Ms. Foster is a growth leader, business builder, philanthropist, mother and woman of faith, whose life purpose is to “give voice to the voiceless.” Kaye works with CEO’s, leaders and teams as partner, coach, & confidante. Her most recent role was Chief HR Officer for Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where in partnership with the CEO and Strategy Officer, she supported the development and execution of the company’s enterprise strategy and multi-year business plan. Prior roles included the Chief HR Officer for Johnson & Johnson, and HR business partner assignments at Pfizer Inc. across Japan, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. She has been a guest lecturer at Columbia Graduate School of Business on “The Economics of Organizational Analysis”, and a speaker at the Milken Institute Global Conference, focusing on Talent Development for the New Millennium. Kaye is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford Health Care, recently joined the Board of Directors of Valley Care, and was appointed to the Board of Directors of Agios Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the fields of cancer metabolism and rare genetic disorders of metabolism. She recently joined the Board of Directors of Grail Inc, a biotech company whose mission is "to detect cancer early, when it can be cured." Her philanthropic commitments are reflected in her service as GLIDE's Board Chair, and as a trustee of the Board of Spelman College in Atlanta.
Mary Glide is the great-great-granddaughter of Lizzie Glide, who began GLIDE in 1929 as “a house of prayer for all peoples.” Mary has attended Sunday Celebrations regularly since 1999 and in 2010 started GLIDE Kids, a program that runs concurrent with Sunday Celebration, giving children an opportunity to be creative and experience community through storytelling. In her professional life, she is a founding member of Sequoia Capital’s Technology Services team—building systems that drive performance, specifically around data science, relationship intelligence, CRM, and company-building tools. Via the Ascent program, she provides up-and-coming women in technical roles with mentorship and resources to help advance their careers.
Michael is managing director at Wells Fargo Asset Management. Prior to that, he managed the West Coast equity derivatives business for Deutsche Bank. Michael has also headed the West Coast equities business for Goldman Sachs. Michael earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ime Archibong is the Head of New Product Experimentation at Facebook, where his team’s mission is to build new products that matter to the world. He previous served as Facebook’s Vice President of Product Partnerships where he led a global team responsible for strategic partnerships that aligned with Facebook's product and business strategy. Prior to Facebook, he started his career at IBM as a software engineer, eventually transitioning to an advanced technology business development professional focused on storage technology and research. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Yale University where he captained the basketball team and received the Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize for exemplifying great human warmth, a commitment to fairness, compassion for all people, and the promise of moral leadership. Ime has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he also served as class president. He is a listed inventor on over a dozen technical patents and sits on the boards of several global and local nonprofits focused on empowering communities, students and entrepreneurs.
Emily Cohen is the Founder & President of EHC Content and Executive Vice President of United Contractors.
Through EHC Content, Emily works with CEOs, business and community leaders, organizations, and elected officials to develop thoughtful communications strategies and compelling written content for a diverse cross-section of audiences.
In her role as EVP of United Contractors, Emily oversees government relations, political advocacy, and public relations for California’s largest union-affiliated construction trade association. Prior to her role as EVP, she served as Director of Government Relations. As the organization’s senior strategist and coalition builder, Emily has helped to lead and influence dozens of sophisticated local and statewide campaigns and initiatives, securing more than $90B in infrastructure funding for California’s vital infrastructure. Additionally, she has helped to craft and pass dozens of bills to improve the state business and labor environment for her industry.
Prior to United Contractors, Emily was a Legislative Aide in the Office of Kevin de León and former Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellow.
Emily is an alumna of California State University, Chico with Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Political Science and International Relations.
In the community, Emily serves on the GLIDE Board of Trustees, is a mentor with Capitol Network Mentor Program, and serves on the Advisory Board for Old Skool Cafe, a youth-run supper club aimed at providing connection, income, job skills and support for at-risk youth.
Paula R. Collins is the founder of WDG Ventures, Inc., a real estate development company in Northern California, and of Portfolio Real Estate Consulting. Ms. Collins is also a director and founder of Presidio Bank in San Francisco. She is a member of the national board of the Automobile Association of America and a director of the CSAA Insurance Exchange, as well as AAA Northern California, Nevada, Utah. Ms. Collins has served as a Presidential appointee to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Visiting Committee for the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and on the board of directors for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Special Olympics for Northern California, and BRIDGE Housing Corporation. She has been named to the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame, awarded the Silver SPUR by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, named "Forever Influential" by the San Francisco Business Times, and honored by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. Ms. Collins graduated cum laude in urban studies from Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts and received her Master of City Planning from MIT. She was appointed to the Presidio Trust board by President Barack Obama in 2012 and re-appointed in 2015.
Ms. Brown Glad is a compassionate and creative leader with extensive experience spearheading results-oriented projects and committees. She has more than 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, social visionary and champion of diversity, inclusion and resilience. In addition to her work on many pivotal projects at GLIDE, Ms. Brown Glad is also a renowned artist, successful small business owner, former Deacon & God-powered change agent. She is the founder and designer of Between the Cleavage Jewelry Design, a successful small business since 1999 and has studied at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Ms. Brown Glad has been a GLIDE Church member since 2011 and has spearheaded multiple fundraising campaigns, hosted events, and provided strong support to staff, congregation & program participants.
Dr. Erica Lawson is a pediatric rheumatologist and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, where she provides care to children with autoimmune diseases, trains future pediatric rheumatologists, and conducts health outcomes research. Her work seeks to improve outcomes and access to care for individuals with childhood-onset chronic illness during the transition to adulthood. Erica completed her BA at the University of Michigan, followed by an MD from Washington University in St. Louis, pediatric residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and pediatric rheumatology fellowship at UCSF. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons.
Shireen McSpadden has worked in social services for more than 25 years. Currently, she serves as the director of the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services. Shireen serves on the community advisory board for UCSF’s Center for Aging in Diverse Communities. She has served on the executive board of the California Association of Public Administrators, Public Guardians and Public Conservators as well as the boards of Rebuilding Together San Francisco and Habitat for Humanity San Francisco. Shireen received a BA in Psychology from the College of Wooster and an MNA from the University of San Francisco. She is an alumna of Leadership San Francisco, Class of 2006.
Janice Mirikitani is the Co-Founder of GLIDE, in partnership with her husband, Reverend Cecil Williams. Together they have achieved worldwide recognition for their groundbreaking organization, which empowers San Francisco’s poor and marginalized communities to make meaningful changes in their lives to break the cycle of poverty and dependence. Over five decades they built 87 comprehensive programs that provide education, recovery support, primary and mental health care, job training, housing and human services. Mirikitani's passion has been to create programs for women and families as they struggle with issues of substance use, rape, incest, domestic violence, the AIDS crisis, single parenting, childcare, health/wellness, education, and jobs development.
Tara-Nicholle Nelson is a globally recognized transformation expert and spiritual strategist to entrepreneurs, intra-preneurs and purpose-driven companies. She is the author of The Transformational Consumer and the CEO of SoulTour.com, a personal and spiritual transformation company on a mission to help 100 million people care for their souls and succeed in their lives. Tara spends most of her time guiding students through Daily Rituals, coaching programs and courses in SoulTour’s School of Spiritual Strategy. Previously, Tara was an Entrepreneur In Residence at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and the chief marketer for MyFitnessPal and Under Armour Connected Fitness. She holds a master’s degree in Psychology from California State University, Bakersfield, where she now sits on the Foundation Board. Tara also holds a Juris Doctorate degree from UC Berkeley. Tara is a master trainer and keynote speaker at corporate events, conferences and festivals like SXSW and Wanderlust. She's been featured in Harvard Business Review, Essence and The New York Times and was recently named the #1 woman Silicon Valley tech companies should be naming to their boards by Business Insider.
Gil Simon serves as Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer of SoMa Equity Partners, a San Francisco-based technology fund manager. SoMa brings an opportunistic and often contrarian approach to investing in public tech companies. Prior to founding SoMa in 2016, Gil worked his way from Analyst to Portfolio Manager, to Chief Investment Officer over ten years with Apex Capital. Gil began his investment career at MFS Investment Management in Boston. He previously earned his CPA designation while working in accounting and consulting at KPMG/Bearing Point. Gil earned his MBA from MIT Sloan in 2003 and received his BA in Economics from UCLA in 1996. Gil also serves on the MIT Sloan alumni board and lives is Hillsborough with his wife and four children.
Laura Thompson is an entrepreneur, investor, and lifelong member of the GLIDE family. Laura was a product lead at Google X, where she drove product strategy for science fiction-sounding technologies including self-driving cars, smart contact lenses, and delivery drones. She previously spent several years in London spearheading Google’s first efforts in consumer electronics and has also been an investor at Google Ventures. She was an early co-founder of Runa, a tea and clean energy drink company that now employs several thousand indigenous Amazonian farmers and is sold in 7,000+ stores nationwide. Laura was a founding member and former co-chair of GLIDE's Legacy Committee, a group dedicated to engaging the next generation of social justice innovators. Laura received a BA from Brown University, and is currently working on a new venture and serving as an avid mentor, investor and supporter of diverse founders and innovators.
Ross Weiner is the General Counsel and a Partner at Qatalyst Partners where he has worked since 2012. Prior to Qatalyst, Ross worked at Silver Lake Credit Fund, Credit Suisse, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison and at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. Ross is originally from Washington, D.C. and received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He currently is on an Executive Advisory Board to the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. He resides in San Mateo with his wife and two children.
For over 50 years, Reverend Cecil Williams has expanded the limits of spirituality, compassion and diversity as Co-Founder and Minister of Liberation of GLIDE Memorial Church in San Francisco. As minister, author, social activist, lecturer, community leader and spokesperson for the poor and marginalized, Reverend Williams is respected and recognized as a national leader on the forefront of change and in the struggle for civil and human rights. His ministry underscores his roots in liberation theology.
Lin-Hua is a senior communications and marketing professional with more than 20 years experience. She is also the mother of four and enjoys living in the fog of San Francisco’s Richmond District. Lin-Hua currently serves as the Chief Communications Officer at Dropbox, overseeing global communications, brand marketing, and analyst relations. She sits on the company’s executive staff and is a board member of the Dropbox Foundation. Previously, she was Head of Corporate Communications at Square and a Partner at Brunswick Group and Kekst and Company, firms that specialize in financial and crisis communications. She began her career as an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto. Lin-Hua graduated with a B.A. in international relations from Stanford University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. In addition to GLIDE, she also serves on the boards of the Dropbox Foundation and the Stellar Development Foundation.
Phillip is a tech lawyer with a passion for public service and leadership. He started his legal career at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Minami Tamaki LLP in San Francisco before going in-house at GoPro, Inc. Phillip was the first lawyer hired to build a legal team at Toyota Research Institute (TRI), the Silicon Valley based advanced research center of the global automaker. He is now TRI’s Senior Director of Operations, overseeing Communications, Facilities, Legal & Compliance, General Operations, and Procurement. After moving to San Francisco, Phillip served on San Francisco Police Department’s Central Community Police Advisory Board as well as on the leadership team of a neighborhood association working on quality of life, land-use, and safety issues. Phillip has also provided pro bono representation to various San Francisco entrepreneurs, small businesses and charitable/educational organizations, and has worked on projects with the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights and the San Francisco Bar's Volunteer Legal Services Program. Since law school, Phillip has served as an election protection volunteer in various capacities throughout the U.S., from San Francisco to New Hampshire. Phillip graduated with a B.A. in political science from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Duke Law School.
Richard Blum founded equity investment management firm Blum Capital in 1975 and is the Chairman and President. Active in numerous non-profit organizations, Blum is the Founder and Chairman of the American Himalayan Foundation and is honorary consul to Mongolia and Nepal. On April 25, 2009 Blum was honored with the Berkeley Medal by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgenau in front of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Blum received both a BS in business administration and MBA from University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Charles Cordes is a member of the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has served five churches and was District Superintendent for the United Methodist Church in San Francisco. He holds a BS in physics from Stanford Jr. University, an STM in theology and MA in counseling from Boston University.
Born in Oakland, Donald Tamaki graduated from University of California at Berkeley in 1973 and received his JD from Boalt Hall in 1976. He is a partner with Minami Tamaki LLP where he practice focuses on Corporate and Business, Non-profit Corporations, Contracts and Entertainment Law. In 1987 Tamaki received the Loren Miller Award, the State Bar of California's highest recognition for providing legal services to the poor and working on civil rights issues and in 2003 he received the Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific Bar Association.
