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Team Members
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Sharine Xuan
Executive Director
Sharine is a California licensed attorney and the founder of Elevate Community Center. Sharine graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law, and earned a Public Interest Certification along with her law degree. In addition to her role as Executive Director of Elevate, Sharine serves as a commissioner to Santa Clara County's Re-Entry Commission, as well as the Community Correction Law Enforcement Committee (CCLEM).
Ahyoung Wang
Attorney
During law school, Ahyoung worked part time for a family law and civil litigation firm, interned for an administrative judge at EEOC, and volunteered at several non-profit clinics. After graduating from the University of San Diego School of Law, Ahyoung worked for a civil litigation firm in the Bay Area before taking some time off to focus on her family. Ahyoung brings her many years of work experience, both legal and non-legal, to understand her client's underlying issues and advocate for their interests.
Tomas Kunkel
Attorney
Tom graduated from Santa Clara School of Law in May 2023 with a high-tech law certification, corporate specialization with honors. Tom works closely with clients on a breadth of legal matters including: domestic violence restraining orders, California criminal record clearance, small business concerns, child custody and housing and eviction.
Sarah Brauer
Attorney
Sarah, a native of San Jose, holds a Juris Doctorate and a Social Justice certificate with an emphasis in Criminal Law from Santa Clara University School of Law. She has extensive experience advocating for clients in and out of court. With strong community ties and a diverse heritage, Sarah is committed to fighting injustices. Outside of work, she enjoys boxing, jiu-jitsu, and coaching lacrosse.
Grace Bower
Attorney
Grace is a California-based attorney who graduated from The University of Texas School of Law with honors. She began her legal career in the Bay Area practicing Corporate Law, and has since transitioned to Elevate where she works with clients across a variety of practice areas.
Keegan Pincombe
Legal Service Specialist
Keegan graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law in June 2021. He began volunteering with Elevate in his third year of law school, and remained an active volunteer until joining the organization full-time in 2023. Keegan manages Elevate’s intake process, specializing in requests for criminal record clearance. As one of Elevate’s longest-serving employees, he also assist with onboarding and mentoring new staff.
Juan Medina
Paralegal
Juan Medina is a veteran, who graduated from UC Berkeley in 2021. He has over three years of paralegal experience in immigration, family, and civil law. His mission is to help those who are suffering from poverty, violence, and discrimination. Juan plans on going to law school next year at Santa Clara University. Last but not least, he has a four year old boxer named Tyson, who he adores.
Olivia Stalcup
Operations Associate
Olivia graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Political Science. Olivia's journey into professional life began during her college years when she started as a web developer. This role not only sparked her interest in technology and operations but also laid the foundation for her passion for collaborative environments and multifaceted projects. Her enthusiasm extends to working with community-focused organizations, where she aims to make a direct and positive impact.
Sam Campos
Administrative Assistant
Sam Campos is a senior at Santa Clara University, studying Political Science and Spanish Studies. She is a proud Bay Area native, born and raised in San José. Investing in and supporting community members has long been a passion for Sam, and she hopes to continue this work as she eventually attends law school. In April of 2023, Sam began working with Elevate Community Center as an administrative assistant. Her responsibilities range from answering phone calls to helping organize Elevate's annual fundraising gala. Sam assists around the office wherever she can.
Ming-Cheau Lin
Administrative Assistant
Ming is a writer from Cape Town, South Africa where she graduated from Vega School with a BA in Creative Brand Communications as a copywriter. She worked in advertising for seven years in food media before pursuing an independent writing career. Ming also cofounded Cape Town’s roller derby league and nonprofit, acting as its Marketing and PR Director for four years. She moved to California, took time off to focus on her daughter and joined Elevate as an administrative assistant, helping out where she can with her experience in marketing and public relations. Ming is passionate about neurodiversity and social justice.
Board Members
Hank Spraggins
Board Member
Hank Spraggins is a technology executive and business owner who has worked in increasingly impactful roles at numerous high-tech companies in Silicon Valley and beyond (Meta, Dropbox, Accenture). Hank inspires others to drive towards long-term “they win, we win” solutions. For Hank, the "they" are customers who use technology products, *and “they” includes those who are often on the margins, who are too often ignored, under-represented, missed, or excluded. If "they" win then we all win.
Veronica Gomez
Board Secretary
Veronica is a dedicated professional with a strong passion for quality assurance and driving initiatives for quality improvement. She began her career in case management and behavioral support and currently focuses on enhancing access, engagement, and service quality within the healthcare sector.
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Natasha Tran
Board Member
Natasha Tran is a family law attorney practicing at Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, Inc. Since law school, Natasha has volunteered for various legal clinics, non-profit organizations, and events that give back and assist the community, which continues to date.
Barbara Clayton
Board Treasurer
Barbara Clayton is a product leader in high tech and a licensed attorney focused on privacy and competition law. Barbara builds product solutions to navigate the complex intersection of law and technology while championing privacy rights.
Advisory Board
Ellen Kreitzberg
Ellen Kreitzberg is a criminal law attorney and professor at Santa Clara University School of Law. She has practiced and written extensively on criminal justice issues, especially death penalty reform.
Caroline Chen
Caroline Chen is an expert in tax law. She is a professor of tax at the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San Jose State University, was the Director of the Low Income Tax Clinic at Santa Clara University School of Law, and was an attorney for the Office of Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service for over a decade.
Laura Wright
Laura Wright is an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ACSW) who currently works as a Therapist with Transitional Age Youth ages 16-25 at Community Solutions in Santa Clara County. She offers unique insight as a formerly justice impacted individual who has overcome many barriers and adversities and is passionate about helping others navigate the process of expungement, exemption clearance, higher education, internships and applying for licensure with the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). She is working to complete her 3000 hours to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).