CONVERSATIONS FOR GOOD

Bulbul Gupta is President & CEO of Pacific Community Ventures, one of the US’s first impact investing funds, now a nonprofit community investor, where she is leading a restorative capital strategy to invest in inclusive entrepreneurship and build wealth, one good quality job at a time. Bulbul has recently served on the Department of Treasury’s inaugural Racial Equity Advisory Council, and Advisory Councils for Inclusive Capital at the Department of Commerce, and Job Quality Measurement at the Department of Labor. She previously co-founded a responsible AI think tank in Berkeley, led Social Entrepreneurship & Impact Investing at the Clinton Global Initiative, helped launch the Obama White House's Impact Investing task force in 2013, has advised presidential campaigns on inclusive entrepreneurship and impact investing, and served in the Bush Administration on the launch of public-private partnerships. Bulbul has a Masters in Public Policy & Economics from the University of Michigan, BA from The George Washington University. She is a first-generation daughter of Indian immigrant entrepreneurs, former social entrepreneur herself, and lives in California with her daughters.

Haley Hemm joined the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship from Pinewood School, where she served as the Assistant Head of Upper Campus of Pinewood School and founded Students for Sustainable Change, started an Ocean Ambassadors’ Club, and crafted Pinewood’s DEI vision statement. She earned her Masters of Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education. Prior to Stanford, she was an educator and coach in Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and Northern California. Ms. Hemm’s love of the world was intensified after studying English and Global Studies while playing tennis at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Although Ms. Hemm considers herself a global citizen, she is a proud Bay Area native; when she’s not in a classroom or on the court, you can find her exploring the National Parks, reading the latest young adult fiction or surfing, tide pooling, and scuba diving on the California coast. 

Lou Jimenez is a San Jose native and the Street Life Manager for the San Jose Downtown Association, where she orchestrates the curation and tactical activation of the public realm. Her portfolio encompasses the strategic stewardship of the urban tree canopy, landscape architecture, beautification, and capital projects, all aimed at enhancing urban vibrancy and pedestrian-oriented design.

A practiced advocate, scholar, and curator, Lou’s work is fundamentally centered on placemaking through intercultural, co-created art. She is the driving force behind Stitching Districts, a transformative urban design initiative that strategically "stitches" disconnected urban hubs into cohesive, walkable, and art-filled corridors. 

This hyper-focused approach to tactical urbanism demonstrates a proven methodology for catalyzing economic development, fostering cultural expression, and building profound civic pride by intentionally weaving community identity into the very fabric of the city's landscape.

Chike Nwoffiah is an educator, multi-sector investor and media executive. He is an award winning film and theater producer and director with over 50 productions to his credit. He is the founding director of Silicon Valley African Film Festival and president of Rhesus Media Group.

Nwoffiah is a past president of Mountain View Television (KMVT Channel 15) and former Arts Advisory Commissioner for the San Diego International Airport. He presently serves on the boards of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Ashinaga USA, The East African Documentary Film Fund, Precious Kids Foundation and Pavilion Afriques at Cannes Film Festival. He was a contributing author to the critically acclaimed book "Black Cultural Traffic - Crossroads in Global Performance and Popular Culture" edited by Stanford University professors Harry Elam, Jr. and Kennel Jackson and the 2021 book "Cinemas Africanos contemporâneos - abordagens críticas" / “Contemporary African cinemas - critical approaches” by Brazilian film scholars Ana Camila Esteves & Jusciele Oliveira.

Nwoffiah is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley and a member of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). He was inducted into the Silicon Valley Black Legends Hall of Fame in 2021 for a distinguished and outstanding career in the arts, music, theater, television, and film and enhancing the lives of people in the Black Community. In 2022, he was awarded the Cornerstone of the Arts Award by the City of San Jose - the city’s highest arts award - for his enduring leadership in the advancement of arts and culture in San Jose. In March 2023, the African Diaspora Network honored him with its African Diaspora Luminaire Award, an award that celebrates individuals who have made exceptional contributions and demonstrated commitment to advance the African continent and the communities in which we live.

Mark Silver is the Head of School at Hillbrook School, a JK-12 independent school located in Silicon Valley. Since his arrival at Hillbrook in 2009, Mark has deepened the school’s connections to its historical roots as a leader in innovation and best practices in education. As part of the school’s ambitious strategic plans, Visions 2015 and 2020, Hillbrook has launched the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship, established itself as a leader in the use of technology, earning designation since 2012-13 as an Apple Distinguished School, and placed itself at the forefront of conversations about the Maker’s movement, social entrepreneurship, learning spaces, and co-teaching. Today, the school is embarking on its most ambitious undertaking ever - expanding from a JK-8 into a two campus JK-12 with a new Upper School campus in downtown San Jose.

Prior to his arrival at Hillbrook, Mark spent a number of years as an administrator, teacher, and coach in independent schools, including Holland Hall School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, California, and Francis Parker School in San Diego, California. Mark graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Amherst College with a degree in American Studies, and later earned an M.A. in American History at Stanford University and a Ph.D in Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego. Mark was a fellow at the Heads of School program at the Klingenstein Center at Teacher’s College Columbia University, and also is a certified Executive Coach through the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. He has served on many Boards, including  the California Association of Independent Schools, the Elementary School Heads Association, Crystal Springs Upland Schools, and, currently, the Girls Middle School in Palo Alto.

Mark has three children and his wife, Carla, is the Executive Director of Leadership & Design, a non-profit organization that “designs experiences for the people who design the future of education.” Outside of work life, you can find him walking his beloved dogs (Duke and Izzy), hiking and running, reading, watching sports (especially English Premier League), and beekeeping. 

Olatunde Sobomehin is the CEO and co-founder of StreetCode Academy, an East Palo Alto nonprofit providing free tech classes to communities of color. Since its founding, StreetCode has grown to serve over 3,000 students annually with more than 50,000 hours of free instruction. A Stanford graduate, Olatunde has taught at the Haas Center and the d.school, where he co-authored Creative Hustle. He has been recognized as an Aspen Institute Scholar, a Praxis Fellow, and a Social Entrepreneurship Fellow at Stanford. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded Team Esface and StreetCode Inc., blending youth culture, fashion, and technology. He and his wife, Tamara, live in East Palo Alto with their four children.