BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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Sharon Rose, MA

Co-Founder & Chair

After a successful career in systems design, Sharon changed direction and taught English as a Second Language to students in the Oakland Adult School and at several community colleges. In 2015, she helped found Oakland Serves with Kay Lawson. After reviewing mentoring programs utilizing volunteers in Oakland Public Schools, they launched Oakland Serves, our program for high school students in danger of dropping out.

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Susan Wollowitz, PhD, Treasurer  

Treasurer

Sue is currently Executive Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations at Concentric Analgesics, Inc, a company developing non-opioid pain therapeutics.  Previously she held similar positions of responsibility at Medivation, Inc and Cerus Corporation. Sue holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and is an inventor, author, consultant and teacher in the field of pharmaceutical development. Sue has mentored with Oakland Serves for two years.

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Ingrid Bran

Secretary

Ingrid is an economist now retired from the field of energy efficiency. Having tutored and taught illiterate adults, undergraduate university students, and Oakland high school students, Ingrid experiences ongoing enjoyment of the challenges and achievements of mentoring with Oakland Serves. Born and raised in El Salvador, Ingrid uses her Spanish language skills to mentor students who are recent arrivals to Oakland from Latin America.

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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 area of expertise has been in youth work, including system-involved youth and transitional age youth. John is currently the Program Manager for HPS (Homeless Prevention system) at West Valley Community Services. John holds a BA in Political Science from California State University Hayward with a minor in Sociology. John started out as a volunteer with Oakland Serves and is very passionate about helping the Oakland community, in particular its youth. 

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Ina Zhang, MPH

Board Member

Ina is presently a Senior Research Scientist at PRECISIONheor, a consulting firm providing research strategy services to multiple healthcare stakeholders. Ina is an Oakland-born native who has been with OS since its initial days as an administrative assistant for its co-founder, Kay Lawson, while attending graduate studies at UC Berkeley and has since joined the team as a volunteer providing technical and administrative support as a mentor clearances coordinator, website manager, and managing editor of the OS newsletter, The Graduation Advocate.  

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Dr. Maya Friedman, PhD

Board Member

Maya began working as a mentor for Oakland Serves in 2018 as she completed her graduate studies in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Maya worked at UCSC as a lecturer as well as a science education consultant for the Santa Cruz City School District. Due to a severe illness in her family, Maya changed careers to become a full-time caregiver and is currently the Executive Administrator of InSpirit, a non-profit that supports people living with quadriplegia in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Dr. Sam Lu, MD

Board Member

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If you would be interested in working with the Oakland Serves Team, please say what kind of help you would like to give, which committee interests you, and what your relevant experience has been.

STAFF

June Pangelinan

Program Coordinator

June Pangelinan has worked in nonprofits for over 20 years focusing on public school education; nonprofit administration and volunteer management. Her areas of interest include leadership, community building, and social & emotional learning. June has had a longstanding contemplative practice and is currently a student at the Center for Action & Contemplation. As a minimalist, she values a less is more approach.  June’s family of origin is from Guam and during the pandemic she began to learn, Chamoru, her indigenous language. June is spearheading a pilot language immersion program in the summer of 2022. She enjoys spending time with her daughter Anela who will enter college in the fall and her husband Paul Adachi; she lives in El Cerrito, CA.

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