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Sarah Angel is a seasoned strategist with a deep background in advocacy, government, law, and policy, dedicated to guiding nonprofits and educational institutions through a diverse array of challenges and opportunities. With a commitment to integrity, courage, and empathy, Sarah collaborates with clients to achieve a shared clarity of their goals and marshals big picture insights and detailed execution to ensure objectives are achieved.
Sarah has been an advocate and advisor in various roles for nearly 25 years. Sarah launched her career as a staff consultant for the California State Assembly Budget Committee in Sacramento. After seeing limited roles for women in senior leadership in the State Capitol at the time, Sarah headed off to UC Berkeley School of Law. She practiced law at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles before becoming a prosecutor. Sarah saw firsthand how the criminal justice system was broken and decided to transition into public education advocacy. In her role as managing director in Los Angeles for the California Charter Schools Association, Sarah spearheaded initiatives promoting equity in underserved communities through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, political campaigns, and strategic communications efforts with educators, families, and nonprofit leaders. In hopes of supporting a broader swath of public school students, families, and educators, Sarah took on the role of chief of staff to Board Member Nick Melvoin of the Los Angeles Unified School District, managing a dedicated team delivering innovative policy, community support, and consistent communications to L.A.'s public school stakeholders. Most recently, Sarah was a partner and chief operating officer of an intentionally diverse strategic communications firm, where she worked with foundations and nonprofits on strategy, communications, and advocacy campaigns.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Sarah loves family outings to Southern California beaches with her husband Dan and their three public school kids. They’ve all been enthralled with Taylor Swift for years, so she spends a lot of time listening to the latest album and gossip, while tending to her extensive collection of indoor and outdoor plants.
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Archana Patel is a highly experienced entrepreneur, educator, executive, and executive coach. She has led significant strategic transformations in K-12, nonprofit, and impact spaces. She served as the Vice President of Parent Programming at the Jeremiah Program, where she led the redesign, launch, and strategic communications strategy for a comprehensive program and advocacy agenda for single mothers seeking to disrupt generational poverty. In her role as Senior Director of the Broad Academy, coached and trained CEOs and superintendents of large school systems on leadership, strategy, crisis communications, and change management.
Archana co-founded Teach for India, turned around a middle school in South Los Angeles, and has coached and advised over 100 emerging and senior leaders throughout the country. Archana is the Board Chair of Great Public Schools Now, is a board member at Citizens of the World Los Angeles, and volunteers as a crisis text counselor and adult literacy tutor. When not digging into the intractable challenges of social change, Archana can be found getting in a hot yoga session or curling up with a good book in her Los Angeles home with her husband and two kids.
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Clayton is a research, communications, advocacy, and community engagement professional with more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit, public, and private sector. Most recently, at Swell Creative Group, Clayton has overseen strategy, communications, and creative development for multiple complex projects and campaigns while also leading a team of strategists through capacity-building, coaching, and direct support. While at Swell, Clayton led initiatives in justice reform, immigration, homelessness, economic development, and education.
Most notably, he spearheaded the strategy and communications for award-winning campaigns like Measure J and Senate Bill 972. Measure J – a ballot measure that followed the racial reckoning in 2020 to divert funds away from law enforcement and into community services like mental health care, jobs training, education, and affordable housing – passed with 57.1% of the vote. Clayton also led the strategy and communications for the California Street Vendors, a coalition of vendors and community organizations advocating for the adoption of Senate Bill 972, which sought to modernize the California Food Retail Code to protect street vendors. After more than 1,200 direct calls and emails to legislators, street vendors won and was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 23, 2022.
In his free time, Clayton is an avid runner, marathoner, and ultra-marathoner (21+ marathons and counting), enthusiastic traveler and backpacker, and loving dog dad to a husky-malamute mix named Fuego.
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Aida Rodriguez - a native Angelino, daughter of a Chinese Guatemalan immigrant family, and fluent in Spanish - is the CEO of Goodbeat Education. She leverages her entrepreneurial drive and media savvy to build communities of parent influencers committed to amplifying the voices and stories of parents across multiple social media platforms. With a rich background in digital communications, non-profit leadership, community organizing, and advocacy, Aida has designed scalable blueprints for diverse social impact initiatives. Her expertise includes content creation and curation using various digital media strategies, as well as curating a library of original content that is a critical component of social media campaigns.
Rodriguez holds a J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law and a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley. She is recognized for her strategic leadership, media savviness, and dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Nina Dubovitsky is a dedicated public policy professional with expertise in community engagement, strategic communications, and research. Nina’s career began as a Teacher’s Assistant in a Los Angeles public school, where she witnessed the transformative power of effective teaching alongside the challenges schools face when lacking essential resources. This experience fueled her commitment to improving educational equity, and she has since devoted her career to supporting students, schools, and the wider community.
Prior to joining JOAN Collaborative, she served as the Special Projects & Policy Deputy for Board Member Nick Melvoin of the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she managed policy priorities, led community engagement initiatives, and worked closely with stakeholders to address critical school needs.
Nina’s previous experiences include her role as a Policy Monitoring Fellow at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, providing legislative analyses on bills at the local, state, and federal levels. She also served as a District Office Ambassador for California State Senator Ben Allen.
Nina holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University and a Masters of Public Policy with a focus on education policy from the University of Southern California.
Fluent in Russian, Nina enjoys sharing her culture and cuisine with friends. In her free time, she loves exploring new restaurants, hiking, listening to podcasts, and traveling. She hopes to visit Japan, New Zealand, or Argentina sometime soon!
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Melissa Vannucci earned her Bachelor of Science in Graphic Communication from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. With a wealth of experience spanning two decades, she has dedicated her career to supporting non-profits and small businesses through compelling graphic design and engaging online experiences. Her expertise lies in creating designs that inspire action and provide effective solutions.
Throughout her career, Melissa has launched thousands of successful graphic design projects, fostering enduring relationships with clients who value her commitment and creativity. Her passion extends beyond web and print design to include a deep appreciation for the meaningful work her clients undertake.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Melissa enjoys spending quality time with her family and pursuing her passion for photography.
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In her current role as a visual and communications associate at the Joan Collaborative, Sofia Borack channels her expertise into supporting digital design, branding, and paid media campaigns. Armed with a BS in Applied Developmental Science and combined with a nearly decade-long background in visual design, she seamlessly bridges her dedication to social justice and welfare for marginalized communities with an innate ability to tell a story and spark a connection.
Whether advocating for community health, education, or financial welfare, Sofia's commitment to her pursuits is unwavering, evident in her previous roles as treasurer for her alma mater’s Feminist Society and as a student teacher for STAR (Students Teaching About Race), where she independently developed and implemented curriculum addressing complex topics related to social justice and equity. Her passion for design and illustration shines through in her ability to bring ideas to life across various mediums, and for any cause.
When she's not busy crafting new ideas for her work, you can find Sofia knee-deep in her favorite podcasts, perfecting yoga poses, filling up her sketchbooks, and whipping up culinary delights with her partner in the kitchen after a stroll through the local farmers' market.
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