Our Team of Six
Committed to Advancing the Future of Silicon Valley Latinos
Ron Gonzales is the President and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley. The Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for Silicon Valley Latinos.
Gonzales has over 40 years of technology and public policy experience. Prior to leading the Hispanic Foundation, Gonzales was Founder, Chairman and CEO of Presencia, LLC which provides marketing and sales consulting services.
He also served as Mayor of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley and the nation’s 10th largest city from 1999-2006. His achievements included nationally recognized initiatives for strong neighborhoods, improved public education, and effective solutions to affordable housing and regional transportation projects. Mayor Gonzales may be best known for championing the extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to San Jose and Silicon Valley. So much so that former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown nicknamed him “Mayor BART”.
Before his election as Mayor, Gonzales worked as an executive with the Hewlett-Packard Company, in the areas of marketing, human resources, and corporate philanthropy.
Gonzales served for eight years (1989-1996) on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. As a two-time mayor and member of the Sunnyvale City Council (1979-87), he currently serves as Board Chair for SV@Home, Chair of the Silicon Valley Capital Club Board of Governors, and Board Member of KIPP Bay Area Public Charter Schools.
Clara is passionate about building nonprofits' capacity to facilitate the change we want to see in the world. Over the course of her career, she has tackled big challenges in the non-profit sector as a Chief Development Officer, Board Member, Major Gifts Officer, Giving Partner, Programs Director and Educator. In these roles she has helped address the most intractable issues in our society: education, professional and economic advancement, poverty, and homelessness. As the current Chief Development Officer of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (HFSV), she focuses on raising funds to speed up the pace of intergenerational educational and career advancement in the Hispanic community across Silicon Valley. Prior to joining HFSV, Clara served as Major Gift Officer at Life Moves and has also worked for other local nonprofits including Vascular Cures, the Pacific Stroke Association (PSA), and Project Baobab.
Outside of work, Clara is a partner and Board member at SV2 - The Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund. SV2 Partners pool resources and select cutting-edge organizations and initiatives that receive grants after an intensive due diligence process. Clara also serves on the Development Advisory Committee for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and the Advisory Board for the Family Engagement Institute.
Clara received her Master’s in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Policy at New York University. Originally from Colombia, her early career includes stints as an educator and working for a global risk management consulting firm. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and het two rescue pets.
Karla brings experience with program coordination and research on topics such as education reform, immigrant communities, intersectional feminism, voter suppression, and how to support first gen, low-income students navigating higher education. Karla graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a major in Sociology and a minor Legal Studies. Prior to her role at Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, Karla worked at the Division of Equity and Social Justice with the County of Santa Clara.
Karla is a first-generation Latina from the East Side of San Jose and is the oldest and first in her family to graduate from college. Karla’s commitment to her community is rooted in her experience of seeing the way her community is disproportionately affected by systematic inequalities and pushed away from receiving access to quality education, healthcare, food, housing, and social and economic resources. Karla is committed to serve, advocate, and amplify the voices of her community
Carolyn is a proud first-generation college student at Santa Clara University. She is a Latina majoring in Finance and minoring in Political Science. Carolyn was born and raised in Chicago, IL and has fallen in love with the Bay Area. She is an advocate for social justice and hopes to use her degree and experiences to give the Latinx community a seat and voice at the table. In her spare time, Carolyn loves to explore new cities, restaurants, and music with family and friends.