EFC Board Leadership

Nick Driver is the co-founder of Clear Thinking, a non-profit dedicated to supporting schools and organizations with their governance, programmatic, financial and operational needs. Nick’s motivation to be a school advocate and leader grew out of his research into the experiences of countless students that have not been given an adequate education. His professional and personal goal is to help schools and the public school system reach the point where every child is able to master their learning in a challenging and rewarding way, so that they graduate from high school with the skills, mindset, and agency necessary to thrive as adults. Nick currently serves as Superintendent at Griffin Technology Academies. 

 

Nick has led Education for Change Public Schools, a six-school charter management organization in east Oakland, for the past four years as Board Chair and 10 years as board member. In addition to serving as Board Chair, Nick is also the Chair of its Executive Committee;

Click here to email Nick Driver.

Eva Camp also serves on the Board of Full Circle Fund. A mother of three children, she dedicates her time to improving education. She currently leads the Parents Association with over 600 volunteers and serves on the Board of Trustees at Head-Royce, her children’s school. She also serves on the Board of National Equity Project (formerly BAYCES), which coaches people to become the leaders who deliver on the promise of a quality education for every child in America. Eva worked for more than 10 years at Microsoft, marketing some of the company’s most successful products, including Word, Office and consumer titles. Her last role there was Director of Market Planning and Analysis for Microsoft’s line of home products. Other highlights at Microsoft include helping lead the turnaround in the company’s Japanese application software business during a 3 year stint in Microsoft’s Far East region and leading the first worldwide launch of Microsoft Office in over 25 languages. Prior to Microsoft, she worked in product management at Proctor & Gamble. Eva has a BA from Harvard University.

Eva is a member of the Executive Committee and serves as Board Vice Chair.

Click here to email Eva Camp.

Mike currently provides financial consulting services to non-profit and educational organizations. He has served as CFO at the Center for Youth Wellness, Reading Partners, and Aspire Public Schools, and has also filled interim roles at several other nonprofits. Mike began his career in the tech sector and then made the move into nonprofits in 2004. Mike lives in Oakland with his wife and two daughters. 

Mike is the current Finance Committee Chair.  Click here to email Mike.

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Lauren has nearly two decades of leadership experience in fundraising, philanthropy, and advocacy from several well-regarded education nonprofits including the Breakthrough Collaborative, Hiller Aviation Museum, and the YMCA. She is currently the executive director of Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet, a Bay Area climate action organization. Her expertise lies in team building, infrastructure, and program design. Her passion is building capacity and finding resources for her teams to be successful in their own areas of expertise. Lauren is an alumna of New York University, where she received her master’s degree in Fundraising and Philanthropy, and the University of California–Davis with a Bachelor's in International Relations with a focus on African-American Studies. She is currently an EMBA student at Quantic University. Lauren is a trained Climate Reality Project leader and is a Senior Fellow for the nationwide Environmental Leadership Program.

Click here to email Lauren

Damon Grant has been working in Oakland public schools for the past 15 years as an English teacher and, currently, as the co-principal of Oakland Unity Middle School.  She has two children who attend EFC schools and is a resident of East Oakland. 

Click here to email Damon.

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Valia Almendarez has 4 kids, of which 3 have graduated from Oakland schools. She is participating in the board to become more knowledgeable of what is happening in her son's school and to be able to give feedback as a parent. She currently work full time as a Certified Medical Assistant. She has been working as a Medical Assistant for the past 16 1/2 years. She has always worked in community clinics because she likes to be able to help as many people as she can from my community. She is also a part time student. She is trying to get her bachelor in science in nursing. She really likes what she does and she is trying to advance her career to be able to better help patient's. 

Click here to email Valia

Erika Cisneros has lived in Oakland for 32 years.  She graduated from Fremont High School in Oakland, California and went on to earn an AA degree from Chabot College in Radio/TV Broadcasting.  Erika has 2 daughters (Junior at San Jose State University/Sophomore at Latitude High School). She currently work as a Payroll Specialist.  Erika has volunteered with The Unity Council Council De Colores Head Start, Oakland Police Department Citizens Academy, and many other local non-profit organizations throughout the East Bay. Her goal is to continue her education by obtaining a BA in Community Leadership from San Jose State University and to continue building stronger communities for underserved and diverse populations surrounding Oakland.  Erika's passion will always be serving her community where she has lived and where she was raised by bridging the gap for better education for future generations.

Click here to email Erika.

Sonia Urzua has worked in Bay Area community planning for more than 20 years. She currently works as the Assistant Planning Director for the City of Lafayette where she supervises the department’s work analyzing developing city-wide land use policy and preparing and evaluating environmental impact reports. She enjoys volunteering her time in support of education-related organizations. 

Sonia earned her B.A. in History from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, and her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. She lives in Alameda with her three children.

Click here to email Sonia.

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Niloy Gangopadhyay has spent the last twenty-plus years combating the inequities in public education. He has served as a system, school, and non-profit leader. He currently serves as the Senior Director of Advancement & Engagement at Envision Schools. Previously he served as the Executive Director of Special Populations at the Texas Education Agency, where he led the state’s programming for highly mobile and at-risk, English learners, and gifted & talented students. Before that, he was the co-founder and executive director of Success Preparatory Academy, a K-8th grade charter school in the Treme/Bienville Corridor for ten years. Before moving to New Orleans, he was the founding principal of Cleveland Lighthouse Community School. He also served as the Director of Special Projects at Excellence Charter School of the Uncommon Schools network in Brooklyn, New York. His initial entry into urban education was as a 2002 Teach For America (TFA) corps member in San Jose, California where he taught 4th grade. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Click here to email Niloy.

Marleny Regalado is a mother of two children; one of them is currently attending Cox Academy. She holds Salvadoran nationality and has been living in Oakland for approximately 12 years. Marleny is an active volunteer at Cox Academy, serving as a parent representative for the Local School Leadership Council (LFC) and as a parent leader for the Family and Community Engagement (FIA) program. This year marks her first as a member of the EFC board of directors, a role she considers very important. Being part of the board allows her to gain insights not only into the workings of her child's school but also into the broader educational landscape in the city of Oakland. Marleny feels deeply thankful to have the opportunity to serve as a board member, as it enables her to express her perspective as a parent. Through this role, she hopes to contribute to the betterment of education and the future of Oakland's schools, ensuring that every child receives a high-quality education. Ultimately, she aims to help shape the future of our children and youth in the city of Oakland, guided by the belief that they all deserve access to the best educational opportunities available.

Click here to email Marleny.

NAME PRONUNCIATION: Stephisha (Stef-e-sha) Ycoy (E-coy)-Walton

Stephisha Ycoy-Walton appreciates the connection between strong leadership, mentorship, and community collaboration for the benefit of all community partners. Stephisha is a retired professional athlete and active community leader. She is also a licensed investment advisor who holds seven licenses across Insurance, Investments & Mortgages, and she is now a Board Director for Education for Change (EFC) Public Schools in Oakland, CA. Stephisha was born in the city of Vallejo, CA, to two teenage parents, Cyntheny and Stephen Walton. Stephisha was raised in Vallejo from 1987 to 2005. She would then leave to Oregon State University after being awarded an athletic scholarship. She received her Bachelor of Science from Cal Poly Pomona University (2012), while serving as the captain of the women’s basketball team (2007-2010). After college, she played basketball professionally for 2 years in Europe (Luxembourg and Montenegro). While playing her last season in Puerto Rico, she was accepted to medical school while also being recruited to work as a financial services professional. Currently, Stephisha is an active member of the Family Leadership Council for EFC, member of the Parent Leadership Council at Cox Academy and Regional Vice President of a highly sought after financial firm. In this space she has been able to positively impact the lives of hundreds of individuals and families by helping them set and meet their financial goals. At the start of the pandemic, Stephisha and her wife, Viveca, established Playbook Series Inc., a nonprofit organization with a mission to improve and enhance academic achievement through the implementation of leadership training and college preparation. Playbook Series Inc. aims to increase the probability of success for scholar-athletes by helping them and their parents become better prepared for the recruiting process and journey to college as a scholar-athlete. Stephisha & Viveca enjoy raising their son with the belief that, “Everyone has a purpose in life and that purpose is to positively impact the lives of those around you.” We do this by tightening the threads between financial literacy and college access points. We focus on foundational leadership principles in school, and we provide accessible high-quality public school education for special education students, homeless students, LGBTQIA students and English Language Learners.
Click here to email Stephisha.