Ed Fund Board
Marjorie Goux, Chair
Marjorie Goux is Chief Legal Counsel at the quickly growing Clif Bar & Company in Emeryville, California. Previously, she served as The Clorox Company’s Chief Counsel for its global strategic partnerships group and as the general business counsel to the Glad Products Company (a Clorox/P&G JV) and Clorox’s North American Homecare business. She began her in-house journey at Hewlett-Packard Company as the Global Trademark and Anti-Counterfeiting Counsel for the Imaging and Printing Division. Her early career included a wonderful time, well spent, as a member of Baker McKenzie’s award-winning private practice IP team, both in London and Palo Alto. Outside of business, Marjorie passionately seeks ways to disrupt the poverty cycle in this country, and in particular, she advocates for education reform and improving conditions for women and girls in the workplace, home, and school.
Wilbur Hobbs, Jr., Treasurer
Wilbur E. Hobbs, Jr. is SVP & Chief Lending Officer of Community Bank of the Bay. He serves on the board of ICA/FundGoodJobs (a Non-Bank CDFI) and is committed to making a difference in economic development, financial education and affordable access to capital.
As Chief Credit Officer (2005 – 2012) of Community Bank of the Bay, Hobbs led credit policy design and implementation over a period when the bank grew to $110 Million in Loans from less than $45 Million. This period experienced the deepest economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, but Community Bank of the Bay more than doubled the size of its loan portfolio through prudent banking practices and the acquisition of equity capital.
Hobbs also serves on the Board of Directors of Ramsell Corporation, a privately-held company that provides pharmacy benefit and management solutions targeting underserved populations nationally. He recently completed Presidency of The 100 Club, a 74-year old Bay Area organization that fundraises for youth services organizations. Hobbs is a member of Oakland Rotary #3 and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.
Hobbs and his wife, natives of Philadelphia, PA and Brooklyn, NY, respectively, have been proud Oakland residents since 1999.
Helen Bulwik, Member-at-Large
Helen is a seasoned executive leader with diverse experience as an operating and merchandising executive for large multi-channel national retail, specialty retail and consumer manufacturing companies and as an executive advisor to CXO’s of large and middle market companies. Her career has focused on developing and executing strategies for business development and growth for consumer sector companies. Helen grew up in Oakland and was educated in its public school system, and earned both her undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of California – Berkeley, Haas School of Business, where she also served as an adjunct professor. She is a sought-after consultant and speaker frequently and widely quoted in top business publications and the news media.Loraine Binion, Member-at-Large
Loraine Binion is the Executive Director of Finance and Administration for the University Development and Alumni Relations unit at the University of California, Berkeley. Loraine also serves as Treasurer of the UC Berkeley Foundation and Treasurer of the Berkeley Endowment Management Company. Prior to coming to UC Berkeley, Loraine held a number of senior Finance positions including 18 years at Levi Strauss & Co and has operated her own CPA firm. She serves on various Boards, is active with Community organizations and is Treasurer for a member of Congress. She has received many awards recognizing her professional accomplishments and commitment to create social change. Loraine is also an educator, serving as adjunct professor at a Bay Area University and several Colleges. Loraine is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance and Accounting from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science degree from Cal Poly Pomona. Loraine lives in Oakland with her husband; she has two grown daughters who were in Oakland schools through high school.Rupa Chandra Gupta, Member-at-Large
Rupa is cofounder and CEO of Sown To Grow, an impact-driven education technology company designed to improve student ownership and engagement in learning. She also supports OUSD’s Roosevelt Middle School via leadership and school design coaching. Previously, she served in both district office and school roles in San Jose Unified School District, most recently leading school redesign implementation. Before working in schools, Rupa spent nearly 10 years working in strategy and nonprofit consulting at Bain & Company and The Bridgespan Group. She earned her Bachelors in Chemistry and Business Administration from UC Berkeley, her MBA from Stanford University, and her Masters in Educational Leadership through The Broad Residency. Rupa lives in Oakland, and can often be found enjoying the parks, restaurants, and libraries of our great city with her family.Betsy Merzenich, Member-at-Large
Betsy is a proud Bay Area native with a deep commitment to public education and social justice. She currently works as Senior Director at Hirsch & Associates Philanthropic Advisors, providing strategic and practical partnership to her clients and the communities where they give. She is equally comfortable designing philanthropic approaches, launching new initiatives, and building grant portfolios, and loves working as a connector and collaborative problem solver. Betsy has 20 years of experience in the fields of education, youth development, and organizational consulting, a career inspired by the years she spent working in classrooms and communities with immigrant youth and families. She holds a B.A. in Government from Cornell University and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University. She lives in Oakland with her husband and son, who work in and attend OUSD schools.Tom Low, Member-at-Large
Tom is a social entrepreneur focused on education and youth. Most recently he was the Chief Financial Officer at Playworks, and has served as CFO for a number of companies including Safeway, Restoration Hardware, and Ask.com. Tom and his wife raised three children in Oakland, where he has been involved in many local organizations including serving as a volunteer mountain bike coach at Skyline High School.
John Palmer, Member-At-Large
John is a Parter in the Public Finance group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. John is a past trustee at the Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, and currently serves on the Law Board at the Northwestern University School of Law, and on the advisory board for the Center for Practice Engagement and Innovation. John is a proud alumnus of Berkeley High School, UC Berkeley, and the Northwestern University School of Law.
Betsy Beros, Member-At-Large
Betsy is Chief Operating Officer of Jordan Real Estate Investments, an Oakland based investment and development firm, where she is responsible for oversight of the firm’s real estate portfolio and operations. Betsy joined Jordan in 2011 with over 25 years’ experience in real estate and finance. Prior to joining Jordan, Betsy served as Chief Compliance Officer of a real estate focused hedge fund, interim CFO of a local independent school, and VP/Relationship Manager in commercial and real estate lending groups at Security Pacific Bank, Sumitomo Bank of California, and Wells Fargo Bank. Betsy previously served on the boards of Bentley School and Rebuilding Together SF, is a member of the finance committee of ICA Fund Good Jobs, and has informally advised several local small businesses on matters of finance and capital. She and her husband and daughter have been residents of Oakland for 23 years.
Cari Jacobs, Member-At-Large
Cari is a seasoned marketing executive who brings top-tier experience, earned in the ranks of some of the world’s leading marketing companies and ad agencies. She is currently serving as CMO of Torch, an online learning, coaching and mentoring company combining human-powered coaching and mentoring with technology.
In the past, Cari led marketing for marquee brands including Gap Inc, Toyota, Lexus, Procter & Gamble, Intuit, General Mills, Levi’s and Coca-Cola, in roles with some of the world’s most prestigious advertising agencies, such as Deutsch, J. Walter, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide and Publicis Group Worldwide. Cari then shifted to the start-up world where she helped launch and/or scale starts-ups like Sunrun, Sungevity, ModCloth, Unison and now, Torch.
Cari earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations from California State University of Long Beach. She has served on the Board of Directors for Mother Miracle and advises ByKids, both of which seek to bring more world understanding through the eyes of kids.
Additionally, Cari is a longtime meditation teacher and has a keen interest in bringing mindfulness to her life, including her workplace. Cari was selected among an elite group of business leaders to join the Executive program for Google’s Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, and completed an Advanced Degree from UC Berkeley’s Center for Greater Good & Science. She is also working on a book with a local bay area publisher about her time traveling around the world, including her work in Africa and India.