Sharon Rose, MA  Co-Founder, Chair and Executive Director

Sharon is a longtime activist around educational issues in Oakland.  She was Coordinator of  Oakland Mayor Jean Quan’s Mentoring Initiative in 2014.  She is Co-Chair of the Block by Block Organizing Network, an Oakland city-wide, district-based organization mobilizing citizens for grass roots activity.  In 2015, she co-founded Oakland Serves with Kay Lawson.  She has taught English as a Second Language in the Oakland Adult School and in community colleges.​

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Susan Wollowitz, PhD  Treasurer and co-lead

Sue is a pharmaceutical consultant as Wollowitz Associates, LLC.  Previously, she's held SVP/VP postions at Concentric Analgesics, Medivation (now Pfizer) and Cerus Corporation and is an inventor, author, consultant and teacher in the field of pharmaceutical development.  Sue mentors with Oakland Serves when she gets a chance.

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Ingrid Bran Secretary

Ingrid is an former economist in the field of energy efficiency.  She has tutored and taught undergraduate students, Oakland high school students, and illiterate adults.  Ingrid was born and raised in El Salvador.  She continues to mentor weekly with Oakland Serves.

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John Anyosa Board Member

John has over 30 years of experience doing community-based work, directly as a service provider and/or in a management capacity. While he has worked for many organizations throughout the Bay Area, his primary areas of expertise have been in youth work and transitional housing. He holds a BA in Political Science from California State University, Hayward with a minor in Sociology.  John is very passionate about helping the Oakland community, in particular its youth. 

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Maya Friedman, PhD  Board Member

Maya is currently Executive Administrator of InSpirit, a non-profit that supports people living with quadriplegia in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She has a degree in Evolutionary Biology from UCSC and has worked as a lecturer there and as a science education consultant for the Santa Cruz City School District.  Maya is a former mentor for Oakland Serves.

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Sam Lu, MD Board Member

Sam is currently an Associate Director at Denali Therapeutics.  As a pediatrician at UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland and elsewhere, he witnessed the interplay between social factors and health outcomes.  He joined Oakland Serves to improve graduation rates thus hoping to improve the future health of the children of Oakland. 

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Eli Smukler Board Member

Eli is an Oakland native and resident, who currently works as a software engineering manager at Pandora's Oakland HQ. Previously, he was a high school math teacher in Washington D.C. public schools.  He has served as a volunteer mentor with Oakland Serves, teaching Algebra to students at Castlemont HS. He has also taught web development skills to Bay Area public school students with the non-profits CodeNation and MissionBit.

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Russell Warriner Board Member

Russell is the Founder and CEO of Nocturne, that developed a novel sound machine for tinnitus. Prior to that, he worked in supply chain management at Apple in Cupertino and Taipei.  He holds an MBA from Wharton and an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.  He volunteers as a mentor with Oakland Serves at several high schools supporting English academic recovery classrooms.