The Board
Our board is comprised of compassionate leaders & thinkers.
Co-Chair
Renée Dupree
Renée is an attorney at Google where she has managed the company’s global competition compliance program for over nine years. In addition to her legal work, Renée is passionate about issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves as a member of her team’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council helping to develop pipeline initiatives, design effective recruiting and retention programs, create a more inclusive working environment for team members, and push to increase diversity across the legal profession.
Renée was a 2015 Fellow with the Aspen Institute’s First Movers Program. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University.
Co-Chair
Corey Ponder
Strategic Partnerships, Instagram
Corey is the Strategic Partnerships, Equity/Well-Being Lead at Instagram. He also develops and teaches workshops focused on building inclusion through empathy with his company, em|PACT Strategies. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley and received his Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University.
Corey is passionate about community building and social impact initiatives and is a fellow of Startingbloc, a social innovation Fellowship that educates, inspires and connects emerging leaders to drive social innovation across sectors.
Vice Chair
Emily Leys
Emily partners with non-profit and public sector organizations to promote gender equality and increase their impact. She has experience leading global initiatives in education, gender equality and youth development in the US and over ten countries in Asia and Africa. Emily brings expertise in strategic decision-making, operational planning, and workshop design and facilitation. Prior to launching her consulting practice, Emily led Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program for over a decade.
Emily is committed to the empowerment of youth, and particularly girls, through education and the development of strong non-cognitive/social-emotional skills. She earned an M.A. from the University of Cape Town in South African and African Politics and a B.A. in Politics from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Secretary
Tim Haydock
Director Of Communications
Youth Leadership Institute
Tim’s passions for storytelling, education, and social justice have driven his career. After graduating with a Bachelor’s in Communication from Fresno Pacific University and a Master’s in Theology and Film from Fuller Theological Seminary, Tim returned to his hometown community in Fresno. He spent over 5 years teaching courses on media production and theory at Fresno State University and Fresno Pacific University and was the academic advisor for the Fresno Pacific University student newspaper.
In the fall of 2019, Tim coordinated the first-ever youth panel at the California Economic Summit where young people and youth advocates from Fresno and Stockton discussed policy solutions during the plenary session right before Governor Newsom spoke.
Tim is the founding board chair of Fresnoland, and is on the advisory board for the journalism program at Fresno City College and the Institute for Media and Public Trust at Fresno State. He was a New America CA 2017 Fellow, the first from the Central Valley.
In the fall of 2019, Tim coordinated the first-ever youth panel at the California Economic Summit where young people and youth advocates from Fresno and Stockton discussed policy solutions during the plenary session right before Governor Newsom spoke.
Tim currently serves on the Youth Speaks board of directors, is the founding board chair of Fresnoland, and is on the advisory board for the journalism program at Fresno City College and the Institute for Media and Public Trust at Fresno State. He was a New America CA 2017 Fellow, the first from the Central Valley.
Tony Francis
A husband and proud father, Tony currently runs the Associate Financial Analyst Rotation Program for Google’s Finance department. Tony’s professional career in Finance extends 15 years and prior to joining Google spent time in public accounting, and large public corporations as well as running the admin functions for a startup. Tony has a passion for coaching and mentoring and volunteering at schools and youth organizations. Tony has also been very involved in supporting Diversity initiatives across the Google Finance department.
Tony is a proud alumnus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, and received an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Originally from the Bay Area, Tony spent the vast majority of his youth in the South, growing up in Louisiana and Alabama – which he claims as home.
Laura Brief
Prior to 826 National, Laura held leadership positions at high achieving youth organizations including Build. Prior to 826 National, Laura held leadership positions at high achieving youth organizations including Build, First Graduate, Juma Ventures, and The Posse Foundation, where she developed the organization’s first national career, corporate engagement, and alumni programs. She holds a Master’s in Education and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.
Cesar Luna
Senior HR Business Partner, AuroraCesar Luna is a Snr. HR Business Partner for the self-driving technology start-up, Aurora. Cesar serves as a trusted consultant to leaders and managers on people related issues and helps client groups focus areas such as team development, goal setting, workforce planning, and talent management. Cesar’s HR career spans 8 years and prior to working at Aurora, held HR roles in a variety of industries including fintech, nonprofit, and sports entertainment (San Francisco Giants). Cesar is a proud first-generation college student and has a passion for empowering those in similar circumstances. Cesar mentors other first-generation college students and recent graduates by helping them navigate the employment landscape, often for the first time in their lives.
Cesar holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of the Pacific as well as M.S. in Human Resources Management from Golden Gate University and currently resides in San Francisco, CA.
Alyson Palmer
Corporate Counsel, GoogleAlyson serves as Corporate Counsel on Google’s Global Employment Legal team in San Francisco, California. She supports Google’s Employee Engagement, Search, Ads, and Geo organizations, providing guidance on the full scope of legal issues that accompany the employment relationship.
Prior to joining Google, Alyson was an Associate at Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn LLP. She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University. Alyson previously worked in the White House Office of Management and Administration and the U.S. General Services Administration during the Obama Administration. She was also an Associate at Stoel Rives, LLP.
A longtime mentor to students at all levels, Alyson is inspired by the powerful directive of feminist and racial justice adovcate, Mary Church Terrell to “lift as you climb.” She cares deeply about supporting the creation of new platforms and opportunities for burgeoning artists and building inclusive communities. Alyson is a native of Seattle, Washington and former chair of the Board of Directors for the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas.
Steve Cox
Tech & Marketing
Steve is a communications and technology professional with over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of strategy, technology and social impact. Working in both the private and non-profit sectors, Steve has helped low-income and marginalized youth in communities around the globe gain access to foundational literacy skills in their mother tongue and helped ensure that girls in those communities are equipped with the skills and confidence to advocate for themselves and their access to education through the completion of secondary school. Steve and his partner live in San Francisco’s Mission District with their cat Olive, who can usually be found snoozing in a sunny bay window.
Jenny Fan Raj
WriterJenny Fan Raj is a writer whose work examines the intersection of marginalized voices and the deeply felt experiences that connect all of us. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in fiction. Prior to writing, she worked as a design thinking consultant at IDEO, with a focus on blue sky strategy, new product development, and ethnographic research. Youth Speaks’ focus on literacy as a means towards social impact resonates deeply with Jenny.
Jenny earned a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.A. from The Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.