Mark Adams is a seasoned high-tech executive with deep experience in building companies and effecting social change. Most recently, he was the Chief Development Officer of Equinix, the world’s leading data center company. Returning to his passion for social impact, Mark co-founded Kasi Cloud, a data center start-up focused on expanding internet access in sub-Saharan Africa. He is also currently a director of Cyrus One, a privately-owned data center platform; and a senior advisor of Digital Infrastructure for McKinsey & Company and Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity fund. Prior to Equinix, Mar held senior executive positions at Electronics for Imaging, Adaptec, Roxio and Mspect. In fall off 2023, he was an adjunct professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California – Berkeley. In sharing his motivation for joining the 10,000 Degrees Advisory Board, Mark says, “I have had a life-long passion and interest in education and launching students on their careers. Both of my parents were university professors and instilled in me a respect for the power of education to create opportunity. At the same time, I’ve seen in my own career path, the power of the right internship, the right first job, to help young people discover their passion in the world. I enjoy counseling young adults about potential career paths and how to get started — I’m very experienced at developing resumes and leveraging networks to help students land that first role. I am very excited about the potential of 10,000 Degrees to drive significant impact in the Peninsula and South Bay. I am impressed with the scope and impact of 10,000 Degrees in Marin and SF — I think there is tremendous leverage by expanding a successful model to new markets.”

Jay resides on his ranch and vineyards outside of Healdsburg, California, 70 miles north of San Francisco, where he grows grapes and produces a modest amount of wine. Jay is a retired technology business executive, having served as Chief Executive Officer of Optical Coating Laboratory in the late 1990s and President and Chief Operating Officer of JDS Uniphase, a fiber optics company, until his retirement in 2001. Prior to his operating roles, Jay also served for 18 years as a management consultant and senior partner with McKinsey & Company. Currently, he remains active as a director of several public companies, a trustee of his independent secondary school in Pennsylvania, and several local community organizations in Sonoma County. Having grown up outside of Philadelphia in a very East Coast family, where “the West” meant Ohio, Jay connected strongly to Montana during a summer job in 1961 working on the Minuteman missile complex in the central part of the state. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, a graduate degree from Cornell University, and an MBA from Stanford University.

Isabela “Bela” Cherry is the Marketing Manager at BondBloxx Investment Management, the first ETF issuer dedicated exclusively to fixed income strategies. She leads impactful marketing initiatives that combine her expertise in ETFs and financial marketing to deliver a best-in-class experience for investors. Prior to joining BondBloxx, Bela held various roles within BlackRock’s ETF and Index Investing Group. As part of the iShares Global Product Marketing team, she helped with content creation, production, distribution, and content performance analytics. Isabela was also a member of the Americas Index Equity Product Strategy team, where she represented BlackRock’s institutional index business as a product expert. Bela is an active member of her community as a mentor to 10,000 Degrees and College of Marin students. Her goal is to propel education and career opportunities for the Latinx community.

Jean-Pierre (J-P) Conte is the Chairman and Managing Director of Genstar Capital, a leading US middle-market private equity firm with investments in healthcare, software, financial services, and industrial technology. Conte is a graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Business and Colgate University and has spent over thirty years of his career in private equity. A self-made second-generation American born to Cuban and French immigrants, Conte strongly supports immigration reform and established the Hoover Task Force on Immigration Reform in 2011. His other philanthropic efforts support environmental research, neurological degenerative research, and educational equity. His political commitment is to promote the American values of equity, justice, and freedom for all people. Alongside his prolific philanthropic efforts serving on a number of charity boards (including California Pacific Medical Center, SEO, Hoover Institution, Pan America Development Fund, and Colgate University). J-P is a director of ConnectiveRx, Signant Health, and Advarra. On joining the 10,000 Degrees board, J-P said: “Educational equity is the foundation of American exceptionalism. I’m delighted to be joining the board of an organization so committed to offering opportunity to the best and brightest of US talent.”

Sandy Donnell is a long-time community volunteer with a wide range of volunteer and Board experience in the non-profit sector. She is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Master’s degree in Human Development and a Montessori Teaching Credential. Her past and present Board service includes the Edgewood Center for Children and Families (Board President 1994-96), San Domenico School, Belvedere–Tiburon Child-Care Center, Marin General Hospital Foundation, and the Belvedere Community Foundation (Chairman, Grants Committee). She also served eight years on the Belvedere City Council and was a former mayor. Currently, Sandy is co-chair of the campaign for a permanent Marin County Farmers Market and is active in the Save The Redwoods League. A lifelong resident of the Bay area, Ms. Donnell is married to Justin Faggioli; they are the parents of two adult children. They are also co-owners of a ranch in Sonoma whose operations include cattle grazing and vineyards.

Deborah Freed Goldman was born and raised in Marin County, graduating from Redwood High School as Salutatorian. After receiving her BA in Political Economy from UC Berkeley, she achieved her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. Raising three children in Mill Valley, she served as PTA President at Old Mill and MVMS, served 6 years on the Tam High Foundation Board including Chair and served 18 years on the Kiddo! Mill Valley Schools Foundation Board, serving previously as Chair. She served on the Bridge The Gap Marin City College Prep Advisory Board, including the Marin Promise Success Network and the Marin City Math Collaborative working groups; and currently serves on the SchoolsRuleMarin Advisory Board, USC Marshall School of Business Torch Society-Women’s Leadership Circle and UCB Political Economy Alumni Advisory Board. She mentors first generation students in middle school, high school and college via 10,000 Degrees, Bridge The Gap and English Language Development. She also serves on the Napa Valley Community Foundation Fruit of the Vine Scholarship Committee helping assess and provide scholarships directly to first generation students in Napa County. She owns and operates Oro Puro Vineyards winery, olive oil and honey business in the Napa Valley. She enjoys hiking the trails of Mt. Tamalpais and Atlas Peak in any weather.

Angela Mira is an accomplished strategic planning professional with over thirty years of experience in executive leadership and consulting roles at Wells Fargo, Visa International, and Charles Schwab. She has an extensive background in driving change through business transformation, program governance, and marketing execution. Angela holds an AB in Sociology from Princeton University and an MBA in Corporate Strategy from the University of Michigan. She is currently pursuing post-graduate studies in AI and digital transformation. Angela is a strong supporter of educational equity and has served on the Advisory Board for Assumption Catholic School, where she also chaired the auction marketing committee for over a decade. Angela resides in Hayward, CA, with her husband, daughter, and son.

Derek is a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he serves as a trusted advisor to a select group of entrepreneurs, executives and foundations on all aspects of wealth management. As a Mandarin speaker and dual-citizen of Canada and USA, Derek has counseled numerous international families who have chosen to establish a presence in the US. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Derek held management, engineering and operations roles at technology companies based in Silicon Valley. He serves on the San Francisco Advisory Board of 10,000 Degrees, an education equality non-profit. Derek received a BASc, with distinction, in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, an M.S. in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. in Analytical Finance and Organizational Behavior from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

Dr. Denise M. Lucy is an expert in leadership and organizational change. She is a Professor of Business and Organizational Studies, Founder and Executive Director of the Dominican University of California’s Institute of Leadership Studies. She has 42 years of experience in higher education as an educator and executive; first at the University of San Francisco and currently at Dominican since 1993. Some of her former professional roles include Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean, Associate Dean, Director of Marketing and Corporate Development. She currently serves as a tenured professor of Business and Organizational Studies in Dominican’s Barowsky School of Business, and founding Executive Director of Dominican’s Institute for Leadership Studies. As a professor, and leadership scholar she teaches and consults in leadership and team development, strategic planning, and organizational change, negotiation and conflict management. Her research interests include leadership and teams, small business enterprise, micro-finance poverty reduction, community leadership, civic engagement and corporate social responsibility. She serves on several boards, such as Marin Health, Dominican’s Women Leadership and Philanthropy Council and is Co-President of the Pt. San Pedro Road Coalition.

Monica Mehra is a vice president and securitized products portfolio manager for the disciplined alpha team at Loomis, Sayles & Company, where she is responsible for security selection and trading for CMBS and ABS. She joined Loomis Sayles in 2011. Monica began her investment career in 2004 at Morgan Stanley in ABS trading and syndicate, and later worked at Nomura Securities as the lead ABS trader. She earned a BS in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University, and an MBA from Columbia University.

Operations Director and Positioning Consultant, Firebrick Consulting Katey has a true passion for helping companies create positioning strategies that resonate with the market, break through the noise and drive business results. She brings more than 25 years of experience to her role at Firebrick, and has led hundreds of companies and their executive teams to build market-differentiating programs. She also plays an operations role for the firm, managing strategic partnerships, team resources and team-building. Before Firebrick, Katey was a PR agency VP working with companies across a wide range of sectors to build awareness and thought leadership. Katey earned a B.A. in International Relations from Bucknell University. A native of the Midwest, she lives in San Rafael with her family and two Labrador Retrievers, where she loves seeking out new adventures in food, wine and nature.

Lizbeth is currently a manager in the international tax services group of PwC’s San Francisco office. She joined the 10,000 Degrees Board in 2020. As co-lead for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) Committee for 10,000 Degrees, Lizbeth helps direct and foster a culture of inclusive leadership and culture of belonging at 10,000 Degrees. In her role, Lizbeth has assisted in the development of our DEI strategy, which has included working with staff, other board members and a third party service provider in the execution of a comprehensive cultural survey report for 10,000 Degrees. Lizbeth has previously volunteered at various non-profits in Los Angeles and in the Bay Area. Her experience included serving as a law clerk for the Community Economic Development Unit of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and Low Income Taxpayer’s Clinic of Santa Clara Law School. Lizbeth was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico and earned her BS in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University and JD from Santa Clara School of Law.

Albert Richards is the CEO and co-Founder of Alambic Investment Management, LP – a systematic investment manager based in San Francisco. Prior to becoming a founding partner of Alambic, Bert was Managing Director and Head of European Equity Research (1994-2000) for Citigroup (previously Salomon Brothers), European Internet and Global Technology strategist (2000-2003) and Small and Mid-Cap strategist (2003-2006). From 1986 to 1994 Mr. Richards worked in equity research for Credit Suisse First Boston in New York and London. Mr. Richards received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University in 1981, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1983, a Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1986, and an M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management (MIT), also in 1986. He was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1990.

Bio coming soon!

Nikhil Sharma is a Senior Software Engineer with over 12 years of experience in building scalable, highly resilient products leveraging Micro Service Architecture and API-first design. He is passionate about technology and delivering products to make a profound impact on end users. Nikhil has experience in working with cross-functional , geographical teams following agile practices with a focus on test-driven methodology. Nikhil is completely aligned with 10,ooo Degrees’ mission to help students from low-income backgrounds get to and through college in order to positively impact their communities and the world. Nikhil believes education is the key to creating endless opportunities by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty.

Madeleine Sinclair has more than a decade of experience in the investment management industry, spanning functions of account management, distribution strategy, and business development. She specializes in the design of client acquisition and retention strategies, sales planning, and strategic marketing programs. As a key member of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock (iShares), she has lead teams of tenured sales professionals and has contributed to the growth of a multi-billion dollar Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) client base. In her current role, she partners with the Head of BlackRock’s US iShares Wealth Advisory Group to set its strategic direction and define key priorities to enhance competitiveness and market share growth. Education: MBA, New York University and BA, DePauw University

Born in India, Sonu came to America when he was just a teenager, and today he is the Owner and CEO of The Chandi Hospitality Group which he runs with his family. In 2007, Sonu along with brothers purchased his first Mountain Mike’s Pizza franchise in Rohnert Park. It wasn’t long before its success led to development of 14 more Mountain Mike’s throughout the North Bay in the last 10 years. Along with successfully running his ever-expanding franchises, Sonu currently holds the position of president for the Mountain Mike’s North Bay Franchise Management which plays developer role for the whole North Bay. Under Sonu’s vision, the Chandi Hospitality Group continues its rapid expansion. As well as running a fast-growing business, Sonu also devotes much of his time and energy in strengthening the Santa Rosa community. He is on the Governance Committee of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber and Green Music Center. In addition, he has been a board member of the Santa Rosa Downtown Association, Sonoma County Harvest Fair, United Way of North Bay, the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University and 10,000 Degrees. Thanks to his dedication, he has been honored with the North Bay Business Journal’s Corporate Philanthropy Award, the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber named him Hospitality Small Business of the Year in 2017, the North Bay Business Journal named him one of its Forty Under 40 (2015). Sonu has also been recognized for the Keegan Leadership Award as First Next Gen, Community Impact Award by Santa Rosa Memorial Foundation and Keegan family. Additionally, American Dream Award 2017 by Congressman Mike Thompson and invited to attend State of the Union for 2022 on behalf of Sonoma County Business.

Tam Tiet is a family medicine physician for Sutter Health in Sonoma County. Dr. Tiet completed her medical training from UC Davis Family medicine residency network in 2015, graduating cum laude in Biology from the University of San Francisco. She is an alum of Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley and 10,000 degrees. Prior to medical school, she worked at BioMarin Pharmaceutical in Novato as a microbiology analyst. Dr. Tiet’s career thus far has involved teaching and mentoring, initially to middle school students and later to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and medical students. She has also volunteered in medical mission projects in Vietnam and continues to participate in charitable work in both Vietnam and the Bay Area. Dr. Tiet is a firm believer in higher education and plans to obtain a Health Care Executive MBA. Dr. Tiet is grateful for her educational opportunities and being able to give back to the community and, is delighted to be part of 10,000 Degrees.

Jeremy Wenner is a Managing Director at IEQ Capital and has provided investment advice to wealthy families for over 25 years. Prior to joining IEQ Capital, Mr. Wenner was a Managing Director and Wealth Manager at First Republic Investment Management which he joined in 2018. Prior to joining First Republic, Mr. Wenner was a wealth advisor at Jefferies LLC and Thomas Weisel Partners. Mr. Wenner started his career in financial services at NationsBanc Montgomery Securities in 1998 before joining SF Sentry, a multifamily office. Mr. Wenner has been recognized as a 2022 & 2023 Best-in-State Wealth Advisor by Forbes. Mr. Wenner currently serves as a mentor for 10,000 degrees, a nationally recognized leader in supporting students from low-income backgrounds to and through college and beyond. He has also served on the Corte Madera FC board and volunteered for many years as a youth soccer coach. Mr. Wenner received a BA in Political Science from Colgate University. He received his MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Mr. Wenner currently resides in Marin County with his wife and three children. He enjoys skiing, surfing, biking and soccer.

Michael Whitcomb is a management consultant (retired) at Catalyst Strategies with over 35 years of experience in marketing and general management. At Catalyst he was a leader in their strategic planning practice, helping clients build a coherent, compelling, and sustainable value proposition through effective positioning, brand strategy, and growth planning. Michael’s clients have included mostly technology and financial services companies such as SAP, Cisco, RSA, Wells Fargo, Silicon Valley Bank, Delta Dental, AAA, IHS, Zazzle, and NerdWallet. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Ackerman McQueen Advertising, CMO for Jarden Corporation, and Managing Director of Gatorade in Australia and New Zealand. Michael holds an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia, an MA in History from San Francisco State University, and a BA from Dartmouth College. Michael and his wife, Julie, live in San Francisco and have two grown children.

Mary Wolfe is the founder and principal consultant at Wolfe + Associates, a boutique firm specializing in measuring client satisfaction for professional services firms. Previously, Mary spent over 15 years in start-up marketing working for a variety of tech and consumer companies on strategic marketing, product marketing and design, and new business development. Mary is an avid community volunteer. She is a chair emeritus and serves on the development committee of Raphael House of San Francisco. She also serves as vice president and development chair of Young Women’s Choral Project of San Francisco. She actively serves on the capital campaign committee for the libraries at the University of Virginia. Mary graduated from the University of Virginia where she received her B.A. degree in English literature.

Kim Mazzuca has served as the President & CEO of 10,000 Degrees since 1999. A Bay Area native and first generation college graduate, Kim has dedicated her life to social justice. She brings more than two decades of executive nonprofit management and philanthropic leadership in the areas of youth development, human services, workforce development, and education. Prior to joining 10,000 Degrees, Kim served as the Associate Executive Director of Jewish Vocational Service and as Director of Rehabilitation and Special Assistant to the Founder and Director for RCH, Inc. She holds her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from San Francisco State University, is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Program for Nonprofit Leaders, where she was named a fellow in 2001, and is currently seeking her doctoral degree in Organization and Leadership at the University of San Francisco. In 2014, Kim was named a Nonprofit Leader of the Year by North Bay Business Journal and in 2015, she was named Legislative Woman of the Year for California’s 10th District. Kim has served on numerous community boards, including the National College Access Network Board of Directors, where she completed a three-year term as board president. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Prison University Project at San Quentin.