Backbone Staff
The Backbone staff serve as network weavers to help cultivate Partner alignment, enable data-informed, peer-to-peer accountability, facilitate collaborative action, and steward advocacy for sustainable, systemic change. Backbone staff work to connect multiple entities into a seamless network of student support. We are process experts trained in results-based accountability, continuous improvement, complex systems change, equity, research, business operations, project management, communications, data strategy, human-centered design and group process facilitation.
Brandon Johnson
director of partner relations
Brandon Johnson is a Marin County native who comes to Marin Promise Partnership to continue his lifelong pursuit of educational equity in his community. He has been a facilitator for multiple initiatives including the San Rafael Success Network, the Marin Educators for Equity Initiative(MEEI), the San Rafael High School CTE Educator Pathway, along with helping to manage Community Schools work involving San Rafael City Schools. His past roles within the community have included being an organizer and activist, student mentor, as well as a former school board candidate and advocate of addressing systemic issues and removing barriers that impact marginalized students. Brandon prioritizes youth voice to guide his work and seeks to embody anti-racism in his everyday life. Brandon spends most of his off time either connecting with nature or coaching local youth basketball.
Brandon can be reached at brandon@marinpromisepartnership.org
Cameron Hunter
Chief operating officer
Driven by a deep commitment to cross-sector collaboration, Cameron’s leadership experience in consulting, data analysis, and project management spans nonprofits, governmental organizations, and social enterprises. Prior to joining Marin Promise Partnership, Cameron worked with Schaffer & Combs, a social-sector management consulting firm based in San Francisco, specializing in strategic planning and impact evaluation. There, following his service as a Coro Fellow in Pittsburgh, PA, Cameron supported clientele in multi-stakeholder environments to develop and apply strategic frameworks within the environmental sustainability and fashion industries. Cameron’s commitment to educational equity spans back to his early days; his first-ever job was serving as the Children’s Librarian in his small town of Bedford, New York. On the weekend, you’ll likely catch him at an outdoor bluegrass concert, watching the latest David Simon series, or playing pub trivia. Cameron holds a B.A. in History from Dartmouth College.
Cameron can be reached at cameron@marinpromisepartnership.org
Colin Liu
Director of Place-based initiatives
Fueled by his experiences as a first-gen college student, Colin has worked with philanthropic foundations, nonprofits, and elected leaders to create sustainable college and career pathways for K-12 students. As Marin Promise Partnership's Director of Place-Based Initiatives, Colin leads implementation of our place-based strategies, which includes our Promise Neighborhoods, Community Schools, and Future Ready initiatives. Prior to joining MPP, Colin spent several years managing Emerson Collective's philanthropy in education, with a strong focus on supporting high school completion and college access for students from low-income and/or immigrant backgrounds. Colin started his career in New Orleans, co-founding the Research and Impact team at Catalyst:Ed, where he designed and led summative evaluations to support foundations with understanding the impact of their investments. Colin holds a master's of education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's in public policy from NYU.
Colin can be reached at colin@marinpromisepartnership.org
Daphne Cummings
director of early learning & literacy initiative
Daphne Cummings is the Director of Early Learning & Literacy for Marin Promise Partnership. Before joining the Backbone Team in 2023, Daphne was a Marin Promise Partner, who saw first-hand the power of collective impact. She was part of a West Marin action team that brought together the non-profit preschool, where she served as the Executive Director, with the local school district. This system shift increased the number of subsidized preschool slots and improved teacher retention rates, fueling Daphne's passion to bring together cross-sector partners in order to improve outcomes for very young children and their families. Daphne has also worked at Fairfax San Anselmo Children's Center, North Marin Community Services (previously Novato Youth Center) and the Shoreline Unified School District, serving in every role from an aide to a Program Director, and with all ages from infants to school age children. She currently facilitates the Early Learning Collaborative Action Network (ELCAN) meetings in West Marin, Marin City and the Canal, as well as the CalAIM Children & Youth workgroup, the WM Triple P Collaborative, and the Marin Home Visiting Community Collaborative. Daphne has a BA in Music from UNC Greensboro, has taken ECE classes at the College of Marin, and earned a MA in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University. She has served on the Marin County Child Care Commission since 2019 and is currently on the Executive Committee.
Daphne can be reached at daphne@marinpromisepartnership.org
Elizabeth COOPER
Senior Director of Impact and Accountability
Elizabeth is the Senior Director of Impact & Accountability. Having grown up in Marin County, Elizabeth has a deep commitment to serving her community by working toward educational equity and has been working for Marin Promise Partnership since 2017. Previously, Elizabeth has worked in youth program development, school administration and college & career advising in many Marin County schools including Archie Williams, Tamalpais, Marin Academy, and San Domenico. She is a graduate of the Tamalpais Union High School District and a College of Marin transfer student which inspired her to work toward making college and career pathways accessible to all. In her previous roles, Elizabeth has specialized in using data for continuous improvement, team building, change management and relationship-based advising for youth and adults. At Marin Promise Partnership, she has previously facilitated the College & Career Action Teams, 8th Grade Math Team, and Success Network teams, site-based collective impact teams focused on College & Career outcomes. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from UC Berkeley. She is also a Positive Coaching Alliance certified youth volleyball coach, science fiction fan, and loves helping students with college application essays.
Kim Tillman
Manager of Partnership Operations
Kim is a deeply curious person with a passion for hands-on experience, having worked across sectors spanning from nonprofit youth organizations to film & TV production. If you live in Marin, there’s a possibility that Kim has painted your house, bagged your groceries, performed at your favorite local venue or lectured at your university. She believes with her whole heart that we have a responsibility to young people to create safe and enriching environments for them to grow and thrive. If they’re on this planet, they're in our care; and we’ve got a lot of work to do. For that, Kim is glad to be here and happy to help.
Kim can be reached at kim@marinpromisepartnership.org
Mariangela Morales
Director of Communications
Mariangela is a storyteller with the ability to foster inclusive and engaged communities. She joins our team after working with some of our partner organizations such as College of Marin, Aim High, and Next Generation Scholars. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.A in Political Science. Growing up in Marin County, she witnessed firsthand the educational inequities prevalent within our school systems. Her professional journey is driven by the belief that education is empowerment and a tool that everyone should have equitable access to. In her free time, you can find Mariangela playing soccer and spending quality time with her dog, Lucky.
Mariangela can be reached at mariangela@marinpromisepartnership.org
Michael Looft
Director of Technology
Michael has over 20 years of leadership experience spanning the nonprofit, for-profit, and government sectors. He is passionate about leveraging his substantial background in software and data analysis, capacity building, and partnership development to create educational equity for everyone. Most recently, he spent five years at the crowdfunding organizations Kiva and Lendahand, including serving at the board level. He has also spent time in the classroom teaching computer literacy to adult immigrant populations, at a low-income community center and to residents at a shelter for battered women. Michael holds an A.S. from De Anza Community College, B.S. from San Francisco State University, and graduate degrees from St. John’s College and Harvard. In his spare time he enjoys volunteering as a construction crew leader at Habitat for Humanity and spending time with his son.
Michael can be reached at michael@marinpromisepartnership.org
Richard Raya
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to joining Marin Promise Partnership, Richard spent six years at the Mission Economic Development Agency in San Francisco, where he was Director of Mission Promise Neighborhood (MPN) and then Chief Strategy Officer. Richard helped MPN become one of the only Promise Neighborhoods in the country to replace its federal funding with a mix of philanthropic, city, and state funding. He used MPN’s successful cradle-to-career approach to help drive systems change across the city of San Francisco, moving from a Promise Neighborhood to a Promise City. The Promise City initiative aligned best practices from MPN with the Mayor’s COVID recovery plan, creating holistic solutions in the city’s hardest hit neighborhoods.
Rommel Carrera
Director of Family Engagement Initiative
Rommel Carrera is a dedicated advocate for family and community engagement, with a passion for promoting strong connections between families, schools, and communities. With over 15 years of international and local experience, Rommel has honed his skills in fostering meaningful relationships and empowering families to become active participants in their children's education and well-being.
Through his international experience, Rommel has had the opportunity to work with diverse communities and cultures, gaining valuable insights into different approaches to family and community engagement around different spaces. Whether collaborating with families in remote villages, cities or urban centers, Rommel understands the importance of cultural sensitivity and inclusive practices in building trust and rapport.
In his local engagements, Rommel has worked closely with schools, non-profit organizations, and community groups to develop and implement effective family and community engagement initiatives. Through workshops, seminars, and one-on-one consultations, he has provided families with the tools and resources they need to support their children's academic success and socio-emotional development.
Through his advocacy efforts, he strives to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and ensure that all families have access to the support and resources they need to thrive and with a strong commitment to equity and social justice, Rommel continues to work tirelessly to bridge the gap between home and school, recognizing that when families are engaged partners in education, students excel both inside and outside the classroom.
Rommel can be reached at rommel@marinpromisepartnership.org
Sarah Meding
Director of development
Sarah Meding is a conscientious development and fundraising professional dedicated to facilitating partnership for a more equitable future. She brings a wide range of development experience to the backbone team, allowing her to combine big-picture vision setting with the day-to-day details needed for a sustainable and mission-centered development department. Prior to joining Marin Promise Partnership, Sarah worked in both program implementation and fundraising for schools and nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving equity in education.
Sarah Meding can be reached at sarah.meding@
Sarah Seitchik Sebastian
director of partner relations & governance
Sarah joins Marin Promise Partnership after years of community engagement and collective impact in Sonoma County as a coFounder of TIDE ( Team for Inclusivity, Diversity & Equity in Education). Sarah graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Community Studies and Education. After her post graduate work organizing groups, events and art education in Habana, Cuba, Sarah returned to California and continued her experience in outdoor education, non profit development and Real Estate. Sarah actively serves on the LCAP & LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committees for the Petaluma City School District as well as Chairperson for the Friends of Cherry Valley Library 501c3. Sarah is dedicated to co-creating an expansive vision of community cultural wealth models and repaying the debt owed to communities who have been marginalized through educational equity. Sarah is a first-generation daughter of an Argentine immigrant and a Jewish father. Sarah is the mother of 3 beautiful children who are biracial & white, nonbinary, neuro-diverse and brilliant. Sarah fills her cup by swimming, climbing and sharing meals with friends, family and community. Sarah is bilingual in Spanish and English.
Sarah can be reached at sarah@marinpromisepartnership.org
