Syar Foundation Summit - Speaker Bios

WELCOME TO

SUMMIT November 9th, 2023

Speakers & Bios

James Alva is a builder, creator and a change agent focused on advancing opportunities for the neediest in our communities. Via Adelante Partners, he advises nonprofits, foundations and government leaders on how to advance through the next stage of their growth while keeping a focus on community.

His career spans working for mission driven organizations within philanthropy, academia, nonprofit and Corporate America. He has been a community organizer, an Executive Director, philanthropist, a founder, and a small business owner.

All these experiences have allowed him to see organizational challenges from multiple angles. Before starting Adelante Partners Inc., he served as Senior VP and the Regional U.S. Market Leader for Citigroup’s Community Investment Division in which he directed the bank’s philanthropic strategy to invest millions of dollars in under resourced communities using a racial equity lens.

He previously led the nonprofit Small Business Development Centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He is skilled at bringing different community stakeholders together, understanding their challenges, and uniting them towards a common goal. Throughout his career, he has helped to found numerous organizations, including a community bank in Los Angeles called ProAmerica Bank, a nonprofit technology accelerator in San Francisco known as Tech Futures Group, the LA County Center for Financial Empowerment, and One LA, which is a $1 billion procurement program focused on helping minority small business owners win sizable public contracts.

James currently serves on the boards of three non-profits: the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Southern CA Grantmakers (Chair of the Board), and the Foundation for the Los Angeles Community College District.

James has a large network in philanthropy, nonprofit, government, finance, and business, and he has used that network to build numerous public private partnerships.

With a penchant for organizational transformation, he is skilled at helping organizations cut through a lot of “noise” and develop a clear strategy of how to achieve their strategic business goals while maintaining an equity and social impact lens.

James is a first-generation college graduate with a degree from Stanford University. He also holds a professional certification in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. James and his husband, an educator, are former foster parents who adopted twin boys. They live in Pasadena, CA with their [very energetic] toddler twins, their dog, and their cat.

Meet Becky. She's our resident storyteller, kindness champion, philanthropy celebrator, justice seeker, humanity endorser, envelope pusher, people lover and just a general awkwardness embracer. She believes so firmly in authenticity to drive a narrative, she often shares the most selfdeprecating things about herself in the process, because she understands connection isn't simply derived from the joy-filled moments - they're found in the messiest ones too.

Becky got her start at the happiest place in Oklahoma City: Science Museum Oklahoma (hey, when you're 1,300 miles from Disneyworld, it's a pretty happy alternative!) as a public relations coordinator.

She returned to her alma mater to build the Oklahoma State University Foundation's inaugural marketing department whilst having some serious Imposter Syndrome that first year. While at OSU, she was able to set down the first roots of philanthropic storytelling via print and digital deliverables leading to the launch of the $1 billion initiative, Branding Success, which is Oklahoma's largest philanthropic campaign effort to date. Her wanderlust for building something new led her back home to Oklahoma City for a nearly decade-long service to INTEGRIS Foundation where she led teams in annual giving, events, stewardship, major gifts, prospect research and campaigns.

Becky values the power of words and the personal connections among each of us. She believes both are critical to stitching together the fabric of every powerful experience leading to giving. When combining the right tenor, pacing, and word choice by a courageous storyteller, she believes a story can unfold to move the hearts and minds of a large population who want to do good. This is transformational philanthropy at its finest, and it’s her passion to set it in motion.

Sherri serves as the chief executive in charge SoLa Impact’s social impact strategy, operations and development. Sherri leads the execution to improve the lives of South LA residents by providing access to educational and economic opportunities.

In 2017, Sherri established The I CAN Foundation, SoLa’s non-profit affiliate, where she serves as Executive Director. Sherri spearheaded the launch of the COVID retraining and recovery scholarship fund which resulted in the awarding of a $1M grant from the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation.

Sherri led the development of South LA’s first state-of- the-art technology and entrepreneurship center to spur a new generation of technology entrepreneurs from the South Los Angeles community.

Prior to joining SoLa, Sherri was an Emmy nominated television executive producer and director. She spent two decades overseeing television programs and documentaries, covering social issues throughout the world. Her work has been featured on major media outlets including CNN, NBC, and MTV. Sherri is a South Los Angeles native and volunteers her time to local nonprofit organizations including the Dream Street Foundation where she serves as a member of the board of directors.

Sherri is a licensed foster parent and professionally trained Leadership and Life Coach. Sherri graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Watch Me Grow Inc. (Non-Profit) emerged in 2018 from the work of its founder, Jameelah Hanif, who owns and operates a (Watch Me Grow Child Care) Family Child Care Home licensed by the State of California. Within this context, Ms. Hanif established a strong partnership with “Quality Counts” and in May 2019 she was solely recognized in Solano County with a “5 Star Rating” as a Family Child Care Home. In addition to countless collaborative relationships, Ms. Hanif also partners with “Early Head Start Child Care Partnership,” where her program provides quality childcare, specifically with marginalized/low-income families. In this role she was proven to be a concrete support for many of the families by providing a variety of empowering resources and opportunities to meet their needs.

For Ms. Hanif, the work is not simply child care, it extends to caring for those who are directly connected with the child. Through her experiences as a trusted child care provider (who is commonly called upon for crisis intervention by parents of children in her care for conflict resolution, crisis intervention and resources/referrals), she came to realize and recognize that the children in her care who exhibited behavioral challenges were impacted by the environments in which they live and their level and type of parent/guardian engagement. As a result of her findings, she pursued full-time studies in Early Childhood Education full-time (while operating her child care program and raising her own child as a single-parent). With resilience, she obtained a degree in Early Childhood Education and specializes in Infant/Toddler Care and Development and Violence Intervention & Counseling. Ms. Hanif currently serves as the President of Solano County Family Child Care Association.

Watch Me Grow Inc. (WMG) embraces an innovative and culturally sensitive approach to meet gaps in resources/services and effectively engage low-income parents/guardians in early childhood education and advocacy. The mission of WMG is to provide Solano County parents/guardians of children ages 0 - 5 years old with: 1) culturally sensitive, trauma informed and empowering parent education, training and resources and referrals, 2) community engagement opportunities that strengthen their knowledge and practical skills to access and advocate for their needs, and 3) facilitating peer education and engaging in community building and advocacy within their personal and community networks.

As the Supervisor for District 1, Erin brings her experience of balancing budgets, improving the quality of life and protecting the environment to the Board of Supervisors. Her love for Vallejo and all of Solano County comes from being a businesswoman, city councilmember and a mother.

Erin is a life-long resident of Solano County. She was raised in Fairfield where her passion for volunteer work was fostered. As newlyweds, Erin and her husband Randall made Vallejo their home and soon became an active member of the community, joining the Vallejo Architectural Heritage Neighborhood Association and fundraising for the St. Basil School Parents Club while her children Connor and Hannah attended the school. As a mother, Erin understands the importance of the health and wellbeing of families. She is seeking solutions to ensure those in need in our community are connected to essential services.

As a businesswoman, Erin understands the value of having good paying jobs in her community, and she is focused on growing the opportunities of local employment for residents. In 2004, Erin facilitated relocating the call center of a national insurance company and 220 jobs to the Vallejo Waterfront. She has served on the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Board. Through her involvement in the Vallejo Education and Business Alliance, Erin is focused on improving the graduation rates from Vallejo’s high schools. As a County Supervisor, Erin is continuing her work to retain our existing employers, attract new businesses and industry, and connect employers with job seekers who have the right skills for a vibrant economy.

Erin’s public service career began when she served on the Vallejo Community Development Commission, distributing Community Development Block Grant funds to neighborhoods and organizations in Vallejo. In 2007, Erin was elected to the Vallejo City Council and led Vallejo through extremely tough economic times. She supported a balanced approach to the budget deficit, striving to provide necessary services. She was influential in creating a citywide communication strategy, which gave the employees and the community transparency on the important information facing Vallejo’s leaders. Erin also worked to develop SolTrans, the consolidated bus system for Vallejo and Benicia, which has been a reliable and convenient mode of transportation since its inception.

Erin is proud of her work to improve the quality of life in Vallejo, including re-working commercial truck routes through the city, introducing the Chronic Nuisance Ordinance and supporting smoke-free city parks. She will also continue to champion the protection of our environment, including working with the cities to decrease, if not eliminate, the use of Single Use Plastic Bags and Styrofoam products for takeout food.

I am a proud alumnus of Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUCOM). I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of California Los Angeles, and then attended TUCOM to earn my D.O. degree. From there I went to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles to complete my Pediatric internship and residency. I returned to the TUCOM campus to serve as a faculty member and to work with the local underserved pediatric population in 2009. Since that time I have held a variety of roles including Vice Chair of the Primary Care Department, Assistant Dean of Clinical Integration, Associate Dean of Clinical Education, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and currently, Dean.

I am a Professor of Pediatrics and have been a 5-time recipient of the TUCOM Teacher of the Year Award. I am passionate about osteopathy, medical education, pediatrics, humanism in medicine and medical training, and physician and trainee wellness. I feel honored and privileged to be able to work with the TUC Community and our surrounding communities.

Newman J. Hoffman came to Touro University California after working as Associate General Counsel at Touro University in New York and New York Medical College. Prior to his work at Touro New York, Mr. Hoffman served in similar capacities for several higher education institutions and other educationoriented organizations. Mr. Hoffman received his Juris Doctorate degree with honors at SUNY Buffalo Law School after graduating from Wesleyan University.

Hi, I’m Jon. I grew up in small town Oklahoma, son of a preacher man (and mama!) who has been designing logos since I was in kindergarten. I’m a hard wired optimist, peace seeker and keeper to a fault (any fellow enneagram 9’s out there?). And like so many in our field, I fell into nonprofit work a bit by accident. Along the way I married my best friend Candice, and we had the greatest surprise and joys of our lives by welcoming our two sets of twins - now ages 6 and 9 - man, I’m getting old!

My journey into fundraising began while my newlywed wife and I raised support to be interns for an international ministry which took us to Thailand to live and serve for a year - one of the best and most formative years of our lives. Once returning from overseas, I returned to Oklahoma, armed with a bachelor of fine arts degree from Oklahoma State University, and had the honor of leading the art direction for my alma mater’s billion dollar Branding Success campaign – the largest and most successful fundraising effort in Oklahoma history.

Following this experience, I started serving a growing client base of nonprofit organizations - now more than 25 - consulting on branding, marketing and fundraising. One particular highlight was our family’s side hustle lifestyle brand was selected and we got to design a national collaboration product line with West Elm. While working alongside nonprofits, I grew a passion for development through serving nearly a decade as Director of Annual Giving for INTEGRIS Foundation in Oklahoma City where Becky and I designed and launched our organization’s first employee giving campaign: YOU&I. This campaign experienced 10x growth - starting with fewer than 310 donors to now more than 3,500 annually and has raised millions of dollars along the way. The campaign’s success led for opportunities to share this unique fundraising approach and framework via online webinars, industry conferences and live events. After meeting so many development leaders across the country, we saw the need for an immersive training for fundraisers who want grow their own culture of giving at their organization.

Enter the Employee Giving Campaign Masterclass: an online bootcamp of sorts where Becky and I share a comprehensive framework for creating, launching and scaling a best-in-class employee giving program. We’ve now trained students from healthcare systems across the U.S. and Canada.

After dreaming of a full-fledged company aimed at empowering and equipping this generation of nonprofit leaders - We Are For Good was formed in 2019, and was taken full time in 2020. The first phase of bringing this vision to life is the We Are For Good podcast which debuted in August 2020 as the #1 nonprofit podcast.

Autumn McDonald is a senior fellow, head of New America CA, and a member of New America’s leadership team. Her work focuses on issues of economic equity, community engagement, resident voice, policy influence, and narrative change.

McDonald has more than two decades of experience working with foundations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies on strategy, advocacy, civic innovation, and social impact.

Before joining New America, McDonald served as a senior advisor to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee through the FUSE Corps executive fellowship.

During her tenure, McDonald led the women's economic empowerment agenda, shaping policies and public-private initiatives to improve economic opportunity for women and families throughout the Bay Area. Prior to that, McDonald worked with FSG, a social impact consulting firm serving large, small, community, and family foundations.

McDonald’s writing has been published by numerous media outlets, including Slate, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Project Syndicate, Pacific Standard, CalMatters, and Britannica Parents.

McDonald serves on the board of Women’s Foundation of California and as Chair of the board for Lincoln Families. She has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, a master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a master’s from the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy. She, her husband, and their three children live in Oakland.

Pati Navalta is a longtime Bay Area journalist, serving as the Community Editor for the Vallejo TimesHerald, News Editor at the Alameda News Group, and Editorial Writer and Columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, where she was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize for her editorial series on the need for foster care reform in California. She later worked as the Asia Regional Director for an international organization that works with national governments and intergovernmental agencies on shaping sustainability policies.

She is the author of “The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents of America” (2006, Heyday Books), and the author of the upcoming book, “A Better Place” (Nothing But the Truth Publishing), to be released in 2018. She is married to Cicero A. Estrella, and is the proud mother of two children, Robby and Julie.

She is committed to honoring them every day through The Robby Poblete Foundation.

Jamie Powell is the dedicated Program Director of Fighting Back Partnership, a nonprofit organization deeply committed to eradicating poverty and its far-reaching effects in Vallejo and throughout Solano County. With a passion for community service, Powell joined the agency in 2005 and has since undertaken diverse roles, including her initial position as an AmeriCorps Vista. In this capacity, she worked tirelessly on the front lines, connecting families with essential community resources. Powell's educational background includes studies in Human Services at Solano Community College, supplemented by professional development training in the transformative approach of "Creating the Beloved Community: The Quest for Character, Civility, and Community." This approach focuses on strengthening families, nurturing youth development, and addressing systemic issues such as poverty and racism.

A long-term resident of Vallejo and a devoted mother, Powell brings a wealth of lived experience and a profound sense of empathy to her work. Her exceptional ability to empathize and communicate effectively with diverse populations has become her hallmark. Powell's commitment to social impact and community development stems from her strong faith and belief in the power of paying it forward.

In addition to her role at Fighting Back Partnership, Powell actively serves on several advisory boards, including the Solano County Black Infant Health Advisory Board and the Solano CAB Home Visiting Advisory Board. She is also an esteemed alumna of Leadership Vallejo. Powell's past experiences include leadership roles with organizations such as the Continentals of the Omega Boys & Girls Club, Kids Clubs within VCUSD, Workforce Investment Board, and Goodwill Industries. She has also led youth programs, teaching Botvin Skills and leadership to empower the younger generation.

Powell's unwavering dedication, coupled with her diverse experiences and profound commitment to community service, continues to drive positive change and inspire others within the Vallejo and Solano County communities.

Before assuming the role of President/CEO of the Solano EDC, Chris founded LevelUP, a social enterprise with a unique vision to provide studios, networks, and creative agencies with a fully formed, diverse talent pipeline with candidates who have both creative and emotional competency.

Chris has a breadth and diversity of experience across Economic Development, Entertainment, Education, Politics, and Philanthropy.

Prior to founding LevelUP, Chris led the Center for Innovation at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), a private nonprofit whose mission is the advance opportunity and prosperity for all Angelenos. Chris built InnovateLA, a multi-week, county wide innovation festival with over 150 events on the calendar. InnovateLA which tells the story of Los Angeles, a place where you can come to innovate anything. InnovateLA was recognized as the Grand Prize Winner for an economic development program by CALED, (California Association for Local Economic Development - the state’s leading professional development organization for those working to increase widely shared economic prosperity.)

While at the LAEDC, Chris also created and led the LAEDC’s industry cluster development efforts in Digital Media and Entertainment (DME) where he worked with both industry and academic institutions to build career pathways that best represent the diverse Los Angeles population.

Prior to his tenure at LAEDC Chris ran a digital media marketing campaign for Activate ED - a collaboration of The Broad Center, Education Pioneers, and the Strategic Data Project at Harvard— three top education organizations that all have missions to transform education outside the classroom by identifying, training, and supporting top leaders, managers, and analysts.

Activate ED recruited top talent and provided them with the support, tools and training they need to have a transformative impact on schools and students. As part of that campaign, Chris created and released a series of Education's Rock Star Videos.

Previously, Chris worked in multiple executive roles in film and television development and production in Hollywood. His passion for progressive values and social change prompted him to take those skills into the political arena where he worked with Arianna Huffington as a state organizer, Moveon.org as a lead organizer, and campaign director for a local ballot initiative to promote water conservation and sustainability in San Francisco. With a desire to better understand poverty and education in America on the front lines, Chris became a licensed special needs educator and worked with low income students at both Johnny Cochran Middle School in South LA and an opportunity youth focused charter school in the Bay Area.