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Staff

BUILD Headquarters

Suzanne McKechnie Klahr: CEO and Founder

Suzanne McKechnie Klahr founded BUILD in 1999 with a public service fellowship from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Under Suzanne's leadership, BUILD has grown from an initial four students to serve more than six hundred students from twelve partner public high schools. BUILD currently operates two San Francisco Bay Area sites, one site in Washington, DC, and has plans for national expansion. BUILD maintains an incredible track record with 100 percent of its seniors having applied to and gone onto college.

For her accomplishments with BUILD, Suzanne has received numerous awards and been asked to speak nationally on such topics as education, social entrepreneurship, venture philanthropy, new models of providing legal services to the poor, and poverty alleviation strategies. In 2006 she was inducted as a lifetime member of Ashoka, a global fellowship of leading social entrepreneurs. In 2007, she was honored by CBS's Jefferson Award on television, on radio, and in print. In 2008, Suzanne was elected to the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame and in 2009, she was named as one of Silicon Valley’s Most Influential Women by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Times.

Suzanne serves as a trustee of the Skadden Fellowship Foundation and as a board member of the Bay Area Community Equity Fund and the Glow Scholarship Foundation. For the past six years, she has served as faculty adjunct at Stanford Law School teaching "Social Entrepreneurship," the first class of its kind at a Law School in the United States. She earned a dual degree from Brown University and a JD from Stanford Law School, and she has successfully completed the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program in Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management.

Christa Roth, Managing Director

In partnership with the CEO, Christa provides organizational leadership in program development and management, site support, finances and operations at BUILD. Christa brings 25 years of nonprofit management experience to this opportunity. Prior to coming to BUILD, Christa has worked in various leadership capacities with youth and educational nonprofits including Breakthrough Collaborative, Partners In School Innovation. In 1993, Christa created and managed Hands on Atlanta’s school-based programs, placing 75 AmeriCorps members and volunteers into six urban schools. Christa managed direct affiliate relationships at Hands on Network (formerly CityCares), supporting affiliates’ efforts to grow and deepen their impact by providing coaching staff and boards of 35 affiliates. Christa has a track record of leading through a dynamic period of expansion of programs, services and organizational capacity. Christa spent the first 8 years of her career working in marketing and finance in the financial services sector. Christa earned her B.S. in Marketing & Finance from the University of Oregon. When Christa is not working, she spends time taking advantage of all the Bay Area has to offer with her son, Miles.

Barbara Bellissimo: Director of Development

Barbara Bellissimo brings over twenty years of marketing, fundraising and entrepreneurship experience to BUILD. She’s held executive director positions at the Palo Alto Community Fund and the Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative, and led development teams at People Acting in Community Together and Opportunities Industrialization Center-West. Barbara has also consulted with many nonprofit organizations in the areas of fundraising and strategic planning, and with individuals in the areas of women’s leadership and life/career transition. Prior to entering the nonprofit sector, Barbara led marketing teams at Apple and several Internet service providers. She also co-founded Privada, an Internet privacy services company that created patented technology to allow individuals to control the dissemination of their personal information over the Internet. Barbara holds a BS degree in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is the author of the bestselling book, Become Your Own Great and Powerful: A Woman’s Guide to Leading Your Real, Big Life.

Elizabeth Gardner, Director of Individual Giving

Elizabeth Gardner brings extensive experience as a fundraiser for youth-oriented organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area to the development team at BUILD. Previously, Elizabeth served as Director of Capital Planning and Special Gifts at the YMCA of San Francisco, Director of Individual Giving with the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, Individual Gifts Manager with Habitat for Humanity, East Bay and Associate Director, Annual Fund with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula. Elizabeth holds a BA degree in English from Tufts University in Somerville, MA.

Belle Burnett:  Development Associate

Belle handles special projects relating to development, including the logistical aspects of the organization's expansion into Washington, DC, and Boston, and directly supports the Director of Development.  Prior to joining BUILD, Belle worked at JPMorgan in San Francisco, as well as for Federal and local government agencies in D.C.  

Larisa Marinas, Executive Assistant to the CEO

Larisa handles the day-to-day correspondence, scheduling, tasks and overall support to BUILD's CEO & Founder as well as assistance with special projects relating to all areas of BUILD. Prior to joining BUILD, Larisa had a long career with Robert Half International in the Bay Area. Her motivation to join BUILD was an overwhelming desire to contribute to the community, serve students and join an organization with strong principles.

BUILD Peninsula

Rey Faustino: Peninsula Site Director

Rey oversees all of BUILD's activities in the Peninsula region of the Bay Area, which serves the communities of East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park, and Redwood City. He is responsible for leading the BUILD Peninsula site to achieve results, managing school district and community partnerships, and overseeing the management of BUILD program staff and site operations. Rey previously served as BUILD Peninsula’s incubator manager from August 2005 to July 2008. While in college, Rey was the co-executive director for the non-profit USC Troy Camp which takes 3rd through 5th graders from inner city Los Angeles to camp each summer. Under Rey's tenure, the program exposed over 800 children to nature, team and self-esteem building activities, and positive role models throughout the entire school year. Prior to BUILD, Rey worked as a site director for the for-profit educational company Mad Science, helped start up the family home-building and design firm business, ReyCo Designs, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and taught English in Tokyo, Japan. In his spare time in the summer, Rey volunteers as a youth facilitator / rap director for the non-profit College Summit, helping increase the enrollment rate of low incoming high school students across the country. Rey graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship.

Tracy Spann: College Counselor

Tracy Spann comes to BUILD from Nashville, TN where she spent the past 21 years as a career educator in the fields of education and college counseling. As a reading and English teacher, Tracy saw the first 11 years through the eyes of a seventh or eighth grader. She served as the Director/Chairperson of College Counseling offices for both competitive public and private schools in the Nashville area. Similar to the entrepreneurs of BUILD, Tracy began an independent college counseling business in 2005, which continues to operate in Tennessee. She holds a BS in English and an M.Ed. in School Counseling from Middle Tennessee State University.

Amber Bundy: Incubator Manager

Amber Bundy is from East Palo Alto, CA. and a member of BUILD’s 2003 class. She was the founder of Khinde and Ndosi Fashion Consulting, winning first in the 2001 BUILD Business Plan Competition. She recently graduated from The University of California Berkeley with a degree in Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies. While at Cal she was an IDEAL scholar and received many other scholarships for stellar grades and community service. During her time at Berkeley, she served as the Executive Internal Director of the Black Recruitment and Retention Center, as well as the Activities Coordinator of African American Student Development Office and the vice-president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Rho Chapter. She was also active in NCNW. Amber’s long term career goal is to direct musicals on Broadway. She would also like to give youth the opportunity to gain exposure to theatre through her own theatre arts program. She likes performing, working with children, and decorating.

Sarah Bloem: Academic Program Manager

As the Peninsula Academic Program Manager, Sarah brings enthusiasm about entrepreneurship, education, and great experiences working with high school youth. She works to get the students to not only see themselves as interested in their business skills, but also to see how valuable and uniquely gifted they are for contributing great things to society with their futures. Sarah especially wants to see the students connecting their business success and what they learn about entrepreneurship to their academics. Making this connection is a unique and powerful way that BUILD, in particular, helps them have more confidence in themselves, do better in their classes, and be excited about lifelong learning. Sarah went to Baylor University for her Bachelor degree and recently finished up her Master in Social Work Degree at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, focusing on macro-level advocacy, policy, program development, and administration. It was in her MSW program that she fell in love with social entrepreneurship and high school students who struggled academically, behaviorally, and emotionally. In her internship at the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, she laid the groundwork for a not-for-profit organization that now enables university students and faculty across campus to implement their own social entrepreneurship ventures and projects both locally and around the world.

Nicole Oppenheim, Entrepreneurs 1 Program Manager

As Peninsula E1 Program Manger, Nicole is responsible for ensuring that first year Peninsula BUILD students, E1 teachers and E1 mentors have a positive and successful first year experience with BUILD. Nicole holds a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a BA in Psychology, both earned at the University of Michigan. Nicole most recently worked as a Program Director/Projects Manager at a non-profit agency, Migrant Health Promotion. In that role, Nicole directed programs with migrant and seasonal farmworkers in Michigan and with women living in the border region of South Texas-Mexico. Additionally, Nicole developed a curriculum which was certified by the State of Texas to train Community Health Workers to serve as leaders and advocates within their communities. Prior to working at Migrant Health Promotion, Nicole taught high school students at The Clonlara School in Ann Arbor for two years. During both of these prior experiences, Nicole developed expertise in Popular Education, a method of teaching that empowers learners to become community leaders. Originally from metro-Detroit, Michigan, Nicole enjoys gardening and cooking.

BUILD Oakland

Chantal Laurie: West Coast Regional Program Director

Chantal, an Oakland resident,  oversees all of BUILD’s West Coast programmatic activities. Prior to joining BUILD, Chantal served as the Manager of Fellow Programs with the KIPP Foundation where she helped train and support educators to become school founders and principals. In addition, Chantal taught fourth grade for two years in Washington, DC as a Teach For America corps member. She graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in American Studies, and is currently pursuing her MBA at UC Berkeley.

Laura Congdon: Oakland Site Director

Laura has been leading, operating and growing social purpose enterprises and programs that focus on youth and other marginalized populations since 1996 when she started her career in the non-profit sector at Juma Ventures as the General Manager of their Ben & Jerry’s Partnershops in San Francisco. Most recently Laura had an interim role as Director of Program Services at the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco and was formally the Director of Business Enterprises at Community Vocational Enterprises (CVE, Inc.) from 2005-2008 overseeing three social enterprises that provide employment opportunities and job training to adults and youth with behavioral health disabilities.

Shanif Sims: Academic Program Manager

Shanif oversees the Academic Incubator and is responsible for the academic success of the 10th and 11th grade students in the Oakland office. Prior to coming to BUILD Shanif served two years in Peace Corps Ukraine. In Ukraine she was a Project Manager and a Trainer in the Youth Development sector. As Project Manager, Shanif designed and implemented projects to meet the needs of the community’s youth. As a trainer, she instructed youth on Healthy Lifestyles, Business and Civics. Shanif graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a BA in Sociology.

Annie Pellegrini, Entrepreneurs 1 Program Manager

As Oakland E1 Program Manger, Annie is responsible for ensuring that first year Oakland BUILD students, E1 teachers and E1 mentors have a positive and successful first year experience with BUILD. Prior to joining BUILD, Annie taught Spanish for three years at Skyline High School in Oakland. Annie has led students on cultural exchange programs to Colombia, has taught English in Spain, and has studied in several countries in Latin America.  Prior to her career in education, Annie was a recruiter in the corporate and non-profit sectors. Annie holds a BA in International Studies and Spanish from San Francisco State University.

Adriana Garcia: Academic & Business Program Manager

Adriana currently oversees the academic and youth business incubator for our partner high schools in East Oakland. She has been working with the 10th and 11th grade youth business incubator since 2006. Prior to joining BUILD, Adriana was a recruitment director for Teach For America and led four marketing campaigns at different universities in Southern California. In addition, she taught second grade for two years in New Orleans, LA, as a Teach For America corps member. Adriana was named Teacher of the Year for the 2004-2005 school year. In her spare time during the spring, she is an interviewer for the Oakland Teaching Fellows program and enjoys welcoming the new wave of amazing teachers into OUSD. Adriana graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in International Business.

Colin Jones, Americorps*VISTA Volunteer Coordinator, E1 Program Assistant

Colin comes to BUILD through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. He is a 2008 graduate of Oberlin College where he received his degree in Political Science. He served as a finance associate for the U.S Senate campaign of former Congressman and NAACP Director Kweisi Mfume and as an intern in the office of Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee. While at Oberlin College, Colin was elected to the Oberlin College Student Senate for 3 full terms, and served on the Student Finance Committee for 2 years. For three years he helped to lead student volunteer efforts in Katrina relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region. Colin is originally from Amherst, Massachusetts.

BUILD Metro D.C.

Ajuah Helton: East Coast Regional Program Director

Ajuah Helton began her career with BUILD in 2001 as entrepreneurship instructor. Though she relocated to Philadelphia in 2002 to pursue graduate studies in education, Ajuah stayed connected with BUILD as an advisor, mentor educator and facilitator and served as interim Director of Education in 2004. Ajuah has since rejoined the organization to spearhead BUILD’s expansion to the East Coast, beginning in Washington, DC. Prior to joining BUILD, Ajuah managed youth entrepreneurship programs at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and at The Enterprise Center in Philadelphia, where she was later promoted to Chief of Staff. Ajuah is a Certified Entrepreneurship Instructor through the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). She is also an alumna of Teach For America and taught two years in the Greater New Orleans area. Ajuah holds a BA in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University and did her graduate work in Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Maria Meredith: Entrepreneurs 1 Program Manager

As BUILD Metro DC’s 9th-Grade Program Manager, Maria is responsible for ensuring that first-year Metro DC students, teachers, and mentors have a positive and successful experience with BUILD. Maria has a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Indiana University and a Master’s degree in educational leadership from Georgia State University. She taught elementary and middle school for five years in the Atlanta area and developed curriculum and taught English to elementary, middle, and high school students at Raul Pavon Bilingue School in Otavalo, Ecuador. For the last five years, Maria has enjoyed living and working in DC. Prior to working with BUILD, Maria was Parent Involvement Coordinator at the National PTA and has also served as a summer and after-school program manager in the Anacostia area of DC. Her volunteer activities include co-founding Supporting Our Sisters, a young women’s empowerment program and serving on the steering committee for an annual arts festival at Howard University.

Vishnu Dzidzienyo, Incubator Manager

Vishnu Dzidzienyo joined BUILD in October 2008 as an Entrepreneurs 1 instructor at Maya Angelou Public Charter School, BUILD Metro DC’s inaugural school partner, and has since been promoted to Academic/Incubator Program Manager. Vishnu was born, reared and educated in Washington, DC, graduating from Howard University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. While at Howard, Vishnu began his work in education, ultimately working with DC-area youth in kindergarten through high school as a tutor, mentor, site coordinator, environmental-education instructor and resident counselor. He then moved to Orlando, Florida to attend the University of Central Florida, where he would earn Master’s degrees in both Business Administration and Sport Management. Prior to BUILD, Vishnu continued his work with young people as an Account Executive for the Washington Mystics, coordinating fund raisers and company outings for non-profits, schools and summer programs serving under-resourced children.

Rachel Jarvis: Development Manager, Metro DC

Rachel joined BUILD in October 2008 as the Metro DC Development Manager, bringing with her a strong sense of commitment to the District developed over the last ten years. Rachel came to BUILD from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts development team, where she cultivated over 2,000 individual donors, stewarded the Center’s fiduciary committee and oversaw a fundraising budget of $3.25 million. She received her B.A. in political science from The George Washington University, including a semester abroad in Paris, through the American Institute for Foreign Study, where she completed coursework at La Sorbonne and the University of Paris. In recent years, Rachel has coordinated the President’s Advisory Committee for the Performing Arts, a national board appointed by the President to advocate for and promote the arts in their home communities, and served as head coach for the American University dance team.