Make a donation
Make a donation

Who We Are

OKF Staff

Youth Leadership and Organizing Program Staff

Peter Truong

Peter Truong

Youth Development Director

Develops curriculum, builds staff capacity and oversees REAL HARD.

Read More
Hadiyah Owens

Hadiyah Owens

Program Coordinator

Facilitates REAL HARD after school at Castlemont and Skyline High Schools

Read More
Janet Chavez

Janet Chavez

Program Coordinator

Facilitates REAL HARD after school at Fremont High School

Read More
Image of Senayt Sium

Senayt Sium

Program Coordinator

Facilitates REAL HARD at Oakland Tech and Oakland High School

Read More
Maya Rapier

Maya Rapier

Youth Organizing Coordinator

Supports youth organizing council and student organizing campaigns

Read More
Domenichi Morris

Domenichi Morris,

Lead Organizer

Leads Youth Organizing Council and supports student organizing campaigns

Read More

Castlemont Community School Staff

Na Derris Ward

Na Derris Ward

Program Manager

Leads Castlemont after school and college, career and community programs

Read More
Alejandra Astorge

Alejandra Astorga

Care Coordinator

Provides care management and academic support for Castlemont students

Read More
Arthur McDade IV

Arthur McDade IV

Farm and Garden Manager

Co-manages, cultivates and facilitates CastleWorks Farm and Garden program

Read More
Rosario Diaz

Rosario Diaz

Program Assistant

Program Assistant for Castlemont High School After School Initiatives

Read More

Administrative Team

Lukas Brekke-Miesner

Lukas Brekke-Miesner

Executive Director

Executive Director and Member of J4OS and Oakland Youth Vote Coalitions

Read More
Sabaa Shoraka

Sabaa Shoraka

Associate Director

Oversees Community School Services at Castlemont, administration and HR

Read More
Cara Holiday

Cara Holiday

Senior Development Manager

Oversees fundraising, communications, grants, evaluation and reporting

Read More
Mai Fawaz

Mai Fawaz

Communications Manager

Leads social media, website, digital communications and marketing strategy

Read More

OKF Board

Image of Bill Heiser

Bill Heiser

Board Chair

Bill is Senior Director Pathways & Mobility at REFORM Alliance

Read More
Niema Jordan

Niema Jordan

Board Secretary

Niema is the Co-Director at Cinemama

Read More
Image of Phoumy Sayavong

Phoumy Sayavong

Board Treasurer

Phoumy is a Research & System Technology Analyst at Berkeley City College.

Read More
Ijeoma Arum

Ijeoma Arum

Board Member

Ijeoma is the Chief Executive Officer at BrandCo Nigeria Limited

Read More
Headshot of Soraya Salgadoe,

Soraya Salgadoe

Board Member

Soraya is a Marketing Specialist for the Ayesha Curry Brands

Read More
Niema Jordan

Niema Jordan

Board Secretary

Niema is the Co-Director at Cinemama

Read More
Image of Phoumy Sayavong

Phoumy Sayavong

Board Treasurer

Phoumy is a Research & System Technology Analyst at Berkeley City College.

Read More
Ijeoma Arum

Ijeoma Arum

Board Member

Ijeoma is the Chief Executive Officer at BrandCo Nigeria Limited

Read More

okf donors and sponsors

Making Our Work Possible!
Previous
Next

Our awesome Supporters

Creating Tomorrow's Leaders
Peter Truong

Peter Truong

PROGRAM MANAGER

Peter (he/him/his) supports staff across OKF programs to incorporate best practices in positive youth development. Peter oversees the REAL HARD after school program and supports all chapters to develop youth-led transformational school culture campaigns.

Peter also writes curriculum for Oakland Kids First programs and supports organization-wide youth organizing campaigns such as development of the Student Justice Platform. A life long learner and educator, Peter earned a degree in Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon.

Hadiyah Owens

Hadiyah Owens

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Hadiyah (she/her/hers) facilitates REAL HARD after school at Castlemont and Skyline high schools, and coordinates the school store at Castlemont. Hadiyah is a third-generation Oaklander and a proud product of Oakland public schools. After graduating from Oakland Tech in 2015, she went on to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.

One of Hadiyah’s passions is social justice and she has long been a participant in efforts to liberate marginalized communities, including the recent Black Lives Matter movement. She is passionate about working with young people and has been working with youth since she was in middle school.

As a former REAL HARD student organizer, Hadiyah is excited to implement her social justice ideals with the young people in the program, to bring up a new generation of leaders. In her free time Hadiyah enjoys spending time with friends, watching shows and movies, and frequenting favorite Oakland eateries.

Janet Chavez

Janet Chavez

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Janet (she/her/hers) facilitates REAL HARD after school at Fremont High School and co-teaches the Fremont leadership class. Janet is an immigrant descendant, born and raised in Oakland, and is a graduate of Fremont High School. Janet is also a former REAL HARD youth leader and while in the program, she worked on community building with peers and attending school board meetings to advocate against school closures. 


Janet’s experiences as a participant in REAL HARD motivated her to work with youth, and she is currently enrolled at Merritt College working towards an Associate’s degree in Child Development. Janet believes in encouraging youth empowerment and youth voice, and hopes to motivate students to grow as leaders. In her free time Janet enjoys creating nail art, going on hikes, and listening to a variety of music.

Image of Senayt Sium

Senayt Sium

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

(She/Her/Hers) is a Program Coordinator for REAL HARD and facilitates after school programs at Oakland Tech and Oakland High School. She attended OUSD public school and is a proud alumni of Oakland High School. Senayt is a first generation college graduate from University of California, Davis in Sociology with concentration in Law and Society, Public Health Science and Chicano/a Studies. One of her key passions is advocacy. She strongly believes in addressing and combating systemic issues that affect marginalized communities.

She strives to empower and support youth in developing essential skills while fostering activism. As a former REAL HARD student organizer, Senayt is very excited to be working with youth, and provide them with the necessary resources to support and help them accomplish their goals.

Maya Rapier

Maya Rapier

PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Maya (she/hers/her) is a Youth Organizing Coordinator who supports the Youth Organizing Council and Oakland Youth Vote campaign. Previously, Maya was a Program Coordinator for the REAL HARD chapters at Oakland Tech and Oakland High School. Born and raised in Oakland by her immigrant parents, Maya is a proud product of OUSD public schools. Born on May Day, activism has been a part of her life since the beginning.

She believes in the power of youth and grassroots organizing. While a student at Oakland Tech, Maya was a youth leader in the REAL HARD program and organized to make academic pathways more equitable.

Maya currently studies at San Francisco State University, working towards a B.S. in Ethnic Studies. In her free time you can find Maya traveling, listening to music and being outdoors.

Domenichi Morris

Domenichi Morris

Citywide Organizer

Domenichi (he/him/his) facilitates the Youth Organizing Council (YOC) and supports OKF’s student-led organizing campaigns at the city and district levels. Most recently, Domenichi has been partnering with youth leaders organizing to implement Oakland Youth Vote (OYV) and to develop a Student Justice Platform that will help hold OUSD School Board members accountable to the needs and educational equity priorities of Oakland students.

Domenichi is originally from Chicago and has been working with youth in various capacities for almost 2 decades. He is a former elementary school Science teacher and holds a degree in Elementary Education from Northeastern Illinois University. In his free time, Domenichi makes music, plays trumpet and is a DJ.

Na Derris Ward

Na Derris Ward

CASTLEMONT COMMUNITY SCHOOL STAFF

Na Derris (he/him/his) goes by the name Duke, and serves as the Extended Day Programs Manager at Castlemont High School. A native of Oakland, CA, Duke attended OUSD schools and is a proud graduate of McClymonds High School.

As the Program Manager, Duke oversees all after school enrichment and after school student support programs at Castlemont that are part of the OKF’s Knight Time and Knight Success initiatives. A first generation college graduate, Duke attended college at the University of Oregon, earning his degree in Sociology in 2010. Duke’s educational journey began in 2014, when he returned to teach at his alma mater, McClymonds High School.

Over the years, Duke has worked at numerous schools throughout the Bay Area. He is extremely passionate about youth engagement and relishes the opportunity to empower young people. In his free time, he enjoys relaxing with family, going to sporting events and traveling.

Alejandra Astorge

Alejandra Astorga

CARE COORDINATOR

Alejandra (she/her/hers) goes by the name Ale, and was born and raised in East Oakland, CA. Ale currently works at Castlemont as a Care Coordinator to support a caseload of students to succeed academically and to receive social emotional learning support as part of OKF’s Castle Cares Initiative.

Ale graduated from Alternatives in Action High School in 2015 and attended Chabot College where she received her AA-T in Psychology. She attended Holy Names University in Oakland and received her BA in Psychology.

Alejandra started her journey as a youth developer at Life Academy Middle School in August of 2016, as the 6th grade Fitness and Nutrition Coach. She then joined Castlemont High School in December 2019 as a Care Coordinator. In her free time Alejandra enjoys dancing, spending time with family, and traveling.

Arthur McDade IV

Arthur McDade IV

FARM AND GARDEN COORDINATOR

Arthur (he/his/him) was born and raised in East Oakland, and now works as a Farm and Garden Coordinator at Castlemont High School. He is an alumni of Castlemont and former participant of the REAL HARD program.

He returned to the Castlemont community after graduating from college at Paul Quinn. Arthur is one of the two co-farm managers of a one acre green space that is cultivated as an active farm on campus.

It was through his time as a student at Castlemont that Arthur obtained the love, passion and dedication of being in the field of agriculture. As he grew up being exposed to growing organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs he came to believe in the importance of knowing where our food has been and what has been done to it. Arthur’s favorite aspects of farming are composting, dealing with livestock, planting, and reaping what he sows.

In his spare time Arthur enjoys writing poems and fiction stories, gardening, camping and hiking, cooking lamb and making guacamole.

Rosario Diaz

Rosario Diaz

PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Rosario (she/her/hers) is Program Assistant at Castlemont. Originally born in Mexico, Rosario was raised in Oakland from the age of 6. After being part of the OUSD district for K-12, she graduated from UC Irvine in 2022 with a B.S. in Public Health Sciences.

Rosario now works as a Program Assistant for OKF’s Community School Services at Castlemont High School. Rosario always believed it was important to come back to Oakland after college and give back to her community all the support that she was given.

During high school, she was highly involved and held leadership roles in afterschool programs, and now she is giving back to the Castlemont community.

Lukas Brekke-Miesner

Lukas Brekke-Miesner

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lukas (he/him/his) is a youth advocate, writer, and the Executive Director of Oakland Kids First, where he has spent the past fourteen years centering the leadership of youth of color in fights for educational justice.

A fourth-generation Oaklander, Lukas is a proud product of Oakland public schools, local youth organizations, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He brings a collaborative approach to organizational leadership, a commitment to intergenerational power-building, and over 15 years of experience in youth development and organizing.

Lukas is also a published freelance writer, poet, and the founder and Editor-In-Chief of the now-defunct Oakland arts & culture blog 38th Notes. His writing about the Oakland Youth Vote campaign was recently published in the international organizing journal The Forge, and he is also featured in the documentary First Friday and season 5 of Netflix’s Last Chance U.

Lukas is a winner of the Oakland Indie Awards’ Oakland Soul award and received a Pillar of Oakland award in 2022.

Sabaa Shoraka

Sabaa Shoraka

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Sabaa (she/her/hers) works as Associate Director, serves on OKF’s senior leadership team, and oversees community school services at Castlemont. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Sabaa joined OKF as the Community Program Manager at Castlemont High School in June of 2018.

Prior to that, Sabaa served as the Community Program Manager with Alternatives in Action at Life Academy, Career Pathways Manager at Youth Uprising and Director of Administration and Finance at Institute for Sustainable Education Economic and Environmental Design. She has lived and worked in Oakland for the past 20 years.

Sabaa holds a Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in Equity and Social Justice from San Francisco State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and minor in Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Sabaa is passionate about developing the skills of young people to become active agents for transformative justice and equity. In her free time, Sabaa enjoys baking and cooking, photography and traveling.

Cara Holiday

Cara Holiday

SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Cara (she/her/hers) is the Senior Development Manager who oversees fundraising, communications, grant writing and reporting and also serves on the senior management team. She has been part of the OKF community since 2009 in a range of roles including volunteering as a board member from 2009-2012, and then working on staff.

Cara currently works for OKF remotely from her hometown of St. Louis, MO. Throughout her career, Cara has focused on supporting students to reach their individual goals to graduate and access post-secondary education while also advocating to improve systems and equity in public schools. She earned a MA in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies from Stanford University, a teaching credential from San Francisco State University, and a BA in English from Washington University in St. Louis.

Previous positions include working as Assistant Director at the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University, as a Community Programs Manager for Alternatives in Action and as an English teacher on the McClymonds high school campus in OUSD. In her free time, Cara enjoys hiking with her family and two dogs, and exploring the local food scene.

Mai Fawaz

Mai Fawaz

MARKETING & COMMUNICATION MANAGER

Mai (she/her/hers) is the Marketing and Communications Manager and oversees social media, websites and digital communications. Mai is a traveler and an artist with 10 years of experience in Marketing and Communications across three continents and different industries.

Born and raised in Cairo Egypt, her passion for social justice started at a young age. Growing up as a female in a hyper-masculine culture and surviving the 2011 Egyptian revolution has instilled in her a passion for advocacy and fixing systems.

After the Arab Spring, Mai lived in Dublin, Ireland for 4 years where she worked on combating homelessness. In 2018 Mai moved to the Bay Area and continued her work in advocacy for immigration and criminal justice reform. She fell in love with the people, culture and beautiful, scenic landscapes and decided to settle in Oakland and dedicate her advocacy efforts towards youth empowerment and fixing the educational system.

Mai is also passionate about creating art that empowers women. During her spare time you will find her painting, listening to music and dancing. 

Image of Bill Heiser

Bill Heiser

SENIOR DIRECTOR Pathways & Mobility

Bill Heiser (he/him/his) is Senior Director Pathways & Mobility at REFORM Alliance and before that, Bill was the Senior Director of State Policy at the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO).

Niema Jordan

Niema Jordan

Co-Director at Cinemama

Niema Jordan (she/her/hers) is the Co-Director at Cinemama and is a storyteller, content strategist, producer and award-winning filmmaker from Oakland, CA.

Phoumy Sayavong

Phoumy Sayavong

Research and System Technology Analyst

Phoumy Sayavong (he/him/his) is currently a Research and System Technology Analyst with Berkeley City College. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and was a researcher and evaluator for over 10 years.

His professional experience includes serving as the Senior Researcher for the Oakland Unified School District, Research Associate at the Metiri Group, Evaluator at NASA Ames’ Educational Technology Team, and Researcher for the Center for Education Diversity and Excellence.

He has also worked as a private consultant and evaluator on topics such as teacher professional development programs, community mental health needs assessment, after-school programs, and survey development.

Ijeoma Arum

Ijeoma Arum

Chief Executive Officer at BrandCo Nigeria Limited

Ijeoma Arum (she/her/hers) is an Oakland Native who graduated from OUSD schools. Currently, Ijeoma is the Chief Executive Officer at BrandCo Nigeria Limited, and before that she worked as the Chief Commercial Officers for Jumia Nigeria. Ijeoma earned her bachelor’s degree from UCLA and her MBA from Columbia University.

Headshot of Soraya Salgadoe,

Soraya Salgadoe

Marketing Specialist for the Ayesha Curry Brands

Soraya Salgadoe (she/her/hers) is an Oakland native and Oakland Kids First alumni who attended Oakland Technical High School. Soraya continued her education at the University of San Francisco where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Marketing.

She is currently a Marketing Specialist at AC Brands, a holding company that oversees the business endeavors of Ayesha Curry. As a former REAL HARD student leader with OKF at Oakland Tech, Soraya is passionate about advocating for local youth and helping ensure they can build power and have access to programs to grow their leadership and expand their postsecondary opportunities.