Annie Nguyen, Board Chair
Cristo Rey De La Salle High School

Annie is a founding team member of Cristo Rey De La Salle High School in Oakland whose mission is to provide a high-quality college preparatory education to underserved youth. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Corporate Work Study Program, a workforce development non-profit housed within the school. Prior to Cristo Rey, Annie was part of the founding team at Quizlet, a popular free online learning tool, where she ran People Operations. As a first-generation college graduate, she understands the importance of Oasis’ mission and is grateful for the opportunity to support a high-impact women-centered organization. Annie obtained her BA in Business and International Studies at the University of Oregon and her MA in Educational Leadership at USF.

Susan Calderon
Consultant

Susan is an experienced leader in Merger & Acquisition transactions focused on delivering winning strategies for post-merger integration. She has led global integration teams and programs across various technology companies including Salesforce, DocuSign, and PayPal. Susan is a proud first-generation, San Franciscan and daughter of immigrants who grew up in the very communities Oasis serves today. She believes that being an ally is a powerful way to show support, inclusion and provide the environment that young women need to continue to grow and learn. Susan obtained her B.S. in History and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Alaina Long
Oakland Fund for Public Innovation

Alaina is the Chief Operating Officer of The Oakland Fund for Public Innovation (OFPI), whose mission is to build public-private partnerships that lead to innovative and equitable solutions for the highest need zip codes in Oakland. Prior to joining OFPI, Alaina worked for several city government agencies in New York City including the Mayor's Office of M/WBEs, Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, and the Department of Education. As a Black woman, she understands the critical needs that Oasis addresses and is honored to support an organization that centers young women of color to help them reach their dreams and build strong futures.

Alaina holds a MPA from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts in comparative women’s studies from Spelman College. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an international non-profit organization dedicated to public service programs for the African American community.

Divya Gopal
Alpine Investors

Divya is the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Alpine Investors. Prior to her work in private equity, Divya was the recipient of the City of San Francisco's 2019 Fish Fellowship. During her time working in city government, she launched Mayor London Breed’s signature youth workforce program, successfully designing the City of San Francisco’s largest, fully paid internship initiative with over 2000 youth and 150 employers engaging in the program’s first year. She credits much of her professional success to the skills and mindsets she learned early in her career as a first-grade teacher in Arizona. She remains committed to creating a better world for her former students, many of whom would benefit from the impactful programs that Oasis offers. Divya is an alumna of Teach For America and holds dual degrees in Sociology and Classical Languages from the University of Nebraska.

Cynthia Zarate
UCSF

Cynthia serves as the Director of Education and Instructional Services at the UCSF, School of Pharmacy. She oversees the delivery of operational components of the PharmD curriculum serving students and faculty. Cynthia has dedicated her career to supporting education and health equity efforts in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. In previous roles, Cynthia served as a grass-root organizer advancing parent engagement in education, developed and implemented health education programs, and advocated for expanded learning quality standards and policies statewide.

As a Latina and first-generation graduate, Cynthia understands the importance of mentorship and trailblazing paths for young women of color. Cynthia strongly believes in the Oasis for Girls mission and is committed to supporting the next generation of woman leaders.

Cynthia earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Columbia University and Masters of Science in Healthcare Administration and Leadership from the University of California, San Francisco.

Christine Koidin
BDO FMA

Christine has spent the majority of her career in the nonprofit sector with a focus on education and youth development organizations. She is a Consultant at FMA, a national consulting group serving nonprofits and their funders. At FMA, Christine supports organizations throughout the nonprofit lifecycle including fiscal sponsor spinoffs, finance and accounting team restructures and vacancies, and operational infrastructure assessment. Prior to working at FMA, Christine worked as the Director of Finance for New Door Ventures as well as on the national and regional finance teams at Teach For America. Christine has a MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and obtained her B.A. (double major in Mathematics and Japanese Studies) from Wellesley College. A proud mom of two girls, she is honored to serve on the Oasis advisory board and provide a nurturing and empowering environment for BIPOC girls in the San Francisco community.

Lake Raymond
San Francisco Unified School District

Lake Raymond has dedicated her work to partnering with organizations to design, develop, and build sustainable education solutions with the purpose of increasing equity, diversity, and access for underrepresented learners of all ages. She is the current Director, PMO at San Francisco Unified School DIstrict and holds a MS from CSU East Bay in Education Technology. As a mother of two girls, Lake is passionate about the future of BIPOC girls and women in our communities. When she is not working she can be found in the garden, volunteering with urban farming organizations, hiking in the forest or dancing to salsa.

Brenda Ortega
Slalom

Brenda brings with her a background in human resources and organizational development. She has worked with a diverse range of HR topics, industries, and sectors. Her experience involves developing, implementing, and leading organization-wide programs that contribute to the employee experience. Brenda is from Oakland, CA, and comes from working-class immigrant parents. She is a first-generation college graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Francisco State University and, most recently, a Masters in Organizational Development from the University of San Francisco. Through Brenda’s lived experience, she can relate to the girls at Oasis and strongly believes in its mission. She is incredibly grateful to serve on the advisory board where she has a unique opportunity to create lasting impact.

Belinda Patel

Belinda spent 15 years in Property Management as a Portfolio Manager leading and building teams in the housing industry. She worked for major companies in the Bay Area, including Promethues, AvalonBay, and Braddock and Logan. Belinda left the Corporate world to spend time raising her children in 2016. During this time, she became a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children, and supported many local non profits in the Bay Area. Belinda was born and raised in the Bay Area by a single immigrant mother. She understands first hand the positive impact programs like Oasis creates in the life of young girls. She is committed and passionate in advancing equitable opportunities and outcomes for lower income communities. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the advisory board and advocate for young women in her community.

Emily Clements
Stanford University

Emily is the Director of Donor Relations and Annual Giving at the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University. Emily is responsible for fundraising for the Center's programs, internships, and fellowships with the mission to embed principled public service into a Stanford education. Prior to Stanford, Emily spent 14 years working as a sales director and manager in the art world at leading commercial galleries including Pace Gallery (New York) and Fraenkel Gallery (San Francisco). Emily earned a BA in History from Providence College and a Master’s in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, in addition to a graduate certificate in Student Affairs and Higher Education Administration from UC Berkeley.

Emily is passionate about inclusive and equitable access to education as well as gender equity and work life justice. She credits her all-girls high school for strengthening her voice and directing her attention to women's leadership and opportunity. She strongly believes in the mission of Oasis for Girls and commitment to supporting young female leaders.

Cristina Amorim
Former Genentech Executive

Cristina is a visionary executive in the Pharma/Biotech sector. She has 30+ years of strategy deployment experience in global Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Climate/Decarbonization, Sustainability, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) at Allergan, Thermofisher Scientific, and Genentech. In 1992, Cristina emigrated from Brazil to rural Bakersfield, where she started her journey as a Latina engineer. She experienced the struggles and opportunities minority groups face in advancing their careers and created a path for professional success. She has previously served on the board of the Cleantech Orange County and was the Chair of the Sustainability Committee of the Bio-Process Systems Alliance (BPSA). Cristina holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from FAAP in Brazil, a MS in Environmental Engineering from UC Irvine, and a MBA from UCLA. She is humbled and honored to serve on the Oasis Advisory Board, where she can exercise her commitment to coach and mentor the next generation of women leaders.

Sophia Lo
Palo Alto Unified School District

Sophia emigrated from Taipei to Los Angeles with her family as a teenage girl and this trans-Pacific experience defined her youth. It is this first-hand experience that drew her to serve Oasis For Girls, and she is elated to be part of the team!

Sophia has been an educator for over two decades. She dedicates her career to educating people of all ages, from preschool to adulthood. Her expertise in speech, language and communication allows her to have taken on many roles including high school Mandarin and Spanish teacher, master teacher, speech language pathologist, as well as college professor in speech language and hearing sciences. Whether creating curriculum, setting up an international education exchange, lecturing in an auditorium, or supervising interns and clinical fellows, it is the gift of human connection that gives meaning to her work.