Our Mission
To champion equitable public education for students, families, and our community. Through grants, volunteers, and STEM programs, we center equity for the benefit of our students and the entire community.
Our Vision
A future where public schools support students of all identities and life experiences to thrive in school and in life.
Our Values
- We strive for success for all students
- We center equity and human dignity
- We invest in innovation and collaboration
Our Theory of Change
In the spring of 2022, we worked with staff, board, Teaching & Learning Advisors & Community Advisors to build out this Theory of Change. It will focus and guide our work over the next 3-5 years.
Our History
The Berkeley Public Schools Fund (then Berkeley Public Education Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established in 1983, when Proposition 13 tax restructuring began impacting public schools. A group of Berkeley parents and community leaders, concerned about the diminishing resources for public schools, created the Berkeley Public Schools Fund.
Starting with educator grants, followed by volunteer programs, and most recently STEM programming, the Berkeley Public Schools Fund directs resources to areas of greatest need (“equity gaps”) in the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) and is a reliable resource for educators, BUSD, and the broader public school community.
The Schools Fund is entirely supported by contributions from individuals and businesses in the community. Funds are directed to support students through grants for educators, training and matching volunteers with educators, to run our STEM programming and for specific purposes designated by fiscal sponsorship arrangements.
Year to year, operating costs for the Schools Fund are 20-30 percent of our budget.
Staff
Mona joined the Berkeley Public Schools Fund in 2024 as an administrative assistant. She is a proud alumna of Berkeley Schools, and has dedicated her career to champion underserved students, drawing on her prior experience as an administrative assistant at Berkeley City College. With a background in nonprofit finance, she now supports finance and development operations at the Berkeley Public Schools Fund, leveraging her expertise and personal commitment to advance equitable education.
Contact:
monaaldabashi@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
monaaldabashi@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Mona Aldabashi
Administrative Assistant
Nagat joined the Berkeley Public Schools Fund in 2024 and is the STEM Programs Manager. She and her children have attended Berkeley schools, and she has been active in the school community since 2014. Nagat has held roles as an instructional technician for afterschool programs and as an instructional assistant in special education, and has participated in Super Science Saturdays and the summer Maker Camp. Nagat is passionate about supporting Berkeley students, educators, and families, with a focus on STEM education and community engagement.
Contact:
nagatalwasim@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
nagatalwasim@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Nagat Alwasim
STEM Programs Manager
Karina Cruz Rosales joined the Berkeley Public Schools Fund in 2024 and is the Communications Coordinator. With expertise in communications, design, and community engagement, she excels in creating compelling narratives that highlight organizational impact. Passionate about social justice and community storytelling, Karina's experience includes managing social media, developing marketing strategies, and leading impactful events. She is dedicated to fostering connections and making a positive difference in education through her creative work.
Contact:
karinacruzrosales@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
karinacruzrosales@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Karina Cruz Rosales
Communications Coordinator
Greta joined the Berkeley Public Schools Fund in 2022. She has a background in anthropology, the arts and nonprofit consulting. Her approach to development is grounded in creating fulfilling pathways for folks to engage with and support something they deeply care about. She is committed to fostering a culture of accessibility and equity through her work, and is thrilled to play a role in supporting Berkeley students, educators, and families.
Contact:
gretahadley@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
gretahadley@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Greta Hadley
Director of Development
Sally joined the Schools Fund staff in August 2021, after volunteering with the organization through the pandemic distance learning. She’s found it to be a meaningful career pivot from 20+ years as an independent marketing research consultant. She is thrilled to utilize her organizing and communication skills in support of the Berkeley school community.
Contact:
sallymclaughlin@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
sallymclaughlin@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Sally McLaughlin
Program Manager—Schools Support Volunteers
Jissel joined the Berkeley Public Schools Fund in 2021. Prior to joining, Jissel's work experience consisted of early literacy, service-learning, and volunteer program management through Bay Area nonprofits. Her approach to education is rooted in a social justice lens that critically examines institutions and strives to center equity, dignity, and respect for students and families.
Contact:
jisselpoblete@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
jisselpoblete@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Jissel Poblete
Program Manager, Grants & Classroom Volunteers
Duffy Ross is currently the Executive Director of the Schools Fund, having been with the organization in various leadership roles since 2019. Her education career has spanned both the nonprofit education and school district spheres, having taught science in a variety of nonformal learning contexts before working as a classroom teacher. In addition, Duffy has spent more than 20 years as an instructional coach, professional learning facilitator, and equity advocate at all levels of schooling institutions. Duffy is also a proud BUSD parent. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Romance Languages from Dartmouth College, a Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management from University of San Francisco, and is currently enrolled in a Doctoral program in Education Leadership at Northeastern University.
Contact:
duffyross@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
duffyross@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Duffy Ross
Executive Director
Angie joined the Schools Fund in February 2021, working in various roles related to STEM program development and finance management. She has been involved in Super Science Saturdays and summer Maker Camp since each program's inception. As of January 2024, she is the Schools Fund's Director of Finance & Operations. Angie has been working with the Berkeley school community since 2009.
Contact:
angiewon@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Contact:
angiewon@schoolsfund.berkeley.net
Angie Won
Director of Finance & Operations, STEM Programs Supervisor
Board of Directors
José Luis was born in Guanajuato, México, the son of a farmworker and factory worker. José Luis, is also a UC Berkeley graduate and has over 20 years of experience in tech innovation and a passion for community organizing. He and his wife established a scholarship at UC Berkeley in honor of his parents. As a father of three BUSD students, José Luis is actively involved in enhancing Berkeley’s public schools.
José Luis Bedolla
William has over 20 years of experience in education, technology, and financial services, focusing on closing the opportunity gap for underserved communities. At SMASH, part of the Kapor Center, he developed STEM career pathways through strategic partnerships. A UC Berkeley graduate, William is passionate about supporting Berkeley’s education community and helping students achieve their goals.
William Cardenas
Kevin, an Oakland native and UC Berkeley graduate, excelled in track and field before transitioning to coaching and teaching. He is now the Lead Pastor at Ebenezer Church of Berkeley, continuing a pastoral legacy that began with his great-grandfather, who founded the church in South Berkeley 67 years ago.
Kevin Craddock II
Rachel is a seasoned non-profit leader with over 25 years of experience, currently serving as Director of Development & Communications at Civicorps. She has been a parent advocate in BUSD, serving on the PTA Council Board and the Superintendent's Extended Learning Taskforce. Rachel lives in Berkeley with her husband and three children, advocating for educational equity.
Rachel Eisner
Mary Friedman was one of the early founders of the Berkeley Public Schools Fund (then Berkeley Public Education Foundation), which began in 1983 in response to Proposition 13 tax restructuring. She served as the organization’s volunteer Executive Director for 17 years, and she has been consistently on the Board ever since. She has also been a member of the Metro Board of the YMCA of the Central Bay Area since 2000. Her children and grandchildren have attended Berkeley schools.
Mary Friedman
Founding Member
Juan is a public finance attorney representing cities, counties, water districts, and other public agencies as bond and disclosure counsel. Juan brings a multidisciplinary approach to public finance, formed from almost 20 years of practicing law and has experience in other key areas of law and finance, including commercial lending, real estate, bankruptcy, and accounting. Prior to his law career, Juan was a CPA. Juan is the product of Los Angeles public schools. He lives in Berkeley with his wife and two children who attend BAM Elementary.
Juan Galvan
Maya, a Berkeley native and BUSD alum, joined the Berkeley Public Schools Fund in 2019. She holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Public Health from Indiana University. Maya co-founded D.R.E.A.M. Alive Inc., a nonprofit focused on youth development. She remains committed to advancing education both locally and abroad, with four children in the Berkeley community.
Maya Glenn
Bobby Lutzker joined the Schools Fund board in 2019. He is a lawyer who advises life sciences companies in licensing and collaboration transactions. He has also worked with small businesses, including helping Berkeleyside launch its $1 million direct public offering and later convert to a non-profit organization. His kids go to Sylvia Mendez Elementary, and he is grateful to the teachers and staff for the love and effort they give for families in the community.
Bobby Lutzker
Allan ‘Chuck’ Miller is a local workplace civil rights lawyer who put three children through the BUSD. In 1983 when his daughter’s school, now known as Arts Magnet, was threatened with closure, he with others active on that issue founded the Schools Fund, and he has been active ever since. Chuck feels strongly that public education is a foundation stone of our democracy.
Allan ``Chuck`` Miller
Founding Member
Kacy Robinson, currently a principal with 20 years of experience, is dedicated to educational equity. A UC Berkeley and Harvard alumna, she spent four years with BUSD focusing on equity, recruitment, and retention. Kacy is also a parent advocate within BUSD, actively involved in school site councils, PTAs, and racial affinity groups.
Kacy Hatcher Robinson
Dennis Schrag is a Berkeley native and product of Berkeley Public Schools, K-12. After attaining a BA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, he spent nearly 10 years as a broadcast journalist and then received his MBA from the University of Oregon. Dennis has been a non-profit development professional for more than 12 years working in higher education, children's health care, after school sports mentorship programs. He currently serves as the Senior Director of Individual Giving for Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. Dennis has a daughter at Berkeley High School.
Dennis Schrag
Julie has over 30 years of experience in social and economic justice, focusing on equity, education, and community well-being. She launched BUSD’s School-Linked Programs, served as policy advisor to Berkeley’s mayor, and was a Berkeley School Board member. Currently, she is the Chief Strategy Officer for LifeLong Medical Care, continuing her work in health equity. Julie and her husband have two children who graduated from Berkeley Public Schools.
Julie Sinai
Lynna Tsou is an adjunct professor at BATTI (Bay Area Teacher Training Institute) where she teaches and mentors educators and is a founding family member of a Mandarin-immersion school, Yu Ming Charter School. As a school psychologist & co-owner/general manager of The Coder School Berkeley, Lynna is passionate about supporting children & families to best meet their social-emotional and learning needs and is committed to educational equity & social justice. Lynna received her BA & PhD in educational psychology from UC Berkeley.
Lynna Tsou
Tse-Sung, a biotech professional and UC Berkeley graduate, is committed to diversifying the STEM talent pipeline. He built the Green Biopharma program at Genentech and serves on the US Board of Libraries Without Borders. Tse-Sung also served as President of the Berkeley PTA Council, beginning his involvement at Washington Elementary.
Tse-Sung Wu
Ana is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute. With years of experience as a teacher, adjunct professor, and program administrator, she is dedicated to enhancing teacher development. Ana’s twin daughters attend Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, and she’s an active parent leader in BUSD, having served as PTA President and co-founded the Anti-Racist Coalition at Rosa Parks Elementary.
Ana Zamost
Alumni Board Advisors
Terry Taplin is a 3rd generation Berkeleyan, a BHS graduate, a poet and Berkeley City Councilmember representing District 2, West and Southwest Berkeley. Terry was elected to the City Council in November 2020. A mobility and environmental justice activist, Terry has led on housing, green transportation, and fights for a climate resilient future. He is also on the “2 x 2” Committee made up of two Berkeley City Council members and two School Board members. As a West Berkeley native, Terry envisions a future where West Berkeley is at the center of an economically vibrant, innovative, and sustainable East Bay.
Terry Taplin
Yasi Nouri Massih was on the Schools Fund board from 2009-2016 and was the Board Chair. She attended Malcolm X, Willard, and Berkeley High before going to Cal for her undergraduate work. She has worked in the biotech industry and recently completed her Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins. She has three children, two of which are currently in Berkeley public schools. Yasi was introduced to the Schools Fund through former board members Judith Lubman and Amy Roth.
Yasi Nouri Massih
A former founding member of APT Life Sciences and Arda Technologies, Madan Kumar has managed engineering and technical teams on three continents. He thrives in dynamic, innovative environments like the one he helps guide at CloudBase. He’s also proud of his non-profit work on workforce development, education, water and sanitation. Madan finds happiness in family, cooking, eating, running and serving on the Berkeley Public Schools Fund Board.
Madan Kumar
John Caner is the CEO of the Downtown Berkeley Association. He has over twenty years of business, non-profit, and community development experience. John served for three and a half years as the Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Oakland where he significantly expanded programs and funding, and has served on the boards of several Berkeley organizations. John has a long-time interest in education, having served as a volunteer teacher’s assistant at Willard Middle School, volunteer instructor with the Presidential Classroom, and an entrepreneurship mentor with BUILD.org.
John Caner
Laurie Capitelli is a three-term Berkeley City Council member and has served on the Schools Fund Board since the 1980’s when his own children were in the Berkeley schools. Laurie was a high school history teacher before becoming a real estate agent in the 1970’s at Red Oak Realty, where he still works. Laurie is heading up efforts on the Berkeley City Council for universal access to pre-school and addressing substance abuse at Berkeley High.
Laurie Capitelli
Chris Hudson became involved with the Schools Fund as a spring luncheon sponsor in the early 2000’s. He is a partner in Hudson McDonald, a Berkeley-based real estate investment and management company. He attended UC Berkeley as an undergrad and has lived in Berkeley for more than 20 years. His two children currently attend Berkeley High School, and his wife is a physician at UC Berkeley. In addition to his work for the Schools Fund, Chris serves on the board of the Computer Technologies Program and is active in the Urban Land Institute.
Chris Hudson
Marisita Jarvis has been an active volunteer in the Berkeley Public Schools since her children attended Berkeley High. She was one of the founding members of the Academic Pathways Project at that school and is committed to work to improve education for all of our students. She thinks the Berkeley Public Schools Fund works very effectively to achieve that goal. She works for the Urban Land Institute in San Francisco, where she is the director of the UrbanPlan Program. She joined the Schools Fund Board in 2003 and is the Co-Vice Chair of Grants.
Marisita Jarvis
Ruben is the Director of Local Government and Community Relations at UC Berkeley. For much of his career, Rubén has worked with local community organizations and city government, as well as with state and federal policy makers. He was the Senior Director at Oakland-based PolicyLink, where he led efforts in research, public education, training, and technical assistance to strengthen community and civic participation in local decision-making and economic development and coordinated the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color.
Ruben Lizardo
Karen McKie served on the Schools Fund Board from 2000 to 2011, retiring as Board Chair. Karen was pivotal to community efforts to save music in the Berkeley public schools and served as the Parent Coordinator for the BHS Jazz Ensemble 1993-1999. Karen also helped to restore the high school’s orchestra and marching band. She partnered with the previously established Joffe Music Fund to create the Joffe/Boatwright Music Scholarships to support youth striving to excel in the BUSD music program. She was a founding member of both the Berkeley High School Development Group and the AP Program. Karen has been a Berkeley resident since 1971 and has two sons who attended BUSD public schools and graduated from Berkeley High School.
Karen McKie
Josh Miller was a member of the Berkeley Public Schools Fund Board from 2015 to 2021 and served as its Board Chair from 2019-2021. Josh works in the philanthropy sector as a professional grantmaker with expertise in grantmaking strategy, nonprofit capacity building, and funder collaboration. Josh received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and a BA from Brown University. Josh currently has two children in the Berkeley Public Schools.
Josh Miller
Locke Schultz Jaeger joined the Schools Fund Board in 2014 and is the Development Chair. Locke is a strong (some say fierce) advocate of Berkeley Public schools. She attended Berkeley schools and now has three children getting a Berkeley school education as well. As a parent, Locke is an active participant in the PTA, the classroom, and in the community. Locke has seen the value of the support of the Berkeley Public School Fund in the classrooms, schools, and the lives of the students and is delighted to join her efforts with so many other Berkeley School supporters to continue to strengthen the Schools Fund.
Locke Schultz Jaeger
Abby Smith joined the Schools Fund Board in 2015 and is Board Chair. Abby is a Principal in Bain’s San Francisco office, and she is the leader in Bain’s North America Education Practice working primarily with California District leaders and several leading charter school organizations. She has also spent time working with UC Berkeley on their transformation with a focus on organizational design. She serves on the Tuck Annual Giving Advisory Board and is the Head Agent for her Dartmouth class. She is a graduate of the Berkeley Public Schools and a former Berkeley High math teacher. Abby lives in Berkeley and has four young children.
Abby Smith
Marsha Weintraub has been a community member of the Schools Fund Grants Committee since 2009. She taught in the West Contra Costa School District for 34 years as an elementary school teacher, a Title I resource teacher, and a Resource Specialist. A Berkeley resident for most of her adult life, she wants to support educators in their efforts to create a high quality, 21st century education for Berkeley Public School students.
Marsha Weintraub
Calvin Eng was a member of the Schools Fund Board from 2002 – 2009, including serving as
Board Chair from 2005 – 2007. His career in non-profit finance included almost 2 decades as
Chief Financial Officer of Cal Performances on the UC Berkeley campus. More recently, he
served as Interim Managing Director for the Freight & Salvage where he helped support several
system-wide arts integration programs at the elementary & middle school levels. Calvin’s wife
and their two daughters all attended Berkeley Public Schools.
Board Chair from 2005 – 2007. His career in non-profit finance included almost 2 decades as
Chief Financial Officer of Cal Performances on the UC Berkeley campus. More recently, he
served as Interim Managing Director for the Freight & Salvage where he helped support several
system-wide arts integration programs at the elementary & middle school levels. Calvin’s wife
and their two daughters all attended Berkeley Public Schools.
Calvin Eng
Alumni Board Advisors
Carol Olson
Annual Reports
Office Location
2020 Bonar Street, Suite 130
Berkeley, CA 94702
Call Us
510.644.6244
Email Us
Donation
& Mailing Address
PO Box 2066
Berkeley, CA 94702
Tax ID
Tax ID #94-2918219