Heather Barber, Board Secretary, is a Government and Public Affairs Consultant. Previously she worked as Director of External Affairs for AC Transit, Government and Media Relations Manager for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority and representing municipalities in Washington, DC.  Heather is a graduate of Smith College, with BAs in American Studies and Latin American Studies. She spent a semester studying at the University of Costa Rica, and another at the Williams College/Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program.  She also worked in Costa Rica for two years where she did research, and taught in a Spanish-English dual immersion elementary school. She lives in El Cerrito with her husband and two children.

Elisa Batista was raised in Miami by a Cuban father and Puerto Rican mother. She is the editor of the parenting weblog, www.MotherTalkers.com. Prior to the birth of her son, she worked as a reporter for the technology publication Wired News in San Francisco. She has also written for the Boston Herald and other Boston-area newspapers. She holds a BS in print journalism from Boston University. She is married to Markos Moulitsas, founder of the most prominent political weblog on the Internet, the Daily Kos. They live in Berkeley with their son and daughter.

Steve Bileca was born in New York City, raised in Miami and lived in Spain, Germany and Israel before settling in the Bay Area in 1994.   A life-long educator in independent schools, Steve is currently the Assistant Head of School at The Marin School in Sausalito.  He holds degrees in Comparative Literature, Philosophy and History, earning his BA, MA and PhD (ABD) from Cornell University.  He has also studied or lectured the University of Chicago, the Freie Universität of Berlin, and the University of California at Berkeley.  In his career as a high school educator in independent schools, he has taught foreign languages, history and philosophy and held administrative positions including Department Chair of History, Dean of Students and Assistant Head of School.  Together with his wife Angela, a native of Spain, they founded a tour company based in Spain dedicated to providing culturally enriching travel experiences for clients around the world, including language immersion programs for adolescents.  They live with their two children in Oakland, CA.

Marciana Burke was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and works for the Puente Project, an academic preparation program sponsored by the University of California Office of the President, where she develops funding and partnership opportunities for Puente’s high school and community college programs. She has extensive experience with a variety of universities and educational organizations, including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and LASPAU: Academic & Professional Programs for the Americas (a Harvard University affiliated non-profit), where she managed scholarships for Venezuelan students in the United States. Marciana holds a B.A. in International Relations & Spanish from UC Davis, studied at Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain, and earned a master’s degree in Higher Education Policy & Administration from the University of Oregon. Raised in a bilingual/bicultural household, she spent many wonderful childhood vacations in Peru, and now lives in Oakland with her husband and son.

Patti Chang is originally from Hawaii. She is the former CEO of the Women's Foundation of California. Patti is also a former commissioner with the San Francisco Commission on the Environment; past President of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women; and an Advisory Board member of Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights and has served on the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy. She has a B.A. from Stanford in International Relations, with a concentration on China, and a J.D. from Stanford Law. She lives in San Francisco with her daughter.

Erica Terry Derryck is a native New Yorker who first moved to the Bay Area to pursue a graduate degree in journalism at UC Berkeley. She went on to work in the national news divisions at ABC and MTV. Erica has also held senior-level communications positions with several major not-for-profit organizations, ranging from academic institutions to policy groups. She is currently the California communications director of the national anti-crime organization, Fight Crime: Invest In Kids. Erica holds an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and is a former board member and active alumna of her independent schools. She lives in Oakland with her husband and two children.

Janette Hernández is a first generation American of Guatemalan parents. Janette serves on the faculty at UC Berkeley, Graduate School of Education, as instructor for the Principal Leadership Institute, preparing and mentoring principals for urban schools. She also conducts research in the area of leadership for equity. Janette spent ten years as a special education teacher both in the United States and in Australia. She later worked as Principal in San Francisco for five years. Janette lives in Oakland with partner Anthony and their son.

John Horsch is a founder and partner at Be Amazing, a startup firm that provides remote tutoring in foundational cognitive skills to students across the country. He was previously the Director of Customer Operations for Scientific Learning, an Oakland-based creator of educational software that accelerates learning by improving the  brain's processing efficiency, and consulted to technology companies on operations and logistics. He has a BA in English from UC Berkeley, and is an avid sailor, having competed in the 1996 Olympic Sailing Team Trials. He lives in Oakland with his wife and two sons.

Alison Lingane Kobban was raised in the Bay Area. Alison works as product manager for an education-focused website, GreatSchools.net. Alison co-founded the Global Social Venture Competition, an international business plan competition for profitable ventures with a social mission. She managed a job training program for 'at-risk' teens, led the development of a community garden, and ran children's garden programs at Berkeley Youth Alternatives. Alison holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and a BA from Harvard College. Alison and her husband, who is from Mexico, live in Oakland with their three children.

Jill Malko, a Berkeley native who spent most of her childhood in Philadelphia. She graduated with a BS degree in film from Boston University and also has a Masters in Education from St. Mary's College.  Jill currently works at UC Berkeley as a Development Officer.  Prior to her career in fundraising, she served as the Head Lacrosse Coach at Cal for nearly 10 years.  She lives in Alameda with her partner and two sons both born in Guatemala.

Xochitl Márquez was raised in Huntington Park, California by her Puerto-Rican grandmother.  Motivated by her life experiences, she focused on achieving academic excellence and becoming a community and professional advocate on the behalf of youth, women, poor/low-income, Latina/o, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities. She holds a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Women's Studies with highest honors from UCLA, where she also minored in LGBT Studies and specialized in Labor & the Workplace.  She received a Cali/AmJur Award in 2006 and a J.D. in 2007 from U.C. Hastings College of the Law. As a law student, she was co-chair of UC Hastings La Raza Students Association and their First Annual Latina/o Law Symposium, "Affirming Latina/o Realities in California."  Currently, Xochitl is an associate at Goldfarb & Lipman, LLP, a real estate law firm with special strengths in affordable housing, redevelopment, and municipal.  She also serves as VP of Communications for the SF La Raza Lawyers Association and Bay Area Latino Legal Fund,  and is a member of the Fund Development Board of La Raza Centro Legal in San Francisco.  She lives in Oakland.

Josh Oliver is the Vice President of Oliver & Company in Richmond, CA.  He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, on the Safety Committee of the Construction Employers’ Association and a member of the Artist’s Circle of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  Josh is also involved with other nonprofits, including the Edible Gardens program of the Chez Panisse Foundation in Berkeley, and Rebuilding Together Oakland, in Oakland.  A graduate of the Eberhardt School of Business at the University of the Pacific, Josh lives in San Francisco.

Liza Sánchez, Board Chair, is a native of Berkeley, California. She received her MA in Education from UC Berkeley, and her BA in American Studies from UC Santa Cruz. Liza has spent many years teaching in both public and independent schools and created Aprendo Español, a story-based language program for early language learners. A career bilingual educator, she is the founder of EBI.  Liza is fluent in Spanish and English, speaks conversational German, and some French and Italian. Liza and her husband, who is from El Salvador, live in the East Bay, California, with their four daughters.

Greg Schafer, Board Treasurer was born and raised in upstate New York and moved to the Bay Area in 1988. He has spent the majority of his career in the life sciences industry and for the last 10 years has served in senior financial positions for biotechnology companies. He is currently chief financial officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an Emeryville, CA based biotechnology company dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients. He holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and a BSE in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Oakland with his wife Suzanne and son, Beckett.

Nicole Silverman was born and raised in New Jersey and after pioneering her way west settled in the Bay Area in 1997. She has spent the last 11 years as the Human Resources Director for Geomatrix Consultants, a national engineering consulting firm headquartered in Oakland. Nicole received her BA in Sociology and Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She spent many years in the adventure travel industry including sailing in the Virgin Islands and a stint as a Park Ranger in Zion National Park in Utah. Nicole and her husband, Gary, live in Oakland with their two children, Rachel and Sam.