James G.B. DeMartini, III
Jim is the managing partner of Seiler LLP, an accounting firm with offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. The firm specializes in services to high net worth individuals and families, as well as closely held businesses. In his role as a trusted adviser, he counsels clients in matters including income, estate and gift tax planning, wealth management, all facets of real estate and charitable gift planning.

Jim founded and was a member of the board of Sports Association for Youth, a noncompetitive baseball league that currently benefits more than 1,000 San Francisco Bay Area youths annually. Additional past community activities include Notre Dame de Namur University Trustee, Executive Committee Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee; Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur of California Advisory Board; Santa Clara University English Advisory Board; Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Capital Campaign Committee; and Stanford University Medical Center Friends of Orthopedics.

Jim attended University of California at Los Angeles and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Golden Gate University. He pursued graduate studies in taxation and speaks regularly on a variety of related topics. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Executive Leadership Team

Alexa Cortes Culwell, Chief Executive Officer
Alexa joined the Stupski Foundation as CEO in 2006 and guided the organization through an evaluation and assessment process that resulted in a new strategic direction as well as mission clarity and focus. As CEO, Alexa is responsible for the foundation’s overall performance and effectiveness.

Alexa’s career has centered on building high performing nonprofit organizations that are better equipped to deliver greater social impact. She served as CEO of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, directing its program development and growth over more than a decade. During her tenure, the foundation's operating program in learning disabilities grew to serve a national audience of millions, becoming the most trusted resource in the country for families struggling with this issue. She also directed initiative-based grant making programs in homelessness, poverty prevention and substance abuse, winning national recognition for the foundation's outstanding contributions, particularly in building the capacity of local nonprofits.

Alexa received her B.A. from University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in Nonprofit Management from University of San Francisco. She serves on the boards of Northern California Grantmakers, the Center for Effective Philanthropy and New Door Ventures.

Nelson González, Chief Strategy and Program Officer
Nelson joined the foundation in 2008 after serving as a consultant to the organization and helping to guide the development of a new strategic direction and programmatic orientation. His responsibilities include strategy implementation and review, program design and execution, knowledge management and evaluation, and partnerships.

Formerly, Nelson was the founder and managing director of the Advent Strategy Group, a global management consulting firm helping institutions in all sectors align strategy and organization toward greater social impact. For more than 13 years — at Advent Strategy Group, Booz Allen & Hamilton, World Vision and the British Royal Household, he led engagements in philanthropy, education, international development, public and foreign policy, media, the arts and public health for corporate, multilateral, governmental, foundation and nonprofit clients in 12 countries on five continents.

He also served as director of the Royal Institution World Science Assembly, where he led a global initiative on pandemic preparedness that engaged global pharmaceutical firms, the United Nations, several national ministries of health, and major science and foreign policy journals on issues of vaccine development, disease surveillance, public health infrastructure and emergency preparedness.

Nelson received a B.A. in political science from Amherst College and did his doctoral work at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was tutored in theology and philosophy at Oxford University, and has been a Fellow at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium; Columbia University in New York; and New York University. A native Colombian, he is fluent in both Spanish and French.

Gerrita Postlewait, Chief K12 Officer
Gerrita has served as a district superintendent for many years, most recently completing a decade’s tenure as superintendent in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She served as president of the South Carolina Superintendents Association, was named the state’s Superintendent of the Year and the South Carolina School Boards’ Outstanding Superintendent of the Year.

Alex Terman, Chief Business Officer
Alex joined the Stupski Foundation in 2008 as Chief Business Officer with oversight of the organization’s financial, human resources and information technology operations. Prior to joining the foundation, Alex was a founding staff member and chief operating officer of Leadership Public Schools, a San Francisco-based nonprofit network of charter high schools serving low-income Bay Area communities. He also served as director of e-commerce business development for America Online, and as an associate consultant with the management consulting firm of Bain & Company.

Alex was a John Gardner Fellow in the Office of the United States Trade Representative and has served as a board member and classroom volunteer for Junior Achievement of the Bay Area. Currently, he is a board member of Leadership Public Schools and Rocketship Education, and a member of Full Circle Fund, a venture philanthropy organization.

Alex received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He also completed the Broad Residency in Urban Education, a two-year management development program that trains leaders for senior management positions in public education.

Staff

Howard Fuller, Program Associate: Knowledge Systems
Howard joined the Stupski Foundation in 2006. He develops and deploys solutions to facilitate the collection, storage and reuse of critical knowledge and research, and designs and manages information repositories within the larger knowledge management system. Prior to joining the foundation, Howard held positions at the Stanford Health Library in Palo Alto and the American Bar Association in Chicago, where he was responsible for developing and implementing library management systems, building taxonomies and web-based systems, and strategic planning. Howard holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science, and has completed the National Library of Medicine’s fellowship program in Medical Informatics at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and the Stanford University-California State Library Institute on 21st Century Librarianship. He is active in professional associations and has published in professional and peer-reviewed journals.

Patricia Godsey, Accountant
Patricia assists the controller by performing the foundation’s daily accounting activities. Patricia has over 30 years’ experience working for a wide variety of both for profit and nonprofit organizations. Most recently, Patricia was the executive assistant to Holbrook & Co., LLC, a boutique investment banker specializing in small sustainable business investments. She has a B.S. from the University of California at Berkeley and has completed over 36 postgraduate units with an emphasis in business.

Issie Gotto, Innovation Consultant
Issie has been advising business and nonprofit leaders for the past 13 years, focusing on using design thinking as a process and mindset that can help teams solve complex problems and enable deep-rooted change. She has worked as a strategy consultant with Gemini Consulting in the U.K., as a senior strategist with SYPartners in San Francisco, and has consulted independently to a number of businesses and nonprofit organizations. She is now working with the Stupski Foundation to establish its Design Collaborative. Before consulting, Issie worked in fund development for NGO Marie Stopes International, based in the U.K. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University and an M.B.A. from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Darlene Hale, Administrative Assistant/Program Coordinator
Darlene is the assistant to the chief K-12 officer and the Program team. Prior to joining the Stupski Foundation, Darlene was the office manager and executive assistant to the president of Arc Worldwide. She has several years of experience supporting senior management teams in both an administrative and marketing capacity. During her tenure at Gensler Architecture, she served as a task force coordinator for one of the firm’s largest departments. Darlene is a former shelter volunteer for Marin Abused Women’s Services and enjoys writing and playing music in her spare time. She attended College of Marin.

Pam Mantegani, Assistant to the CEO
Pam is executive assistant to the foundation's chief executive officer. She also serves as the foundation's secretary to the board of directors. Prior to joining the foundation, Pam was the executive secretary for the vice president of external affairs at BHP Minerals in San Francisco. She has over 20 years experience in administration, supporting senior management in corporations. She holds a secretarial diploma from Heald Business College in San Francisco. Pam was a board member of the San Francisco Bay Area Girl Scouts and served on their Planned Giving Committee.

Brett Miller, Systems Engineer
Brett provides technical support to the foundation’s employees. Prior to joining the Stupski Foundation, Brett was a systems administrator for AudioBase and later worked as an independent support consultant for small businesses based in Marin County. He received a B.A. in literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and he spends much of his spare time reading and writing. Brett also enjoys working with young people and is currently matched with an amazing teenager through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.

Andrea Minadakis, Program Associate: Communications
Andrea assists the director of communications with the foundation’s internal and external communications efforts. She also assists with the planning and execution of program-related projects. Prior to joining the Stupski Foundation, Andrea served as director of marketing and public relations for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and the Horizon Theatre Company in Atlanta. Andrea received her B.A. in government and dramatic arts from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

Kiley Walsh O’Meara, Program Officer: Education Policy and Practice
Kiley's charge at the foundation is to help design and implement investment strategy through identification of promising practices, approaches and partnerships and analysis of opportunities in the field. Prior to joining the foundation, Kiley was policy director of Springboard Schools, formerly the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, where she worked with a network of grantee schools and districts, translating findings into policy and strategy recommendations. Kiley has also been a research associate at Metis Associates in NYC, a high school English teacher at Kent School in Connecticut, and a VISTA volunteer in the education department of the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston. Kiley holds a B.A. in English from Middlebury College and an M.A. in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Deeksha Prakash, Program Research Analyst
Deeksha conducts research and analysis for the Program team. She comes to the foundation with experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining the foundation, Deeksha worked as analyst in the Latin America region of JP Morgan Private Bank. She has also served as development associate at Global Education Partnership, a nonprofit that provides entrepreneurship and job skills training to low-income youth in Kenya, Tanzania, Guatemala, Indonesia and Oakland, CA. Deeksha holds a B.A. in Political Science from Washington and Lee University and an M.A. in International Educational Administration & Policy Analysis from Stanford University.

Natasha Proctor, Receptionist
Natasha performs reception, hospitality and facility duties in addition to providing general administrative support. She comes to the foundation with extensive experience in customer service and administration, including her most recent work as a senior loan processor at Greenpoint Mortgage in Novato, California. For the past 10 years, Natasha has worked with the California Autism Foundation, which provides people with autism and other developmental disabilities opportunities for lifetime support, training and assistance in helping them reach their highest potential for independence, productivity and fulfillment. Natasha attended Laney College in Oakland, California.

June Rimmer, Program Director for the Design Collaborative
June Rimmer joined the Stupski Foundation in 2004 after serving in urban education for over 30 years. She began her career as a high school English teacher in Indianapolis, where she also served as a high school principal, staff developer, multicultural consultant, grant writer and program evaluator. In 1999, she moved to Seattle, where she served as chief academic officer of the Seattle Public Schools for five years. All of these experiences have enhanced her passion for education and social justice in America. June completed her undergraduate degree in English at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, her master’s degree in Counseling at Butler University in Indianapolis, and her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Radhika Tatavarthy, Human Resources Specialist
Radhika supports the foundation’s human resource activities including payroll and recordkeeping, and benefits and systems administration. Prior to joining the Stupski Foundation, Radhika worked at Center Point, a nonprofit organization in San Rafael, where she was responsible for a range of HR activities, including recruiting and benefits administration, maintaining effective systems and recordkeeping. Radhika received her M.S. in Human Resource Management from Golden Gate University in 2006 and completed the Human Resources Management Certificate Program at Sonoma State University in 2002. She also holds a master’s degree in English literature from Delhi University in India.

Edward Lee Vargas, Superintendent in Residence
Lee has served as superintendent in large urban systems in New Mexico, Texas and California. Most recently, he was superintendent for the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. He was named California Superintendent of the Year for 2006 by the California Association of School Administrators and was California's nominee for AASA's National Superintendent of the Year. Lee has also served as a classroom teacher, school psychologist, director of special education and assistant superintendent of support services, curriculum and instruction. He is a nationally recognized speaker and has served on numerous state and national boards and associations, including the National Academy of Sciences and advisor to the U.S. Department of Education. Lee has received numerous awards for outstanding leadership, including those from the states of New Mexico and California, the County of Los Angeles, the California State Assembly and special congressional recognition from the U.S. Congress. Lee received his doctorate with honors from the University of Washington in Leadership and Policy Studies.

Ann Wallace, Director of Internal Communications
Ann joined the Stupski Foundation in 2008, coming from a private practice in which she provided communications consultation services for civic, nonprofit and philanthropic clients. Previously, Ann served as director of communications for the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation where she was responsible for developing communications strategies to support the work of programs in learning disabilities, homelessness, poverty prevention and substance abuse. Prior to entering the philanthropic sector, Ann participated in the management and direction of an emergent San Francisco-based communications firm during a decade of growth. As vice president and general manager, she led account teams in providing strategic planning and implementation in a broad range of communications initiatives including media and community relations, special events, employee communications and promotional partnerships. Ann received her B.A. in political science from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Bonnie Walsh, Controller
Bonnie joined the Stupski Foundation in 2008 to manage the financial and accounting operations of the organization after serving as a consultant to the foundation in a similar role. She oversees the development and implementation of sound and efficient financial systems and controls, having responsibility for general compliance and reporting. She is a CPA and a Certified Financial Planner. Her public accounting experience was with KPMG San Francisco, and she served as controller or CFO for several organizations in the nonprofit, energy, technology, biopharmaceutical and banking industries prior to joining the foundation. Bonnie received her B.A. in Business Education and Accounting from Wichita State University and has completed graduate studies at University of Colorado and the University of California at Berkeley.