Advisory Board
Lateefah Baxter
Lateefah is Senior Global Marketing Manager with Walmart eCommerce. She previously spent nearly a decade leading marketing projects for Gap, Inc., and has also worked at Levi Strauss & Co. and Old Navy. Lateefah attended Boston University, where she majored in International Relations. She and her husband Cameron have two recent graduates of SF Day School.
Gloria Chao
Gloria was previously a student at Breakthrough SF and has been volunteering at Breakthrough since 2011. She has been involved in a variety of roles including tutoring and mentoring students, providing academic advising and college counseling, and participating in Breakthrough’s student selection committee. Gloria is committed to enhancing educational equity and access to opportunity and is especially dedicated to giving back to the Breakthrough community. She graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern University, where she majored in International Business, and is currently a student at U.C. Berkeley School of Law.
Brian Davis
Brian serves as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at San Domenico School. Previously, he was the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Harker School, and also held the position of Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, where he taught a 9th grade Ethnic Studies course. Brian received a doctorate in the International and Multicultural Education Ed.D. program at the University of San Francisco, with a focus on Racial Justice and Education. A graduate of The Pennsylvania State University College of Liberal Arts, Brian is a dedicated educator, award-winning activist, yoga teacher, and historian. He is also a highly sought-after speaker, including being selected to give a TED Talk at TEDxPSU in 2017. Brian has received over 50 awards for his ethical leadership and activism both domestically and internationally.
John Dent
John is a Customer, Sales & Operations executive with 20+ years experience in results-oriented SaaS technology companies. John serves on the board of the Caneel Family Foundation which was created to support initiatives across education and healthcare. He holds a BA in English Literature from St. Lawrence University. John lives in San Francisco with his wife Lane and two children who are recent graduates from SF Day School.
Onil Gunawardana
Onil works in product management at AMD and is deeply interested in equitable access to education. He grew up in Sri Lanka and was fortunate to have received scholarships for a BS in Electrical Engineering from Yale, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1997 he co-founded Inspire, a nonprofit that provides strategic consulting to leaders of educational organizations. He has served on the Inspire board since 2002. He is also involved in several non-profits that offer academic scholarships in Sri Lanka.
Darren Hwee
Darren is the Senior Director of Pharmacology at Cytokinetics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new medicines for cardiovascular and skeletal muscle diseases. He was introduced to Breakthrough through Cytokinetics’ outreach initiatives to support school and non-profit organizational programs that help youth from underrepresented groups develop skills to reach their educational and career goals. Darren received a B.S. in Integrative Biology from U.C. Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology from U.C. Davis.
Jacqueline Kurzer
A native San Franciscan and Breakthrough Alum, Jacqueline has committed her life to educational equity and access for children. She is a graduate of UHS and Barnard College, where she studied psychology and education. She has held leadership roles in schools and nonprofits, including: San Francisco Day School (Director of Institutional Impact), Cathedral School for Boys (Director of Lower School), Marin Horizon School (Director of Enrollment Management), Alta Vista School (Dean of Students), San Francisco University High School, and Breakthrough Summerbridge.
Hannah Liu
Hannah is a Senior Manager of Data Analysis at the genetic testing company Natera, where she supports research initiatives and product development through data delivery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from Pomona College and a master’s degree in Bioinformatics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she also serves on the Young Alumni Advisory Board. A firm believer in the transformative power of consistent mentorship and guidance, Hannah is passionate about Breakthrough’s mission to support the educational journeys of both students and teachers, particularly those from underrepresented communities.
Sonal Naik
Sonal has over 20 years of management consulting experience with several years in the healthcare and life sciences sector. During her time at Deloitte, she has led several projects focused on strategy, transformation, innovation, and operational excellence for Fortune 500 companies. She has a passion for customer experience, human centered design and applying technology to improve experience – which led her to her current role at a boutique consultancy called Navigate. She is a graduate of University of Michigan with a degree in Engineering. She and her husband Promit have a child at SF Day School, as well as a recent graduate.
Angel “Cheese” Padilla
Angel, also known as Cheese, is a Scholar Engagement Associate with Chime Scholars Foundation. He previously served as 12th Grade Program Manager at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity in San Francisco. Cheese loves to attribute a large part of his personal growth to Breakthrough, as he was a past Breakthrough student, volunteer, and college participant. A first generation college student, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Boston University, studying Public Relations and Sociology through the Posse Foundation. Cheese is passionate about access to higher education and loves to work with students who once were in his shoes. Cheese is a San Francisco native, and loves to play sports.
Mark Pan
Building culture and education organizations is Mark’s jam. It all started with three summers teaching at Breakthrough Silicon Valley and Hong Kong. He’s currently VP of People at Merit America, a non-profit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for low-wage workers. He has also served as Head of People at Kingdom Supercultures, VP of People at Section, Director of Business Strategy at Newsela, and as a private HR consultant. Previously, Mark shaped universities’ online learning strategy as an early employee at Coursera, and taught in Malaysia as a Fulbright Scholar. Mark received his BA (magna cum laude) in urban studies and education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Silpa Pericherla
Silpa is a Managing Director of Global Equities at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she focuses on public and private equity investments. Prior to joining the foundation, Silpa held investment roles at Seneca Capital, R6 Capital, and the Carlyle Group. Silpa graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Economics from Yale University. She and her college sweetheart Chris live in San Francisco with their three children.
Linden Rees
Linden is a graduate of SF Day, UHS and UC Berkeley. She has been in the Breakthrough community since her family hosted a teacher for the summer in the early 90’s and has always loved the program and richness it brought to her school communities. Linden works in Strategy and Operations at Pinterest and has spent the last few decades working in the travel and tech industries. She lives in SF with her husband and two sons who attend SF Day. Linden loves watching soccer on the weekends and races competitively with the Impalas, an all women’s elite development running team.
Alphonse Simon
Alphonse is an attorney at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe where his practice focuses on antitrust litigation and counseling. Previously, he practiced at Latham & Watkins and worked as a policy researcher at the Urban Institute and MDRC, conducting research on economic opportunity, workforce development, and public benefits. Alphonse is a former Breakthrough Teaching Fellow and has remained passionate about expanding educational opportunity and helping students from underrepresented backgrounds realize their potential. He also founded Fighting for Fairness, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helped low-income law school applicants access application support and services. Raised in Oakland, Alphonse earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and his J.D. from Yale Law School. Outside of work, he is involved in his local Oakland community and enjoys writing and performing stand-up comedy.
Christine Winoto
Christine is the founder and former Executive Director of the UCSF Rosenman Institute, where she built a healthcare innovation community that supported more than 250 founders. She is also a founding partner of MedTech Venture Partners, an early-stage venture fund investing in health technology companies. Throughout her career, Christine has focused on connecting people with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities they need to succeed. She is passionate about education and expanding access to opportunities that can change the trajectory of a person’s life. She lives in San Francisco and is the parent of an SF Day School graduate.
Christine Wong
Christine is a partner in the Investigations and White Collar practice at Morrison & Foerster. Christine has had a diverse legal career, serving as federal prosecutor in New York and California and as the Deputy Head of Global Compliance at Fujitsu, where she ran the compliance and investigations function for all Fujitsu group companies outside of Japan. She served on the boards of San Francisco Day School and 150 Parker Avenue School. As a first-generation college graduate, she has a deep personal appreciation for the power of education. She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford and her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. Christine and her husband, Denny Kwon, have two graduates of SF Day School.