Guiding Our
Vision Forward

Nicole is the founder of The Townsend Collaborative, a philanthropy network and advising practice empowering African American philanthropists to effect systemic change. Nicole has more than two decades of leadership experience in nonprofits and philanthropy. She has raised more than $50 million for nonprofit organizations, designed philanthropic strategy for $110 million in grants, and managed grantmaking operations for an additional $900 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. She is a certified philanthropic advisor and has led strategic initiatives for family foundations, donors, and private foundations.

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Nicole served as the Chief Impact Officer at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. She was a member of the C-suite and co-managed the $2.3B family foundation, working directly with the family and foundation chair. Nicole started and led the Impact and Operations team to oversee grantmaking strategy, effectiveness, operations, equity, and impact across the foundation’s grantmaking portfolios in education, gender equity, criminal justice, economic mobility, democracy and voting rights, and Jewish community. She also led a grantmaking portfolio that improved college access and outcomes for first-generation college students and developed high-impact leaders of color.

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Nicole was the founder and president of the nation’s largest network of faith-motivated public education equity advocates. The nonprofit mobilized nearly 50,000 Black and Latino/a constituents who successfully pushed for policy change at the local, state, and national level. Nicole also served as an executive coach for national nonprofit CEOs with The Management Center. This built on her work as a member of Teach For America’s C-suite, where she led several teams in the effort to eliminate education inequality nationwide. She began her career as a public school teacher in Compton, California.

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Nicole received her B.A. from The University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. Nicole has authored two books and several articles about the intersection of education, racial equity, advocacy, and justice. She has served on several non-profit and corporate boards and is deeply committed to empowering communities of color to foster racial and economic justice, liberation, and systemic change.

Kyle serves as co-executive director for Community Works, a nonprofit aimed at transforming justice by preventing people from entering systems, improving outcomes for any who do, and advocating for policies that accomplish both. In this role, he oversees the agency’s direct service programming and systems change efforts, the latter of which are centered on the lived experience and expertise of those in the former.

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Prior to this, Kyle worked as a legislative/regulatory advocate for a number of membership-based organizations, as a legislative staffer in the State Assembly, and as a journalist covering electoral politics for several periodicals throughout the state, including the front pages of the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury.

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Kyle received his B.A. in political science and communication at the University of California, Davis. He is also a proud alumnus of what is now City Arts and Leadership Academy, Envision’s only San Francisco school.

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Amber has spent the majority of her career in the nonprofit sector, marketing/communications, and local government affairs. Throughout her career, she has advocated for access to quality education regardless of neighborhood and supported organizations/initiatives that help people break cycles of poverty.

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She has served on local and statewide associations, including several nonprofit boards: Chabot Space and Science Center, Children Rising and is also currently serving on the Center for Elder Independence Foundation Board. She served as an elected official on the Alameda County Board of Education from 2016 – 2020. Amber is also the parent of an Envision graduate.

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Born and raised in Oakland, California, Amber has a deep connection to her community. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, exploring nature through hiking, writing, and experimenting with new recipes at home.

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Akil is an experienced leader in strategic finance, analysis and investment management. Most recently, he was Senior Director of Corporate Planning at Visa, where he led the Visa’s planning processes and supported certain quarterly Investor Relations activities. While at Visa, Akil reorganized Visa’s internal reporting to promote accountability for regional presidents and developed Visa’s long-term revenue model. Prior to Visa, he was a leader in the capital markets and corporate finance team at eBay. In this role, he oversaw capital markets transactions that included more than $2B inaugural debt offering, a multibillion-dollar share buyback program, a $2B credit revolver, as well as the divestiture of eBay’s stake in MercadoLibre. Before eBay, Akil spent seven years at Georgia-Pacific Corporation, where he orchestrated long-term strategic planning and value chain analysis in support of GP Harmon’s acquisition strategy. Hollis started his career in investment banking. In addition to his professional roles, Akil serves on the Board of Directors of Envision Education, which is a network of charter schools in California’s Bay area committed to transforming the lives of students and helping them gain the important skills they need to succeed in college and career. He’s also the Treasurer at Oakland Enrolls, a startup that leverages online software to help poor and minority families apply to the best district and charter public schools available in Oakland. Akil has a BBA from Howard University and a JD from Yale Law School.

A serial entrepreneur, Thomas is the founder and Chairperson of TL Partners—a leadership and inclusion training and consultancy. He also co-founded Trybe, introducing AI to leadership coaching.

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Thomas’s career journey includes leadership roles at Turn/River Capital, an SF-based $3B private equity firm, where he spearheaded talent initiatives, ServiceNow, LinkedIn, and Boston Consulting Group.

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Actively involved in the start-up ecosystem, Thomas is a Board Member-in-Residence with Musa Capital, a venture capital platform investing in black founding teams, and is an advisor to learning tech startups Hone, Spokn and Valence. And hosts Venture Visionaries with Thomas Igeme, a podcast exploring the stories of diverse, inspiring leaders.

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Thomas’s commitment goes beyond the corporate world. He is a board member of FACES SF, championing early education for underserved communities, board elder with City Church of San Francisco and a founding trustee of The Lwai-Lume Legacy Foundation. He also serves as an adjunct professor in business at Stanford University.

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Shawon Jackson is the Founder and Executive Director of Vocal Justice, an organization launched in 2019 that has empowered over 2,500 youth across 19 states and trained more than 100 educators in storytelling for social change and healing-centered pedagogy. With a background in both the private and nonprofit sectors, Shawon previously worked as a consultant at Deloitte and held leadership roles in education-focused organizations in the Dominican Republic. His work has earned recognition from Echoing Green and Camelback Ventures, and he’s been honored as a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient in education.

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An experienced educator and facilitator, Shawon lectures on strategic communication at Stanford and is a frequent speaker and trainer on topics such as youth voice, equity, and liberation. He hold degrees from Princeton, where he served as student body president, and a joint MPP/MBA from Harvard and Stanford. Based in Oakland, Shawon finds joy in dance, Beyoncé, and walks around Lake Merritt.

Jillian Juman brings over 20 years of experience in education to Envision Education. Throughout her career, she has committed to providing underserved communities with access to quality education and ensuring educational equity.

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Jillian has worked to integrate school communities and provide opportunities for global learning to benefit students and their families. With a proven track record of raising student achievement, Ms. Juman has successfully led networks in the development of strong academic learning practices, leadership development, and building sustainable communities of learning that are inclusive and innovative.

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She started her career as a classroom teacher and has held various school leadership roles both in New York City and Los Angeles, including managing instructional superintendent and principal. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and B.A. in Anthropology of Dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz, an M.A in Dance and Dance Education from New York University, and an M. Ed. in Educational Administration from Bank Street College.

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Phillip Klimke joins Envision Education’s Board of Directors with a background that bridges law, management consulting, and technology. He has held roles at YouTube and Google, driving product strategy, regulatory response, and business partnerships, and has developed deep expertise at the intersection of copyright and antitrust law. Previously, as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), he advised global companies and mission-driven organizations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on global health issues.

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Phillip earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School and is a registered attorney in California, bringing a strong grounding in legal analysis, governance, and complex stakeholder management to his board service.

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A longtime Bay Area resident, Phillip is honored to support Envision’s mission of preparing students—especially those least served by current systems—to get to and through college and lead lives of impact. He shares that commitment at home as a parent to twin daughters.

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Kathleen “Kathi” J. Burke had a 20-year career in the financial services industry, holding various management and executive positions, including Vice Chair and Director of Corporate Human Resources at BankAmerica Corporation. She is the former Executive Director of the Stupski Foundation, which worked to foster innovation in K–12 public school systems so that all students graduate ready for college, career, and life. Ms. Burke is currently a community volunteer and serves as a member of the Human Capital and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Beneficial State Bank.

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Throughout her career, Burke has demonstrated a dedication to women’s education and career development. She has held numerous board memberships and has been the recipient of several distinguished honors and awards. She served as Chair of the Mills College Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2016 and served as Trustee of Mills College from 1997 to 2022. She is the former Vice Chair of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, a former member of the United Way Campaign Cabinet, and a former trustee of the Washington State University Foundation.

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Kathi lives in Tiburon, California, with her husband Ralph.

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Since June, 2015 Bob Lenz has been the Executive Director of the Buck Institute for Education, the leading provider of resources for Project Based Learning. He previously served as Envision Education’s Co-Founder and Chief of Innovation, leading the organization since 2002. Mr. Lenz is recognized nationally as a leader in high school redesign, deeper learning, project-based learning, 21st century skills education, and performance assessment. Under his leadership, Envision Schools prepared students for college success and persistence at rates well above national averages. Bob authored the book Transforming Schools Using Project-Based Learning, Performance Assessment, and Common Core Standards along with Justin Wells, Envision Education’s Chief Program Officer.

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Previously, Bob founded Academy X, an award-winning leadership and humanities program at Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, California. In 1999, Drake High was named one of thirteen New American High Schools by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. In 2000, the school was featured on the cover of U.S. News & World Report as an example of successful high school reform. Bob was the first in his family to receive a college degree, obtaining a BA degree from St. Mary’s College and an MA degree in education from San Francisco State University.

Grace M. Hoagland is Director of Leadership Programs and is a member of the teaching faculty at the Stanford University School of Education. She completed her graduate education at Oxford, Harvard and Indiana University, where her doctoral thesis was a study of entrepreneurial leadership in public schools. Her work in education has centered on school reform, including service as executive director of regional reform initiatives in Indiana, St. Louis and the Bay Area.

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Grace is also the former Executive Director of the Bay Area Coalition of Essential (now Equitable) Schools. She is a recent department chair in the Department of Educational Leadership at Cal State University East Bay. She currently serves on the board of Partners for School Innovation; until recently she served on the Stanford School of Education Advisory Board and chaired the Stanford Associates Board of Governors. She and her husband, Laurance, have four children and eight grandchildren.