BUILD CALIFORNIA
Launched in 1999
“As the flagship BUILD region, BUILD California showcases that dreaming big, working hard and persistence is in all of us.”.
3,155
Students Served
2,092
Mentors
163
Youth Businesses
65
Teachers Trained
PROBLEM:
A student’s opportunity is too often limited by their zip code, race and class.
the build story
IN CALIFORNIA.
The BUILD program was founded in the Bay Area in 1999, and now serves over 1,500 students annually throughout the state of California, equipping them for college, career and life success. BUILD partners directly with schools and integrates our curriculum into existing Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways to help students develop and run their own small businesses, ultimately delivering content that enriches students’ high school experience in profound ways. Our program prepares students for postsecondary education as well as the rapidly changing needs of the 21st century workforce. BUILD showcases that dreaming big, working hard, and persistence are in all of us.
Through our 25 year history, BUILD California has been dedicated to creating systemic change in the educational system. As we move forward, we will continue to inspire and empower under-resourced students to achieve their full potential and help build a brighter, more equitable and interconnected society.
1999
BUILD Founded in East Palo Alto
BUILD, founded by Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, launches as dropout prevention program inspired by four high school students in East Palo Alto.
2004
Oakland Program Launched
BUILD launches programming in Oakland
2021
Los Angeles Program Launched
BUILD launches in Los Angeles through partnership with LAUSD CTE pathwaysYazmin
Yazmin, an Oakland BUILD alum shares her experiences on how she is preserving, maintains her hope, and emotional balance through COVID-19.
Team Connect
Meet Team Connect, formerly known as Berry Inc., a group of brilliant young women creating ways for family members to stay connected with one another during the pandemic.
Ises Roopnarine
Ises Roopnarine, a 2018 BUILD Oakland graduate, shares how BUILD inspired her to seek change and dream big: “We have the power and strength to do whatever we desire.”
Thank You to Our Partners
updates & events.
America’s Young Entrepreneurs Shine at BUILDFest 2025: A National Celebration of Youth-Led Innovation
As BUILD.org embarks on its 25th year, it proudly showcases the next generation of entrepreneurial changemakers through its innovative BUILDFest events in Bay Area, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Boston, and New York City over the next month. BUILD, a national nonprofit organization, is on a mission to use entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth from under-resourced communities, enabling them to build career success, entrepreneurial mindsets, and opportunity. BUILDFest events serve as vibrant celebrations of the transformational power of youth entrepreneurship, redefining education and creating opportunities for middle and high school students in under-resourced communities.
Okta Hosts Oakland BUILD Students for Investor Pitch Competition!
Okta Hosts Oakland BUILD Students for Investor Pitch Competition! On Wednesday, March 19th, BUILD partner Okta hosted fifty-nine 10th graders from Oakland, California’s Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy at […]
EY Hosts Successful BUILD LA Hackathon
EY Hosts Successful BUILD LA Hackathon BUILD LA’s inaugural Hackathon event hosted at EY’s Downtown LA office was a tremendous success! Thank you to Regional Advisory Board Member, Ahsan Ahmed, […]
BUILD.org Hosts Youth Entrepreneurship Competitions Nationwide to Celebrate 25 Years of Empowering Youth and Educators
As BUILD.org embarks on its 25th year, it proudly showcases the next generation of entrepreneurial changemakers through its innovative BUILDFest events in Bay Area, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Boston, and New York City over the next month. BUILD, a national nonprofit organization, is on a mission to use entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth from under-resourced communities, enabling them to build career success, entrepreneurial mindsets, and opportunity. BUILDFest events serve as vibrant celebrations of the transformational power of youth entrepreneurship, redefining education and creating opportunities for middle and high school students in under-resourced communities.
BUILD’s 5th Annual Huddle Up 2024
BUILD's 5th Annual Huddle Up 2024 event, held on March 5th at the SVB Experience Center in San Francisco, was a huge success thanks to our generous sponsor, SVB/First Citizen Bank! The event raised $25,000 in support of our mission to ignite the power of youth in under-resourced communities to build Career success, Entrepreneurial mindsets and Opportunity. Thanks to all our generous supporters.
Celebrating Mentorship: Leigh Mason’s Journey with BUILD.org
In celebration of National Entrepreneurship Week, we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on Leigh Mason, BUILD California mentor for the last eight years. Leigh’s journey with BUILD exemplifies the transformative […]the build california team.
Regional Teams
Associate Board
Advisory Board
Ryan Oliver
Regional Director
California
Ryan Oliver
Position:
Regional Director, California
Email:
rOliver@build.org
Michael Arellano
Program Director
Los Angeles
Michael Arellano
Position:
Program Director, Los Angeles
Michael holds the Senior Program Manager role for the Los Angeles region. He brings with him over 15 years of experience working for nonprofit organizations dedicated to youth development. Having grown up in a Boys & Girls Club, he understands the importance of empowering young people through quality programs and engaging mentors. His personal mission is to support the creation of collaborative communities that generate opportunities for youth to thrive.
Born and raised in Southern California Michael is excited to expand BUILD’s programs in the Los Angeles area and to bring Spark Skills to the area’s diverse student population.
Grace Karr
Senior Community Engagement Manager
Bay Area
Grace Karr
Position:
Senior Community Engagement Manager, Bay Area
Email:
gkarr@build.org
Grace Karr joins BUILD Bay Area with years of experience leading programs across K12 and higher education, and teaching in K-8 bilingual classrooms. She has worked on private sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects and led community engagement initiatives to bring more public art to the Bay Area. Her favorite aspect of past roles is creating meaningful partnerships and collaborations between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in order to strengthen education programs.
At Stanford University, she oversaw education programs in partnership with urban school districts, served as a STEM Education Program Director at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, and worked on CSR projects for Billtrust and Cisco. She is looking forward to building a dynamic and high performing volunteer workforce to serve BUILD students!
Grace loves spending time with her family and three dogs, building a habitat-friendly garden, hiking, and travel. Grace holds an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MA in Education and a teaching credential from San Francisco State University.
Jasmine Ochoa
Program Director
Bay Area
Jasmine Ochoa
Position:
Program Director, Bay Area
Stephanie Calderon
Senior Program Manager
LA
Stephanie Calderon
Position:
Senior Program Manager, LA
Email:
scalderon@build.org
Felipe Duran
Community Engagement Manager
LA
Felipe Duran
Position:
Community Engagement Manager, LA
Email:
forozco@build.org
Kate Applegate
Senior Program Manager
Bay Area
Kate Applegate
Position:
Senior Program Manager, Bay Area
Mariah Foote-Jackson
Y3 Senior Program Manager Bay Area
Mariah Foote-Jackson
Position:
Y3 Senior Program Manager Bay Area
Catherine Lee *Chair*
Senior Network Engineer
Okta
Catherine Lee *Chair*
Position:
Senior Network Engineer, Okta
Joseph Chang
Senior Program Manager
Cisco
Joseph Chang
Position:
Senior Program Manager, Cisco
Jose Gallo Alvarado
Coordinator
Santa Clara Law
Jose Gallo Alvarado
Position:
Coordinator, Santa Clara Law
JP Giannini
Vice President of Early Stage Practices
Silicon Valley Bank
JP Giannini
Position:
Vice President of Early Stage Practices, Silicon Valley Bank
Katie Hurley
VP of Marketing
unitQ
Katie Hurley
Position:
VP of Marketing, unitQ
Wanda Lee
Assistant Vice President
Temasek
Wanda Lee
Position:
Assistant Vice President, Temasek
Magaly Perez
Enterprise Security Architect
Intel Corporation
Magaly Perez
Position:
Enterprise Security Architect, Intel Corporation
Dan Siegel
Head of Customer Success
Paladin Cyber
Dan Siegel
Position:
Head of Customer Success, Paladin Cyber
Shannon Sloss
Assistant Director
EY
Shannon Sloss
Position:
Assistant Director, EY
Cameron Van
Chief Legal Counsel
Dahlia Collective and Founder
Victory Athletics Network
Cameron Van
Position:
Chief Legal Counsel, Dahlia Collective and Founder, Victory Athletics Network
Brian Wei
Analyst
BMW i Ventures
Brian Wei
Position:
Analyst, BMW i Ventures
Peter Evans
Entrepreneur
Guest Lecturer/Course Advisor
UC Berkeley
Peter Evans
Position:
Entrepreneur, Guest Lecturer/Course Advisor, UC Berkeley
Samantha Klingelhofer
Investor
Infinity Ventures
Samantha Klingelhofer
Position:
Investor, Infinity Ventures
Irene Montalvo
Managing Director | Business Development for Five Star Bank
Irene Montalvo
Position:
Managing Director | Business Development for Five Star Bank
Tobi Ogedegbe
Managing Partner - Chief Investment Officer/ Head of Acquisitions Princeton Pacific Capital
Tobi Ogedegbe
Position:
Managing Partner - Chief Investment Officer/ Head of Acquisitions Princeton Pacific Capital
Michael Farb *Co-Chair*
CEO
Boatsetter
Michael Farb
Position:
CEO, Boatsetter
David Li *Co-Chair*
Managing Partner
Arenova
David Li
Position:
Managing Partner, Arenova
Sabira Alloo
Head of Private Equity Partnerships
Google
Sabira Alloo
Position:
Head of Private Equity Partnerships, Google
Alvina Antar
Chief Digital Officer
F5
Alvina Antar
Position:
Chief Digital Officer, F5
LaMar Bunts
Chief Transformation Officer
Dartmouth College
LaMar Bunts
Position:
Chief Transformation Officer, Dartmouth College
Louis Chang
Founder and Managing Partner
Gavilan Investment Partners
Louis Chang
Position:
Founder and Managing Partner, Gavilan Investment Partners
Aaron Cline
Finance Operations
Office of the CEO
Aaron Cline
Position:
Finance Operations, Office of the CEO
Danielle Conkling
Director
Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG at Silicon Valley Bank
Danielle Conkling
Position:
Director, Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG at Silicon Valley Bank
Joshua Cook
Partner
Goodwin
Joshua Cook
Position:
Partner, Goodwin
Lars Hens
Executive Vice President
California Bank & Trust
Lars Hens
Position:
Executive Vice President, California Bank & Trust
Charisse Jacques
GM and COO Customer & Category Management Solutions
SymphonyAI Retail
Charisse Jacques
Position:
GM and COO Customer & Category Management Solutions, SymphonyAI Retail
Paul King
Director
Silicon Valley Bank
Paul King
Position:
Director, Silicon Valley Bank
Steven Mack
Partner
PwC
Steven Mack
Position:
Partner, PwC
Jan McAdoo
Co-Founder/CEO
MacPac Entertainment
Jan McAdoo
Position:
Co-Founder/CEO, MacPac Entertainment
Kanika Mediratta
Senior Director- Foundation
General Atlantic
Kanika Mediratta
Position:
Senior Director- Foundation, General Atlantic
Ay’Anna Moody
Senior Director
Social Impact at Golden State Warriors
Ay’Anna Moody
Position:
Senior Director, Social Impact at Golden State Warriors
Aaron Ow-Yeang
Partner
EY
Aaron Ow-Yeang
Position:
Partner, EY
Esau Sanchez-Diaz
Regional VP of Customer Success
Amplify
Esau Sanchez-Diaz
Position:
Regional VP of Customer Success, Amplify
Ramon Simms
CFO Partner
Managing Director
CFO Practice
Burkland
Ramon Simms
Position:
CFO Partner, Managing Director, CFO Practice, Burkland
Lindsay Simonds
Managing Director and Principal
Lindsay Simonds Consulting
Lindsay Simonds
Position:
Managing Director and Principal, Lindsay Simonds Consulting
Rollins Stallworth
Investor
Nava Ventures
Rollins Stallworth
Position:
Investor, Nava Ventures
Candice Tang
VP
Platform Development at NBCUniversal
Candice Tang
Position:
VP, Platform Development at NBCUniversal
Vivan Tran
VP Kids and Family Marketing
NBC Universal
Vivan Tran
Position:
VP Kids and Family Marketing, NBC Universal
Matthew Zehner
Startup Founder
Matthew Zehner
Position:
Startup Founder
Lior Klisman
3x Founder
Tech Entrepreneur and Investor
Lior Klisman
Position:
3x Founder, Tech Entrepreneur and Investor
Sabrina Maharaj
Go To Market Strategy & Execution for Digital at Silicon Valley Bank
Sabrina Maharaj
Position:
Go To Market Strategy & Execution for Digital at Silicon Valley Bank
Crystal Matson
Senior Counsel
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Crystal Matson
Position:
Senior Counsel, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
california.
headquarters
1111 Broadway, Oakland CA 94607
mailing address
PO Box 3316
Redwood City, CA 94064-3316
Contact
Storytelling
