Board of Directors

Chris Norwood is a San Francisco Bay Area native, recognized thought leader in California public education governance, policy implementation, former technologist, and the founder of Bay Area Tutoring Association.

Kelly Flanagan is a seasoned marketing leader with over 20 years of experience driving growth, strategy, and brand development across mission-driven organizations. An educational advocate at heart, Kelly has dedicated her work to expanding access and equity for students and families, particularly those underserved by traditional systems. She brings a unique blend of strategic insight, operational leadership, and community focus to her role at Bay Area Tutoring Association, where she champions partnerships that connect people, ideas, and resources to create lasting impact and positive change in education.

Drew is a Human Resources Executive that has worked in High Tech for 27 years at companies such as Cisco, VMWare, Broadcom and now Mattson Technology. He is married to a beautiful Bay Area native (Jen) and they have four children. Chris and Drew have known each other for over 30 years and share a passion for improving the lives, capabilities and life skills for the K - 12 and beyond younger generations.

Dr. Cynthia Temesi is a visionary leader in community transformation with over 30 years of expertise in innovation, education, and entrepreneurship. During her career at Cisco, she spearheaded initiatives globally that used digital acceleration to help solve for the most pressing community needs within education, workforce development, economic growth to healthcare,  sustainability and water while transforming lives of millions of residents and students.

Now semi-retired and living on the Monterey Peninsula, Cynthia is dedicated to community impact and intergenerational engagement. She serves as an AARP California District Liaison Volunteer, where she champions programs that connect older adults with opportunities to strengthen local communities, including education initiatives. A passionate traveler, golfer, jeep owner.

Chia-Hao La is a Director and Assistant General Counsel at Waymo, an autonomous vehicle technology company, where he leads the Intellectual Property, Privacy, and AI legal teams. Before Waymo, Chia spent almost a decade in Google’s legal department, where he led the patent team supporting Android, Play, Chrome, and Photos. He previously practiced in New York at Ropes & Gray, a leading global law firm. Chia holds a law degree from Fordham University School of Law, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Sofía is a community organizer, policy strategist and mediator. Currently she serves as the Principal Consultant at Engaged Communities LLC.

Sofia brings 15 years of experience working at the intersection of civic engagement through participatory design, restorative practices and movement building. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and Philosophy from Notre Dame de Namur University and a Masters in Ethics and Social Theory from the Graduate Theological Union and the Jesuit School of Theology.

One of her proudest accomplishments was to lead and teach a coalition of faith and community leaders to develop their grassroots leadership, strengthen strategic alliances and build impactful campaigns. Her work resulted in 2 million dollars in City grants for high quality tutoring for low income students in San Jose. At the state level, she worked alongside other community organizers and researchers, and together they secured 8 billion dollars for afterschool programing in public schools across California.

As a community organizer she asks difficult questions encouraging community leaders to develop their voices and the rigor required to build strong partnerships. Civic society gets stronger through relationships, they are indeed the only thing that keep systems and institutions accountable and alive.

​​Rob Seitelman stands at the crossroads of education, arts, and business with an unwavering commitment to educational opportunity for everyone. Having worked on stage, in the classroom, and in the marketplace, Rob works to connect these amazing worlds to create ensure everyone has access to the resources they need to thrive. Rob lives in the East Bay with his wife, daughters, and Shakespearean pets.