Moderator:

John Kobara
President/CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire

John has been involved in education, mentoring, and community service for most of his life. He started out working in maximum security institutions as a counselor for juvenile felons. He led the largest student run community service program in the nation. John has held leadership positions at a wide variety of regional, national, and international non-profit organizations in the arts, education, and charitable work. John was a Big Brother for more than 10 years. His current volunteer work includes the Coro Fellows program, UCLA’s School Management Program, and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics. John serves on the Board of Governors of the California Community Foundation, the Japanese American National Museum and National Technological University. He was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council for Region 1. John also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Future Focus Institute at Wake Forest University.

Prior to his appointment as President/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, John was Senior VP in the Online Higher Education Division of Sylvan Learning Systems Inc, President and CEO of OnlineLearning.net, Vice Chancellor of UCLA, Executive Director of the UCLA Alumni Association, and Vice President and General Manager of Falcon Cable TV.

Panelists:

Derwin Dubose

Derwin Dubose is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A native of rural Alabama, Derwin graduated cum laude from the Alabama School of Mathematics in Science in Mobile and enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002. Derwin currently serves as co-president of the Campus Y, the largest student organization on campus. The Y is a social justice organization that connects 1,800 undergraduates to campus and community projects through 16 programs and special projects. In addition to working the Campus Y, Derwin is president of Alpha Sigma of Chi Psi Fraternity and the university columnist for the Daily Tar Heel, UNC's newspaper. A history major, Derwin is interested in educational inequity and cross-racial interaction in schools. He has worked with the New York City Department of Education and is currently researching the struggle for a black cultural center on the Chapel Hill campus. Derwin plans to attend law school and work in education law. During his free time, he enjoys reading, going to the gym, late-night food, and hosting parties.


Julie Chavez Rodriguez

Julie Chavez Rodriguez is the Community Programs Officer for the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. She has worked with the organization for the past two years. Having been born and raised in the farm worker movement, Julie was predisposed to fighting for the rights of working people. However, throughout her life Julie has taken an active role in advocating for social justice. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a BA in Latin American Studies and has dedicated her life to non-violent social justice and empowering others to better themselves and their respective communities through Cesar's example.


Stephanie Raill

Stephanie Raill received an IB Diploma from Li Po Chun World College, Hong Kong and is currently a junior at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a Raise Your Voice (RYV) Student Fellow for Minnesota Campus Compact and an author of the RYV Lessons Learned publication as a National Campus Compact Student Fellow. Stephanie coordinated and contributed to campus student civic engagement initiatives both on and off campus, she designed a campus mapping project to facilitate cross-campus programs. While in Hong Kong she performed Playback theatre for Hong Kong pupils to facilitate English instruction and community building. Stephanie continues facilitate RYV civic engagement initiatives and playback theatre in the Macalester community.

Please address all questions to:
Sherita Moses, Student Projects Coordinator, Campus Compact
smoses@compact.org, 401.867.3932