Organizational Structure

SUDL is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation with one Executive Director, a Board of Directors and an Advisory Council named the “Champions Council.” The budget is managed by the Executive Director with cooperation of the Board Treasurer, and approval of the Board. The Board President and Members meet periodically with the Executive Director to review the direction and methods of SUDL, to make necessary changes in order to achieve SUDL’s primary goal, and beyond.

Existing Teachers at participating secondary schools are brought on as Teacher Facilitators. Coaching for each participating schools is provided by a dedicated SUDL coach with substantial policy debate experience.

Our Board

STEPHEN GOLDBERG - Chairman & Acting Executive Director

Mr. Goldberg graduated from McGeorge School of Law. He began his legal career at Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) where he interned while a law student. He has worked with the Human Rights Fair Housing Commission and returned to work with LSNC in 2001 as a staff attorney. Stephen has also worked for Northern California Lawyers for Civil Justice, the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations and the Legal Center for the Elderly and Disabled. His areas of expertise include public benefits, housing, health care and child support. Stephen has been involved in significant cases regarding CalWORKs, CalFresh, General Assistance, In Home Supportive Services, Medi-Cal, county health care, public and subsidized housing, housing discrimination and landlord/tenant issues. Most recently, Stephen was lead trial counsel in a major environmental justice case involving a proposed underground natural gas storage facility in an urban area. Stephen has taught in the paralegal program at American River College since 1998, including teaching landlord-tenant law, administrative law and client interviewing. He also has taught legal writing at University of California Davis King Hall School of Law. Stephen currently coaches debate both the Nevada Union High School and CK McClatchy High School debate teams. He has coached at Nevada Union since 1998, and at Sacramento Jesuit High School from 1996 to 2013.

GRACE GALLIGHER - Secretary

Ms. Galligher graduated from California State University with B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. She also graduated from Lincoln Law School in Sacramento, California, and has been admitted to the California Bar. She is a member of the Federal Courts for the Eastern and Northern Districts and was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court for the United States in 1994. Ms. Galligher is currently employed as Attorney for the Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc., a non-profit California corporation.

KEVIN WOODRUFF - Treasurer

Mr. Woodruff is a self-employed consultant in the electric utility industry. A successful high school debater in the 1970s, he served as President of the C. K. McClatchy Speech and Debate Booster Club from 2011 to 2013 to support his son’s high school debate activities, before graduating on to University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He also served several years as a Referee Coordinator on the board of the Land Park Soccer Club, which operates a youth soccer league in Sacramento.

KENDRA LEWIS - Director

Kendra Noel Lewis has been a professional fundraiser and nonprofit administrator since 1996. She currentShe is dedicated to the field of fundraising/development and non-profit administration. She has a BA in History from California State University, Fresno. She received a Certificate of Development from the University of San Francisco’s Nonprofit Management Program. She has experience in all areas of non-profit administration (special events, planned giving, major giving, grant writing, operations, program development, corporate and foundation development.) She has consulted and worked the gamut of nonprofits on the local, state and national arena. She has served organizations ranging in size and annual budgets of $50,000 – $5 million+ such as the Sacramento Urban League, American Heart Association, Sacramento State University, Sacramento Theatre Company (the only African American managing director west of the Mississippi river.

Kendra is the past vice-president of the Sacramento YWCA (the first YWCA in California) and is currently a board member of Traveler’s Aid, a 125-year old Sacramento institution. She is co-chair of the Girls Who Code Parent Advisory Committee fundraiser. She has received the Community Advocate Award, presented by National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Rising Star Award from the Business Women’s Network, she has been profiled on the OPEN American Express Success Stories Network and profiled in Sacramento Magazine, 20 Women We Admire.

ZACHARY FREELS - Director

Zach Freels was a successful forensics competitor for Solano Community College who earned a scholarship to Northern Arizona University where he graduated with honors with a degree in Political Science and Speech Communication. After becoming the first college graduate in his family, Zach taught public speaking and debate to English language learners in South Korea. He later became a program manager and published a textbook series utilizing debate as a method of youth leadership development. He currently works as a union organizer.

Champions Council

ISAAC KIGOZI

Isaac Kigozi is from Kampala, Uganda.  Mr. Kigozi established E World Media Group Inc. (EWMG) in 2012 and is its President and Chief Executive Officer.  EWMG produces and develops television content with the intent to educate, engage, empower, and enrich the lives of its viewers.  Although EWMG headquarters is located in Los Angeles CA, EWMG has branched out across the nation in order to seek and develop unique concepts to provide a fresh new look for entertaining television.  In his free time, Mr. Kigozi enjoys a game of chess, interacting with the community, and planning team-building events for his employees.  Mr. Kigozi believes the ability to achieve our goals is within all of us. The key is turning our dreams reams into reality.

MICHAEL COHEN

Governor Jerry Brown appointed Michael Cohen as Director of the California Department of Finance in September 2013, to serve as the Governor’s chief fiscal policy advisor. Prior to becoming Director, he served as Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Finance from 2011 to 2013. In this capacity, Mr. Cohen was the department’s lead contact with the state Legislature on the state budget. From 1997 to 2010, Mr. Cohen worked at the state Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). While there, he served as a local government finance analyst, Director of State Administration, and Deputy Legislative Analyst. Mr. Cohen earned a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from Stanford University.

Dr. Barbara O’Connor

Dr. O’Connor is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of political communication and telecommunications policy and applications. She is the author of numerous publications. She served as chair of the California Educational Technology Committee as a Governor’s appointee. Dr. O’Connor chaired the Alliance for Public Technology, a Washington, DC, non-profit organization devoted to building constituencies on information age issues. She chaired the California Public Broadcasting Commission as a Governor’s appointee and founded Capital Public Radio (Sacramento’s Public Radio Station).

FCC chairman Al Sikes appointed and Chairman Reed Hundt subsequently reappointed Dr. O’Connor to represent consumers on the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council. She served on the Bellcore Advisory Board, on Verizon’s Consumer Council, and on AT&T’s Consumer Advisory Panel (1985-2009). In 1996, Dr. O’Connor co-chaired the California Superintendent of Pubic Instruction’s California Educational Technology Industry Task Force which developed and built support for an ambitious technology plan for K-12 schools in collaboration with the Business Roundtable of California and the California Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. O’Connor has served as an expert consultant to McClatchy Newspapers, the Boston Globe Media Properties, the Tribune Company, The Washington Bureau of the Associated Press, The California Legislature, the Congress of the United States, The Federal Communications Commission, The Office of Technology Assessment, The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Public Radio, Time Inc. Cable Systems, Cablevision Systems Inc., Scripps Howard Cable, Pacific Bell, NYNEX, Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, G.T.E., Verizon, Pacific Gas and Electric, The State Bar of California, the Soviet/American Journalists’ Exchange Program, the Bay Area Telecommuting Development Partnership, Pennsylvania’ Center for Rural Networking, and Stentor Communications of Canada.

In 1990, she was honored with an outstanding teaching award by California State University and received the California State University Alumni Distinguished Professor Award in 1994. In October 1996, Dr. O’Connor received the Computer Using Educator’s highest recognition when they presented her with their Technology Leadership award. In 1998, she received the Technology Pioneer Award for her 15 years of public advocacy in telecommunications policy.

Dr. O’Connor was the director of debate at CSUS, Assistant Director of Debate at USC and directed the programs of the Institutefor the Study of Politics and Media. She directed a variety of research and program grants.. Projects included: TheTelecommunications Graduate Fellowships funded by the California Public Utilities Commission, the Sacramento County Communications Audit and Web Portal development project, an analysis of local television coverage of election issues with Common Cause and an analysis of the efficacy of advertising aimed at electrical energy consumption and power saving appliances. She chaired an international effort by ETS, to develop a framework for ICT literacy measurement and then served on a national council to develop their ICT Literacy Assessment Exam.

Dr. O’Connor received her Ph.D. from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California in 1974. She was featured in Newsweek’s 1995 “50 for the Future” a feature on the fifty people who will set policy and direction for global communications. Dr. O’Connor was appointed to represent the CSU system on the National ICT Policy Council and was appointed to the board of directors for the California Emerging Technology Fund by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Dr. O’Connor recently completed a six year term on the national board of directors of AARP in Washington DC and is an officer of the California Emerging Technology. She continues to serve on the boards of Capitol Public Radio and The California Conservation Corps.