MIKE SAVIAGE
Board President
2017 - Present
Mike Saviage has more than 30 years of experience in the software industry, including roles in investor relations, sales, consulting services, product engineering, and technical support. Mike is currently retired after spending 25 years at Adobe, most recently as the VP of Investor Relations. He holds a BA from University of Wisconsin and earned his MBA at Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business.
AMY CAPPELLANTI-WOLF
Board Vice President
2017 - Present
Amy Cappellanti-Wolf is an accomplished Global Chief Human Resources Officer with experience leading startups to Fortune 500 companies through complex and challenging business transformations including Pre-IPO, rapid growth and scale, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and consolidations. Amy is a board member for both public and private organizations and has held HR Leadership roles at various companies such as Frito-Lay, Walt Disney Company, Cisco, Symantec, and most recently, Cohesity. Amy was named one of the top 50 most influential women tech leaders by the National Diversity Council, and in June 2022, Amy was selected to be in the Silicon Valley Business Journal's 2022 class of Women of Influence. She holds a BS in Journalism and MS in Industrial and Labor Relations from West Virginia University.
PAUL SILVERGLATE
Board Treasurer
2020 - Present
Paul Silverglate has worked in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years. He’s currently a partner with Deloitte where he leads the US Executive Accelerators (XA) in Client & Market Growth (CMG) and serves as Vice Chair and US Technology Sector Leader. Paul is passionate about Inclusion and Diversity. He served as Deloitte's National Managing Partner of Work-Life, was the first male national director of their women's initiative, the co-developer and partner lead for the Women as Buyers and Art of Empathy training programs, and personally mentors and advises several high talent managers, senior managers, partners, and directors.
LUPE DIAZ
Board Secretary & Pivotal Alumnae
2020 - Present
Lupe Diaz is an Alliance Manager-Emerging Partners & Program at Pure Storage, an enterprise storage company. She manages Pure Storage’s strategy to build solution relationships with emerging partners and in emerging technology spaces. Prior to Pure Storage, Lupe served as a Teaching & Research Assistant at Jose Ortega Elementary School and held a Business Development Fellowship at SV Academy. Lupe has a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies from San Francisco State University and as a former foster youth and Pivotal alumna, uses her lived experience to help the team understand the impact of Pivotal’s work in the community.
MATT BELL
Chief Executive Officer
2023 - Present
In January of 2023, Pivotal welcomed new CEO Matt Bell, a champion of equal access to education, work, and independent living for marginalized communities. Formerly Executive Director of Via Services, Matt strengthened the nonprofit despite COVID-19 challenges, achieving key hires, a strategic plan, diverse board expansion, and a successful merger with Abilitypath. Earlier, he excelled as COO at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School where he also served as Executive Director of its innovative Work Study program. With a background in the private sector, including a 12-year tenure as a VP at Blach Construction Company, Matt's community service began as a board member of Nativity Schools and later Via Services. He resides in Santa Cruz with his two daughters, Grace and Charlotte, alongside their pets Otis and Jimi.
PATTIE CORTESE
Board Member
2023 - Present
Pattie Cortese has lived in the Bay Area since 1969. She began her career with Catholic Charities in its Vocational Learning and Treatment Center, working with chronically mentally ill adults to gain skills and employment.
Pattie has been active in youth mentoring programs since 1994 and is a founding member of the South Bay Mentoring Coalition, a group of nonprofit organizations working together to promote mentoring in Santa Clara County. She is also involved in a number of other volunteer communities across the Bay Area and currently serves as the Board Vice President of East Side Union High School District.
DONTAE LARTIGUE
Board Member & Pivotal Alumnus
2022 - Present
Dontae Lartigue is the CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit organization, Razing The Bar, which provides mentorship and housing support services to current and former foster youth, as well as other under-resourced youth populations. Dontae was raised in East Palo Alto for the first few years of his life. He entered foster care at a very early age and lived most of his life in San Jose in shelters, group homes, and various foster placements. As a Pivotal alumnus, Dontae’s lived experience with the foster care system and with our programs provides a critical perspective into the impact of our programming and how we can best support our scholars. Dontae has an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts/Social and Behavioral Sciences from De Anza College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from San Jose State University.
NADIA PATEL
Board Member
2022 - Present
Nadia Patel began her career in Toronto, Canada, where she worked in a variety of financial services roles. She now lives in San Francisco, and previously volunteered with a variety of nonprofits in Canada and the US, primarily focused on youth education and development.
She is the former director and head of west coast distribution for BlackRock’s Financial Institutions Group, where she was responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment management relationships and activities. As part of the Pivotal Board Fundraising Committee and Chair of the Finance Committee, Nadia brings a laser focus to bridging the barriers of youth in the foster care ecosystem with meaningful support for their dreams and ambitions
Nadia graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Business Administration and earned her CFA charter in 2013.
MARIBETH PORTZ
Board Member
2022 - Present
Maribeth Portz has lived in the Bay Area since 1999 when she came to join the tech sector, working at Intel and Apple. Maribeth familiarized herself with the Bay Area community through the Junior League of San Jose (JLSJ) where she volunteered and collaborated with organizations such as the Children's Discovery Museum, Parents Helping Parents, Sunday Friends, and LifeMoves (formerly InnVision). As President of JLSJ (2006-2007), Maribeth developed skills in fundraising, board stewardship, financial oversight, and strategic planning. Maribeth joined the Pivotal Resource Council in 2021 where she has been instrumental in sourcing internships with local companies for our young people. She brings enthusiasm and experience to her role as Chair of the Pivotal Board Development Committee.
NKIA RICHARDSON
Board Member
2023 - Present
Nkia Richardson is the Executive Director of CASA of San Mateo County, a position she took on in 2018 after serving on the organization’s Board of Directors for five years. A passionate advocate for children and families, Nkia began her legal career as a dependency attorney in Los Angeles County where she represented children and parents in cases of child abuse and neglect. Prior to joining CASA, she worked as a Senior Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Jose where she litigated employment and civil rights cases. She currently also serves as a Commissioner with First 5 San Mateo County and as a Board Member of Project Glimmer. Nkia holds a Bachelor of Arts in both International Relations and English from Tufts University and a JD from the University of Southern California.
LISA SOBRATO SONSINI
Board Member
1998 - Present
Lisa Sobrato Sonsini established the Sobrato Family Foundation in 1996 as a vehicle for multiple generations of the Sobrato family to unify their philanthropic giving for maximum impact under Sobrato Philanthropies. She has served as the foundation's Board Chair for over 25 years and is a strong advocate for the rights of disadvantaged youth in both the educational and foster care systems.
Along with serving on the Board of Pivotal, Lisa serves as Vice Chair of KQED and a director of Silicon Schools and the Sobrato Early Academic Language Program (SEAL). Honors include the John W. Gardner Leadership Award from American Leadership Forum, Humanitarian of the Year from Hidden Villa, and San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame Inductee. Lisa has a BA in Communication Studies from UCLA and a JD from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley.