This area contains information about the individuals who help make up the IHAD-SF program. General contact information for the program can be found below or on the contact page.

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To Dream; To Empower; To Achieve

IHAD-SF ensures that local youth acquire the life skills necessary to obtain a higher education, realize their full potential, and help improve their communities. It does this by partnering with the families, children, staff and the local community to provide enrichment programs and financial and academic support.

The Dreamers are a group of 64 high school seniors and recent graduates primarily from San Francisco’s Mission District. They represent diverse backgrounds – 75% Latino, 15% African American, 10% Southeast Asian and f or many, English was their second language. 75% of the Dreamers speak a language other than English at home and 77% qualify for free or reduced fee lunch programs. Over 75% of the Dreamers will be the first in their family to graduate high school and 92% will be the first in their family to attend college.

The Board of Directors

David Silberman, MPH, comes to the "I Have a Dream" Foundation-San Francisco with a wealth of experience from the fields of Public Health, Environmental Education and Financial Consulting.

David formerly served as the Interim Executive Director of "I Have a Dream" - San Francisco, helping to get the program off the ground in its first two months of operation. Previous to working with IHAD-SF, David served as the Director of Finance and Administration for Slide Ranch, a non-profit environmental education organization located in Muir Beach, California. At Slide Ranch, David was responsible for substantially increasing the level of fundraising for the organization and upgrading the administrative systems. He led Slide Ranch through an organizational strategic planning process, which has contributed to their growth and success.

David also served for three years as the Director of a National Symposium that focused on the prevention of HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and unplanned pregnancies. This conference brought together doctors, researchers, and public health officials from around the world to share their knowledge and expertise in the area of reproductive health.

Additionally, David also serves on the Board of Directors of DiversityWorks, a non-profit youth leadership program focused on improving cross community relations and providing opportunities for young people.

Andy Ballard joined the IHAD-SF board in March of 2004. Andy works for Hellman & Friedman in San Francisco, an investment firm focused on large long-term equity investments in companies, particularly those going through transitions. He focuses on investments in multiple areas of the economy, including business and professional services, financial services, and technology. Prior to Hellman & Friedman, Andy held positions at Bain Capital and Bain & Company.

Andy has consistently spent time focused on youth and education, and much of that time has been working with non-profits. He has been involved with camps and camp counseling, worked with several elementary school programs in Boston as a tutor, fundraiser, and assistant in program development, and been involved in IHAD as a volunteer since attending Standford Business School.

Andy graduated from Harvard College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Purva Dandona is a Bay Area local hailing from Fairfield, CA. After completing her Bachelors degree in Human Development from UC Davis in 2001, Purva went on to teach middle school for a year in Oakland and later became an advocate for pregnant and parenting teens in her hometown. In 2005, she obtained her Masters in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Multiculturalism from Fordham University in New York City. While in NYC, Purva worked in Queens providing counseling services in Hindi to youth at an Asian outreach clinic. She worked at Enterprise for High School Students for two years providing career counseling and college advising to high school youth. Currently, Purva works as a Vocational Evaluator for developmentally and physically disabled adults at San Francisco Vocational Services.

Originally from Maine, Melissa Rawlins graduated from Yale University in 2001 with a BA in Psychology. At Yale, she participated in a variety of community service activities, including co-creating and co-coordinating a College Resource Center at Hillhouse High. This experience helped spark her interest in education and working with at-risk populations. She joined the staff of Summer Search Boston as a Program Associate in 2001 and became Associate Director of the Boston office in 2005. Under the leadership of Boston Executive Director Emily Edwards, she helped oversee the office's most recent growth, increasing the new student class by 60% and taking the office from a staff of 4 in 2004 to 12 in 2006. Melissa moved into the role of Executive Director of Summer Search San Francisco in July of 2006.

Tanya Capuano - Founding Board Member

Tanya has been involved with the "I Have a Dream" Foundation - San Francisco from the very beginning, when she worked full-time on getting the foundation off the ground. Now as a Board Member, she enjoys advising on business issues, attending IHAD field trips and spending time with her wonderful mentee, Joyce.

Tanya is currently a manager at Hewlett-Packard and received her MBA, Masters in Education and BA all from Stanford University. She lives on the Peninsula with her husband, son and yellow lab, Bayley.

[See Founders]

Jane McClure holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and is a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP 1605). Prior to moving with her family to the Bay Area, she was the school psychologist and college counselor at a K-12 independent school in Santa Barbara. She began working as an educational consultant in 1983 where the focus of her work was, and continues to be, on college counseling and conducting psychoeducational evaluations. Jane has been a partner at McClure, Mallory & Baron for more than 20 years.

In 1990, Jane was named Educational Psychologist of the Year by the California Association of Licensed Educational Psychologists. She conducts workshops and participates in sessions at the annual conferences of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC). She has also, through College Board, presented workshops for guidance counselors related to counseling college bound students who have learning disabilities and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Jane is also frequently invited to speak at schools throughout California on various aspects of the college admission process. She has worked as a consultant for College Board on issues related to services for students with disabilities. Jane was also an instructor for several years in the College Advising Certificate Program offered through UC Berkeley Extension. In order to inform her work, Jane spends time every year traveling throughout the country visiting (and re-visiting) colleges and universities. Recently, she spent a week in the UK in order to become more familiar with British universities and their admission process. Jane works with students from public and independent schools throughout the Bay Area, and beyond (including the central valley and the wine country). Despite the number of years she has been doing this work, Jane finds each student and each family to be excitingly unique. The most important aspect of Jane’s work with students, she believes, is to find the best fit between students and the group of colleges to which they apply.

The Staff

Abby Rovner has been the Project Director for the "I Have A Dream" Foundation project in San Francisco's Mission District since its inception. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and has extensive experience working with non profit and education programs serving children and families in the Bay Area and elsewhere. In her previous position she taught Language Arts, Literature, and English as a Second Language to middle school students at a Newcomer's program in Redwood City, California. Prior to that, she served as mentor and guide for Waking the Village, a non-profit organization in Sacramento that brought 18 at-risk and homeless youth on a bicycle trip across the country.

In 1998 Abby earned a MA in Educational Policy Analysis and Evaluation from Stanford University's School of Education. Abby received her BA from Stanford in 1993, with a focus on Latin American cultures and literature. Abby's enthusiasm for the IHAD project is based on her committment to empowering children to reach their greatest potential, both personally and academically. She is especially excited to be working in the community in which she lives.

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The IHAD-SF program is modeled after the nationwide "I Have a Dream" Foundation which over the past 22 years has served over 13,500 "Dreamers" in 180 projects in 27 states. Today more than 79 IHAD projects exist in over 78 cities in 20 states, including Washington D.C., nation wide–with an international presence of 1 active project in New Zealand. Currently, there are over 6,000 Dreamers in active projects. Each project has individual sponsors who secure funding for the program and a project coordinator who runs the day to day activities and works directly with the kids. The sponsors and project coordinator stay with the program until the Dreamers graduate from college or achieve their academic, personal and professional goals.

For up-to-date news on National "I Have a Dream" Foundation activities and events visit www.ihad.org