Board of Trustees
National Equity Project board members are education and community leaders committed to our mission who provide oversight and support of our work.
President
Robert Spencer, William H. Donner Foundation
Robert Spencer has more than 15 years of financing and consulting experience with local agencies throughout California. He is an economist with extensive experience assisting public agencies with the development of sound financial and economic policies. Much of his work is related to public services funding to serve a community's growth or revitalization. Mr. Spencer was a member and President of the Oakland Board of Education in the late 1990's and remains actively involved in Oakland education reform. He is a member and past President of the Board of Trustees of the William H. Donner Foundation and is the foundation liaison to Oakland's Expect Success redesign. Mr. Spencer holds a Masters of Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Colorado College. Bob joined the National Equity Project board in 2004.
Vice President
Debbra Lindo, CEO and Chief Academic Officer, College Track.
Debbra Lindo leads efforts aimed at increasing opportunities for high school students from under-resourced communities at the successful nonprofit College Track, which currently serves more than 300 high school students and over 200 college students at centers in East Palo Alto, Oakland, and San Francisco. Prior to joining College Track, Lindo worked in education for over thirty years as a faculty member of the San Ramon, Sequoia and San Mateo school districts and as an executive officer and high school principal for both the Oakland Unified and the Sequoia Union High School Districts. Lindo's tenure in Oakland included leading major school reform initiatives, including the conversion of large under-performing middle and high schools into new small schools in partnership with the National Equity Project . Lindo graduated from Mills College with a bachelor's degree in U.S. History. She also earned a masters degree in education from Stanford University and is pursuing a doctorate in education from St. Mary's College. Deb joined the board in 2008.
Secretary
Anakarita Allen, Deputy Superintendent, Emery Unified School District.
Ms. Allen was the principal of Anna Yates Elementary School from 2005-2008 and continues to provide leadership to that school as she has taken on greater responsibilities in the district's central office. At Anna Yates, she led the school to significant achievement gains and improvements in the educational experience of students through community partnerships, parent outreach, and smaller learning communities. She has worked with Project coaches since 2005, and joined the National Equity Project board in 2006.
Lande Ajose, Managing Director, BTW Informing Change
Drawing on her expertise in research, evaluation, analysis and communication, Lande designs and directs complex organizational planning and evaluation projects related to education and the workforce at the Berkeley-based evaluation and strategic planning firm, BTW. Her experience includes issues of governance, executive leadership and organizational alignment, where she is adept at helping clients use data to inform their decision-making. Some of Lande's current and recent clients include the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Prior to joining BTW, Lande worked at MDRC, where she directed a comprehensive evaluation of the Lumina Foundation's signature Achieving the Dream Initiative, aimed at transforming the nation's community colleges and improving student outcomes. She served for several years as a senior program officer at the James Irvine Foundation, worked with the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers and conducted evaluations for the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development. Lande holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Studies from MIT. She received an MA in Urban Planning from the UCLA School of Public Affairs and a BA in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College. Lande joined the National Equity Project board in 2009.
Eva Camp, Director, Full Circle Fund
A mother of three young children, Eva dedicates her time to improving public education, whether through the Piedmont School District or as a volunteer with Full Circle Fund's Education Circle, where she has worked extensively with Oakland Unified School District. Eva worked for more than 10 years at Microsoft, marketing some of the company's most successful products, including Word, Office and other consumer titles. Her last role there was Director of Market Planning and Analysis for Microsoft's line of home products. Prior to Microsoft, she worked in product management at Proctor & Gamble. Eva has a B.A. from Harvard University, where she was co-president of the Asian American Association. Eva joined the National Equity Project board in 2007.
John Gooding, Quadric Group; President, Emery Ed Fund.
As head of the Emery Ed Fund (EEF), Mr. Gooding has helped to raise over $1 million for education programs in the city of Emeryville, and has built a strong partnership between schools, business, and city government that has gained notice across the country. He is also the Chair of One Voice, a Political Action Committee committed to electing progressive candidates to Congress and to changing the way that our political system works by engaging communities and individuals who have traditionally been excluded from the political process. John joined the National Equity Project board in 2004.
Gregory Hodge, Community Development Associates
Gregory Hodge is a youth development policy advocate and member of the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education from 2000-2008. He was previously the Chief Executive Officer for California Tomorrow, an Oakland-based organization dedicated to building a strong multiracial and multicultural society. He also previously served as the Executive Director of Safe Passages, the Oakland Child Health and Safety Initiative. Prior to Safe Passages, Hodge was the Executive Director of the Urban Strategies Council, where he served as the director of the youth development initiative, managed the Freedom Schools program, and worked as the regional representative of the Black Community Crusade for Children, an effort coordinated nationally by the Children's Defense Fund.
Mr. Hodge has also worked as an attorney in private practice handling a variety of civil litigation matters. His involvements include work with African American youth as a teacher and mentor; board member and minister at Wo'se Community Church; drummer with Bantaba Dance Ensemble; board member of The Marin Institute; and member of the national Annenberg School District Reform Task Force. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California. He is married and is the father of four children. Greg joined the National Equity Project board in 2004.
Lillian Lopez, Wells Fargo; Oakland Community Organizations (OCO).
Ms. Lopez is an activist with the OCO, a National Equity Project partner in the New Small Autonomous Schools reform, where she was formerly a board member. She is the OCO organizer for MetWest High School. She was a member of Mayor Jerry Brown's Commission on Education. Her work as an education activist parent is featured in the book Hard Lessons: The Promise of an Inner-City Charter School by Jonathan Schorr (Ballentine, 2002). Lillian joined the Project board in 2004.
Cleo Protopapas, Administrator on Special Assignment, Secondary Algebra Initiatives, Oakland Unified School District.
Ms. Protopapas is responsible for the design and implementation of Algebra Initiatives for two middle and high school networks in the OUSD. She coaches principals on instructional leadership and supports the development of Algebra professional learning communities. Ms. Protopapas is also Director of the OUSD-UC Summer Algebra Academies which prepare academically at-risk students for success in algebra and serve as a project-based professional development institute for its algebra instructors. Previously leader of the district's CAHSEE Initiative, her work contributed to significantly improved CAHSEE passage and proficiency rates and to OUSD becoming the most improved urban district in California in 2004 through 2007. Cleo joined the National Equity Project board in 2002.
Norman Rosenblatt, Founding Board Member
Norm Rosenblatt has been a director and senior executive at several real estate corporations including The Rim Corporation and Innkeeper Associates, where he supervised the financing and construction of numerous hotels in the Bay Area. Norm is a graduate of Yale University and lives in San Francisco. He was one of the founding board members of University High School in San Francisco. Norm has been a founding National Equity Project board member since 1995.
David Silver, Principal, Think College Now.
For two years before becoming principal in 2003, David Silver worked with parents, teachers, and National Equity Project coaches to create Think College Now (TCN) Elementary School. TCN was one of only three Oakland schools to receive a California Distinguished School Award in 2008, and has received a Title I Achievement Award for outstanding academic growth and success in narrowing the achievement gap. The school has also been recognized by U. S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee for strength of parent involvement. Prior to founding TCN, David served as the assistant principal at Lockwood Elementary, after having completed his principal certification and masters at Harvard University. In 2001-2, he served as a Rotary Scholar in Mexico where he strengthened his Spanish by visiting 15 of his former students' families. From 1998-2001, he was the program director of Teach for America in the Bay Area. Previously, he taught bilingual second grade and coached basketball in Oakland and Compton. David joined the Project board in 2008.
