Board of Directors
In addition to serving as the Board President at ACE Charter Schools, Eric Gonzales is a
Managing Director at Montage Capital, a leading provider of growth debt to capital-efficient
companies.
Prior to Montage, Eric spent several years as an early-stage venture capital investor
at DCM. He also founded and ran his own startup company, and has product management
experience from Cisco and HP, commercial banking experience from Bank of America, and
investment banking experience from a Boston-based boutique firm. Eric has also been
mentoring Latino entrepreneurs participating in the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Leadership
Program since the program’s inception, and he is an active volunteer interviewer of prospective
Harvard undergraduate students. Eric received a BA in Economics from Harvard and an MBA
from Stanford.
Mr. Kumar currently serves as the managing partner of Mindspan LLC, a personal investment and advisory firm with interests in healthcare, education and technology. Prior to this, Mr. Kumar was Senior Partner and Chairman of the Asia Center at McKinsey & Company, Inc. In 1998, Mr. Kumar created and led the Internet consulting practice at McKinsey and Company, which grew to represent a quarter of the firm’s business worldwide. Mr. Kumar is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a founding charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs, a member of the World Presidents Organization, and a member of the research faculty at the University of Houston focusing on the application of technology to healthcare access. Mr. Kumar received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, a M.Sc. in Applied Mechanics from Imperial College, University of London, and a B.Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay.
Email: akumar@acecharter.org
Kevin is a lifelong resident of San Jose. Currently, Kevin is a partner with the CPA firm Petrinovich Pugh and Company, LLP (PP&Co) headquartered in San Jose. At PP&Co, he leads the assurance services business unit which serves a variety of businesses that are closely held and family-owned as well as several local not-for-profit organizations. Kevin received a BA in Business Administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Email: kkaefer@acecharter.org
Tania Wilcox has devoted her entire professional life to helping students overcome educational inequalities and barriers. As an immigrant herself and having been the first in her family to graduate from college, she has an unwavering passion to help similar students succeed in their education. Tania is the Program Director for College Partnerships and Scholar Programs for TheDream.US, the largest college access and success program for DREAMers in the nation. Prior to TheDream.US, Tania was the Executive Director for Breakthrough Silicon Valley, served on Breakthrough’s national board, and was on the national team that led the expansion of the Breakthrough model from one city to twenty-five cities nationwide. Tania has also been an Executive Director and on the board of various non-profits serving immigrant families and/or children who lack educational opportunities. Currently, Tania serves as Board President of ACE Charter Schools. She holds a BA in Sociology from Wesleyan University, an M. Ed from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Certificate on Financial Planning from UC Santa Cruz.
Email: twilcox@acecharter.org
Dr. Murray serves as Strategic Advisor to XQ Institute and was formerly the superintendent of the San Jose Unified School District. In addition, she served as Superintendent in Residence for Innovate Public Schools, a school reform organization that works throughout Silicon Valley to ensure all students have access to great schools that prepare them for college and career success. Dr. Murray also previously served as senior advisor to the Education Trust-West, an Oakland-based nonprofit advocacy organization, which works throughout California to help school districts ensure that students are prepared for college when they graduate. Dr. Murray authored a field guide, Diploma Matters, in 2011 to help school districts achieve college and career readiness goals for all students.
Email: lmurray@acecharter.org
