Foundation for a College Education (FCE)

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FCE's success is a result of the commitment and dedication of so many remarkable people, including:

A strong and diverse Board of Directors
An Advisory Board that offers strategic guidance
Accomplished and talented staff
A Parent and Student Leadership Team, which provides vital feedback to keep our programs relevant
Dynamic program volunteers

2007-2008 Board of Directors

		Samantha Avila Treasurer Samantha Avila is an Investment Analyst with Lighthouse Capital Partners, a private equity firm with more than $1.3B under management. Lighthouse focuses on providing debt financing to early stage technology and life sciences companies and Samantha is primarily responsible for researching and identifying investment opportunities, performing due diligence, and monitoring West Coast investments. Samantha formerly served with Lighthouse as a Senior Fund Accountant where she was responsible for financial reporting, fund accounting, and operational analysis. Prior to her work with her current firm, she spent three years in public accounting as an auditor with KPMG LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Samantha volunteered with the Berkeley High School Y-Scholars Program from 2003 to 2004 and then joined FCE's Board of Directors in September 2005. In her current role as Treasurer, Samantha provides significant financial oversight and direction. As a first generation college graduate, Samantha holds strong beliefs about the importance of higher education in a student's personal life and in society in general. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Oregon and is a C.P.A. in the State of California.
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		Alexandra Bernadotte President Alexandra Bernadotte brings to FCE over 12 years of executive management, strategic development and international expertise in both the non-profit and corporate arena. Some of Alex's previous professional experiences include serving as the Executive Director of the Princeton Review's Silicon Valley office; the Vice President of Marketing and Internet Strategy for Explorica, Inc., an educational travel start-up; and Marketing Director for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where she spearheaded the efforts of a youth substance abuse prevention foundation. As a first-generation college graduate, Alex believes deeply in issues of educational equity and access. In fall of 2003, she began her association with FCE as a member of the Board of Directors, and soon after, she joined FCE's staff as Vice President of Business Development. As President of FCE's Board of Directors, she provides leadership in its strategic and policy-making roles. Alex graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Sociology and earned an M.A. from Stanford University School of Education. Currently, Alex is an Associate Partner for New Schools Venture Fund.
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		Dandre DeSandies Dandre joins FCE as a long-time supporter of equity programs in East Palo Alto. Living and teaching in East Palo Alto during the '70s and '80s, Dandre has worked with a variety of East Palo Alto organizations for the uplift of the community. He taught at Nairobi Day School, worked on the Citizen's Committee for the Incorporation of East Palo Alto, and helped coach one of the first East Palo Alto youth soccer teams in the American Youth Soccer Organization. (AYSO). Dandre's current position at Stanford University, working with undergraduates to plan academic careers, dovetails nicely with the goals of FCE. He is committed not only to assisting the organization achieve its goals but also wants to be sure to facilitate connections between Stanford University and its neighbor across the freeway. Dandre graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Sociology and Government. He also earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology/Counseling from University of San Francisco. He lives now in the East Bay with his wife, ManYee, an elementary school teacher. They have two grown sons who graduated from California colleges, one at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the other at Stanford University.
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		S. Tyler Edelstein Tyler Edelstein founded the Ocean Endowment Fund in 2007 to provide small to medium-sized endowments, private foundations, family offices, and high net worth individuals access to the same investment strategies, processes, and proven managers used by the largest and most successful university endowments. Formerly, Tyler was a Managing Director at Stanford Management Company (SMC) and a senior member of its Portfolio Management Group. As Managing Director of Real Estate and Natural Resources, Tyler oversaw the $3 billion global real assets portfolio for the Stanford University Merged Endowment Pool and as Managing Director, Separate Investments Division, had chief investment officer responsibilities for $2 billion in assets managed outside the main endowment pool, including its Charitable Remainder Trust program. Prior to joining SMC, Tyler worked as an independent consultant specializing in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and previously worked with Peripheral Systems Group, a medical device start-up company, and Morgan Stanley & Co. Tyler holds a B.A. degree from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. She serves on the Williams College Advisory Committee for Gift Planning.
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		Magdalena Rosales Fittoria Vice President Magdalena Fittoria is a Bilingual Teacher of 4th and 5th grade students in the Spanish Immersion Program at Escondido Elementary School in the Palo Alto Unified School District. She is the senior staff member who has devoted ten years of teaching in this program that develops Spanish-English fluency, promotes multicultural awareness, and achieves grade level academic proficiency. Prior to working as a teacher, Ms. Fittoria worked in the Ravenswood City School District as a grant writer and coordinator of special programs, including serving as Director of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, which provided early childhood education, adult education, and parent support to families in East Palo Alto. Ms. Fittoria was born in Mexico and is the first generation of her family to attend a higher education institution. Her children, Miguel and Jessica, both attend Palo Alto High School and participate in FCE. Ms. Fittoria received a B.A. degree in Anthropology and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University. She received her Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.
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		Rita L. Giles Secretary Rita Giles, Secretary, graduated from Stanford Law School in 1977 and then spent 10 years working for a large San Francisco law firm as associate and then partner. She decided to "retire" from practice after her third child was born in 1988. Rita and her husband have four boys. After becoming active in the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) while working on the bond campaign, Rita got involved in the PTA. Her roles on the PTA have been many, including president of the Nixon Elementary School PTA and then as Council Executive Board for the Palo Alto PTA. She helped launch efforts to open a third middle school in PAUSD, and was involved in the early planning stages for that school.In addition, Rita worked to form and charter the new Terman Middle School PTA for which she served as founding President. An active member of the PAUSD-based Race & Racism Study Circles (a national program), she became deeply committed to addressing issues related to the achievement gap between students of color and white students in the district. Several years ago, this team played an instrumental role on the PAUSD Strategic Plan Development Group, which resulted in the creation of a district-wide goal regarding narrowing the achievement gap. An FCE colleague since its founding, Rita brings to the Board a passion for issues of equity and access as well as valuable legal expertise and a deep understanding of local school policy issues.
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		Pablo Hernandez Pablo Hernandez is an FCE parent and community volunteer who has been active with the FCE Parent Leadership Team, a formal committee of the Board. His daughter, Paulina, an FCE participant since her freshman year of high school, was the first in their family to attend college. His son, Marco, also enrolled in FCE and will be the second person in the family to go to college. Mr. Hernandez brings significant understanding of the East Palo Alto community and the needs of the parents and families served by FCE, especially those for whom English is a second language. Together with his wife Victoria and their two other children, his perspective on the Board of Directors is critical as FCE strives to deepen its impact in the community and create sustained change.
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		Cathy Kroymann Cathy Kroymann has been a community volunteer since moving to Palo Alto with her husband and two sons in 1986. She was a classroom volunteer and parent leader in the school district for twenty years, serving on the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education from 1997-2005. Cathy served as President of the Board of Education in 2000 and 2004 and as President of the Santa Clara County School Boards Association in 2001. She also represented Santa Clara County as a delegate to the California School Boards Association for six years. During her tenure on the Board of Education, Cathy was a strong advocate for equity in the schools and for providing opportunities for all students to be successful. In addition to her work in the schools, Cathy is involved in numerous other community organizations. She is currently on the Palo Alto Community Fund Board and the Senior Day Health Board and has served as President of both boards. Cathy is also a member of the Avenidas Board and the Adolescent Counseling Services Advisory Board.
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		Sharon Nelson-Barber Immediate Past President Dr. Sharon Nelson-Barber is a sociolinguist and directs culture and language in education research at WestEd, an educational research and development firm. Her work explores ways in which teachers can more effectively teach the full spectrum of students in today's classrooms and centers in particular on teaching in nontraditional settings spanning indigenous communities in the lower 48 states, Alaska, and the Pacific islands of Micronesia. Dr. Nelson-Barber also teaches at Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. She has published extensively, is active in a number of organizations within the fields of anthropology and education, and serves on several national advisory boards on teaching and learning in culturally diverse settings. Dr. Nelson-Barber has provided equity assistance to schools, organizations, and service agencies serving diverse communities, focusing on cultural issues in the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. She received an Ed.D. and Ed.M. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College. A recent addition to the FCE Board, she looks forward to sharing her expertise in qualitative research and culturally competent assessment and evaluation.
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		Jim Phillips Mr. Phillips retired from Lockheed Space Systems Division after 37 years in the Aerospace and Defense industry, including 10 years with General Electric. During his career, he was a development engineer, adjunct professor, technical manager and managing executive. As a line executive he played a significant role in employee diversity programs at Lockheed. He co-chaired the YWCA’s “Commitment to Diversity” conferences in the early ‘90s and has served on the Board of the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula and as president of the Palo Alto YMCA. He has recently served as an advisor for Foundation for a College Education. He is currently the on the Boards of the Palo Alto Kiwanis Club (past president), Palo Alto Community Child Care, Peninsula Habitat for Humanity (SMC), and on the Donor Advised Fund Committee -YWCA of the Mid-Peninsula. He lives in Palo Alto with his wife, Alma. They have a married son, a married daughter and a granddaughter.
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		Stephen Player Founding President Stephen Player is an attorney by training who has practiced law in Palo Alto for 33 years. Mr. Player currently works in the Office of Development at Stanford University as Associate Director of Planned Giving. A former president of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Player has been active in many non-profit organizations on the Peninsula and is deeply committed to community change. Other non-profit affiliations include past president of the Stanford Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition, past president of the Palo Alto area YMCA, and member of the Board of Directors of Family Services and the Children' Health Council. An active member of the community, Mr. Player is also involved in Palo Alto Rotary and serves on the Board of the Center for a New Generation. Mr. Player brings to FCE extensive legal, board leadership, and development expertise.
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		Nikole Richardson Nikole Richardson is a doctoral student, with a concentration on teacher education and curriculum, at Stanford University School of Education. In her previous professional life, she served as a literacy coach in New York City public high schools, and director of curriculum and supervision at Thurgood Marshall Academy, a Washington D.C. charter school. Nikole attended high school in the Bay Area and has taught high school level social studies and humanities courses over the past nine years. In her current research project she is working with area high school teachers to create curriculum with primary documents from the Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Research and Education. Nikole brings to the board experience with and a commitment to helping students who are traditionally underrepresented in colleges and universities gain access to higher education. She holds a B.A. in history from Howard University and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
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		Irvin Rollins, Jr., Ed.D. Dr. Irv Rollins retired from Palo Alto Unified School District as an Assistant Supertendent for Student Services in 2000. He continues his commitment to education in his role as a Senior Lecturer and Core Faculty Member of Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. In addition to pursuing his educational interests, he is a committed community volunteer, having served as President of the Board of Directors of the Palo Alto Community Child Care, a member of the Advisory Group for the San Mateo County Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and a weekly volunteer in State Senator S. Joe Simitian's Office in Palo Alto.
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		Marielena Scanlon Marielena Scanlon is a financial services professional with New York Life Insurance Company. A native of Mexico City, she has lived in Venezuela, Spain, and Northern California. Active in the local community for many years, Ms. Scanlon currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Foundation Silicon Valley, and is chair of the Media Committee for the Hispanic Charity Ball. She was Treasurer of the Hispanic Women's Council of Northern California, through which she helped to create the Latina Scholarship Fund. A repeat guest speaker for the Latina Style Business Series, Ms. Scanlon is also a member of the Women of Color Action Network (WCAN) and has been a panelist for WCAN on a session showcasing the results of a study by Catalyst on Latinas in the Workplace. Ms. Scanlon also enjoys fundraising for the non-profit sector; in the past, she chaired the direct appeal for El Carmelo Elementary School. She received her B.A. from Sonoma State University and an M.A. from the University of Rhode Island. Long-time residents of the Palo Alto area, Ms. Scanlon and her husband, Kevin M. Sheehan, Ph.D., have two sons, Thomas and Christopher. Deeply committed to issues of educational equity and access for all students, Ms. Scanlon also shares her financial and fund raising expertise with FCE.
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		Irene St. Roseman Irene St. Roseman, Program Director for the Level Playing Field Institute, oversees the Summer Math & Science Honors Academy. Prior to this position, Ms. St. Roseman served as Executive Director of Realizing Intellect through Self-Empowerment (RISE). RISE is a school-based, youth development and college preparatory program that increases the graduation and four-year college acceptance rates of socio-economically disadvantaged students of color at Menlo-Atherton High School. She also taught English for four years at The Head Royce School in Oakland, and writing for nine summers at Head Royce's "Head's-Up" program, a summer enrichment program for high-achieving middle school students from the Oakland public schools. A gifted educator, Ms. St. Roseman provides expansive knowledge of the grade 8-12 school system as well as issues of teaching and learning, with a priority on meeting the needs of all students. Originally from the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies, Ms. St. Roseman grew up in New York City. She earned a B.A. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and is currently writing her master's thesis for the education administration and policy program at Sacramento State University.
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Staff

		Anna L. Waring, Ph.D. Executive Director From July 2002 until June 2007, Dr. Waring served as president of Josephinum Academy, an all girls’ Catholic school located in the Wicker Park area of Chicago. Josephinum Academy is a multicultural college preparatory school educating girls in grades in six through twelve. The majority of young women educated at Josephinum live at or below the poverty level. Between 95 and 100 percent of the seniors graduate on time and a comparable number are admitted to colleges and universities. Dr. Waring worked at DePaul University as an assistant dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a faculty member in the Public Services Graduate Program where she taught courses in management, leadership, policy analysis, the nonprofit sector and ethics. Between college and graduate school, she worked in admissions and alumni affairs for A Better Chance, Inc., a national talent search organization for academically gifted students of color, which places students in independent and selected public high schools. Dr. Waring grew up in Boston, MA and was educated in the Boston Public Schools through grade eight. For high school she attended Milton Academy, an independent school just south of Boston, where she was an A Better Chance, Inc. scholar. Dr. Waring has a B.A. in Psychology from Williams College (1978) and received her Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University (1995). Currently she serves on the Head of School Council at Milton Academy and is a member of Phi Delta Kappa. In 2005 Dr. Waring received the “Excellence in Education Award” from the Williams College Bolin Reunion committee and in 2006 the Bicentennial Award from Williams College also for her work in education.
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		Deana Lewis Director of College Bound Programs Deana directs all academic support and monitoring services for the College Bound Program. Deana served as a volunteer College Coach and trainer for FCE before joining our staff. She brings seven-plus years of executive management, marketing, curriculum development and community outreach experience at The Princeton Review offices in Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Palo Alto. Deana believes deeply in issues of educational equity and access, and early college preparation planning by students. Her focus is to expand the academic enrichment of the College Bound program, especially curriculum development for 9th and 10th grade students. Deana received her B.A. from University of Pennsylvania and received her M.A. in Education with a concentration in Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies, from Stanford University.
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		Joyce Latu Assistant Director Joyce Latu is a former FCE student who graduated from Dominican University in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology. While at Dominican, she worked as an ambassador in the admissions office and became an even more passionate advocate for educational equity and access. After graduation, Joyce joined the College Board’s Western Regional office as an Educational Associate where she worked with a variety of school districts and teachers, and quickly recognized the need to expand her outreach efforts to parents and students. As an Assistant Director, Joyce is responsible for supporting and monitoring all academic services for FCE's College Bound Program, as well as managing all FCE program volunteers including college coaches, group tutors and one-on-one tutors. Joyce’s presence is critical as she provides our students and families with proof that the dream of a college degree can come true.
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		Carmen Ochoa Assistant Director Carmen Ochoa, graduated in 2007 from Mount St. Mary’s College with a B.A. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Psychology. During her career at Mount St. Mary’s College, she was a board member for Women for Community Medicine, a pre-medical organization that offered support and medical information to aspiring physicians. In addition, Carmen has volunteered at the Venice Family Clinic, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and at Camp Ronald McDonald. She also has participated in summer programs such as Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) at Stanford University and the Hugh Edmondson Summer Fellowship at UC Davis Research Center. Carmen worked at Mount St. Mary’s as a science tutor and student researcher. In addition, she worked for Med-COR USC, a program dedicated to providing academic enrichment and health career information to minority students in the Los Angeles area. Before Carmen joined the FCE staff, she volunteered for FCE as a college coach and science tutor. Now, as the Assistant Director she is responsible for the implementation of the College Success program which includes assisting FCE college students, maintaining alumni involvement with FCE, and ensuring the successful transition of FCE students into their four-year institutions. Carmen is passionate about making positive contributions in her community through education, mentorship and medicine.
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		Dr. Cornel West National Advisor Dr. West, an internationally acclaimed scholar on race, politics, equity and social justice, has been described as one of America's most gifted and provocative public intellectuals. Dr. West received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his graduate degrees from Princeton University, where he is currently the Class of 1943 Professor of Religion. He has also held positions at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard and the University of Paris. The author of the contemporary classic, Race Matters, and most recently, Democracy Matters, he is the recipient of the American Book Award and has earned more than twenty honorary degrees. Passionate, provocative and inspiring, he is a powerful role model for our young men and women and embodies FCE's mission and vision.
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Advisory Board

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Parent and Student Leadership Teams

The PSLT is an active group of students and parents, all of whom are also FCE clients. They advise FCE on key program development matters, lead the parent component of the program, and assist in all aspects of program implementation.

Parent Team

Student Team

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Program Volunteers

College Coaches

Tutors

College Application Assistance

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