Arnold Chandler is an advocate, researcher, trainer, and social change strategist who for more than 17 years has helped nonprofits and foundations develop evidence-informed strategies to advance programs and policies focused on social and economic equity. He is the co-founder of Forward Change based in Oakland, California. Recently, he was a Senior Research Associate at the Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the U.C. Berkeley School of Law. Before that, he was a research analyst working with a team to reform the Oakland Police Department as part of a federal lawsuit settled in 2001. Prior to that, he was a researcher and policy strategist at PolicyLink for six years. Chandler has authored several important policy analyses and studies in the social justice field as well as advised several nonprofit organizations on the use of Internet tools for supporting advocacy and social change efforts. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a M.S. in Information Systems. He lives in Oakland, California with his wife Janet. Add or edit your content…

Tia Elena Martinez has over 25 years of experience doing social change work in low income communities and communities of color in the United States. Over the decades her work has spanned a wide range of issues including education reform, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, homelessness, affordable housing, disconnected youth, and immigration. She is currently an independent consultant doing work on dismantling the school to prison pipeline and transforming life chances for boys and men of color. Prior to consulting, she was the Chief Equity Officer at the Stupski Foundation where she designed an R & D effort focused on applying knowledge from the psychology and neuroscience to help low income students and student of color own and drive their learning and increase academic achievement. Tia came to the foundation from the Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at UC Berkeley Law School, where she was acting director of education, leading a policy unit focused on issues related to education reform, teacher effectiveness, and racial justice. Prior to joining the Warren Institute, she served as strategic consultant to the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education leading their strategic planning process and supporting rollout and implementation of the new strategy across 12 regional offices. Prior to working with the department, Tia was a senior manager with the Bridgespan Group where she led engagements with large, national foundations and major civil rights groups. She’s also been a senior fellow at the Hewlett Foundation, a policy analyst for the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the San Francisco Mayor’s HIV Health Services Planning Council, and a street outreach worker. Tia has an AB in History from Harvard University, a Master in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, and a JD from Stanford Law School.

Tanya Alvarado is the Administrative Coordinator for Forward Change. In this role, she performs a variety of administrative duties, including scheduling, data entry, and research. Tanya has more than 12 years of experience as an Administrative Assistant. She spent 15 years in the gaming industry, using her passion for employee satisfaction and process improvement to promote from administrative roles to supervisory and managerial assignments in gaming and hospitality areas. In addition to volunteering for the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Koman events, having been a Relay for Life Event Chair and Breast Cancer 3 Day Team Captain, Tanya is building a small ceramics and art business with a focus on teaching children. She lives outside Phoenix, AZ, with her husband and 2 daughters.

Daniel Kim is a social movement organizer and advocate based in the Denver area. Daniel has served as the Director of Youth Organizing at Padres & Jóvenes Unidos, a grassroots educational justice & immigrant rights organization in Denver that has led a landmark campaign since the early 2000’s to End the School-to-Jail Track, taking on the racist push-out and criminalization of youth of color in Colorado’s public schools and implementing restorative justice. Trained as an organizer by the Labor/Community Strategy Center in 2001 with the Bus Riders Union, Daniel has organized in schools and neighborhoods, on college campuses, and on the buses of Los Angeles to build the power of working-class communities of color to transform society. Daniel also has a background in university teaching and research and in school district administration. They served as Chief of Staff for the Division of Student Equity & Opportunity in Denver Public Schools, one of the largest central administration divisions, which houses Student Discipline, Special Education, Gifted & Talented Education, School Psychological and Social Work Services, and School Nursing Services. They have two children.

Mary Tam is an independent consultant who has spent over 20 years in the pursuit of social justice through her work at local and international nonprofit organizations. As Program Supervisor at the State Bar of California, she oversaw the distribution of $50 million annually to legal aid organizations that serve low-income Californians. Prior to grantmaking, she was Development Director, Western Region at Amnesty International USA where she worked with major donors and executive staff to raise funds,and managed partnerships such as that with the FOR-SITE Foundation on @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz. Before that, Mary served as Senior Manager of Undergraduate Programs at Net Impact, leading a team that supported students interested in pursuing impact careers. Earlier in her career, she worked at Mercy Corps, Edgewood Center for Children and Families, Growth & Learning Opportunities, and the California Childcare Resource & Referral Network. Mary earned her MBA degree from San Francisco State University but has since returned to her home, Hawai’i.