Board

Adam Anderson (Treasurer)

Executive Director,
West System and Bay Area Office Business Management

Adam Anderson is the Business Management Director for the Bay Area offices of the Boston Consulting Group, one of the premier global management consulting firms. In this role, he oversees all non-consulting functions and operations. Beyond this role, Adam has deep experience in public education across the country, leading strategy, transformation, and operations in public, private, and non-profit organizations

Most recently, Adam was the President of Chief Operating Officer at The District Management Group. Based in Boston, The District Management Group combines the most effective educational best practices with proven management techniques to produce measurable, sustainable improvements in student outcomes. In addition to leading operations, Adam led large scale engagements with urban school district clients across the country, working with Superintendents and Senior Leadership to improve outcomes for all students. Before that, Adam led Operations, Strategy, Talent, and Culture at EducationSuperHighway, a San Francisco-based non-profit whose mission is to connect every public school classroom in America to high speed broadband. Adam also spent a number of years as a Senior Administrator at Chicago Public Schools, leading transformational initiatives across School Leadership, Operations, Talent, and Community Engagement, ultimately serving as Deputy Chief of Staff to the CEO. He also previously worked at Boston Consulting Group as a Management Consultant and was a Test Engineer with Honeywell Aerospace.

Adam is a proud alumnus of California public schools from Kindergarten through undergrad, as he attended his local K-12 public schools in Lompoc Unified School District while growing up on Vandenberg Air Force Base and obtained a BS in Chemical Engineering at California State University, Long Beach. He is a passionate believer in and advocate for public education and our shared responsibility to ensure that every student, regardless of zip code or learning needs, graduates from high school, college and career ready. Adam also has an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University, where he was awarded the Arbuckle Award for Leadership.

Adam lives in San Francisco with his wife Stephanie, their children Audrey and Theo, and their senior rescue dog, Kita.

Alexandra Kennedy

Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy, My Code Media

Alexandra (Alex) Kennedy is an accomplished leader with experience scaling and operationalizing lines of business, leading commercial teams, and driving digital transformation journeys. Alex is the Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy at My Code Media. In this role, she leads teams accountable for driving revenue, sales operations, and M&A strategy and integration efforts. Prior to My Code, Alex spent five years at Twitter. First as the Global Head of Partnership Strategy and Operations and later as Director of Client Solutions focused on Retail and Travel companies. Prior to Twitter, Alex spent nearly a decade at Under Armour (UA) in a variety of roles that shaped how UA approached their digital strategy.

Alex is a nationally sought after thought-leader, featured at events including Advertising Week, Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Business Today, Black in Tech, The Corporate Directors Podcast, Princeton University, among others.

Alex is a graduate of Princeton University and proud native of Washington, DC. She currently resides in Oakland, California.

Brian Driscoll

Development Director,
Lick Wilmerding

Brian Driscoll is the Associate Director of Development at Lick Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, where his work focuses on leadership giving and strategic philanthropy. Previously, he served as Vice President of Individual Philanthropy for Genesys Works, a national non-profit bridging the gap between low-income students, underserved schools, and the business community. Brian has worked as a development consultant to numerous non-profits, focusing on individual giving and campaign planning. In addition to consulting, he served as Vice President of Advancement at Health Leads – a national, non-profit agency that mobilizes undergraduate volunteers in partnership with providers in urban clinics to connect low-income patients with resources such as food, housing, and heating assistance. His previous position was at Cleveland’s Urban Community School, where he served as Director of Advancement and worked extensively on public-private partnerships within the city.

Gary Hoachlander, PhD

Ex Officio, President,
ConnectED

Gary Hoachlander is President of ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career. Beginning his career in 1966 as a brakeman for the Western Maryland Railroad, he has devoted most of his professional life to helping young people learn by doing—connecting education to the opportunities, challenges, and many different rewards to be found through work. Widely known for his expertise in career and technical education and many other aspects of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, Gary has consulted extensively for the U.S. Department of Education, state departments of education, local school districts, foundations, and a variety of other clients. Gary earned his Bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and holds both a Master’s and Ph.D. degree from the Department of City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley.

JD Hoye

Special Advisor to ConnectED

JD is the former Chief Executive Officer of NAF and a former member of the NAF Board of Directors. With a deep commitment to preparing students for college and meaningful careers, JD has worked at both the grassroots and the highest levels of government for decades, to reform how young people are engaged in learning and how they are positioned to pursue their academic interests and career goals.

Prior to her appointment at NAF, JD served as President of Keep the Change, Inc., a nationally recognized consulting business focused on helping communities reform education and develop a skilled workforce. During her years in the public sector, she developed and implemented policy at the highest level of federal government. In 1994, she was selected by US Secretary of Education Richard Riley and US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich to head the new Office of School-to-Work in Washington, D.C. She served in that role for four years, overseeing a $1.1 billion budget and spurring nationwide progress in education reform and workforce development.

Jeffrey Fisher (Board Chair)

Partner,
Farella Braun + Martel, LLP

Jeff Fisher is a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm of Farella Braun + Martel. He has a diverse practice involving a variety of high-stakes intellectual property and technology disputes, including patent, trade secret, copyright, and trademark infringement, as well as antitrust and unfair competition cases. He serves as co-chair of Farella’s Litigation Department.

Jeff has been active in all phases of litigation, in both federal and state courts and at both the trial and appellate levels. He has specific experience with semiconductor and chip packaging technologies; computer hardware, software, and networking technologies; DNA, life sciences, medical devices and biopharmaceutical technologies; solar technology; internet and encryption technologies; digital data compression technology; and data centers. He also represents clients in connection with parallel Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings.

Jeff is listed among Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars (2013-2019).  He has been recognized among California’s “Top 75 IP Litigators” and “Top Trade Secret Lawyers” in California by the Daily Journal, and is regularly among the Northern California Super Lawyers.

Jeff has served on Farella’s Advisory Board and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.  He managed a congressional campaign in California’s 38th Congressional District during the 1996 election cycle.  Coming from a family of teachers, he has a long-standing interest in our educational system and education policy.

Jeff’s affiliations include:  Past President and Board Member, Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society; Member, Board of Directors, Legal Aid of Marin; Co-chair, Northwestern University Leadership Circle of the San Francisco Bay Area; Former Chair, Intellectual Property Section, Bar Association of San Francisco; American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) ; Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL); International Trademark Association (INTA) ; San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property American Inn of Court; Board of Advisors, Mill Valley Film Festival and California Film Institute.

Marques McCammon

President,
Karma Automotive

Marques McCammon combines more than 25 years of auto industry product development, manufacturing, brand leadership and marketing experience with intimate knowledge of software-based automotive product advancement.

He gained early recognition from Crain’s Detroit Business as one of 40 young executives making an impact in the Motor City. Other highlights include:

· Creating the Dodge SRT-4, crafting the blueprint for Chrysler’s SRT moniker and designing the first modern 4-door convertible
· General Manager of the Car & Truck Division for Saleen Performance Vehicles
· General Manager of West Coast Operations for American Specialty Cars
· Chief Marketing Officer for Aptera Motors
· General Manager/Vice President for Wind River

At Intel subsidiary Wind River, McCammon was responsible for automotive software products, directing a global team focused on product management, engineering and marketing.

McCammon joined Ricardo in 2019 as President of the North American automotive business and in 2021 was appointed Global Managing Director of Ricardo’s Automotive & Industrial business, which applies future technologies to help our global clients address the world’s energy and mobility challenges.

Sri Ananda, PhD (Secretary)

Former Chief Program Officer, WestEd

Dr. Sri Ananda served for over 25 years as a leader in a renowned educational research organization, heading national and statewide research and development efforts related to college and career preparation. Her most recent position was as Chief Program Officer at WestEd, a distinguished not-for-profit organization with 17 offices across the US. As Chief Program Officer, she had executive responsibility over all programs of research, development, and service work, including areas such as early childhood education, science and math education, college and career preparation, literacy, policy, social justice in education, assessment, and evaluation. Prior to her tenure as Chief Program Officer, Sri was WestEd’s Chief Development Officer, the executive in charge of business development and partnerships for the agency. In this capacity, she worked with programs to expand the agency’s portfolio of work. For example, she spearheaded an agency-wide, cross-program business development focus on college and career preparation. The agency grew from annual revenues of approximately $70 M to $120 M under her leadership as Chief Development Officer. Prior to roles as agency executive, Sri served as Principal Investigator and Project Director for several projects designed to investigate and support the integration of career and college preparation for American youth.

Currently, Sri serves the community through her membership on Boards of Directors for non-profit organizations and through other volunteer work. In addition to ConnectEd, she is on the Board of Directors for Women’s Cancer Research Center, a community organization that supports women who have cancer, particularly women with limited resources or who are otherwise marginalized. She is also an active supporter and former member of the Board of Directors for Refugee and Immigrant Transitions, an organization that provides educational and practical support for those who have sought refuge in our community.

Sri is a California native and alumnus of California public schools from kindergarten through graduate school. She earned her BA, MA, and PhD in Educational Psychology (with a focus on Quantitative Methods) from the University of California, Berkeley.