"I believe that life presents us with unique opportunities where we conquer the unimaginable."

Executive Director

Solomon Howard

"When you get, give. When you learn, teach." 

- Dr. Maya Angelou

Operations Director

Cerise Palmanteer

"Community growth sparks the lives of the young and propels them onwards."

Program Development Manager/Internships

Jay Jones

"Out of suffering have merged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."
-Khalil Gibran

 School Psychologist/Infrastructure 

Asif Khan

"Never give up because great things take time."

Administrative Manager

Lucy Villarreal

“Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.”

-Bruce Lee

Gym & Facilities Manager

Raemann Reyes

Karely Ordaz is an Oakland native who has lived in East Oakland for over 20 years. She is currently the Chief of Staff at Hamilton Families, a nonprofit that for 30+ years has stabilized and housed homeless families in the Bay Area. Previously she served as Special Assistant to Mayor Libby Schaaf where she focused on issues impacting East Oakland residents. Prior to the Mayor's Office, Karely worked as a legislative aide to Councilmember Noel Gallo where she specialized in community engagement and development. She is committed to serving her community and excited to be the Chair of EOBA. She previously served as Board Chair of Amethod Public Schools, a $23M charter school management organization providing quality education to under-served youth in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Karely attended Oakland Unified School District public schools and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in Environment, Policy, and Public Health.

Board President

Karely Ordaz

Fredrick Anyanwu (he/him) is the Chief Philanthropy Officer for Elton John AIDS Foundation, based in New York/London where he leads the organization’s global fundraising effort to support EJAF’s pursuit of an AIDS-free world, in accordance with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Fredrick formerly served as Associate Vice President (AVP) of Resource Development for CARE, where he led growth & expansion of CARE’s Resource Development  efforts across the United States. Prior to serving as AVP at CARE, he was Executive Director for Major Gifts Fundraising, CARE - Western Region. CARE is the premiere international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development programs in the most vulnerable communities across the globe. 

He graduated from Pepperdine University with a master’s degree in public policy with an emphasis on international relations and economics. Fredrick also holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Azusa Pacific University. He serves on the board of Center for Diverse Leadership in Sciences at UCLA’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability. He is also a member of The Pacific Council on International Policy.

Board Member 

Fredrick Anyanwu

Situ Wunnava is the district manager for a major bank in the East Bay Hills district where she is responsible for managing approximately 115 team members in eight stores located throughout the Piedmont, Emeryville and Oakland area. Since 2005, she successfully held store manager positions in South Shore Alameda, Alameda Marina and Paseo Padre. She transitioned into the regional customer experience manager in 2008 and in 2013, Situ took on the regional banking sales coach consultant position for the East Bay region.  She graduated from Osmania University and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Finance. Outside of work, Situ volunteers at various nonprofit organizations including FIA and Boys and Girls Club in Alameda. She has been married for fourteen years and has a son, Ishan, who is 4 and a half years old.

Board Member

Situ Wunnava

Bruce Stewart was born and raised in Berkeley, CA, where he attended St. Mary's College Preparatory High School and the University of California majoring in Communications and Public Policy. He has worked in the Banking industry as an Operations Supervisor at Security Pacific Bank and Hibernia Bank. From there his career moved to the Auto Finance industry where he held the position of Western Regional Training Supervisor for WFS Financial and The Money Store (Auto Finance Division). He is a licensed  Life/Health Insurance Agent specializing in Medicare health plans and long-term care coverage with Bankers Life & Casualty.  He entered the Insurance industry with the Managing General Agency (MGA), Black/White & Associates as a Corporate Trainer and Human Resources Coordinator. He currently works for the City of Oakland Planning and Building department. Along with his membership on the Board of Directors of the East Oakland Boxing Association, he also supports the Alzheimer's Foundation and the American Red Cross as a rare blood donor.

Board Vice President

Bruce Stewart

Glenn Kaplan was raised in the East Bay, attended The College Preparatory School in Oakland, received a BA from Oberlin College and an MA in Social Studies Education from Columbia University. He worked as a reporter for the Contra Costa Times and the San Francisco Examiner; in New York at various publishers and magazines (including Time and Sports Illustrated); and as an editor in Kampala, Uganda, before starting an online marketing business in Brooklyn. He taught/coached secondary students in both NYC and the Bay Area and permanently returned to Oakland (where he now lives) to open Make Westing, an industrial cocktail/bocce bar in the city's Uptown district.

Board Member

Glenn Kaplan

Peter  Recatto was born in San Diego, CA, and raised in both San Diego and Riverside Counties.  He attended Tiffin University where he received a Bachelors of Business Administration degree.  Peter has been employed by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) since 1994 and was recently hired as a faculty member at Napa Valley College.  His current position with the CHP is as the commander of the Oakland office, which is one of the largest CHP commands in the state.  In addition to his work with EOBA, he volunteers with the Special Olympics (his son is a Special Olympics athlete) and breast cancer awareness, as his wife is a breast cancer survivor.   

Board Member

Peter Recatto