We Are What We Promote: A Diverse Team
From Ph.D.s to J.D.s, and from linguist to lawyers to educators- we come from all walks of life, and a range of cultures. We are what we believe in. Read about our diverse backgrounds and you'll get a sense of who we are, and the contributions we're making to Level Playing Field Institute.
Nike Irvin, M.B.A., Executive Director
Prior to joining LPFI, Nike (pronounced Nikki) has served as the Chair of the Riordan Foundation in Los Angeles from 2000 - 2007, overseeing grant making and administration in the Foundation’s interest areas of literacy and youth leadership programming. Ms. Irvin’s relationship with the Foundation extends back to 1996, as she was also the executive director of the Riordan Programs at UCLA, dedicated to academic and career development programs for urban high school and college students. Concurrently, she directed the Leadership Suite at UCLA, where she developed a nationally recognized executive education program for African American, Latino, and female leaders from US corporations.
Immediately prior to her tenure with education and leadership programming roles, Ms Irvin lead branding efforts with international corporations including Nestle USA, Pepsi Cola Company, and Baxter Healthcare Corp. Currently, Ms Irvin is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and she has recently served on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Grantmakers and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She is the Founder of the Gyges Scholars Philosophy Slam in Los Angeles, and has been involved with activities ranging from marathon running, golfing to SCUBA. Ms. Irvin holds a Masters in Business Administration at the Anderson School at University of California Los Angeles, and achieved a Bachelor of Arts from Yale College. [ nike AT lpfi DOT org ]
Annette A. Angus, IDEAL Student Services Coordinator/STEM Advisor
Annette provides academic and social support services to IDEAL scholars by providing one-on-one mentorship, by connecting students to educational and career development resources, and by promoting leadership skills. Annette also coordinates the IDEAL Scholars Summer Internship Program, which gives interested students an opportunity to participate in paid internships from a variety of fields provided by the Level Playing Field Institute.
Annette obtained a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from California State University Northridge in 2004 and is currently a PhD Candidate in Microbiology at UC Berkeley in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Her dissertation research investigates the role of virulence factors of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa associated with epithelial infection and also explores the host-cell response to internalized bacteria.
Annette has a long-standing commitment to University community service through supporting diversity programs aimed toward recruitment, retention and advancement of under-represented minority groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. She is a Berkeley Edge Scholar and serves on the Berkeley Edge Advisory Board. Annette is also a member of the Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students at UC Berkeley and a student leader in her Graduate Group. Annette is passionate about education at all levels and seeks to demystify scientific career pathways by serving as a role model and mentor to IDEAL Scholars. [annette AT lpfi DOT org ]
Michelle Channel, M.A., SMASH Academy College Counseling and Retention Director
Michelle Channel brings over 7 years of professional experience in the areas of community advocacy, human resources, and college access and retention. As a first generation college graduate, she is very passionate about serving as an advocate for underrepresented students in higher education. In her previous role at Foundation for a College Education (FCE) Michelle managed the admissions process, college counseling curriculum, and the college retention program. She also oversaw college tours, scholarships, internship opportunities, and parent development. Prior to FCE, Michelle worked at Silicon Graphics, Inc. in human resources and diversity recruitment. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Most recently, Michelle earned her Master of Arts degree in Education from the University of California, Berkeley, where she specialized in educational policy and focused on the experiences and retention rates of college freshmen of color from low-income communities. Michelle’s other interests include spending time with family, traveling abroad, and salsa dancing. [ mchannel AT lpfi DOT org ]
Marco Corona, Development Associate
Marco is the Development Associate for Level Playing Field Institute, working with the Director of Development to raise funds and increase the sustainability of the higher education programs, the Summer Math & Science Honors (SMASH) Academy and the Initiative for Diversity in Education and Leadership (IDEAL) Scholars Program. Previously, Marco worked for Best Buddies, a non-profit enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, as the Deputy Director of Programs for the state of California.
Marco attended UCLA and received degrees in Sociology and Chicana/o Studies. During his time there, he was heavily involved in education- and youth-based non-profits, providing peer and college advising to high school students, tutoring elementary schools students, and was a head counselor and hike leader for UCLA UniCamp, a camp for low income and at-risk youth. Marco’s drive to make a difference has not diminished since those days, but instead, has only grown stronger.
Most weekends, you can find Marco watching English Premier League games, specifically Manchester United, playing soccer, reading, going to the movie theater, and on occasion, hiking. [ marco AT lpfi DOT org ]
Christina Feeny
SMASH Academy Founding Director
Christina received her degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and has worked in industry doing research on high temperature plastics at Shell Oil Company's Westhollow Research Center and environmental consulting for Kerr-McGee. More recently, Christina has been involved in science education for kindergarten through eighth grade students as a teacher and consultant.
In 2003, she was inspired to start the Summer Math & Science Honors Academy after learning about the Math and Science for Minority Students (MS2) program at Phillips Academy Andover. Since then, she has been a committed staff volunteer who has taken initiative to get this program off the ground with support from MS2 staff. Currently, she is responsible for curriculum development and program assessment, as well as ensuring the overall vision and direction of the program. [ cfeeny AT lpfi DOT org ]
Angel-Max Guerrero, IDEAL Interim Director
Angel-Max’s responsibilities as the Interim Director include overseeing the continued growth of the Initiative for Diversity in Education and Leadership (IDEAL) program, the largest privately funded program that provides financial, academic and career development support to underrepresented students of color attending the University of California at Berkeley.
Angel-Max has dedicated his career to expanding higher education access, particularly for historically underrepresented and low-income students. Before coming to the IDEAL program, Angel-Max was a statewide coordinator with the Regional Academic Collaboratives unit at the UC Office of the President where he managed over 60 summer algebra academies and college going initiatives around the state. He has held leadership positions in programs that provide higher education opportunities to underserved high school students, including a Talent Search directorship and a senior coordinator position based out of UC San Francisco’s Center for Science & Education Opportunity.
Angel-Max is a San Francisco Mission District native. He earned his B.A. in English from the University of California at Berkeley and remains heavily involved with Cal as a volunteer with the Chicano/Latino Alumni Association (co-President) and the California Alumni Association (Lifetime member). For the previous five years Angel-Max also served as a volunteer advisor for the education programs (IDEAL and SMASH) of the Level Playing Field Institute. [ angelmax AT lpfi DOT org ]
Greg Humpa, Ph.D., Director of Administration
As Director of Administration, Greg manages the infrastructure and business affairs of Level Playing Field Institute. Since 1998, he has also been the Manager of Client Services for Klein Associates, Inc., a research, training, and consulting firm founded by Freada Kapor Klein which focuses on bias, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace.
Greg has a B.A. with highest honors in print journalism, French, and German from Creighton University; and an M.A. and Ph.D. in foreign languages and literatures from Purdue University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Greg is a self-proclaimed "wellness junkie" who is especially interested in nutrition and alternative therapies (e.g., herbal medicine, massage, reiki). His other passions include reading, traveling, and spending time in nature. [ ghumpa AT lpfi DOT org ]
Martha Kim, J.D.
Director of Workplace Programs and Research
As Director of Research and Workplace Programs, Martha is responsible for managing research, developing workplace audits and training content, preparing research reports and overseeing workplace programs in Second Life.
Martha was formerly with an international, New York-based law firm where she worked primarily in matters of international antitrust and securities regulation. Prior to attending law school, she worked at McKinsey & Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Management Consulting Services group. In addition, Martha was an intern at the Business and Legal Affairs Department of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in New York.
Martha received her B.A. in Political Science in 1999 from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was the keynote speaker at the Chancellor’s Annual Scholarship Reception. Her research as a Ronald McNair Scholar, regarding racial discrimination in the National Football League (NFL) and how it is a microcosm for discrimination in society at-large, is published by the University of California. Martha received her J.D. in 2003 from the University of Michigan Law School, where she served as a Research Associate to the Assistant Dean of the School of Public Policy and received an award for Best Oral Argument. [ martha AT lpfi DOT org ]
Sara Ransom-Leedom, Development Director
As Development Director, Sara works with the staff, board, volunteers and donors of Level Playing Field Institute to ensure the organization has full financial resources to advance our mission.
Prior to LPFI, Sara was Associate Director of Fund Development at the Corporation for Supportive Housing, working to raise grant and loan funds for permanent affordable housing with supportive services for homeless adults, youth, and families nationwide. She was previously Development Director for Clare Housing, Minnesota's first affordable housing development for low income people with HIV/AIDS. Sara also ran the national youth initiative for the National Association of People with AIDS, and the youth education program at Pro-Choice Resources in Minneapolis.
Sara is a Board member and Secretary of the Alameda Point Collaborative, and helps fundraise for Project South: The Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide in Atlanta. She is also strongly committed to the principles of permaculture and environmentally just land use issues. In her spare time, Sara and her partner are remodeling their home in West Oakland. Sara received her B.A. in English, with a focus in linguistics and African literature from Mary Washington College. [sara AT lpfi DOT org ]
Genevieve Negron-Gonzales, IDEAL Student Services Coordinator
Genevieve provides direct and individualized support services to our IDEAL scholars through one-on-one mentorship, serving as a resource point-person, and providing community-building opportunities.
Genevieve graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor's Degree in Ethnic Studies and Chicano Studies. She has earned a Masters degree and is currently working on a PhD in the School of Education at UC Berkeley. Her academic work focuses on the role of ideology and consciousness in the building of a social justice movement.
Genevieve was the co-director of SOUL, providing political, education, and community organizing training to organizations and youth of color. She has also been active in various campus and community initiatives dealing with affirmative action, ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, juvenile justice, and immigration.
Genevieve is mother of a beautiful, hilarious one-year-old named Amado who loves to dance, eat, read, and make people laugh. [ genevieve AT lpfi DOT org ]
Alma Olmos, Manager of Operations, SMASH
Alma is the Manager of Operations for SMASH Academy, where her primary responsibility is to provide operational direction to the SMASH program and assist with coordinating program activities. She has been with LPFI for two years, previously as SMASH Program Associate. Before coming to the Level Playing Field Institute, she worked as a tutor at the East Oakland Boxing Association.
Alma grew up in Santa Ana, CA, where she attended Orange Coast College and received an A.A. She transferred to UC Berkeley where she graduated with a B.A. in English Literature and a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology. Alma has worked with SMASH for two summers, first as Teacher’s Assistant and then as a Resident Advisor the following year.
Alma enjoys empowering underrepresented youth through mentoring and tutoring. Other interests include traveling to Mexico where she visits her huge family. [ alma AT lpfi Dot org ]
Lakiba Pittman, M.A., D.Min
Executive Consultant, Presenter, Facilitator, HR Strategist
Lakiba's primary focus is with Level Playing Field Institute's workplace programs facilitating conversations with companies and managing the story collection campaign for the Corporate Leavers project. She is an inspirational and creative leader with expertise in global diversity, leadership and organizational development. A dynamic speaker with experience driving global citizenship, community outreach, and creativity in business initiatives, she specializes in cross-cultural communications, enhancing global team performance, effective virtual teams, building trust and authentic relationships, employee relations, and survey analysis and program design. With a stellar background of 24-years experience with hp/Agilent Technologies, she is consistently sought to lead and evangelize unique corporate and community collaborations and programs. [ lakiba AT lpfi DOT org ]
Jarvis Sulcer, Ph.D.
Academic Director
As Academic Director, Jarvis Sulcer is responsible for working creatively and collaboratively to continually improve the education programs curriculum in addition to providing customized guidance and support to students.
Jarvis Sulcer received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering at Cornell University in 1998. He was the only African-American Male in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in his field of study that year. He graduated from Southern University in 1991 with a B.S. in Physics and a minor in Mathematics. In 2000, Jarvis received the Most Distinguished Dissertation Award from the National Society of Black Physicist (NSBSP) at Stanford University.
He worked part-time as an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Foothill Community College in addition to his full-time job as an engineer. In the past few years, Jarvis has worked in Silicon Valley in the semiconductor industry as a Quality & Reliability Engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Agilent Technologies in wireless communications. He left corporate America in 2003 to dedicate his time and talent to XCEL Educational Services, a math and science tutorial company he co-founded in 2000.
Jarvis is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is a strong advocate for education and has served as a motivational and keynote speaker for several organizations in California, Louisiana and New York. He firmly believes that an understanding of Mathematics is essential to pursuing careers in the high tech industry, as well as giving all students a strong academic foundation to pursue whatever career they choose. [ jarvis AT lpfi DOT org ]
Jacqueline Switzer
Workplace Programs Associate
As Workplace Programs Associate, Jacqueline provides support on all Workplace Program related initiatives and is primarily responsible for promoting Giving Notice, managing content development for the Corporate Leavers website, and managing opportunities at speaking engagements and related diversity events.
Prior to joining LPFI, Jacqueline worked as a consultant in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Organization and Strategy practice, focusing on business process improvement, organizational design, change management, and strategic communications for both the US Government and Military. She also worked closely with the Booz Allen’s Corporate Diversity Department on a number of initiatives designed to promote a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Jacqueline received her B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 2004. While a student at UVA, she co-founded an award-winning organization called Sustained Dialogue, which focuses on improving race and other contentious relations on campuses and communities through dialogue and a targeted change process sustained over time. Jacqueline’s other interests include traveling, learning and practicing foreign languages, volunteering, engaging in cross-cultural events, and exploring the Bay Area. [ jacqueline AT lpfi DOT org ]
Board
Terence Hawley, J.D., Board Member
Terence is a partner at Reed Smith LLP, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation, including financial services, real estate and intellectual property cases. Terence earned his bachelor's degree and his J.D. from UC Berkeley. He has been involved with IDEAL since 2002, serving on the IDEAL board and the selection committee and speaking at IDEAL retreats. He has also introduced UC Berkeley alumni to IDEAL and the Level Playing Field Institute and has assisted in identifying summer internships for IDEAL scholars. Terence joined the Level Playing Field Institute board in late 2006.
Anula Jayasuriya, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., Board Member
Anula received a B.A. from Harvard summa cum laude, having worked under the supervision of renowned scientist and conservationist E.O. Wilson. She received an M.D. and Ph.D. (in microbiology and molecular genetics) from Harvard Medical School; and completed an internship at Children's Hospital in Boston before leaving for Harvard Business School, where she received her MBA. Anula's expertise derives from her unique combination of business, basic science, and medical knowledge. Her most recent work is in the field of life science venture capital.
Mitchell Kapor, Board Member
Mitch is, to quote the New York Times, an elder statesman of modern computing. As founder of Lotus Development Corporation and the designer of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet (the "killer application" for the IBM PC), he helped make the personal computer ubiquitous in the business world. He has been at the forefront of the information technology revolution for a generation as an entrepreneur, investor, social activist, and philanthropist.
Mitch is a co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org); the founding Chair of the Mozilla Foundation,
creator of the Firefox web browser; the founding Chair of Linden Lab, maker of Second Life, the leading online virtual world; and Founder and Trustee of the Mitchell Kapor Foundation (www.mkf.org)
Mitch has written widely about the impact of personal computing and networks on society. He has contributed articles, columns, and op-ed pieces on information infrastructure policy, intellectual property issues, and antitrust in the digital era to publications such as Scientific American, the New York Times, Forbes, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and Communications of the ACM. (www..kapor.com)
[ mkapor AT lpfi DOT org ]
Freada Kapor Klein, Ph.D.,
Founder and Board Chair
Freada has been working on issues of discrimination and diversity since the early 1970's. In 1976 she co-founded the first organization in the United States to offer comprehensive services, training, and consultation on the topic of sexual harassment to both the private and public sectors. After receiving her Ph.D. in social policy and research from the Heller School at Brandeis University, with an SSRC fellowship for the study of sexual harassment in federal government employment, she became the first Director of Employee Relations for Lotus Development Corporation. At Lotus, she was responsible for employee relations, affirmative action, management development and training, performance appraisal, and employee complaint channels.
After leaving Lotus, Freada launched her own business that allowed her to combine activism and research, and to impact the workplace. She became the President of Klein Associates, Inc., a boutique organizational development and human resource consulting firm dedicated to linking employee needs with business strategy, particularly regarding issues of employee diversity. The firm developed extensive experience in designing, conducting, and analyzing employee surveys, complemented by intervention in training, consultation, and policy development.
In this context, her research has included the design and analysis of numerous proprietary surveys for consulting firms, academic medical centers, corporations, health care institutions, law firms, and campus-wide surveys for universities. In addition to her work for individual organizations, she has conducted several landmark industry studies, including: an annual survey of quality of worklife issues in Internet start-ups, a survey of Fortune 500 manufacturing and service firms to determine the effectiveness of corporate efforts to address sexual harassment, a survey of gender bias and sexual harassment experienced by Massachusetts physicians and medical students, and the Demonstration Project on Diversity for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. For many years, Freada also served as an expert witness in pivotal legal cases involving sexual harassment.
Freada has been has been interviewed for numerous publications, including: Business Week, the Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Fortune, the Harvard Business Review, the Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Television appearances include: "The Today Show," "NBC Nightly News" with Tom Brokaw, "Prime Time Live," "Nightline," "The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour," "20/20," "CBS This Morning," and "Good Morning, America."
In addition to her ongoing consulting work and her involvement with Level Playing Field Institute, Freada is a former Executive Board member of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Berkeley, her undergraduate alma mater. [ fklein AT lpfi DOT org ]
Marsha E. Simms, J.D., Board Member
Marsha is a partner in the Corporate Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York, where she practices in the areas of debt financing and restructuring. She was named one of the world's leading lawyers in the area of banking and finance by Chambers Global for the years 2001-2004.
Marsha has lectured in legal areas related to asset based lending and debt financing for the Practising Law Institute and ALI/ABA, in Africa for American Bar Association technical legal assistance projects, as well as in areas related to women and minorities' participation in corporate law practice.
Marsha is involved in a number of groups within the legal profession, including: American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, American Law Institute, and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
In addition to her work in the legal field, Marsha is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation (Channel 13/WNET). She is a former member of the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School and a former trustee of the Stanford Alumni Association.
Marsha was featured as a "Woman on Top" in Essence Magazine. Read the article here (PDF).
Monica Stevens, M.B.A., Board Member
Monica, a native Californian, grew up in Oakland. After graduating with a B.S. in Political Science from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, she served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Afterwards, Monica worked in San Francisco as a project manager for a political consulting and lobbying firm, focusing on real estate issues. She subsequently received an MBA from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley with a focus in real estate finance. While at Haas, Monica was a Consortium for Graduate Study in Management fellow. After graduation, she joined Wells Fargo and completed the Credit Management Training Program. She spent the next several years as a commercial real estate lending officer in the Capital Markets Group in San Francisco. Monica’s next opportunity at Wells was as the Director of MBA Recruiting for the Wholesale Bank where she focused on recruiting MBA’s from top-rated business programs and diversity organizations nationwide. She recently returned to the Capital Markets Group where she is a vice-president on the Originations side of the Syndications and Corporate Finance Group. Monica is currently active on several Boards that focus on diversity issues at the Haas School of Business.
Art Wong, M.D., Secretary
Art has had a long history of service in the medical community. He was a board-certified practitioner of emergency medicine, and has been a twenty-year fellow at the American College of Emergency Physicians. While serving as the Director of Emergency Services at UCSF Mount Zion Hospital, Dr. Wong combined his business and medical skills as the president and CEO of the Emergency Physicians Medical Group. He subsequently led the Meriten Emergency Management Company in a similar capacity, and today continues to work with healthcare providers as a consultant, after retiring from Meriten. In the professional realm, he has been a member of the San Francisco Medical Society, the Medical Advisory Board of the Department of Public Health, and was a member of the San Francisco Emergency Care Committee.
Dr. Wong's civic leadership reflects his deep commitment to education, youth development, and access to college. He is currently the board president of the Huckleberry Youth Program and the IDEAL Scholars Fund, and was past board president of the California Tennis Club and Pi Alpha Phi Fraternity. Dr. Wong has also served as a trustee or board member of the Executive Board for the College of Letters and Science at UC Berkeley and for the San Francisco Day School.
Dr. Wong earned a degree in History from UC Berkeley before completing his M.D. at George Washington University. [ awong AT lpfi DOT org ]