Leadership Team (l to r) Leslie Hsu, Julie Palley, David Staley, Barb Fremder, Iman Mills, Andy Fremder, Linh Le, Susan Erickson Keiter (College Counselor), Tom Gold, Andrea Walker, Erik Moore, Van Nguyen (Program Associate), Michele Davenport (Executive Director)

Board Members

Andy Fremder, President
Andy Fremder is a co-founder of East Bay College Fund. From 1994 until 2003, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Farallon Capital Management. Mr. Fremder also sits on the board of CapitalSource Inc., a commercial finance company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He is a director of One California Bank, a community development bank headquartered in Oakland. Mr. Fremder received his BBA and MPA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Julie Palley, Vice President
Julie Palley is an independent marketing consultant. From 1983 to 2003, Julie served in a variety of marketing roles at Levi Strauss & Co., including Marketing Director for the Youthwear division and Director of Worldwide Marketing Projects. She began her career in Brand Management with The Clorox Company. Ms. Palley received her BS in Business Administration-Marketing from University of Illinois, Urbana.

Barb Fremder, Secretary
Barb Fremder is a co-founder of East Bay College Fund. After a career in visual merchandising, she currently spends her time volunteering in the community and raising her two daughters and two dogs. Ms. Fremder received her BFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

David Staley, Treasurer
David Staley is a co-founder of East Bay College Fund, and has resided in the East Bay since 1981. He is currently a Senior Vice President in the Mortgage Backed Securities group of Barclays Capital in San Francisco, and has worked in the financial services industry in San Francisco since 1985. Mr. Staley received his BA in US History from the University of California, Berkeley.

Tom Gold
Tom Gold is professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He specializes in the study of China and Taiwan. He received his BA from Oberlin College and MA and PhD from Harvard University. He currently serves on the Boards of National Committee on U.S. – China Relations, Asia Society of Northern California, and Chinadialogue.  In the past he has served on the Boards of Pacific Environment and Berkeley Hillel.

Leslie Kawamoto Hsu
Leslie is currently the College Access Director at the June Jordan School for Equity in San Francisco Unified School District.  Prior to that she worked with Oakland youth for seven years in various capacities, including as a Program Director of the College and Career Information Centers (CCIC) at the Castlemont Community of Small Schools and Life Academy High School. Leslie received her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies (focus in Education and Social Justice) with a minor in Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley in 2005 and her EdM in School Leadership at Harvard University in 2009. She was born and raised in Los Angeles but now considers Oakland home.

Gavin Kwong (currently on temporary leave)
Gavin Kwong is a high school math and business teacher at Washington High School in Fremont, CA. He began his career in investment banking and Internet marketing before transitioning to the field of education. He received his BA from UC Berkeley.

Linh Le
Linh Le has been a Counselor for the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy (a charter school) since 2005. She received her BA in Integrative Biology and minor in Education from the University of California, Berkeley and her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. Her passion for youth work stemmed from her own experience as a refugee and as the first person in her family to attend college. She believes that she can make a difference in the world, working with one child at a time.

Iman Mills
Iman Mills is a Project Coordinator for PolicyLink, an Oakland based national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity. Iman’s projects at PolicyLink are focused on health disparities and health in communities. Previously, she was the circulation manager for a health management publishing firm in New York City, where she served as a liaison between the production and marketing departments. Mills holds a BA in English and comparative literature with a minor in neuroscience and behavior from Columbia University.

Erik Moore
Erik Moore is a former Trustee of Saint Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, his alma mater.  He has served on the board of Morrisania West, an organization dedicated to at risk children in the Western Addition, SF.   He co-founded an organization (Concentric Circles) that provides informal mentoring to youth recently released from juvenile hall.  Erik has worked in Sales & Trading for 14 years and is currently a Director in Investment Banking at Banc of America Securities Merrill Lynch.  He did his undergraduate work at Dartmouth College.  He holds a Masters in French from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

Jim Saavedra
C. James Saavedra has over 40 years of experience in the information systems/technology business, primarily serving financial institutions and financial service providers. His last assignment, as Senior Vice President with Union Bank of California, commenced in 1992 and encompassed a broad range of responsibilities including managing all commercial banking, customer service, call centers, and bank operations technology strategies, as well as operations for the commercial real estate and commercial loan portfolios.

From 1983 through 1992, Mr. Saavedra served as Senior Vice President of the Wholesale Loan Services Division at Wells Fargo Bank, NA. He served as Vice President and Director of Data Center Services for First Nationwide Savings Bank from 1979 through 1983.

Formerly, Mr. Saavedra worked as Director of Information Systems for World Airways from 1977 to 1979. He served as Vice President of Operations for the Western States Bankcard Association during 1969 and until 1977. Mr. Saavedra served at The Morris Plan Company from 1964 to 1968, and then at Electronic Data Systems from 1968 to 1969, working in various systems engineering related positions.

Mr. Saavedra graduated from Regis University in Denver, Colorado, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Andrea Walker
Andrea Walker is a native Oaklander, who is passionate about her community and enthusiastically works to improve the city she calls home. Andrea has worked in education and nonprofit for eight years and is a graduate of Skyline High School. Andrea received her Associate of Science in Business Administration and Associate of Arts in Social & Behavioral Science from Butte-Glenn Community College and earned her Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from Sacramento State University.

Currently, she is the Executive Program Assistant and Financial Literacy Instructor at OneCalifornia Foundation and a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women-Oakland Bay Area Chapter.

Executive Director

Michele Davenport
Michele Davenport has over 20 years experience mostly in Human Resources and Sales in a variety of positions in Fortune 100 companies including Philip Morris Management Corporation, Kraft Foodservice and Mary Kay Cosmetics. Ms. Davenport began her career in the airline industry as part of a venture backed start-up in New Jersey. She relocated to the bay area ten years ago and has spent much of that time consulting on projects ranging from marketing, marketing research and business development. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Loyola University of Chicago.

Since 1986 she has served as a mentor and advocate for youth, particularly older youth. As a member of an international children’s service organization, she has supported programs for families, has been active with the SPCA, Girls, Inc. and a host of other community organizations and civic initiatives.

College Counselor

Susan Erickson Keiter
Susan Erickson Keiter is a co-founder of East Bay College Fund, and former manager of Meritus College Fund, the San Francisco-based nonprofit after which East Bay College Fund is modeled. Ms Keiter has taught and counseled young people in K-12 schools and on university campuses since 1986, specializing in college financial aid and scholarship programs. Ms. Keiter also teaches piano and singing to children and adults. Ms. Keiter graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelors of Music from the University of Southern California and received a MS in Counseling from San Francisco State University.

Advisory Council

Jose Arredondo, Teacher, Oakland Unified School District

Douglas Boxer, Principal, Boxer & Associates, Inc

Romeo Garcia, Co-Principal, ARISE High School

Ian Isaacs, Co-founder of East Bay College Fund; Senior Partner, Director of Research, Merlin Securities

Steve Jubb, Founding Partner, None But Ourselves

David Kakishiba, Executive Director, East Bay Asian Youth Center; Oakland Unified School District Board Member

Thuy Thi Nguyen, General Counsel, Peralta Community College District

Peter Reinke, Teacher, Director of Civic Purpose, The Head-Royce School

Wilson Riles, Jr., Executive Director, Family Independence Initiative