leads Cameron House, a nonprofit that has served the SF Chinatown community for over 150 years. Scott’s passion for education and social justice was sparked as a classroom teacher through Teach For America, where he taught 6th grade math and science in South LA. Scott enjoys exploring the outdoors, running Spartan Races, reading, and trying all the new foodie spots around the city. Scott holds a BA in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara, an MA in Education from Loyola Marymount University, and an MBA from the University of Southern California (Fight On!).

Sean Valentine grew up in the Greater New York City Area. In 2009 he relocated to Oakland to work with youth athletes through personal training. In this pursuit, Sean developed a passion for mentorship and teen counseling. While studying Economics he became determined to incorporate his life’s experiences, scholastic knowledge , and pure people skills to help underserved teens reach their true potential. Sean received is B.S in Economics from Saint Mary’s College.

Symone Morales is the Executive Director for OneGoal in the Bay Area where she works closely with schools, district leaders and communities to transform postsecondary advising and ensure all students are able to achieve their greatest postsecondary aspirations. Prior to joining OneGoal, Symone served as the Associate Dean of Students and Director of the First Generation and/or Low-Income Student Success Center (FLISSC) at Stanford University, where she led efforts across the university to enhance the FLI student experience and ensure persistence through graduation. Throughout her career, she has held multiple positions, ranging from K-12 to university level, supporting and advocating for marginalized and underrepresented minority students to have equitable access to education. She has developed and built programs that focus on matriculation and retention and is an expert in supporting low-income and first-generation college students. In 2016, Symone assisted in inaugurating and overseeing the undergraduate first generation college program at UCLA called First To Go. This program laid the framework for many of the first-gen initiatives that developed across all ten UC campuses over the past seven years. Symone holds a BA in Sociology and African American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Student Affairs from UCLA. Symone was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina and has spent the past ten years across the state of California working at various postsecondary institutions leveling the learning landscape for all students.

Tyler Chuck is the Associate Director of Education Outreach & Operations at Community Resources for Science. His background is in education, teaching at Richmond High School as part of the Teach for America program. Tyler graduated from UCLA with a bachelors in Communication Studies and from Loyola Marymount with a masters in Education. In his free time, Tyler enjoys long hikes to mountain peaks, playing the piano, enjoying live music, and cheering on the Golden State Warriors.