CSU-Dominguez Hills

California State University-East Bay

Harvard University

University of California, Los Angeles

Lifelong Education Reformer, current Director of Education for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf; former CEO, Principal, & Founder

San Francisco Bay Area

As Director of Education to the Mayor of Oakland, I work in partnership with students, families, educators, partners, the city, OUSD and Mayor Schaaf to realize a vision of educational equity for all students in Oakland. In particular, I work with our partners to lead the Oakland Promise, a cradle to career initiative with the goal of tripling the number of college graduates from Oakland within a decade. The Mayor's Office, Oakland Unified School District, East Bay College Fund, the Oakland Public Education Fund, and other implementing partners, champions, and ambassadors work together to realize the Mayor and Superintendent’s vision of every Oakland public school student graduating high school with the expectations, resources, and skills to complete college and be successful in the career of his or her choice.

Oakland Mayor’s Office

Director of Education for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf

College Track (CT) is a national non-profit organization that empowers students from underserved communities to graduate from college. CT recruits students and works continuously with them for 10 years - from the summer before 8th grade through college graduation. I joined CT in January 2011 as CEO after several years as the founding principal of Think College Now (TCN).  When I came on board as CEO in 2011, I pledged to drive CT to unprecedented results and recruit outstanding people to join the team. Thanks to our resilient students, dedicated staff, incredible partners, and tremendous Board, we did just that. Specifically: we grew at existing CT sites in the Bay Area and New Orleans; expanded to CO, Los Angeles, and Sacramento; increased our staff from 30 to 90; tripled our budget from $4.5M to $15M; produced our first Annual Report; refreshed our logo and website, and secured the largest, multi-year grants in CT’s history across foundation, corporate, and individual giving donor segments. Most importantly, we strengthened our quality as we scaled: our 4-year college acceptance and matriculation rates (94% and 89%, respectively) are the highest in CT’s 17 year history, and our college graduation rate is more than 2.5x the national average for students in low-income communities.Leading CT gave me the chance to deliver on the promise I had made to TCN students and families, and it was thrilling to see former students enter college in 2014 and thrive there through the support of TCN and CT.

College Track

Chief Executive Officer, Senior Advisor

- We start out with 4,000 (students) … only 200 of them meet the requirements to get into the University of California college system. The system isn't working for them.” ~ Former Oakland Superintendent Dennis Chaconas.  In 2001, this disturbing quote inspired me to launch a genuine grassroots effort to bring community members together to support my vision of creating a viable path for under-resourced elementary students to attend and graduate from college. I assembled and partnered with a group of extraordinary educators, students, families, and community groups, co-authored an implementation plan, and in 2003 we opened Think College Now (TCN) - a college-prep, public elementary school in a low-income area of Oakland that is focused on closing the achievement gap and giving all students an equal opportunity to attend college and pursue their dreams. I led TCN for over nine years. During my tenure, we dramatically increased overall student performance. Specifically, student proficiency grew from 8% at grade-level to 66% in English Language Arts (ELA), and 23% to 81% in math and students ranked as far below and below basic ELA declined from 69% to 9%. Additionally, our Academic Performance Indicator (API) grew from 573 to 848 within five years. As Principal, I managed a staff that grew from 6 teachers to 25 teachers and supporting staff and oversaw the management of a $2 million budget with results-based budgeting. Finally, I led development efforts that exceeded our $250,000 annual goal.

Think College Now Elementary School

Founder and Founding Principal

In this, my first school leadership role, I managed and oversaw teacher support, evaluation, and family involvement of a 600 student elementary school. I am especially proud of having created a more inclusive environment for non-English speaking families here.

Lockwood Elementary School

Assistant Principal

Inspired - and frustrated - by the inequities I observed in my undergraduate experience as an inner-city tutor in Los Angeles, I joined TFA to be a part of a movement for equity in education. In my role as Regional Program Officer (CA), I: oversaw placement, professional development, and support for over 100 new teachers; led monthly Corps meetings; produced monthly newsletter content; and cultivated new principals. Also, I: initiated & coordinated unprecedented events for 85 new teachers; led community tours in 3 different communities; and moderated community, credential, & parent-student panels. In TX, as School Director, I was responsible for: 300 students, comprehensive training for 80 new teachers, and direct management of 15 mentor-teachers.

David Silver