Advisory Board

Marc J. Bensadoun, co-chair, Ph.D. ’91 Physics

Seed-Stage Investor and Advisor; Founder and Former CEO of Newfield Wireless

Marc Bensadoun graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Physics in ‘83 and from UC Berkeley with a Ph.D. in Physics in 1991. A physicist by training, Marc Bensadoun splits his time between seed-stage investing with his wife Cristina Hawes-Bensadoun, board and advisory roles, and developing technology ideas. During his PhD and post-doctoral study at Berkeley he worked in experimental astrophysics for eight years at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with Nobel Laureate George Smoot. Mr. Bensadoun then founded Newfield Wireless, initially to help mobile network...

Fred Blackwell, M.C.P. ’96 City & Regional Planning

CEO, San Francisco Foundation

As CEO of the San Francisco Foundation (SFF), Fred Blackwell has spearheaded a transformative journey for one of the largest community foundations in the country. His leadership, marked by a renewed commitment to social justice through an equity agenda focused on racial and economic inclusion, has inspired change and progress. Collaborating with donors, community leaders, and public and private partners, he has been instrumental in creating thriving communities throughout the Bay Area since 2014. Mr. Blackwell is highly respected as a community leader in the Bay Area. He...

Victor Castillo, ’86 Political Science

President, Syufy Enterprises

Victor L. Castillo serves as President of Syufy Enterprises, which owns a diversified portfolio of companies across several states. Mr. Castillo works with his colleagues to oversee the design, construction, management, and financing of the company's ventures, spanning commercial centers, multifamily residential communities, athletic clubs, and entertainment venues. He joined the Syufy organization in 1990, initially with Century Theatres, where he advanced through executive leadership roles, including Senior Vice President of Development, Chief Development Officer, and...

Nasreen Chopra, ’89 Engineering Physics, M.A. ’93 Physics, Ph.D. ’96 Physics

Vice President, Applied Materials

Nasreen Chopra, VP Sustainability and Systems Engineering, is responsible for the Sustainability Center of Excellence (COE) at Applied Materials. Her focus is to work with internal and external partners, as well as industry consortia and customers, to accelerate development and deployment of products that reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions of semiconductor fabs. She has over 25 years of deep technical and business experience, working in diverse leadership roles, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, and strategic deals. Ms. Chopra started her career at Applied...

Michael Coke, ’92 Anthropology, ’92 Political Economy

Partner, Wilson Sonsini

Michael graduated in 1992 from Cal with double majors in PEIS (now Political Economy) and anthropology and in 1997 with a JD from Stanford Law School. Michael is originally from Arcadia, California, and now lives in Saratoga, California.

Michael is a partner with Wilson Sonsini, where his practice focuses on a variety of corporate, securities, and related matters, primarily for life science and technology companies, from startups to public companies. Michael's practice spans the full range of corporate transactions, including representing clients in...

Jenny Dearborn, ’91 English

Advisor/Investor Actionable Analytics Group

Jenny Dearborn is a 4th generation Cal graduate (dad 1964, grandparents 1930 & 1932, great-grandfather 1897) who grew up summering at Lair of the Golden Bear – Go, Camp Blue! Jenny is an Alumni Scholar and participated in Cal in the Capital. She’s held executive sales and talent roles at top global technology firms, and is a board director and growth advisor to several work-tech start-ups. Jenny is the author of two best-selling business books on the intersection of data science and human capital management, Data Driven: How...

Janet Dorling, ’96 Molecular & Cell Biology; Haas M.B.A '04

Senior Vice President, Gilead Sciences Inc.

Janet Dorling is a dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in science and business. Currently she leads the Intercontinental Region and Gilead Patient Solutions driving operational accountability across a large set of geographically and culturally diverse markets. Previously, she built and led the Global Commercial Strategy and Operations Team at Gilead. Prior to joining Gilead, Janet held successive C-suite positions at biotech start-ups, building commercial organizations from the ground up. She has also held Global and U.S. Commercial roles at Roche and...

Sergio Garcia, J.D. ’86

CEO, Garcia Strategic Advisors LLC

Sergio Garcia is a Bay Area-based legal and business leader with a deep passion for educational opportunity, racial equity, and economic inclusion. He is CEO of Garcia Strategic Advisors LLC, where he provides expertise to executives and boards on governance, board recruitment and composition, and strategic collaborations. Mr. Garcia has served as a chief legal officer at publicly traded technology companies, where he managed corporate governance matters, intellectual property, and strategic transactions. He has also been an equity partner at major international law...

Arden Hoffman, ’93 Rhetoric

Vice President and Chief People Officer of General Motors

Arden Hoffman was appointed senior vice president and chief people officer of General Motors in January 2023. Prior to this role, Ms. Hoffman served as Cruise’s chief people officer, driving the company’s People strategy. Her team supported Cruise’s mission to build the most advanced self-driving vehicle by creating a high-performance culture where Cruisers could do their best work. Previously, Ms. Hoffman was the vice president of People at Dropbox, where she was responsible for building and scaling the company and culture across its 12 global offices. Her leadership...

Charles Huang, ’93 Asian Studies & Economics

Co-founder, Indigo 7

Charles Huang is co-founder of RedOctane and co-creator of Guitar Hero, which was the best-selling video game in the world in 2007 and 2008. In 2006, Mr. Huang and his brother, Kai, were listed among the top 50 producers in new media by the Producers Guild of America New Media Council. Mr. Huang currently resides in Silicon Valley with his wife, Lillian, and two daughters, both of whom are Cal students. He founded the Huang Scholars Program at UC Berkeley. He is a visiting lecturer in the College of Letters & Science, where he teaches an entrepreneurship class for...