Advisory Council

Click here to read about the role of OSF's Advisory Council.

Lina Avidan
Program Executive, Zellerbach Family Foundation

Madeleine Clarke
Development Director, Breakthrough Collaborative. Former Development Director, OUSD and BayCES

Mary Dietz
International consultant specializing in assisting educators in building capacity; co-founder of LearnCity

Sharon Dolan
Executive Director, Oakland Youth Chorus

Carrie McPherson Douglass
Director of Human Resources, Aspire Public Schools

Laura Feeney
Principal Consultant, Feeney Associates, Inc. Former Director of Programs and Communication, OSF

Laura Flaxman
Principal, ARISE High School. Former Director of Coalition of Essential Schools. Founding OSF board member

Edward Hannemann
Chair, Oakland Community After-School Alliance. Former member of POC of Oakland Fund for Children and Youth

Kim Hofmann
Salesforce.com Senior Consultant, Elkhorn Consulting Partners

Rebecca Hopkins
Public Information Officer, Oakland Unified School District

David Kakishiba
Executive Director, East Bay Asian Youth Center and member of the Oakland School Board

Gail Kaufman
Deputy Director, UC Berkeley, Center for Educational Partnership

Karen Ransom
Former Executive Director, Museum of Children’s Art

Delphine Sherman
Director of Finance, Aspire Public Schools

Arlene Shmaeff
Director of Professional Development, Museum of Children’s Art

Jodi Servatius
Interim Dean, College of Education and Allied Studies, Cal State East Bay Hayward

Hae-Sin Thomas
Co-Founder, Urban Ed Solutions. Former Director of New Schools Development, OUSD. Founding OSF board member

The Role of the OSF Advisory Council

Expert Feedback and Guidance: OSF staff and Board of Directors look to each member of the Advisory Council as a resource for guidance and feedback in areas and skill sets that are specific to them. The Advisory Council encompasses a broad spectrum of people involved education, family engagement, enrichment programs, district leadership, philanthropy, business, organizational development, community development, policy, information technology, finance, and many other areas.

VIP Dialogue: Each December OSF hosts a VIP Dialogue which the Advisory Council is asked to attend. The objective of this event is to foster a group discussion about the progress of the organization, its outcomes to date, and OSF’s effectiveness in identifying and addressing the needs of the schools, students, and community. With this feedback, OSF staff and board continue to revise the OSF strategies.

Building a Base of Support: OSF looks to Advisory Council members to be advocates for OSF in our community by informing people about our work and about public school education, by bringing people to OSF events and school tours, and by attracting individuals and donors to make financial and in-kind contributions.

Building Organization Credibility and Visibility: Advisory Council members demonstrate their support by allowing OSF identify them as advisors on the website, in events, and in collateral materials. This builds the organization’s credibility and makes OSF more visible as a leading institution in the community.

Decision-Making Authority: The Advisory Council has no formal role in making strategic or funding decisions at OSF.

Committees: OSF has not yet developed a committee structure for the Advisory Council but may do so in 2010-11.

Last updated April 5, 2010