About Us

SVEF Board of Directors

H. Raymond Bingham is a Managing Director for General Atlantic. Ray Bingham’s distinguished career has spanned more than 30 years in industries including high tech, chemical engineering and hospitality, with accomplishments in global trade, mergers and acquisitions and building businesses in developing countries. He also has a lengthy history of community involvement with a focus on education. Both of Bingham’s parents were teachers and Ray understands the value of creating an environment for learning that is so often missing in the homes of urban children. Bingham is the former Chairman and CEO of Cadence Design Systems and serves as a member of the board of directors of Oracle, Freescale Semiconductor, KLA Tencor and Flextronics. In 2005, Bingham was honored with the Pioneers and Purpose Award from the Franklin McKinley Education Foundation. Bingham received a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Economics from Weber State University and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
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Muhammed Chaudhry serves as President & CEO for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF). He brings a passion for making a business case to support education, which has been critical for SVEF to make a tremendous impact on the lives of youth, teachers and families of Silicon Valley. Under his leadership SVEF has become the leading education foundation serving Silicon Valley with a $4.1 million budget. The foundation has forged strong relationships with industry and the education community to develop traditional and non traditional programs to support education. Chaudhry began laying the groundwork for SVEF during his tenure as executive director of the Franklin-McKinley Education Foundation known also as San Jose Education Foundation before merging to become Silicon Valley Education Foundation.

Prior to SVEF, Muhammed held management positions in brand marketing with The Clorox Company and Dazzle Multimedia. He serves as Vice President of MKA USA which is a youth development organization. He is a Board Member of the California Consortium of Education Foundation, the Hispanic Foundation Silicon Valley, Humanity First USA and an active member of San Jose Rotary Club. His personal interests include golf, long distance running, and volunteering with various different philanthropic causes.

Muhammed holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University and a graduate of the Stanford Executive Leadership Program. He resides in San Jose with his wife, Rabia.

Former CEO of Adobe Bruce Chizen’s customer-focused vision has transformed Adobe into one of the world’s largest and most diversified software companies in terms of revenue, global reach and breadth of products. Since his promotion to CEO in 2000, Chizen has more than doubled Adobe's revenue and turned a company known mainly for its popular design products into one of the most significant forces in the software industry today. Prior to becoming CEO, Chizen was executive vice president of worldwide products and marketing. At Adobe since 1994, he was previously vice president and general manager of both the professional graphics division and Adobe's consumer division. From 1980 to 1983, he worked in Mattel Electronics’ merchandising group, helping grow it to a $500 million business. In 1983, Chizen joined Microsoft Corporation as the company’s eastern region sales director. In 1987, he joined Claris Corporation as a founding senior manager and later held positions as vice president of sales and of worldwide marketing before becoming vice president and general manager of Claris Clear Choice. Chizen holds a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He currently serves on the boards of Synopsys, Inc. and the PBS Foundation.
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Ms. Van T. Dang is Vice President, Law & Deputy General Counsel at Cisco Systems, Inc. in San Jose, California. She’s the head of the Product and Technology Transactional Group within the Legal Department. Ms. Dang is also responsible for privacy and data protection compliance at Cisco. She is Executive Sponsor of the Women in Technology Initiative at Cisco with the mission to increase women participation in the science and technology fields.

Ms. Dang joined Cisco in 1996 when Cisco acquired Stratacom. Prior to working for Cisco, Ms. Dang was Vice President, Corporate Counsel of Maxtor Corporation (1992-1996). From 1987 through 1992, Ms. Dang was a corporate associate at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP (formerly, Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro).
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Don Dawson Member of the Board of Directors of the California Teachers Association. Previously served on the National Education Association.


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Mary Ellen Ittner






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Ammar Hanafi is a General Partner at Alloy Ventures, joining the company in 2005 from Cisco Systems. He joined Cisco in 1997 as a member of the Corporate Business Development Group. During Ammar’s tenure, Cisco’s Business Development Group completed over 50 acquisitions, leading Cisco into a number of major new businesses. From 2000 to 2002, he was Vice President of Corporate Business Development. His last role at Cisco was as Vice President of New Business Ventures where he led new product efforts in the enterprise datacenter market. Prior to Cisco, Ammar held positions at PanAmSat Corporation, a global satellite services provider, and the investment banking firms of Morgan Stanley and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Ammar is also a director of 3Leaf Networks. Ammar received his MBA from Stanford University and his B.S. in Engineering Physics from Cornell University. Married with two daughters, he enjoys scuba diving and photography.
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Michael Kirst Michael W. Kirst is Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration at Stanford University since 1969. Dr. Kirst received his Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard. Before joining the Stanford University faculty, Dr. Kirst held several positions with the federal government, including Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Manpower, Employment and Poverty. He was a former president of the California State Board of Education. His book From High School to College with Andrea Venezia was published by Jossey Bass in 2004.
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David Neale, President of The Core Companies, believes that people need more than just a place to live. They need a place to grow. He has been “building better communities” in the San Francisco South Bay Area for over 20 years. The Core Companies has developed and constructed over 2000 homes and apartments in communities throughout the San Francisco South Bay Area.  David, his wife Anne and infant daughter, Emma, immigrated to Montreal, Canada, from England, in 1968.  He remained in Canada for 10 years; added a son, Chris, to the family and became a Canadian citizen.  David and family immigrated to California in 1978 and he became a United States citizen in 2004.  David has always been committed to providing quality homes to all members of the community.
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Lisa Sobrato Sonsini is Board President of the Sobrato Foundation, a private grant making foundation established in 1996. In 2007, the Foundation received the national honor of “Outstanding Foundation” awarded by the National Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Prior to establishing the Foundation, Lisa practiced for five years as a corporate associate at the law firm of Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison. Lisa is passionate about working with youth, currently serving as Board President of the Silicon Valley Children's Fund, Vice President of the Children’s Discovery Museum, and Past President of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, Today’s Youth Matter and The Good Tidings Foundation. Lisa also serves as a Board member of Silicon Valley Social Ventures (SV2). Other board memberships include American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley and the Advisory Boards of UniversalGiving, Herban Health and the St. Francis High School Edge Fund. She was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001, and was a member of Class XIV of the American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley. Lisa co-authored a chapter entitled “Better Results Through Supportive Engagement” in Funding Effectiveness: Lessons in Building Nonprofit Capacity. Lisa received her JD from Boalt Hall, University of California at Berkeley in 1991 and her BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Business Administration from University of California at Los Angeles in 1988. She currently resides in Menlo Park with her husband Matthew and three children.
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Faysal Sohail is a General Partner with CMEA Ventures. Mr. Sohail has more than a decade of senior executive experience in engineering, marketing and business development. He was CEO of Cadabra Design Automation and managed its acquisition by Numerical Technologies (NMTC) where he served as Sr. Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations. Prior to Numerical Technologies, Faysal was Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Synopsys Inc. (SNPS). He is currently on the Board of Directors of Alien Technology, Applied Wave Research and Inovys Corporation. Mr. Sohail holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) where he also serves on the College of Engineering Advisory Board (CEAB). He is also on the boards of Pyxis Technology and Zenasis Technology. Married with 4 kids he enjoys golf and spending time with his kids.
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Cora Tomalinas is a community activist whose contributions and donations of her energy and talents resulted in an impressive list of boards, Commissions, Task Forces and advocating community issues. Having been born in Agoo, La Union, Philippines, her commitment in helping the lives of individuals started upon receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from San Francisco State University in 1967. Through her participation with St. Maria Goretti Church, her church, Ms. Tomalinas became a member of PACT (People Acting in Community Together) Steering Committee. She is also a chairperson for both the East Side Union High School District’s Parent Safety Council and the Franklin McKinley School District’s Health Start Program. Her lists of accomplishments, and work are endless. She resides in East San Jose, and has two adult children, Maria and Robert.
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Ken Wilcox is president and CEO of SVB Financial Group. Since January 2000, when he took on the role, Wilcox has successfully pursued a strategy of expansion and diversification, while remaining focused on the company’s core niches of technology, life sciences, private equity and premium wineries. Wilcox managed the first regional office of SVB Silicon Valley Bank and was responsible for all lending activity east of the Mississippi River. Upon promotion to chief banking officer in 1997, Wilcox moved from Massachusetts to California and became president and CEO within four years. Prior to his banking career, Wilcox was a professor of German at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wilcox received a bachelor’s degree in German studies from Oakland University and a Ph.D. in German Studies from The Ohio State University. He also earned a master’s of business administration from Harvard Business School. Wilcox is a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
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Advisory Board:

Teresa Alvarado is the Executive Director of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, which cultivates philanthropic leadership in the Hispanic community. She previously worked in both Public Affairs and Charitable Contributions for Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  Ms. Alvarado, a San José native, is active in community service. She currently serves on the boards of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and SJECCD Foundation and advisory boards of the San Jose Education Foundation, Hispanic-Net, Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley and Emerge: Women Leaders for a Democratic Future.  In 2005, she was honored with the NAACP of Silicon Valley’s “Freedom Fighter” award and as Senator Elaine Alquist’s “City Woman of the Year” for San José. She is a member of Class XIX of the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley and has been appointed to serve on the City of San José's Envision San José 2040 General Plan Update Task Force.  Ms. Alvarado holds an M.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Tufts University, a B.S. degree in Environmental Technology & Management from San Jose State University, and a Minor degree in Technical Writing from San Jose State University.

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Congressman Mike Honda, Congressman Mike Honda represents the 15th Congressional District of California in the House of Representatives. Congressman Honda has been a public servant for decades during which he has been lauded for his work on education, transportation, civil rights, the environment, and the high-tech community. In 2000, Congressman Honda was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the Appropriations Committee and he is the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Congressman Honda is dedicated to passing a responsible budget that pays down our nation's debt, revitalizes our economy, while protecting top priorities such as Social Security, Medicare, and public education. Congressman Honda has been selected by his Democratic colleagues to serve as the Regional Whip for Northern California, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Guam. As Regional Whip, he works with the Democratic Leadership by communicating legislative priorities and strategies to members within his region. In February, 2005 he was elected Vice Chair for the National Democratic Party. He continues to be a strong voice for the cause of social justice, cultural tolerance and civil rights.
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Congress woman Zoe Lofgren represents California’s 16th district which encompasses much of the City of San Jose. She served on the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County from 1981 until 1995, when she became a Member of Congress. In her second term in Congress, she led the fight to ensure that schools receive Internet access, and she is always advocating for schools and crime-prevention projects in her district. Zoe continues to concentrate on education and high-technology issues in her third term in Congress. She reintroduced the SAFE Act, which would preserve the privacy of confidential files and communications in the Information Age while supporting the sale of strong U.S. encryption products around the world.
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Paul Luciano has been with Merrill Lynch for over 11 years, and is currently a Senior Partner on a team that works with high net worth families in achieving financial planning goals. Paul was born and raised in New Rochelle, NY and educated in Finance at Northeastern University, Boston and Cal State University, Long Beach. Growing up in a single parent household, Paul received guidance from 'father figures' at the local Boys and Girls Club and various school and city sports programs; he attributes much of his success to lessons learned from volunteers who helped shape his growth. Paul serves as board member for both SVEF and the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club of San Mateo. His service on these youth focused boards reflects Paul's belief in giving back to children, schools, and community. Paul is engaged to be married and his interests include physical fitness, skiing, wine, and world economics.
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Chuck Reed was born and raised in the small farming town of Garden City, Kansas. Growing up in America’s Heartland taught Chuck the small town values he learned to live by: Tell the Truth. Keep your word. Be responsible for your actions. Follow the law. Chuck’s first home in Garden City was in a public housing project. The Reeds were always a working class family and Chuck went to work at a very young age. He started working in elementary school sweeping floors. In middle school, he was digging ditches, shoveling gravel, and working in the fields. Chuck Reed was operating a bull dozer at age 15. By age 16, he was driving an 18 wheeler semi truck. Chuck Reed competed for and won an appointment to the Air Force Academy. The Air Force Academy was a great education and leadership training program, and he lived by an Honor Code of No Lying, No Cheating, No Stealing and No Toleration of those who do. He learned a lot of things, but the most important things he learned were core values that he lives by today: Integrity First – Service Above Self – Excellence. Chuck was elected Mayor in 2006 for a 4-year term with over 59% of the vote. Prior to serving as Mayor, Chuck served as a Councilmember from San Jose's fourth district. Chuck began his career in San José as an attorney in 1978, specializing in environmental, employment, land use and real estate law, and commercial litigation. He went to the United States Air Force Academy (BS in International Affairs and 1st in military order of merit), Princeton University (Masters in Public Affairs), and Stanford University (Law Degree). He served in the U.S. Air Force (Equal Opportunity Officer) and was stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Chuck has been married to Paula Reed for over 35 years. They have two children, Alex Reed, who recently graduated from Santa Clara University, and Captain Kim Campbell, who is an Air Force fighter pilot.
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Jocelyn Zona is IBM Corporation’s Community Relations Manager for the Western United States, responsible for government affairs, community relations and philanthropy in California and 9 other states. Before joining IBM in 2002 she worked for Hewlett-Packard in Human Resources for two and a half years. Prior to that she was a school principal for 10 years in the Campbell Union School District, and began her career as a psychologist. She is co-President of the Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME) board, as well as a member of the Springboard Schools (formerly Bay Area School Reform Collaborative) board. Additionally she serves on the education committees for both the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. Born and raised in the central valley of California, she completed her Masters degree in psychology at San Jose State University. Her hobbies include running, sailing, cooking, traveling and gardening.
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