Advisory Board - Making Waves Foundation

Derrick Bolton

Associate Dean for External Relations, Stanford Graduate School of Business

“Derrick Bolton is the Associate Dean for External Relations at Stanford Graduate School of Business where he is responsible for leading the alumni relations team and development organization. Derrick says of joining the board, “Making Waves Academy and the College and Alumni Program are mission-driven and impact-oriented exemplars in expanding access and advancing successful outcomes for underserved communities. I’m humbled to join the board and to contribute to the Making Waves Foundation’s goals.” Derrick is a committed leader with nearly two decades of experience in higher education. In his prior role at Stanford, Bolton helped launch the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, a multidisciplinary community of emerging leaders from around the world focused on addressing the complex challenges facing society, as the inaugural director of admission. He previously led the MBA Admission Office at Stanford GSB for 15 years, where he and his team enhanced the diversity and quality of the MBA cohorts. Derrick also brings experience in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and in strategy consulting at McKinsey & Company. He is a long-time trustee of the Nueva School in Hillsborough and San Mateo. He earned his BA from Southern Methodist University and his MA in education and MBA from Stanford University. He resides in Palo Alto.”

Ronald A. Cohan

Consulting Counsel, IGT

“Ronald Cohan serves on the College & Alumni Program Advisory Board, as well as the Making Waves Foundation Board's Executive Committee and Endowment Investment Committee, and as Chair of the Board's Audit Committee. A board member since 2010, Mr. Cohan is consulting counsel to IGT, a NYSE-listed, end-to-end gaming company. Mr. Cohan has specialized in government procurement law, representing institutional clients such as Honeywell, 3M, Mitsui, Centex, Equifax and GTECH, and has served on the boards of International Display Works, Solar Power, Inc., and Isopedix Corporation. Mr. Cohan received his B.A. from Occidental College and J.D. from UC Berkeley (Boalt Hall) Law School.”

Melissa Fries

Executive Director, CAP

“Melissa Fries is a leading expert in college access, preparation, and success for low-income and historically-underrepresented students. As the Executive Director of CAP—a program of Making Waves Foundation—Ms. Fries empowers more than 650 students to complete their college degrees in a timely manner with minimal debt. Ms. Fries has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and program development, including leadership roles at Stanford University, Menlo College, and San Francisco State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Black Studies from UCSB and a master’s degree in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University.”

Dr. Esther Hugo

Education specialist

“A lifelong educator, Esther currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the graduate counseling department at San Jose State University College of Education. She is also one of the first online instructors in the UCLA College Counseling Certificate Program and serves as Academic Coordinator of the program. A nationally-recognized leader, Esther received NACAC's highest honor (the Gayle C. Wilson Award for Excellence in College Counseling) in 2011 and NACAC's Rising Star Award in 2012. In addition to serving on the CAP Advisory Board, Esther is on the Board of Directors for both Making Waves Academy. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from UCLA and a master's in counseling from Loyola Marymount University (CA). ”

Ron Nahas

Partner, Rafanelli and Nahas LLP

“Ronald C. Nahas is a partner in the real estate development firm of Rafanelli and Nahas, located in Lafayette, California.  The partnership was formed in 1983 and is a portfolio-based development company that builds and owns rental apartments, self-storage, downtown office, suburban office and office/warehouse with offices in the East Bay and in Boise Idaho. Mr. Nahas is also President of the R. T. Nahas Company of Nevada, a family development corporation. Mr. Nahas is a former Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and Chair of the Residential Council. He Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bridge Housing Corporation and president of the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Foundation. Mr. Nahas is a graduate of Stanford University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. ”

Cindi Nicolas

Managing Director, Slalom Consulting

“Cindi became a member of the CAP Advisory Board after her company, Slalom Consulting, developed the CAP Student Portal connecting CAP Wave Makers with their academic and financial coaches. As a first-generation college student herself, she knows the importance of a strong college support system. She values the opportunity to bring her years of business and consulting experience to help CAP. At Slalom, Cindi specializes in providing technology, strategy, and transformation services to global and local companies and NGOs in the Bay Area. Her 30-year business career includes 21 years at Accenture, leaving as a managing director, and three years at WestEd focused on enabling the Common Core throughout the U.S. She is a graduate of Oregon State University where she received degrees in Mathematical Sciences (math, statistics, and computer science) and Math Education. She's lived in the Bay Area for the last 20 years, growing a family with her husband and two teenage children.”

Enrique Romero

Associate, Social Policy Research Associates

“Enrique is a former wave-maker (9th Wave, Richmond) who is thrilled to serve on the CAP Advisory Board because it provides him with an opportunity to recycle his success with the Making Waves community. He is passionate about education equity, education policy, higher education, and college access that specifically seeks to create opportunities for historically marginalized student groups. Enrique is a current Associate at Social Policy Research Associates, where he engages in mixed-methods research focused on equity, education, and community change projects. Prior to his current position, he was a Program Officer for the Fulbright Commission in Mexico (COMEXUS), where he managed the Fulbright-García Robles Mexican Graduate Studies Program in collaboration with Mexican and U.S. government stakeholders, including the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. He was also a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Mexico that supported the English department at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City. Enrique received his Ed.M. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and his B.A. in Sociology and Spanish from Pitzer College.”