OSF Staff
Holly Babe Faust, Executive Director
Holly Babe Faust came to OSF in 2005 with a successful history and track record as a non-profit leader, professional fundraiser, and business consultant to OUSD and many non-profits. As a grants writer, she has earned over $10 million since 2000 in foundation and government grants. Before becoming a non-profit executive, Ms. Faust enjoyed a long career as a corporate real estate developer and general contractor, managing multi-million-dollar portfolios. Ms. Faust earned both Bachelors and Masters degrees at UC Berkeley.
Precious Stroud, Director of Operations and Development
Ms. Stroud has served as a marketing strategist, project manager, and training facilitator to several Bay Area businesses and educational institutions. She began her career as a Grants Administrative Specialist with Chabot College of Hayward, California in the Las Positas Community College District. Following her tenure there, Ms. Stroud has made valuable contributions to both for-profit and not-for-profit educational institutions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including Kaplan K-12 Learning Services and the Art Institute of California. Ms. Stroud is a proven student advocate who holds a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, East Bay and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration.
Julie Besaha, Director of Finance and Administration
Julie Besaha comes to OSF with ten years of professional and volunteer experience in nonprofit management in the Washington DC area. Her diverse background includes fiscal management, fund development, human resource management/recruiting, quality assurance, information technology integration, contract negotiations/management, conflict resolution/mediation, training workshop facilitation, board/volunteer management, program development/administration, and communications planning/media strategy. Additionally, Ms. Besaha gained valuable professional experience in the corporate sector, not the least of which was the deep understanding that her true calling is in service to the greater good.
Cathy Barragan, Marketing Coordinator
Cathy Barragan’s commitment to art and education began in college while working with Barrios Unidos, an after school program. After graduating, she worked for the Pinnacle Newspaper in Hollister, California as an Art Director. Prior to joining OSF, Ms. Barragan was the Graphic Designer for Crisis Clinic, a non-profit organization in Seattle. Outside of work, Ms. Barragan enjoys volunteering. Her experiences include serving as Treasurer to the Board of a non-profit housing cooperative in Seattle, tutoring children in an orphanage in Mexico, and building artist residences in Southern Italy. As the first to graduate college in her family, she received a B.A. in Art and a minor in Education from UC Santa Cruz.
Susan D'Orazio, Grants and Programs Associate
Susan D'Orazio comes to OSF with a passion for education and a dedication to social justice. Ms. D'Orazio started her career in education when she helped to open a successful San Francisco Unified School District charter high school with the Delancey Street Foundation. She worked for several years in development, writing grants and reporting on programs. Most recently, Ms. D'Orazio worked for the State Public Defender's Office conducting social history investigation for capital habeas corpus petitions. She has also volunteered with Oakland Events, LLC, helping to produce community events in local business improvement districts. An Oakland native, she graduated from UCLA with honors with a B.A. in Political Science and Women's Studies.
Joanna Kaplan Rasheed, Grants and Program Coordinator
As a native of Oakland, Joanna Kaplan Rasheed has a long history with Oakland public schools – as a student and later as a teacher in the district. Ms. Kaplan Rasheed has worked in journalism, in publishing as a children’s literary agent, and in the non-profit world, serving as a researcher, writer, and editor. She began writing grants for the Institute for Teaching, a non-profit arm of the California Teacher’s Association, helping to fund the planning stages of a state-wide high school reform movement. Since then she has worked with several Bay Area non-profit organizations, raising close to $2 million over the past few years for children and youth, schools, and healthcare programs for underserved families. Ms. Kaplan Rasheed earned her Bachelors degree at San Francisco State University.
Sarah Oppenheim, Individual Giving Coordinator
Sarah Oppenheim's passion for education is complemented by her experience in fundraising and organizing. Ms. Oppenheim began her career teaching middle school science in the Bayview/ Hunter's Point neighborhood of San Francisco with a program called Aim High. She honed her organizing skills as a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Minnesota during the 2006 senatorial campaign. Most recently, Ms. Oppenheim was team fundraising coordinator for AIDS Walk San Francisco. A Bay Area native, Ms. Oppenheim graduated from UC Berkeley Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis in Education.
Amber Valdez, School Resources Coordinator
Amber Valdez comes to OSF with a commitment to social justice and extensive volunteer and work experience in the non-profit sector. Ms. Valdez has worked with numerous non-profit organizations, including the Women of Color Resource Center in Oakland, Medical Students for Choice, WEAVE, and BRAVE People. She has served as a board member and political action committee member, and has worked in finance, administration, program coordination, and community organizing. Ms. Valdez is the first person in her family to graduate from college. She earned three Associate degrees in Women's Studies, Social Science, and Liberal Arts from Sierra College before earning her B.A. in Women's Studies with a minor in Ethnic Studies from Mills College.
Natasha Tractenberg, Finance and Administration Associate
Natasha Tractenberg is a student at Mills College on the “4+1 track” to earn both a Bachelors degree and an M.B.A. within five years. Ms. Tractenberg offers OSF a well-rounded scope of administrative competencies with an extensive background in bookkeeping and accounting.
Benj Vardigan, Communications Coordinator
A former managing editor at Consumer Health Interactive, Benj Vardigan has been freelancing for Oakland schools and media organizations since 2005. Mr. Vardigan has written investigative pieces on health topics from hypochondria to the effects of illiteracy on health care. In 2001, the northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists named him an Outstanding Young Journalist for his series on the hazards of ephedra supplements. Mr. Vardigan is also a published poet. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor – his hometown.
Jessica Miller, Administrative Assistant
A Bay Area native, Jessica Miller recently graduated from Mills with a degree in Political, Legal, and Economic Analysis with her emphasis in economics. Ms. Miller returned to Mills for its "4+1" Master of Business Administration program and is currently taking a full load of courses to complete her MBA in one year. She comes to OSF with an energetic attitude and a wealth of administrative capabilities.
Arturo Cortez, Education Pioneers Fellow
During the Summer of 2009, Arturo Cortez was OSF's Education Pioneer Fellow. Mr. Cortez consulted with OSF on several projects, including strengthening evaluation tools for measuring school success and completing the organization's longitudinal study. Mr. Cortez is pursuing his Ph.D. in Policy and Organizations Studies at UC Berkeley.