STUART FOUNDATION - Key Persons
In her role at the Foundation, Alexia compassionately listens to the experiences of California's education professionals and beneficiaries and puts forward grant recommendations to advance the missions of both the Stuart Foundation and its grantees. As a former grantee, she understands the value of a strong relationship between a funder and its partners and enjoys serving as a resource and connecting others with shared interests. Recognizing the formative role that relationships play in a young person's development and future prospects, she is passionate about promoting policies and approaches that develop a strong sense of social connectedness and provide meaningful opportunities for students to contribute to and shape the world around them. Having faced significant hardship while growing up along the Eastern Seaboard, Alexia values the Foundation's focus on serving students furthest from opportunity and its commitment to realizing a just and equitable public education system that facilitates educational stability and upward mobility.
Before joining the Foundation in 2012, Alexia served as Senior Policy Officer for the College Success Foundation in Washington State. In this role, she worked with K-12, postsecondary and workforce policymakers, practitioners, youth and young adults to support policy advocacy and implementation focused on underserved students. Alexia's love of student-centered education models developed while she was earning her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. Alexia is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Management and Leadership at Western Governors University (WGU). She selected both Goddard and WGU because of their commitment to breaking down barriers that artificially separate school from real life through the use of innovative business models coupled with holistic pedagogy.
In her free time, Alexia enjoys being with family and friends and sharing meals.
As the Office Manager, Amy oversees the day to day of office management and assists the team with technology, purchasing, and IT training. Amy was drawn to the Stuart Foundation because it offers her an opportunity to assist the community in a meaningful and impactful way and she values being a part of something bigger.
Amy has extensive experience in the operations field and has worked in nearly all aspects of administrative support. She was the Executive and Personal Assistant to the CEO and Founder of Savonix and held several positions at WSP USA, from Administrative Assistant to Senior Administrator and Office Manager for their Oakland and San Francisco offices, as well as the Executive Assistant to the Senior Managing Director for State and Local Government Affairs. Amy is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Cal State East Bay.
When not at work, Amy enjoys exercising and being a mom to two sons, two cats, and a dog.
As the Staff Accountant, Anthony works with the Controller and the Senior Accountant to carry out the responsibilities of the Foundation's finance team. Anthony is primarily responsible for all record keeping and accounting procedures related to a diverse investment portfolio, as well as the day-to-day accounting activities that support the work of the Foundation. He reports to the Controller and interacts in a collaborative environment with members of the Foundation staff.
Prior to joining Stuart Foundation, Anthony worked at other nonprofits such as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance where he had the opportunity to help low-income, elderly and disabled individuals file their taxes. In addition, Anthony worked at Launchpad Project Management to assist low-income families and individuals facing foreclosure. He also helped advocate for the Nishi Gateway Project, a land use project which resulted in affordable housing for low-income students.
Anthony earned a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. When not at work, Anthony enjoys playing sports, going to live sporting and music events, eating all sorts of food, and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer of the Foundation
As Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer of the Foundation, Brad is responsible for implementing the investment decisions made by the Investment Committee as well as management and oversight of the Finance Team. He works closely with the President and others on the Senior Leadership Team to achieve the mission of the organization.
Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Brad served for 13 years as the Controller for Community Initiatives, a group that provides guidance and professional services to nonprofit startups and community collaborations in California. Brad began his career as an auditor for the University of Texas System Administration and then as an Investment Accounting Supervisor in Austin, Texas. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is an active member of the Foundation Financial Officers Group.
When not working, Brad enjoys sunrises and sunsets in Maui, spending time with his sisters, nieces and nephews, and playing with other people's dogs.
Job Titles:
- Senior Accountant
- Senior Accountant at the Foundation
As Senior Accountant at the Foundation, Christian processes grantee and vendor payments and payroll. He joined the Stuart Foundation in order to do good in the world and loves supporting others who are also working for good. Previously, he worked at Community Initiatives, a fiscal sponsor of nonprofits, and the San Francisco Conservation Corps, which employs disadvantaged young adults to equip them with marketable work skills. Christian holds Accounting and Finance degrees from the University of Arizona and a degree in English from Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Member of the Board and the Audit Committee
Davis Campbell has served as a Trustee of the Stuart Foundation since 2008.
Davis, who retired as Executive Director of the California School Boards Association in 2001, has a distinguished career in public education. Before directing CSBA (1988-2001), Campbell served as Executive Director of the California Institute for School Improvement and managing partner of SRA Associates (1983-88). From 1977 to 1983, he served as Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of California.
Davis maintains a consulting practice in education policy and effective governance at both the state and international level. He is a Senior Fellow and member of the Board of Advisors of the University of California Davis School of Education and a Trustee of the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees. He is active in public service serving on the Sutter Davis Hospital Foundation Board, the Yolo County Commission on Mental Health and the California Cities, Counties, Schools Partnership Leadership Council (founding board member).
He has lived in Davis, California since 1965.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program & Communications Officer
As the Senior Program and Communications Officer, Delia partners with the Foundation's Strategy and Program team to help amplify grantees' insights and messages that are focused on building a high-quality public education system that ensures equity and promotes thriving for all adolescents. She also supports the Foundation's direct communications activities, and helps to support grantmaking for specific projects and capacity building opportunities. Delia enjoys the challenge associated with the Foundation's approach to systems-change philanthropy after having worked with several direct service grantmakers, including the Meyer Foundation and the Consumer Health Foundation. Immediately prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Vice President of Programs for Metta Fund in San Francisco where she established the grantmaking program and advanced its transparency efforts to transition from an anonymous funder by creating the fund's website and annual reports. Her communications work has been recognized by the Council on Foundations and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
The first in her immediate family to complete high school, and then go on to college, Delia credits Head Start and teachers and advisors with whom she forged relationships and who encouraged her love of learning, and of the arts and creativity. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Art History from Bennington College, and her personal writing has been featured on National Public Radio and by the California Writers Club.
Delia is currently working on a book about the history of places where key moments in her life occurred, and loves working with neighborhood kids in her vegetable garden and watching them nurture produce from seed to sale at the roadside stand in front of her house.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
- Member of the Executive and Investment Committees
Chairman of the Board and a member of the Executive and Investment Committees
Dwight L. Stuart, Jr. has served as a Trustee of the Stuart Foundation since 1982. He is the Chairman of the Board and a member of the Executive and Investment Committees. He is a descendent of Elbridge A. Stuart and Elbridge H. Stuart, the Stuart Foundation's founders.
Dwight is also the Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund. The Fund was established as a charitable trust by Dwight's father, Dwight Stuart Senior, in 2000 to support direct services in youth serving agencies in the greater Los Angeles area. The Fund focuses on building capacity for neighborhood based non-profit organizations, many challenged by the hard economic times. Dwight is involved in all aspects of the management and program work of the Fund and oversaw the merger of the Fund with the Stuart Foundation in 2010. Dwight has also served on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Education Partnership and the Western County Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Prior to joining the Board of the Stuart Foundation, Dwight was Vice President and General Manager of Carnation - U.S. Pet Food Division. Dwight started at his family's company in 1970, beginning in sales management in Atlanta and Dallas and later at the company's Los Angeles corporate headquarters. He now invests in southern California real estate.
Dwight's passion is public education reform. His abiding philosophy is that a strong and vibrant educational system is the root of a successful society - economically, socially, and collectively.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Vice Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Executive and Investment Committees
Elbridge is the Managing Director of SCF Holdings LLC which owns and operates the historic 820-acre Carnation Farms in Washington State. The Farm hosts a non-profit named Carnation Farms focusing on farm-based education and experiential learning which he and other family members started in October of 2016. Elbridge and these family members are part of the current board. Elbridge also serves on Boards and/or Endowment Committees of Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation, the Elbridge and Debra Stuart Family Foundation, and the Elbridge Amos Stuart Foundation. He also spent 18 years on the Endowment and Audit Committees of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In addition to his tax-exempt activities, he also runs a for-profit single family financial office.
Elbridge was the Director of Alternative Assets and Research and a Principal at Coldstream Capital Management, Inc. a high-net-worth asset and wealth management firm with over $1 billion in assets, based in Bellevue Washington. He joined the firm in 2003 and resigned in 2009, after the death of his father, to run several taxable and non-taxable family entities. During his time at Coldstream, he was responsible for selecting and vetting outside investment managers and assets in all traditional and nontraditional asset classes and maintaining the after selection due diligence process. While at Coldstream, he was a contributor on financial issues to both Bloomberg Television and Radio. Prior to joining the firm, he worked for several investment firms in the areas of investment banking, buy side equity research, and both institutional and high net worth portfolio management. After earning his degree, Elbridge spent seven years in the Army Reserve and gained a direct officer commission. He was also in the computer industry from 1970 to 1985, working in the areas of hardware, large system software design, and software product management and marketing.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1970 and attended the CFP program at the University of California at Berkeley. He was a 20-year member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of Seattle, is associated with the Foundation Financial Officers Group (FFOG), Philanthropy Northwest (Washington State) and the Northern California Grantmakers. He is also the author of The History of Carnation Farms, A Family Perspective.
Elbridge helped raise two adult children with his wife Debra. He and his wife currently reside in Incline Village, Nevada.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant, Office of the President
Heather Randolph joined the Stuart Foundation in September 2017. She brings a wide breadth of experience across multiple industries.
Most recently, Heather spent 2 years in executive administration and events at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Her diverse background includes over 15 years in project and event management and communication roles at Bay Area nonprofits, technology companies, and global advertising agencies.
Heather received a BA in English from The College of Charleston.
Job Titles:
- Senior Grants & Operations Manager
As the Senior Grants and Operations Manager, Jade partners with the Foundation's staff to oversee Operations, Information Technology and Grants Administration. Jade enjoys the multi-faceted role of working in both Operations and Grants Administration. Jade has worked with a number of Bay Area foundations including The Jewish Federation of the East Bay, Metta Fund and The San Francisco Foundation. Previously, she was an Associate with Global Grants practice at KPMG.
Jade holds a Bachelor of Public Administration and a Master of Nonprofit Administration, both from the University of San Francisco. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two daughters and actively volunteers with Nihonmachi Little Friends in Japantown and at her children's schools.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and a Managing Director of Hall Capital Partners LLC
- Member of the Board and a Member of the Investment Committee
John Buoymaster is Chairman and a Managing Director of Hall Capital Partners LLC, an investment management firm with offices in San Francisco and New York. He is a member of the firm's Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and Investment Review Committee, in addition to having direct portfolio management and relationship responsibility for a number of the firm's clients.
Prior to joining Hall Capital Partners in 1998, Mr. Buoymaster worked in the private banking group in the San Francisco office of J.P. Morgan & Co., and previous to that he was a partner in the San Francisco and Palo Alto law firm of Cooley Godward Castro Huddleson & Tatum (now known as Cooley LLP).
John also sits on the Board of Directors of the NPR Foundation and Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc. (KQED). In addition, he is a member of the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors and serves on the Investment Committee of University High School. John previously served as a director or trustee of various non-profit organizations, including Marin Country Day School, The Little School (San Francisco), Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties, and the Children's Health Council. He also is a member of the Advisory Board for Kohlberg Investors IV and V, L.P., which are private investment partnerships.
Mr. Buoymaster is a graduate of Williams College and Stanford Law School. He lives in San Francisco and has two adult children.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Strategy, Partnerships and Learning
In his role at the Foundation, Kenji oversees strategy formulation and execution, grants and program activities, organizational learning and assessment, and communications. Inspired by his grandparents who were born on sugar cane plantations in Hawai'i and in Irish working-class neighborhoods in Boston, and by his parents who completed college via non-traditional paths and worked in public interest fields, Kenji is committed to building a more inclusive and just society now and for generations to come. He was drawn to the Stuart Foundation because of its long history in supporting the holistic development of young people, as well as its vision for creating an equitable education system that elevates students' assets and supports them to realize their fullest aspirations for themselves, their families and their communities.
Kenji had the privilege of previously partnering with nonprofit and education leaders through his roles at the Sobrato Philanthropies and The James Irvine Foundation where his experience as a grantmaker spanned early education, K12, and postsecondary education at the local, regional and state level - and included efforts focused on policy, practice, and public engagement. Kenji currently serves as a board member of the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) Program and Californians for Justice. He earned a B.A. in American Studies from UC Santa Cruz during the late 90's in which multiple protest movements forever shaped his belief in activism to ensure fairness in public institutions, and he later completed a Master of Public Administration degree as part of a night/weekend cohort at the University of San Francisco.
When not at work, he loves listening to music and learning to play musical instruments, spending time with family and friends eating and talking about food, and caring for and cruising around in vintage American muscle cars.
As Program Assistant, Lillianna provides seamless workflow and administrative support to the Director of Programs. With over nine years of serving Bay Area museums and nonprofits as a development manager and educator, Lillianna is passionate about providing clear communication and timely support to grantees. The Foundation's purpose of improving life outcomes for young people through education resonates highly with her passion to disrupt longstanding inequities in education.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Lillianna held development positions at The Crucible, Habitot Children's Museum, and The Mexican Museum where she developed and implemented successful fundraising strategies. Lillianna earned her B.A. in History of Art and Visual Culture at UC Santa Cruz where she had the unique opportunity to participate in a yearlong museum studies program. This experience inspired her to pursue her double Masters in Museum Studies and Business Administration at John F. Kennedy University. While in graduate school, Lillianna worked in the education departments of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Children's Creativity Museum. Shortly after graduating in 2016, Lillianna presented her thesis, Creative Healing for Invisible Victims: How Museums Can Reach Out to Children of Incarcerated Parents, at the Western Museums Association annual meeting.
When not at work, Lillianna enjoys long days in the garden taking care of her vegetables, succulents, and plants. She also enjoys the simplicity of a good book and cup of coffee. Visiting museums and botanical gardens are some of her favorite ways to spend free time.
Job Titles:
- Administrative & Operations Assistant
Before joining the Foundation, Nora was the Office Manager & Program Assistant at Horizons Foundation - the world's first community foundation of, by, and for LGBTQ people.
Prior to entering philanthropy, Nora was the Membership Manager at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she oversaw all aspects of museum policies and donor acquisitions and played an integral part in cultivating new donor relationships while exceeding visitor-to-member conversion rates. This resulted in the highest membership growth and attendance in the museum's history during The Steins Collect and Frida Kahlo exhibitions.
Nora earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of New Mexico where she studied Art Studio with an emphasis in Photography and a minor in Women's Studies. When not at work, Nora enjoys skipping stones and shooting skeet.
Sophie leads the Stuart Foundation and stepped into her role in 2019 after serving as its Chief of Programs. As President she sets the vision and supports strategies to achieve the Foundation's aspiration for education systems that improve life outcomes for young people. She was drawn to the Foundation for its clear commitment to changing the odds for equity, and for its conviction that systems can change to far better serve students who have been farthest from opportunity. She is both leader and steward of a long Stuart tradition of listening and learning in pursuit of change.
Sophie has spent her entire career working for social justice as an advocate, a coalition builder, and now in philanthropy. Trained as a lawyer in France, Italy and at the University of Texas, Austin, Sophie came to the Foundation following work on criminal justice issues, which inspired an understanding that well resourced public schools constitute society's best platform for setting upward youth trajectories at scale and for strengthening an inclusive multiracial democracy. She has served as Director of Research & Policy at the Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (IDEA) at UCLA, where she oversaw public policy and legislative efforts focused on education equity and access, student and parent engagement, school transformation, and the democratic purpose of education. She also worked at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, where she concentrated on advancing education equity, LGBTQ and immigrant rights, and advocacy for housing and homelessness issues.
She believes the Foundation's work is most effective when it is closely guided by community needs and voice, and when it is multidisciplinary in nature - employing a range of interconnected approaches including practice, research, advocacy, policy development, storytelling, litigation and organizing.
Daughter of a music critic and social justice activists, Sophie has moved to a lifetime soundtrack of jazz, blues and politics. When not working or arguing about ideas, she can be found playing with her dogs, hiking, cooking, playing tennis, reading, and negotiating what to stream with her partner Deb, a high school teacher, and 16-year-old stepson, Sevan. Sophie serves on the boards of Grantmakers for Education and the National Center for Youth Law. In addition to English, she is fluent in French and Italian.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Vice Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Audit and Investment Committees
Vice Chairman of the Board and a member of the Audit and Investment Committees
Stuart E. Lucas has served as a Trustee of the Stuart Foundation since 2004. He is a descendent of Elbridge A. Stuart and Elbridge H. Stuart, the Stuart Foundation's founders.
Stuart is founder and Chairman of Wealth Strategist Partners, LLC, a registered investment advisor which acts as an outsourced Chief Investment Officer for a select number of individuals and families of exceptional net worth.
In addition to his duties with Wealth Strategist Partners, Stuart is immediate past Chair of the Investment Committee of National Public Radio and is a Board member of the National Public Radio Foundation. He is also a Board member of the Chicago Public Education Fund.
Stuart designed and co-directs the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Private Wealth Management continuing education program. His first book, Wealth: Grow It and Protect It (FT Press) has been published on three continents. His latest book, The Taxable Investor's Manifesto (Wiley), was published in early 2020.
Susan has spent most of her career within or in partnership with school districts. Most recently, she helped develop DIAL EE, an early education initiative of the CDE Foundation that supports the testing and adaptation of innovative practices that strengthens student learning and builds coherence across the PK - 12 school system. She also spent 15 years working in various capacities with the San Francisco Unified School Districts (SFUSD) starting from helping coordinate joint youth development and support programs between the City of San Francisco and SFUSD to serving in the Superintendent's Office across three superintendents' tenures. In addition, she served as the Education Program Officer for the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, a family foundation based in San Francisco and worked in social policy research at Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation and MPR Associates on evaluations that included a high school career academy demonstration project and implementation of an innovative mental health-focused unemployment support program.
Susan supports the Foundation's President in all aspects of making the organization hum. She values the opportunity to work with knowledgeable and adventuresome staff who are committed to making K-12 public education an equitable system that gives students the opportunities they should have as they grow. Susan feels that it is an amazing privilege to see the many thoughtful people and powerful organizations making systemic change, but never losing sight that education is a people endeavor.
While Susan knew she wanted to work in the nonprofit sector after college, and landed her first job in San Francisco by showing up at the door of a newly-opened organization, serendipity brought her opportunities to work in philanthropy. She can't overstate the importance of the mentors, foundations and nonprofits that taught her what it means to respect communities and modeled how foundations can support social change. Her forty years of experience include The San Francisco Foundation, the Levi Strauss Foundation and many years as a consultant to private foundations in the areas of grantmaking and grants administration policies. Susan received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College, Harvard University.
When not at work, Susan enjoys spending time with family, friends, the outdoors, yoga, and mystery books that take her around the world.
Job Titles:
- Special Advisor
- Strategic Counsel to the Foundation
Susanna Cooper provides strategic counsel to the Foundation. In addition, she is co-founder and executive director of Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research at the University of California, Davis. For eight years, Susanna was senior education policy advisor to the president pro tempore of the California State Senate. Her work at the intersection of policy, politics and pragmatism produced major public policy change impacting public education.
Previously, she served as visiting journalist at the Public Policy Institute of California and as director of communications for a non-profit organization focused on early education. She was also a writer, editor and editorial board member at the Sacramento Bee.
Susanna has been recognized by Early Edge California for her legislative accomplishments in early childhood education, by the California Association of School Counselors for her successful work to improve the accountability system for public high schools, and by Youth Acting Together for giving voice to the needs of teenagers in the Sacramento region. She is a member and past president of the board of directors of EdSource and a director of the James B. McClatchy Foundation.
As Controller, Vince is responsible for directing the Foundation's accounting functions. He works closely with the Chief Financial Officer and outside vendors on reporting of investments and manages the audit and tax preparation process. Before becoming Controller, Vince served as the Senior Accountant at the Foundation for eight years. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Vince was the Accountant at Community Initiatives, a group that provides guidance and professional services to nonprofit startups and community collaborations in California. Vince holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
When not working, Vince enjoys traveling and spending quality time with his family and friends.