Kate Schwass

Kate Schwass Executive Director at GreenLight Fund Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area Connect Connect with Kate Schwass GreenLight Fund Westmont College See contact info 500+ connections Articles & activity 872 followers Why I work in Oakland Kate’s profile photo Kate Schwass Published on LinkedIn I drove two students to and from a work event the other evening. Then I cried myself to sleep that night. I have chosen a profession that keeps me close to people who have been traditionally under-served and requires that I tell their stories well. But the process of learning their stories tends to break my heart. Today I'll share the story of one of the two students. His name is Theo*. Theo is a tall, strong, proud and gregarious African American teen. He has a huge, braces-filled smile and large rhinestones studs in both of his ears. If you were to ever meet Theo you would know it...mostly because he would greet you by saying "Hi, I'm Theo Johnson! What's your name?" Theo is buoyant. He is joyful. Sometimes he's sheepish when he talks about the behavior issues he used to have in the classroom. Sometimes he's achingly vulnerable when he talks about being nervous to go to college. But go to college he will...and he will be the first in his family to accomplish that dream. I'd met Theo several times before last week. He's a charming and passionate student so we feature him frequently when guests come to visit his school. He's incredible with visitors. He greets them readily, has the initiative to find water bottles to distribute and asks each of them about their work. Theo is a networker. His school emphasizes building our students' social network and Theo has taken this lesson to heart. He frequently asks for business cards from visitors and sends follow-up emails. He makes sure to shake each visitors' hand before they leave. I've also noticed him step out of the room to replace the safety pins that are holding up his dress pants. Blue tape keeps his glasses from falling apart. When I picked Theo up last week to attend a small reception in the home of one of our board members, he was walking back from a neighborhood barbershop. He wanted to look good for this reception, even though he wasn't quite sure what he'd gotten himself into. As we drove, I asked him to tell me more of his story. Theo immediately shared openly, starting with the fact that his mom and his dad were together and they were married. I thought it was interesting that he would emphasize their marriage, thinking that it wasn't that unusual for parents to live together and be married. Later, I understood the significance. Theo explained that his mother had gotten pregnant with his older brother, Anthony, when she was thirteen. When her father found out, he kicked her out of the house. She soon got together with Theo's father and five years later, Theo was born. When Theo was four and Anthony was nine, Anthony died of Leukemia. His family was completely rocked by this devastating loss and thus began a turbulent season for Theo and eventually, his two younger siblings. His father left for a time and Theo's family was homeless. They lived in shelters for most of Theo's middle school years until his father reentered the scene and married his mother after Theo started high school. Theo mentioned that he got to choose any high school he wanted since he didn't have a definitive geographic home base to specify where he'd be going to school. Theo chose Envision Academy because some of his friends were going there and he applied last minute. He talks about having a lot of behavior problems his freshmen year - he loves to say that he used to be in the principal's office frequently because he was in trouble and that now he's there all the time because he's a school leader. And then he grins. Theo still has some major skill gaps, he will need to take remedial math and English courses in college because of how far behind he entered Envision Academy. But in other ways, Theo is totally college-ready. He has learned to collaborate with his peers, he is a powerful presenter, he knows how to advocate for himself. He knows how and when to ask for help. When we walked into our board member's home, Theo was speechless. Literally. His jaw dropped open and he did not speak for at least five minutes. When he did speak, it was to marvel over the beautiful home and then ask for a napkin so he could replace the elastics on his braces. Throughout the evening,Theo would just stop and look around in awe. He exclaimed to me once, "I wish there were places like this in Oakland." I told him that there were and I could tell that he didn't believe me. Now that I've seen where he lives, I understand why he thinks this is impossible. As we left that evening, our host offered for Theo to take one of the centerpieces home. Theo accepted this offer immediately and held the bouquet of flowers gingerly the entire ride home and talked about them nonstop. He couldn't believe something so beautiful was real and asked how to best take care of them and described exactly where he would put them in his home. As we drove out of Tiburon, he remarked how comfortable he had felt in such a nice home, how he could picture living like that someday. That really, all he wanted in life was to have enough money. We talked about which college he might choose of the four he was accepted to. He doesn't want to be far from his mom. He loves her. "A lot. I love her a LOT," he told me. Theo got quieter and quieter as we neared his home in deep East Oakland where he lives with his aunt. His daily commute to and from school takes him nearly 90 minutes each way by the circuitous and halting bus routes. The closer we got to Theo's home, the more uncomfortable I became while trying to keep Theo from catching on to how I was feeling. The streets were poorly lit, there were numerous corner liquor stores with groups of young black men gathered together. This was a neighborhood I'd been expressly told to avoid. This is the Oakland that people think of when they express shock that my family has chosen to live here. As we waited at a stoplight to turn onto Theo's street, I watched two mentally unstable people lurch towards our vehicle. One of them, a middle-aged woman, screamed incomprehensible words and gestured wildly while looking straight at me from a few feet away. I felt myself unable to break her eye contact but when I glanced at Theo, he was staring straight ahead. I asked him if he was okay and he shrugged. Then I remembered that this is where he lives. That this is his normal. Theo refused to let me drop him off at his door. He didn't want me to see where he lived. He thanked me profusely for including him that night and carefully walked with his vase of flowers to his home. I sped quickly out of East Oakland and back to our safe neighborhood. I thought about the luxury of my life. How sometimes it feels like 95% of what I have - a house I love, a great job, safety, security, health...is all due to the family I was born into and the color of my skin. How agonizingly, unspeakably unfair. I have done nothing to deserve this life. And Theo has done nothing to deserve his. We have completely different stories and experiences and he has faced challenges in his short life that I can't imagine. However, with these challenges, Theo has also gained tremendous assets. Theo is determined. Theo is resilient. Theo is powerful. My role is simply to ask questions, to listen, and to tell his story... and to do my best work on behalf of an organization that I believe is helping students like Theo beat odds that are staggeringly stacked against him. *Name changed to protect his identity. 7 Comments Like Comment Share See all articles No alt text provided for this image Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County Kate shared this 1 Like View Kate’s profile Beyond proud to launch ParentChild+ in the Bay Area! Thank you so much to GreenLight's investors and Selection Advisory Council for supporting this work! Kate shared this 64 Likes 9 Comments No alt text provided for this image Nice!! Kate commented See all activity Experience GreenLight Fund Executive Director - Bay Area Company NameGreenLight Fund Dates Employed2017 – Present Employment Duration2 yrs LocationSan Francisco Bay Area • Lead our continued growth, impact and innovation in San Francisco Bay Area. • Oversee a cross-sector Selection Advisory Council made up of leaders from the worlds of venture capital, finance, philanthropy, government and social impact. • Lead an extensive analysis of the unmet needs in various cities within the Bay Area, followed by a diligence and selection process to identify and invest in a high-performance solution. • Provide sustained support and technical assistance to expanding organizations as they launch and grow in the Bay Area.... See more Springboard Collaborative Advisory Board Member Company NameSpringboard Collaborative Dates EmployedNov 2017 – Present Employment Duration1 yr 5 mos LocationOakland, CA CollegeSpring Executive Director - Bay Area and Interim VP of Development and Communications Company NameCollegeSpring Dates EmployedNov 2015 – Oct 2017 Employment Duration2 yrs - Member of organizational leadership team - Regional leader for all operations within the Greater San Francisco Bay Area - Responsible for regional development and generated $500k in new funds within first 3 months in role - nearly doubled YOY philanthropic and partner fee revenue... See more Envision Education Director of Development Company NameEnvision Education Dates EmployedJul 2013 – Nov 2015 Employment Duration2 yrs 5 mos LocationOakland, CA - Served as member of organization’s Management Team - Responsible for $2M+ annual fundraising budget through institutional and individual donor contributions. - Managed Communications department- worked closely with board member ex... See more Muscular Dystrophy Association Company NameMuscular Dystrophy Association Total Duration4 yrs 6 mos TitleRegional Director - Northern California and Northern Nevada Dates EmployedNov 2011 – Jul 2013 Employment Duration1 yr 9 mos - Promoted to Regional Director after 13 months serving as Regional Coordinator - Managed 4 district offices including 28 employees and 8 direct reports - Responsible for raising an overall fundraising budget of $4.8 million through a combination of events, corporate giving campaigns, grassroots fundraising and donor relation... See more TitleRegional Coordinator - Northern California and Northern Nevada Dates EmployedOct 2010 – Dec 2011 Employment Duration1 yr 3 mos - Promoted to Regional Coordinator after 18 months serving as an Executive Director - Raised overall fundraising budget of $4.3 million as a region - Led all major fundraising initiatives and designed regional and divisional staff trainings - Created and led program “MDA 101” for new staff, including developing and te... See more Show 1 more role Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Director of Media and Special Events Company NameCouncil on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Dates EmployedJul 2006 – Oct 2008 Employment Duration2 yrs 4 mos Development: - Coordinated Summit for Danny Bhutan – an international fundraising mountain climb. One-on-one coaching resulted in each member of the volunteer fundraising team raising more money than ever before.... See more United Way of Santa Barbara County Campaign/Marketing Coordinator Company NameUnited Way of Santa Barbara County Dates EmployedJul 2005 – Jul 2006 Employment Duration1 yr 1 mo Westmont College Alumni and Parent Relations Staff Company NameWestmont College Dates EmployedMay 2005 – Aug 2005 Employment Duration4 mos Show fewer experiences Education Westmont College Westmont College Degree NameBA Field Of StudyReligious Studies Dates attended or expected graduation 2001 – 2005 Activities and Societies: Resident Assistant, Housing Ambassador Intern Westmont College Westmont College Degree NameBachelor of Arts (B.A.) Dates attended or expected graduation 2001 – 2005