Plenary Speakers

Rehabilitating the Classroom: A Candid Discussion of Education Reform

Monday, September 19 - 8-9:30 a.m.

Terry Mazany
President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust
Mazany leads one of the nation’s largest community foundations with assets of more than $1.5 billion and grantmaking exceeding $100 million that annually benefits more than 2,000 Chicago nonprofit organizations. He was selected as the fifth executive in the Trust’s 96-year history in 2004. Mazany recently concluded his tenure as the interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools, a district of more than 400,000 students and 650 schools with a budget of $6 billion. He was appointed to this position in November 2010 to provide leadership until a new mayor was elected.



Jacqueline Edelberg
Author
Edelberg has been the driving force behind the Nettelhorst School’s dramatic turnaround, a story that has been featured in the national and local Chicago media. She blogs about education reform for the Huffington Post and is the author of How to Walk to School: Blueprint for a Neighborhood School Renaissance. She has consulted for school districts, civic groups, foundations, universities, and parent organizations on how public schools and reformers can galvanize communities to improve public education. Edelberg previously taught political science at the University of Osnabrück in Germany as a Fulbright scholar.


LaRavian Battle
Teacher, Oakland Unified School District
Battle has been teaching mathematics in the Oakland Unified School District for 15 years. She is certified by the National Board in adolescent and young adult mathematics, and by the state of California in the development of culturally sensitive math curricula for English language learners. She also has been recognized by district and state administrators for "creating a calculus culture" in her school. Battle has coached teachers and developed and revised curriculum to improve teaching and learning across Oakland, including through the use of art as a tool in math instruction.


Alicia Romero
Principal, Oakland High School
Romero works to motivate students and maximize their learning experiences. As part of that effort, she has brokered partnerships with business and community organizations to improve the quality of life and education for her students. She also leads a variety of work-based learning and college/career readiness efforts. For example, Oakland High School enjoys a partnership with Chevron Project Lead the Way, which strives to increase the nation’s biomedical, engineering, and technical workforce. In addition, Alameda County provides curriculum and job-shadowing opportunities for a new Public Health and Policy Academy.


Carol S. Larson
Board Chair, Council on Foundations, President and CEO, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Larson joined the Packard Foundation in 1989 as director of Research and Grants, Law, and Public Policy at the foundation’s Center for the Future of Children. Before becoming president and CEO in 2004, she served as director of Programs and as vice president. Prior to joining the foundation, she was a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of O’Donnell and Gordon. Larson currently is board chair of the Council on Foundations and is on the board of American Leadership Forum–Silicon Valley. She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree from Yale Law School.

Pledge to Lead by Example

Monday, September 19 - 12-1:30 p.m.

Nicole Taylor
President and CEO, East Bay Community Foundation
Taylor is the first African-American to lead the foundation since it was established in 1928. Before coming to the foundation in September 2007, she was managing director of the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University, one of the nation’s premier institutions developing leaders capable of making social change. Taylor serves on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In 2010, the San Francisco Business Times named her as one of the most-admired CEOs in the Bay Area.



Kat Taylor
Founding Director, One PacificCoast Bank and Foundation
Taylor is active in a variety of social business, public benefit, and philanthropic ventures in the San Francisco area. Currently, she focuses on beneficial banking services and food systems through two primary organizations. She and her husband, Tom Steyer, are the Founding Directors of OneCalifornia Bank and Foundation, a triple bottom line federal savings bank in Oakland, Calif. OneCalifornia recently acquired ShoreBank Pacific; the resulting One PacificCoast Bank—which lends in low-income communities to support local economies and job creation—recently added Oregon and Washington to its reach.


Thomas F. Steyer
Senior Managing Member, Farallon Capital Management
In addition to founding Farallon, an investment fund with offices on three continents, Steyer is a managing director of Hellman & Friedman. He and his wife, Kat Taylor, founded One PacificCoast Bank, a sustainable, effective community development bank. To support the bank’s goals, they also created One PacificCoast Foundation to engage in charitable and educational activities, including programs and grants to eliminate discrimination, encourage affordable housing, alleviate economic distress, stimulate community development, and increase financial literacy. The foundation provides lending support, investments, and other services for disadvantaged communities and community service organizations in California.

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Competitors Closer

Tuesday, September 20 - 8-9:30 a.m.

Emmett D. Carson
CEO and President, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
An internationally recognized philanthropic leader for more than two decades, Carson is the founding CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The foundation, which has more than $2 billion under management, is widely recognized for its visionary leadership and world-class donor services. He previously served as CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation and received national recognition for grantmaking in housing, immigration, and education. Carson has authored more than 100 works on philanthropy and social justice and has received numerous awards.



Brenda Chumley
Senior Vice President of Administration, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Chumley is focused on leading the enterprise risk management and emerging market areas within the foundation. She works with the board of directors monitoring potential federal legislation and conducting outreach to local delegates. She is also responsible for the management of the foundation’s development work, in particular the work with corporations and scholarships. Chumley has been a member of the foundation’s staff since 1993. Over the years she has worked with many donor funds, building the infrastructure and providing the support needed to help donors accomplish their charitable giving goals.

Benjamin Pierce
President, Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
Pierce has served as the leader of Vanguard, a national donor-advised fund, since its founding as an independent public charity in 1997. He is considered an authority on charitable giving and is regularly quoted in financial media including The Wall Street Journal and Fox Business News. His expertise on the benefits of increasing philanthropy with donor-advised funds has made him a sought-after speaker on this popular topic. He also volunteers at a number of Philadelphia-area charities.




John Kobara
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, California Community Foundation
Kobara helps organizations and individuals realize their potential by connecting with and helping one another. He speaks on career and life development, pursuit of passion, mentoring, and networking. He has led workshops and presentations for Fortune 500 corporations, universities, professional associations, nonprofits, and community organizations worldwide. In 2010, Kobara was awarded a Crystal Eagle for distinguished service by Coro of Southern California. He received the 2007 City of Angels award from the mayor of Los Angeles for his service on behalf of children and families.

Andrew C. Bangser
President, Foundation Source
Bangser is responsible for the company’s business strategy and financial performance, as well as its operating activities, which include product development, business development, and foundation operations. He previously served as senior vice president and CFO of Financial Fusion, a leading provider of eFinance solutions for Global 1,000 financial institutions. Before that, he was CFO of Home Financial Network. Bangser also spent 15 years at GE, where he was a senior vice president of the Venture Capital and Corporate Finance groups.

Virtual Realities

Tuesday, September 20 - 12-1:30 p.m.

Salim Ismail
Executive Director, Singularity University
Ismail is a successful angel investor and entrepreneur. His last company, Angstro, was acquired by Google in August 2010. He has operated seven early-stage companies and is a frequent speaker on Internet technologies, private equity, and entrepreneurship. For the last two years he has been executive director of Singularity University, which is training a new cadre of leaders to manage exponentially growing technologies. Ismail also serves as co-founder and chairman of Confabb.com, co-founded PubSub Concepts, and is on the board of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization.


Jeff Clarke
Interim President and CEO, Council on Foundations
Prior to joining the Council, Clarke served as vice president at the Rasmuson Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska. Before that, he consulted on a variety of issues related to strategy, business process, technology, and performance measurement. He served as a member of a small consulting team that designed, developed, and rolled out a Fortune 50 firm's proprietary six sigma methodology, leading to significant improvements in customer-focused service and innovation, product quality, productivity, and profitability. Clarke is active in the philanthropic community and serves on the boards of Philanthropy Northwest and PRI Makers Network.


Tully M. Friedman
Chairman and CEO, Friedman Fleischer & Lowe
Friedman has more than 35 years of experience in finance and 25 years as a private equity investor. Prior to forming Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, he cofounded and served as one of two managing general partners of Hellman & Friedman. Previously, he was a managing director of Salomon Brothers, where he founded the firm's West Coast Corporate Finance Department and served on the national Corporate Finance Administrative Committee. Freidman is on the board of The Clorox Company, Mattel, Kool Smiles, and Church's Chicken. He also is a trustee of the Telluride Foundation.

A Balancing Act

Wednesday, September 21 - 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Stuart Rothenberg
Editor and Publisher, The Rothenberg Political Report and Columnist, Roll Call
For years, Rothenberg has reported on the nation’s political news with unbiased clarity and nonpartisan precision. The Rothenberg Political Report is a biweekly newsletter that provides reporting on and analysis of American elections—and the potential ramifications of those elections. He also writes a column in Roll Call twice a week. Rothenberg has contributed op-ed pieces to The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Orlando Sentinel. He also has appeared on Meet the Press, Today, This Week, Nightline, and The McLaughlin Group.

Colin Lacon
President and CEO, Northern California Grantmakers
Lacon leads Northern California Grantmakers, which supports and strengthens its members and promotes effective philanthropy in the region. Before that, he served as a senior program officer for the Strengthening Communities Program at the Stuart Foundation. He also held several positions with the city of Oakland, including director of strategic grants management in the Office of the City Manager and assistant to the mayor for economic and community development. In addition, Lacon worked as a legislative analyst for the California State Legislature.


Richard Ober
President and CEO, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Ober has 25 years of experience in nonprofit management, civic affairs, and communications, and has served on numerous nonprofit and public boards. He is chair of the New Hampshire Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Board and past chair of the New Hampshire State Parks Advisory Council. He also is a published author and journalist. His community-focused work has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency and the state of New Hampshire, among others. In 2010, Ober was selected as one of the state’s most influential people by Business New Hampshire Magazine.


Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker
President and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
Dedecker’s experience has centered on leading efforts to solve the most critical problems facing communities. She is a nationally recognized speaker on a range of issues, including strategic philanthropy, community service, and cultural diversity. She has led numerous public-private sector collaborations focused on systemic change. Most recently, she founded the Literacy Funders Network, a national coalition of foundations dedicated to improving literacy in America. Dedecker has served as president of the National Women’s Hall of Fame and currently is a board member of CFLeads and the Foundation Center.


Andrew Schulz
Vice President, Legal and Government Relations, Council on Foundations
Schulz heads the Council’s Public Policy Department, providing leadership and oversight for legislative and regulatory initiatives and outreach efforts to members, other nonprofit organizations, policymakers, and the general public. He frequently speaks around the country on legal and public policy issues affecting nonprofits and has written several publications, including Top 10 Ways Corporate Foundations Get Into Trouble and Top 10 Ways Independent Foundations Get Into Trouble. Schulz is a member of the Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. bars.