Our Board
Gopa Dasari | Board President
Vice President, Strategic Finance, Fremont Group
Gopa Dasari has been involved with First Graduate as a volunteer since 2013 and has served as a Board Member since 2020. He has built his career in the Private Wealth Management industry, primarily working with ultra-high-net-worth families and institutions.
Gopa is deeply passionate about providing opportunities for at-promise youth and ensuring they have the resources to succeed in their education and beyond. He believes that education and mentorship have the power to transform lives and break generational cycles.
A graduate of UCLA with a degree in Economics, Gopa enjoys running and traveling in his spare time.
Ryan Baum | Immediate Past President
Partner, Jump Associates
Ryan Baum is a Partner at Jump Associates. For the past 10 years he has acted as a partner and advisor to Fortune 500 executives setting the course for large-scale transformations and aggressive growth. That has included work ranging from helping a major airline clarify and roll-out a new corporate strategy, to partnering with an automotive company to recapture the Millennial market, to helping a technology giant break into the healthcare space by redefining the long-term care market.
Ryan is an active thought leader in business strategy and innovation. He teaches a course at Stanford University in which students draw upon methods from anthropology, design, and business strategy to discover insights about people and define new offerings. He has also written for publications such as FastCompany, spoken at conferences such as the Economist’s Ideas Economy conference, and guest lectured at universities such as Wharton and Berkley.
Ryan holds a B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale University.
Rosemary Arriada-Keiper | Vice President & Governance Chair
VP, Global Rewards, Adobe
Rosemary identified First Graduate as an organization that spoke to her on a deeply personal level. As a First Graduate® from a Hispanic immigrant family, Rosemary is passionate about providing opportunities for other students to also become the First Graduate® in their family. Rosemary is enthusiastic about using her time and professional skills to serve this organization, and is prepared to help First Graduate® leverage their resources to continue driving maximum impact.
John A. Spensieri | Vice President & Development Committee Chair
Retired Financial Advisor
John served as a Financial Advisor in San Francisco with MorganStanley SmithBarney. Prior to that he was a Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors in NYC.. He made a career change into the financial services industry joining AG Edwards in NYC which was acquired by Wachovia Securities, which was then acquired by Wells Fargo Advisors.
Prior to Wells Fargo Advisors he was a VP & Senior Partner with Core Strategies, a market development consulting firm providing services to technology small businesses to help them dramatically grow their sales & profitability.
Previous responsibilities included Chief Marketing Officer for an eMarketplace startup Fast Parts, President of a new business unit within International Data Group, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Avnet’s Computer Marketing Group and Vice President of Marketing for Arrow Electronics’ Commercial System Group.
John received his MBA in Marketing from Loyola University in Chicago and a BSME from Marquette University in Milwaukee. John is a board member of the San Francisco Embarcadero YMCA, has served on the board of the NYC McBurney YMCA, Enterprise for HS Students- Board member & mentor in the Career Exploration Program, Career Coach for Summer Search, Volunteer for KIPP Charter Schools, Volunteer for First Graduate, Co-op Board Finance Committee Chairman, Co-President of the NYC Loyola Chicago Alumni and Host Committee member for Marquette University Circles events. Has served on various committees including the advisory committee for Youth Chance HS, YMCA Board Development Committee, YMCA Financial Development Committee , Program and Development for EHSS and Mentor for Enterprise for Youth. He and his wife Jayne enjoy collecting Contemporary Art and traveling.
John is a first generation college graduate.
Hanish Rathod | Vice President, Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair
VP, GTM Strategy & Operations (Revenue Operations), Front
Hanish is the Vice President of Revenue Operations at Front. With over 20 years of experience in the tech industry, his expertise spans product, investments, marketing, strategy, and operations. Hanish is passionate about building scalable processes and systems that empower teams to achieve operational excellence and deliver exceptional results.
Prior to joining Front, Hanish led the Revenue Operations team at ZipRecruiter, where he was responsible for driving operational strategy and excellence across the sales, marketing, and customer success functions. At ServiceTitan, he transformed the marketing pipeline architecture to enhance scalability, effectiveness, and efficiency, while building a high-performing operations team that drove greater organizational efficiency. Earlier in his career at Zendesk, Hanish led the GTM Strategy & Analytics team, where he developed and executed growth and transformation initiatives that supported the company’s remarkable revenue growth from ~$400M to $1.2B+.
Outside of work, Hanish has been actively involved in higher education for over 20 years supporting students, building institutions and serving through various channels to advocate on behalf of students. Earlier, his grass roots efforts led to the house bill H.R. 3412 (Higher Education Affordability and Equity act) during the 108th congress. He has served on the boards of the Dashew International Center for Students and Scholars, Vanderbilt University Engineering School Advisory Council and UCLA Alumni Board of Directors.
Hanish attained an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Masters in Electrical Engineering from UCLA, and a Bachelors of Engineering from Vanderbilt University.
Tucker Serenbetz | Audit Chair
Managing Director, TMT Strategy at KPMG US
Tucker is a 12-year resident of San Francisco and lives just a short walk from the First Graduate® office. His career has focused on advising large enterprises on growth and operating model strategy. In that time, he has worked for a number of companies in the Bay Area, including Yahoo! and McKinsey & Company.
Tucker is a graduate of Yale University where he studied Economics and History, which remain favorite hobbies.
Terri Forman | Secretary
Chief Executive Officer, First Graduate®
Terri joined First Graduate® in 2011 with better than 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience as a development director, award–winning marketing communications and advertising director, consultant, and board member. During Terri’s tenure, contributions and support from individuals, foundations, and corporations have increased significantly, helping First Graduate® grow from coaching 185 students to more than 300. Terri has deepened the fundraising and communications capacity of First Graduate® by thinking forward, leading from the heart, and building and mentoring a staff team that partners closely with Board members, thought leaders, and donors.
Ana Cazeneuve | Board Member
Associate Attorney, Johnston Kinney & Zulaica LLP
Ana Cazeneuve is an Associate Attorney in the Family Law department at Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica LLP. Her practice focuses on marital dissolution, child and spousal support, child custody and visitation, property division and domestic violence.
In addition to her practice, Ana is committed to volunteering with the San Francisco Justice and Diversity Center, which offers pro-bono attorney services to individuals that would otherwise not be able to afford representation.
Ana received her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and her B.A. in History and French from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ana was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Diego. After graduating law school, she lived in Paris, France for ten years, where she worked as a legal translator and interpreter and a linguistic consultant in the finance sector.
Ana enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and listening to podcasts.
Mark Hamilton | Board Member
CEO & Founder, Hamilton Zanze
Prior to co-founding Hamilton Zanze in 2001, Mark Hamilton sponsored the acquisition, ownership, and development of nearly 40 properties in the Bay Area. Mark’s main focus has always been locating value-add properties in changing urban neighborhoods and then re-working them into higher-quality buildings with higher incomes, improved tenant profiles, and higher resale values.
Mark has considerable experience in partnership formations and operations, project planning and implementation, asset management and management oversight, landlord-tenant and rent-control issues, risk management, and zoning and building department matters. Before forming his own commercial brokerage and investment business in 1994, Mark worked in the San Francisco office of Marcus & Millichap, subsequently co-founding Property Resource Group (real estate brokerage) and Quantum Land Company (development).
Mark earned a B.A. with High Honors in English Literature from San Francisco State University and an M.A. in English and American Literature from Brandeis University, which he attended as a University Scholar and Fellow.
Susan Knowles | Board Member
Director of Genomics Services at UCSF Health
Susan Knowles has been a volunteer with First Graduate® for four years, and she enjoys working with students on resumes, school applications and math homework. Susan manages four clinical genetic labs and supports the implementation of cutting-edge genomics methods for precision medicine. Susan spent 10 years in the life sciences industry developing DNA-sequence based applications in the fields of reproductive health, infectious disease, and metagenomics.
Susan has a BS degree from The George Washington Universityand an MBA from the University of Chicago. Susan lives in San Francisco and in her spare time enjoys cooking and just about anything outdoors.
Alex Lazo | Board Member
Associate Director of Enrollment Management, Moreau Catholic High School
Alex is a member of the first-ever First Graduate® cohort. He earned his BA in Latin American and Latino Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz and credits First Graduate® with providing the essential support he needed to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Today, Alex serves as the Associate Director of Enrollment Management at Moreau Catholic High School, where he brings his passion for education and equity to his work supporting students and families. Previously, he worked at the Bay School of San Francisco as a Teacher and Student Support Specialist, where he taught 9th Grade Seminar and contributed to the Jump Start team within the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging.
Alex also teaches the 9th grade Immersive course Everyone Has a Story. Alex loves teaching because he has the opportunity to bring his interests and values to the classroom. While helping mold the next generation of young people, Alex enjoys the opportunity to pass along the lessons and support he received from the First Graduate® community.
Jenina Soto | Board Member
Senior Director, Aviation Partner Growth at CLEAR
Jenina is the Senior Director of Aviation Partner Growth at CLEAR, where she leads growth for new aviation business lines. Previously, she served as the General Manager of Northern California at DoorDash, where she gained deep insights into market dynamics and business strategy while connecting consumers with their favorite local businesses. She started her career in finance at Goldman Sachs in NYC and then pivoted into the tech industry after graduate school, working at Meta and the startup Apartment List. Her experience spans strategy, operations, marketing, partnerships, and finance, and she enjoys using data analytics and applying behavioral insights in her day-to-day.
Jenina is passionate about giving back to members of underserved communities, being a First Graduate® herself. She holds the position of Board Member and Partnerships & Development Chair of Harvard Alumni for Global Women’s Empowerment, Member of the Harvard Kennedy School Fund Executive Council, Regional Board Member of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Chair of the Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Network of the Bay Area, and Member of the Investment Committee of Alpha Delta Pi. Jenina also enjoys endurance sports and is a World Marathon Major finisher.
Dionne Teasley | Board Member
College Pathways Advisor
Dionne has over 10 years’ experience working with college bound students. Previously, Dionne was an Assistant Director with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UC Berkeley. She has a passion for assisting students with finding their pathway to higher education.
Shelly Vernick | Board Member
VP, People Business Partners at NextRoll
Shelly Vernick volunteered with First Graduate® for 7 years before enthusiastically joining the First Graduate® Board. Her lifelong passion is education, and firmly believes that every child deserves access to a high quality education. She studied Psychology and Italian at Stanford University, then crossed the bay to UC Berkeley to earn her Masters in Education and Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential. She taught 4th and 5th graders in San Leandro Unified School District for four years before transitioning into Human Resources in the education non-profit sector for nearly a decade. Most recently, she works as a VP, People Business Partners at NextRoll, where she volunteers as a Board Member of NextRoll Gives Back, coordinating volunteer opportunities for her fellow colleagues with First Graduate® and other local non-profits.
Outside of work, Shelly can be found hiking in the Marin Headlands, playing with her nephews, dabbling with a new recipe in the kitchen, or planning her next trip to Italy.