Board of Directors

Dr. Matt Albert, Founder/Executive Director
Matt Albert has worked in education for the past fifteen years. He has worked as the director of admissions and recruitment at Hebrew Union College, taught graduate level courses on child and adolescent development, and published in academic journals. Matt spent nine years working at Milken Community High School, most recently serving as Assistant Principal. He has taught American Government & Constitutional Law, Holocaust, and designed an integrated Modern World & Jewish History course. During his time at Milken, he also served as Dean of Students and Director of Student Life. Matt also serves on the board of Camp Ramah in California. He holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Los Angeles, an M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Carolyn Yashari Becher, Esq., Board Chair
Carolyn Yashari Becher is an experienced attorney specializing in commercial real estate transactions. Since moving to Los Angeles from Pennsylvania as a teenager, she has been active in many facets of the Iranian-American immigrant community. Her latest community-based project involved developing a model for an after-school center for teenage girls, with a focus on fostering self-esteem, cultural pride and academic success. As a law student, she served on the Board of Directors of El Centro Legal/Public Counsel, through which she organized and provided legal services to Hollywood’s homeless youth community. She has also served as an Equal Justice America Fellow for Bet Tzedek Legal Services’ Nursing Home Advocacy Project, and has developed a model for a domestic violence shelter for Middle Eastern women. She is currently a founding Board Member of the Neuromuscular Disease Foundation. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where she was an editor of the UCLA Law Review and a three-year recipient of the “Give 35″ Public Interest Service Award.

Dr. Bruce Carlin
Bruce Carlin is an Assistant Professor of Finance at UCLA. His primary research interests are in the areas of theoretical corporate finance and consumer finance. Professor Carlin teaches Corporate Finance at UCLA, and has been recognized previously for teaching excellence at both Duke University and the University of North Carolina. His academic interests also include corporate finance, household finance, game theory, industrial organization, and organizational economics. Bruce has published widely in academic journals, most recently an article about Episodic Liquidity Crises, and an article on Work Ethic, Employment Contracts, and Firm Value in the Journal of Finance. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Duke University, an MBA from Washington University of St. Louis, an M.D. from Northwestern University School of Medicine, and a B.S. from Northwestern University.

Dr. Zoë Blumberg Corwin
As a researcher with the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis, Zoë Blumberg Corwin has conducted research on college preparation programs and access to financial aid for underserved students. She is co-editor of Preparing for College: Nine elements of effective outreach with SUNY Press and has published several monographs designed for practitioners outlining effective college preparation strategies. Zoë has held Haynes and Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for her qualitative work examining college access and persistence for youth in foster care. Previous to her doctoral studies in sociology, she taught middle and high school Spanish and global studies. Zoë has served on the Boards of the Santa Barbara Middle School and the University of California, Santa Barbara Hillel. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in Spanish from Saint Louis University in Madrid, a single subject secondary education credential & BCLAD certificate from the California State University, Northridge and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Joseph Miller
Joseph Miller is the President of Runyon Partners, a real estate investment and development firm with a focus on urban mixed-use projects. Prior to starting Runyon Partners, Joseph was a member of the acquisitions and development team at The KOR Group, a privately held real estate development firm in Los Angeles. At KOR, he worked on site evaluation and acquisition, project financing, and entitlement and construction management. Prior to KOR, Joseph held positions with Merrill Lynch, Marcus & Millichap, and the United States Senate. He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of The Society of Young Philanthropists, an organization dedicated to raising philanthropic awareness among 20 and 30 year old professionals. In addition to his leadership of SYP, Joseph is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Real Estate Division of the Jewish Federation. Joseph holds a B.A. in History from the George Washington University.

Dr. Eugenia Mora-Flores
Eugenia Mora-Flores is an assistant professor of clinical education in the Undergraduate and Teacher Education program at USC. She teaches courses on language acquisition, and methods courses in literacy development for elementary and secondary students. Eugenia also serves as the coordinator of the bilingual and cross-cultural program, where she teaches a course on Latino culture in addition to supervising graduate students in the field. Her research interests include studies on effective practices in developing the language and literacy skills of English learners in grades K-12. Her recent publications include a co-authored book, Balanced Literacy for English Learners (K-2) and she is currently working on three additional books, two on writing instruction for English learners and a third on primary language instruction for Spanish-speaking English learners and English language development. Eugenia is affiliated with the USC Center on Educational Governance, where she acts as principal translator for bi-lingual products developed for charter school communities, and serves as the chief liaison between CEG and the Spanish-speaking families with whom the center works. Eugenia holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Los Angeles, an M.A. in Education from Columbia University Teachers College, and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Paz M. Olivérez
Paz Maya Olivérez is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Education in the Masters in Teaching Program in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California and a Consultant to the Division of Student Services at Long Beach City College. She is also Executive Director and Founder of Futuros Educational Services, a non-profit organization that provides college-preparatory services to immigrant youth and professional development for school-based professionals. Dr. Olivérez has also held positions as a Program Analyst for the Educational Policy Unit of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education where she was involved in research related to educational equity and closing the achievement gap for urban Latino and African American students and as a Research Assistant for the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at U.S.C. where she investigated issues of college access, persistence, and financial aid for low-income first-generation college-goers. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Susan Nickerson
After growing up in Long Beach, California and graduating from UCLA, Susan Nickerson pursued work in the entertainment industry, eventually starting her own visual research company. Armed with energy and a drive to solve problems, no matter how difficult, she built the premier research and clearance agency for the television advertising market and claimed her first Emmy-award-winning spot within a few years. Nickerson Research continues to be a sought-after participant in major advertising projects, with credits including the Apple “Think Different” spot and the Adidas “Impossible is Nothing” campaign, featuring Muhammad Ali boxing his daughter, Laila. Susan’s daughters attend Carthay Center Elementary School where she is the co-president and co-founder of Friends of Carthay Center, a grassroots effort to renew her community’s support of their neighborhood school. She is committed to embracing the diverse and wondrous Carthay neighborhood she and her family call home. Susan holds a B.A. in Theater from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Lindsay Rachelefsky
Lindsay works at Capital Strategies – a fundraising, strategy and public affairs firm based in Los Angeles. Before joining Capital Strategies, Lindsay was the Director of Development for the ACLU of Southern California for five years. In that time, she was responsible for a $6 million annual budget and a $20 million Capital Campaign. Prior to the ACLU, Lindsay was the National Deputy Finance Director for Senator Tim Johnson’s successful re-election campaign.  She got her start in politics with former congressman Martin Frost as the Deputy Finance Director for his re-election campaign and his PAC, the Lone Star Fund. Lindsay is a graduate of Columbia University where she majored in American History. She currently serves as the Southern California Alumni Recruitment Chair for Columbia and sits on the Harvard-Westlake Alumni Association Board.

Andrea Starr Solomon
Born and raised in Los Angeles as the only child of a bi-racial couple of the early 60’s, Andrea is the Project Coordinator at the Tom Bradley Youth and Family Center. Her mother, a Southern bell from the West Virginal Hills, was a bank manager while her father, a jazz musician from Georgia, played piano in the local clubs. Andrea grew up in the 10th district of the City of Los Angeles and attended the local LAUSD schools. Shortly after graduating from Fairfax High School, she started her career working as a Council Aide for a City Council-member. Andrea continued more than 17 years networking and developing partnerships with governmental and community agencies, business and educators. She is a member of the Mid-City Chamber of Commerce and was elected Alternate for President of Pico Neighborhood Council. Andrea’s proudest achievement outside of giving birth to her daughter, Alexandria, was being the first in her family to graduate from college. She holds a BA in Liberal Studies from Mount St. Mary’s. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and friends planning weekend getaways to seek out new adventures.