Prior to joining Tipping Point Community, Nick was an Orfalea Fellow at the William J. Clinton Foundation in Harlem, where he worked on domestic programs focused on entrepreneurship and helping individuals gain access to the financial mainstream. He earned his M.P.A. from the University of Southern California and his B.A. in Political Science from Sonoma State University. He has worked as an Analyst at Wildan Financial Services and a Project Coordinator at the Sonoma Economic Development Board. Born in El Salvador, his Latino heritage inspires his passion for life, dancing and spicy food.

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Clare has dedicated her career and expertise to creating a more equitable future where everyone has the opportunity to live their best selves. By building bridges and leveraging partnerships, she has harnessed support for social service organizations and the arts. Recently coming from Larkin Street Youth Services, a Tipping Point grantee, she witnessed first-hand their impact in making real change in the lives of young people experiencing homelessness. Clare studied marketing at the University of Missouri-Columbia. As a Bay Area transplant, she is dedicated to the community which has been her home for nearly a decade. She loves to spend time outdoors exploring the many treasures of the area, eating at yummy new restaurants, and finding any excuse to dance–there are many!

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Liz comes to Tipping Point as an old friend, having worked alongside the team for years as both a grantee and funding partner. Most recently, she served as the Chief Finance and Growth Officer at First Place for Youth, launching the Affiliate Network to expand the organization outside of California. Prior to her time at First Place, Liz was a Senior Portfolio Associate at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, where she was responsible for the Foundation’s sourcing efforts and supported several grantees as they expanded to serve more youth and deepened their outcomes and evidence. Liz received her BS in Finance from Boston College and earned an MPA in Nonprofit Management and an MA in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University. When she’s not in the office, Liz loves trail running on Mt. Tam and taking her dog to Crissy Field to frolick.

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Angela’s passion for events has been ever-present throughout her personal life and over her career. Angela comes to us with experience producing events for nonprofits that protect land for the benefit of all, and that educate marginalized and underserved youth. As a graduate of San Francisco State University, Angela hopes to apply her passion and creativity to Tipping Point’s work to help improve Bay Area communities through donor and cultivation events. In her personal time, Angela enjoys traveling, cooking, and discovering new experiences with friends.

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For the last eight years I have worked in almost every component of the homelessness system.  Beginning by filling the seat of a person with lived experience on the Continuum of Care Board of Napa County, I moved into a site coordinator position at a homeless respite, and have held a direct service position as the program manager of both the services and housing aspects of Napa’s homelessness system. I do this work because I understand what it is like to attempt to navigate systems with no insight into how they work. I know what it’s like to forget that you have value simply by being a human. I do this work so that it might impact others who are disenfranchised and overlooked to help them remember their worth. I do this work because even one life changed can have far reaching ripples which have the potential to change the world. I graduated high school in 1999 and have researched and navigated many punitive systems in the US. I am currently working towards a BA in Sociology. A fun fact about me is that I’m slightly obsessed with Mesopotamian history and will likely be an archeologist in my next life.

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Nina leads Tipping Point’s grantmaking and systems change efforts on homelessness in San Francisco, bringing a focus on equity and cross-sector collaboration. Before becoming the Senior Program Officer, she served as a Senior Planner with Tipping Point’s Chronic Homelessness Initiative, working with diverse partners to promote health and housing for all San Franciscans. Prior to joining Tipping Point, she worked with the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. on legislative reform to reduce the use of prison and jail in response to social and public health needs. She previously served as a public defender in Alameda County, where in addition to providing legal representation, she led a needs assessment of indigent clients and participated in a regional working group to address racial disparities in the justice system. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. A Bay Area native, Nina loves learning about the region’s natural ecosystems and trying new styles of dance.

Sam has been involved with Tipping Point Community since it began, serving as the CEO of First Place for Youth, a long-standing grantee, for 12 years. Under Sam’s leadership, First Place grew from an Oakland-based grassroots organization into one of the largest providers of housing and services for former foster youth in the United States. Sam is a recipient of the Children and Family Fellowship from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and was awarded the 2010 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. Sam has also served in leadership positions at Larkin Street Youth Services, Juma Ventures, and the Boys & Girls Club of Oakland. He has a Master’s in Counseling from California State University, East Bay. When he is not at work he is either hanging with his twin daughters or playing golf.

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Kimberly understands that poverty is the issue of our time, and wants to help drive the understanding and impact how we as a community can change the trajectory of poverty in the Bay Area. She has spent the past 20 years as a marketing and communications strategist, creating purpose-driven campaigns within the private and public sectors.

Kimberly went to Hampton University for undergrad and received her MBA in marketing from Washington University’s Olin School of Business. In her free time, she enjoys listening to all forms of live music!

Kara is a long-time champion for children and families. She has experience in the fields of early childhood development, K-12 education and mental health; conducted direct practice, public policy and research; and worked at the local, state and national levels. Prior to joining Tipping Point, Kara was the director of Too Small to Fail, a national public awareness initiative of the Clinton Foundation that supports parents and caregivers to understand the critical role they play in their child’s early brain development. She also served as Associate Director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University, supporting localities to use data to drive decision-making and system improvements. Earlier in her career, Kara was Chair of the First 5 San Francisco Commission, Associate Director of early care and education at Children Now and a psychiatric social worker for San Francisco City and County. She received her B.A. from Brown University and an MSW from UC Berkeley. She loves Mexico, hiking near and far, thrifting and hanging out with her family and dog. She is an avid Warriors fan.

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Prior to joining Tipping Point, Leslie spent 10 years leading programs and strategic operations in the nonprofit and education sectors. Most recently she served as the Growth Operations Lead for the Summit Learning Program, an educator-powered nonprofit organization that partners with diverse schools and districts throughout the United States to support equitable classroom redesign. Leslie was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois and received her BA in International Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Drawn to California for its natural majesty, Leslie loves spending time outdoors, backpacking in the Sierras, soaking in hot springs, and enjoying ocean sunsets.

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Between the ages of 14 and 18, Mitch was in and out of foster care, including three separate placements. At 17, he was recruited to become one of the founding members of VOICES, the nation’s first youth-led community center that serves current and former foster youth in Napa, California. While working at VOICES, Mitch helped to implement and develop three additional youth-led community centers in Santa Rosa, Santa Clara, and Monterey counties. Mitch attended San Francisco State and Sonoma State University and in his spare time, loves woodworking and DIY projects, is an uncle to two nieces and two nephews, and has a 7 year old cattle dog mix named Ruckus.

Liz brings over 15 years of experience in development and relationship management to her role at Tipping Point. Prior to joining the team in 2015, she served as the Chief Development Officer at Opportunity Fund where she helped families in need build financial security. Liz started her career in investment banking at Alex. Brown & Sons and then moved to a start-up where she built a research and consulting business unit. Liz earned an MBA with a focus on public management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University in Virginia. A native of the East Coast, she loves cultivating her family’s California garden, volunteering in the public schools, and trail running in the Berkeley hills.

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Throughout her nonprofit career, Justine has worked with nonprofit direct service organizations and philanthropic networks to support community-based equity initiatives. This support provided needed services to marginalized communities in support of greater access to justice, economic security, joy, and prosperity.

Justine has managed several community-based workforce development programs primarily in youth development organizations. She has also served as an independent consultant to nonprofits supporting program design, talent recruitment, event planning, and multi-stakeholder engagement projects since 2014.

Justine earned her Master’s in Urban Policy and Management from the New School of Public Engagement and her Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College in Sociology & Spanish.

Justine is a Nuyorican (a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent) who loves to travel the world sharing culture and building bonds with others.

Jake joined Tipping Point in 2014 after six years leading Dartmouth College’s fundraising in the Bay Area, and with more than 10 years’ experience in the social sector. Prior to working for Dartmouth, Jake was a program manager and development officer for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a national organization that develops the next generation of minority business leaders. Before switching to the non-profit world, he worked in software product management and business development. Jake earned his BA in Studio Art from Dartmouth College. He doesn’t make as much art as he should, and instead channels his creative energy into coaching his two children’s sports teams, cooking and biking around Marin County.

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James first got into the nonprofit sector after the 2014 midterm election. He remembers feeling helpless and a little bit lost thinking about what to do next in his career/life. He spent months soul-searching and thinking about how he could ultimately make a difference in his community. He made a decision later that year to dedicate his life to making an impact in his community through his work.

James earned his Master’s in Public Administration in 2017 from New York University – Wagner. Prior to joining Tipping Point Community, he was the School Support Data Manager at the Urban Assembly. In this role, he supported the program team through evaluating the impact of their programs through analysis and Tableau dashboards.

In his spare time, James enjoys going to Broadway shows, live music shows, and sporting events (Go Lakers and 49ers!).

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Erin is eager to join Tipping Point in addressing the various social issues that are affecting those in her community. After living in the City for the past five years, she has fallen in love with the Bay Area and is determined to help serve her local communities. Erin received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a concentration in critical diversity and a minor in Politics from the University of San Francisco. In her free time, she enjoys listening to and experiencing live music and baking various desserts for her friends and family.

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Carol is excited about collaborating with her colleagues at Tipping Point to ensure that everyone in the Bay Area has an opportunity to thrive. Her experience as a Community Fellow at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas sparked her curiosity about how organizations utilize resources to maximize impact. Prior to joining Tipping Point, she honed her finance and strategy skills at Unilever and ESPN. Carol graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a finance concentration and received an MBA from the Yale School of Management. A New York native, she possesses an affinity for urban runs, an appreciation for one-pot recipes, and a penchant for puns.

Before joining Tipping Point, Jason progressed from entry-level accountant to senior accountant working in various for-profit companies across several different industries. His first venture into the non-profit sector was in his previous role at The Nueva School. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, majoring in Finance and Accounting, from San Francisco State University. For fun, Jason enjoys escape rooms, scavenger hunts, puzzles, games, immersive theater, music, movies, sports and traveling.

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Jake’s work focuses on improving opportunities and outcomes for children, youth, and families through programs, policy, and research. Prior to joining Tipping Point, he was Associate Director at the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University. In that role, he collaborated with Bay Area school districts and youth-serving organizations to build capacity to use data for decision-making, and analyzed effective strategies for promoting low-income students’ development and success. Jake has also worked as a public policy professor at Claremont Graduate University, Director of Policy Research and Analysis at The After-School Corporation (TASC) in New York City, and school and community development volunteer with the US Peace Corps in Namibia. He has received a B.A. from Oberlin College, an MPA from Princeton and a Ph.D from New York University. When not at work, Jake can be found urban hiking with his family, and generally trying to keep up with his two young daughters.

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Ken is privileged to be deploying his experience to further the social good. Prior to joining Tipping Point, Ken was an independent technology consultant for various non-profits, implementing solutions to help organizations manage their programmatic and fundraising operations. Ken learned the ropes as an SAP Analyst for the Chevron IT Company where he oversaw technical operations for their Business Intelligence systems. Ken holds an undergraduate degree in Operations Research from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He takes epic backpacking trips with his friends and has a soft spot for eating too much pork and rice.

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Julie joined Tipping Point because of her belief that the right continuum of person-centered, trauma-informed services to address multiple domains of a person’s life can disrupt the harmful impacts of poverty that too many people continue to grapple with. Most recently, Julie was the Executive Director of California’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, where she served as a policy advisor and led a statewide entity responsible for significant homelessness initiatives and funding programs. Prior, Julie worked for Bay Area nonprofits (including Larkin Street Youth Services!) and as a consultant specializing in planning and evaluation. Julie earned a Master of Public Affairs from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her B.A. from Holy Names University. Julie is an avid learner and always reads the appendices first when reading reports, because that’s where all the good stuff lives.

Jennifer joins Tipping Point Community after 15 years at the San Francisco Symphony where she led the Special Events team that produced the Symphony’s high-profile fundraisers and community-based events. Prior to working at the San Francisco Symphony, Jennifer spent seven years at Rita Barela Productions, an event production company based in San Francisco. When not at work, Jennifer likes to stay active in San Francisco, spend her time with her husband and fancies herself a foodie.

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Emma is delighted to be a part of the transformational change Tipping Point Community creates in the San Francisco Bay Area for individuals and families impacted by poverty. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English and Music from UC Berkeley and Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. Emma began her career in the nonprofit sector at San Francisco Performances with roles in development and events. Most recently, she was at San Francisco Ballet for five years in special events, where she worked with volunteer committees to raise funds in support of artistic and educational programming. She lives in San Francisco and enjoys volunteering, ballet, and hiking with her labradoodle.

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Bryan joined Tipping Point in 2013 where he helped launch the T Lab fellowship program and manage R&D projects in partnership with Tipping Point grantees and local non-profits. With a background in human-centered design, Bryan is passionate about co-creating impactful solutions to complex social issues alongside members of the community. An avid CrossFit athlete and runner outside of Tipping Point, Bryan can often be found zipping through the streets of San Francisco’s vibrant Mission neighborhood.

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Sam comes to Tipping Point Community from the Bay Area Discovery Museum, where she created content for the museum’s network of educators and caregivers. An Arizona native, Sam found home in the Bay Area during an internship at the Presidio Trust where she fell in love with the Bay Area’s commitment to community resources and culture of inclusion. Sam finds joy exploring California’s parks, cooking up something new, or wandering around a bookstore (Green Apple is a favorite!).

Nora joins Tipping Point after four years working in Stanford University’s development office. At Stanford, Nora worked to educate and cultivate the university’s pipeline of next generation donors. Before her work as a fundraiser, Nora worked for a non-profit and philanthropic consulting firm in Silicon Valley. Nora earned her B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University focusing on social psychology and education. In her spare time, Nora feels fortunate to volunteer for causes that she cares deeply about, Camp Kesem and the Abramson Cancer Center. Originally from the east coast, Nora is outdoors enjoying the California sunshine as often as possible.

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Hunter Meyer is happiest when he’s helping people. He comes to Tipping Point from the food and events world, where he ran large-scale food truck events for Off the Grid. Originally from Maine, Hunter earned a B.A. in Economics from Bard College. Since moving to the Bay Area over a decade ago, he’s fallen in love with the region, and is committed to making it even better through his work at Tipping Point. Outside of the office, Hunter enjoys spending time in nature with his young daughter, wife, and dog, and he is always on the lookout for a great taco.

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Suman brings over a decade of experience providing communications services to nonprofits across the Bay Area. Prior to joining Tipping Point, Suman worked at the East Bay Asian Youth Center, elevating the organization’s direct services, community building and policy advocacy work to ensure better outcomes for young people. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Suman loves exploring local parks with her family and sampling the global cuisines the region has to offer, and is always on the hunt for the best super veggie burrito in the Bay. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Board for Pangea Legal Services, a legal services organization focused on protecting the rights of immigrants through legal representation and advocacy.

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Talia comes to Tipping Point Community with a wealth of non-profit program development and management experience. Most recently, she was Managing Director of Programs at Coaching Corps where she oversaw the program operations that led to its national expansion. Talia’s non-profit career began in youth entrepreneurship education at Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and she also created a comprehensive after-school program for a settlement house on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Talia eventually served as Assistant Executive Director at a large community organization in New York City, where she gained experience with employment, supportive housing, adult education, reentry and college access programs. Talia received her BS from Cornell University and a Master’s in Education from Harvard. Since relocating to the Bay Area, Talia has enjoyed spending time outdoors with her family.

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As a child of immigrant parents and an immigrant herself, Angela believes that everyone, regardless of their background, should have access to the resources they need to prosper. She is honored to join Tipping Point and to support its mission in tackling the complex cycles of poverty in the Bay Area. Angela received her B.A. in Linguistics from UC Santa Barbara, where she joined a volunteering-based student organization that fueled her passion for helping the community. Prior to Tipping Point, Angela interned at the SF County Transportation Authority, seeing firsthand the need for equity-centric funding and planning initiatives and their impact on the community. In her spare time, Angela can usually be found singing karaoke with friends, trying out dessert cafes, or exploring thrift shops around the city.

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Heather believes in the power of storytelling to effect change, and it’s been the throughline of her professional journey since graduating from Quinnipiac University with a degree in Journalism. Before joining Tipping Point, she was the marketing and community relations manager for New Door Ventures, where she directly experienced the power and effectiveness of Tipping Point’s unique and holistic model. In her free time, Heather loves taking long walks through the city, going to concerts, and searching for the best bagel on the West Coast.

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Caressa started out in the nonprofit sector because she believes everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive despite their background. Caressa is passionate about providing her team members with the resources they need to succeed. Caressa is grateful for the role she plays in helping change the lives of those in the community who need it the most. Previously, Caressa worked at First Place for Youth, a Tipping Point grantee, for over 13 years. She had the  opportunity to hold various roles , from Executive Assistant to Operations Manager to her last position, Human Resources Generalist. During her time on the Human Resources team, she worked on enhancing employee programs and new hire orientation. While Caressa was born and raised in the Bay Area, one of her and her family’s favorite things to do is to visit famous tourist spots around the Bay Area––biking on the Golden Gate Bridge never gets old! From these expeditions, her family has become a  biking family, enjoying trails all throughout the Bay Area. 

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Growing up in the Bay Area, Patricia has had first hand experience understanding the importance of educational support for financial mobility. She is excited to be a part of Tipping Point’s mission to create equity for underserved communities in the Bay Area. Patricia holds a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Irvine in Political Science with an emphasis in civil rights law, and international relations. During her time in university, she partnered with UC Irvine’s School of Law as a Teaching Assistant and acted as mentor to students within the Santa Ana and Anaheim High School District to promote access and create a pipeline for higher education. Patricia is passionate about creating equity in education. Outside of Tipping Point, Patricia is an avid cook, an amateur potter, and loves to go thrift shopping along Haight street.

For two decades, Colleen has led communications and storytelling to inspire people to create a more just world. Prior to Tipping Point, she directed communications for Stanford University’s Haas Center for Public Service. In this role, she helped launch, expand, and sustain Cardinal Service, a university-wide effort to make service an essential feature of a Stanford education. Previously, Colleen has worked for New York University, the Migration Policy Institute, and El Pomar Foundation. She holds an MA in print journalism and a BA in English. When not at work, Colleen enjoys running, reading voraciously, and shenanigans with her family.

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Ali joined Tipping Point to more directly serve her community while also continuing to work on the critical system changes necessary to ensure meaningful reductions in poverty. Prior to joining Tipping Point, Ali served as the State of California’s Deputy Secretary for Homelessness where she oversaw the state’s interagency council on homelessness and several large state homelessness grant programs. Earlier in her career Ali served as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on a range of anti-poverty programs within the Administration for Children and Families. Ali graduated with a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California – Berkeley, and received her B.A from the University of Iowa. When not working to alleviate poverty, Ali can be found hiking, backpacking or reading a good book…outdoors!

Lara comes to Tipping Point with extensive experience working to address and end homelessness in both the public and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining Tipping Point she was the Manager of Community Homelessness Services for the City of Oakland, where she played a leadership role in the city’s homelessness policy direction and funding, and implementation of homelessness programs. Lara has also held leadership roles in local homeless services agencies, serving as the Director of Client Services for the Berkeley Food and Housing Project and as a Division Director for Larkin Street Youth Services, a Tipping Point grantee. She started her career as a homeless outreach worker in the South Bronx.  Lara received a BA from Brown University and an MSW from UC Berkeley.  In her free time, Lara likes to be outside hiking and camping, or in the kitchen cooking for friends and family.

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The fight to end poverty hits close to home for Sam. When he was 11 months old, his birth mother placed him on the steps of an orphanage in Vietnam and walked away. She simply could not afford to raise him. Sam was dealt an early lesson on the power of community — its capacity to open doors, to radically change lives, and to break the cycle of poverty. His origin has molded his self-concept and forged his desire to pursue a career that enables others to thrive no matter their background.

Prior to Tipping Point, Sam helped bring books into the world in marketing and editorial roles at HarperCollins and Pearson. He attended The Paideia School in Atlanta, Georgia and Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. In his spare time, Sam can be found running and training for upcoming races on the track and the roads around Lake Merritt and the East Bay.

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With deep gratitude, Julie joins Tipping Point Community from the finance world and is eager to support its mission to address and alleviate the dire challenges that impact her home. In both big ways and small, every act of hope and grace is a step forward in building a healthy, thriving community and it is with this mindset that we light the path to a better future for us all. During her free time, she’s often hitting the trails, cuddling with her two dogs (Sir Theodore Dudley Thumpington Cuddlesworth and Sir Chunks-a-Lot), and scoping out the rich and vast array of food options in the Bay Area.

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Bing is honored and humbled to be able to apply her research, business intelligence, and data analytics experience in support of Tipping Point’s empathetic and multi-faceted approach to fighting poverty. Prior to joining Tipping Point, she supported economic research and Cash Services strategy and operations as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Her passion for public service motivated her to pursue an M.S. in data science at the University of San Francisco, to better serve her community in an analytic capacity. During her master’s program, she interned at Human Rights Data Analysis Group, where she contributed to statistical analyses that enable accountability for human rights violations. Bing also holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago. Bing is a proud first-generation Chinese-American immigrant and a Bostonian, and she enjoys running, exploring cities through food, and listening to pop punk.

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Lenita is best known as a “Champion of the Underdog.” She is dedicated to removing systemic barriers to health, well-being, and financial freedom for those society has overlooked and counted out. The opportunity to dismantle inequitable systems and fund organizations serving the underdog is what brought her to Tipping Point. With over two decades of experience in both the nonprofit and public sectors, her work has spanned across youth development, criminal justice, housing, and social services.

Lenita has a BA in Psychology from Stanford University. In her spare time, Lenita is active in her local community where she serves on the Community Services Commission for her city, leads her neighbors on local hikes, and enjoys discovering new golf courses to play as well as amazing places to eat!

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Dedi wanted to be part of an organization that would improve and create an impact on the community. Before joining Tipping Point, Dedi was an accountant for a non-profit humanitarian organization and community bank. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Chinese and a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business. She later received her MAc (Master of Accountancy) from Golden Gate University. Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time solving puzzles, hiking and traveling.