Our Staff and Board of Directors

Carolyn Placente

Executive Director

Carolyn brings strategic direction and thought leadership grounded in her extensive experience in the nonprofit and education sectors. Her work to drive meaningful and lasting changes in systems, policies, and people reflects her commitment to advancing social and educational equity and promoting inclusion and belonging.

Carolyn prioritizes relationships, collaboration, accountability, positivity and gratitude, and manifests her deep appreciation of diversity and her unwavering dedication to social justice in all of her work. She believes our youth represent our greatest gift and that it is our collective responsibility to ensure that all children receive the supports and opportunities they need to discover and fulfill their highest potential.

Carolyn holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the State University of New York at Albany, Master’s Degrees from the University of California Berkeley and San Francisco State University, and advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Cruz. She harnesses the power of her public education in the direct service of community-driven social change.

Carolyn is a mother of two and lives in coastal West Marin. She enjoys music and dance, spending time at the beach, and celebrating her children as they play and perform.

Bob Rosenberg, DDS, DScD

Board Chair

Bob spent his professional career as an endodontist in private practice as well as on the faculty at the UCSF School of Dentistry where he served a Chair of Endodontics as well as the founder and leader of the UCSF Advanced Endodontic Study Club. He was active in the American Association of Endodontists, serving on the Board of Directors and as President of the Research and Education Foundation. He is a fellow of the International and American Colleges of Dentists and the Academy of Dentistry International.

Bob has been active in his community as a co-founder of the Ross Valley Girls Softball League. Since retiring, he co-authored Giving from Your Heart, A Guide to Volunteering, published 2005. On the organizational front, Bob was Board Chair of the Henry’s Fork Foundation, a watershed conservation organization in Eastern Idaho. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of California Trout. Bob is a volunteer tutor at a local middle school and served as Board Chair of the Marin County School Volunteers for six years until its merger with 10000Degrees, a college success organization on whose board he now serves. He was the recipient of the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership award for Excellence in Board Leadership in 2015.

Bob’s life is inspired by his passions for family, fly fishing and working to ensure educational and life success for all children. He has been married forever, has two daughters and three grandchildren and lives in Northern California.

Alvin Gilmore, Jr.

Board Member

Alvin was one of the founding board members of OnePercent for Education before being hired as its first Executive Director in 2020.

With over thirty years of experience in education where he worked as a counselor, coach, classroom teacher, and an administrator in private and public school settings, Alvin is passionate about social justice and educational equity. He fervently believes that it “takes a village” to address the educational disparities we find in low income populations and that the work of nonprofit organizations who perform direct services with disadvantaged and low income youth is essential to “leveling the playing field” for those students.

Although Alvin has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UCLA and master’s degree in Education from USC, he’s most assuredly a life long Bruin after running track for UCLA. He lives in San Rafael, California and enjoys connecting with nature, photography, keeping up on current events, reading, and staying fit.

Ari Baruth

Board Member

Ari is a Deputy City attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s office, focusing on construction and public contracts. He guides resolution of construction claims and represents the City on large projects such as the Millennium Tower and Central Subway. Before coming to the City, Ari spent 10 years at Long and Levit, LLP, representing various entities in construction and real estate disputes as well as a variety of commercial matters.

A son of two immigrant teachers raised in a home filled with stories of the Holocaust, Ari grew up with a keen awareness of the access to opportunities available in our society, particularly the children. Through this upbringing, Ari developed a passion in the development, education, and joyfulness of youth. Throughout his life Ari has remained intent on supporting youth, whether in the form of coaching Little League baseball, teaching, or serving on the board of Camp Tawonga, a summer camp outside of Yosemite. Now a father of two young boys in San Francisco, Ari passionately wants to improve the public school system and work to rectify the inequities and challenges in the opportunities provided to children.

Ari graduated with an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and attended law school at the University of San Francisco. He is married to Clara Hatcher Baruth, and together they are enjoying watching their two young boys, Max and Matai, grow, learn, and enjoy. Ari roots for the Giants, Warriors, and 49ers, loves time in nature, and enjoys a minute in the hammock when the boys are occupied.

Bill Epstein

Board Member

Bill was born in Rochester, NY and came to Northern California with his parents when he was 6 months old. He attended The University of Pennsylvania where he studied photography and English. Bill also studied photography at the SF Art Institute and later attended City College of SF in Ornamental Horticulture and Botany.

Bill managed sales and marketing for Nurserymen’s Exchange Inc.-(Bloom-Rite Products) for nearly 30 years. The company was a large international grower and distributor of horticultural and Garden products to the mass markets. He currently owns and manages Eco Marketing Inc., and works as a manufacturers’ representative, broker, and consultant to horticultural and garden décor shippers, growers, and manufacturers, marketing products to supermarkets and other retailers.

Bill was on the board of Camp Tawonga for 6 years where he was Vice President and a member of the Executive committee for 3 years. He has been a board governor of Cal Trout, based in San Francisco for 9 years.

Bill has been involved with The American Jewish Committee (AJC, human rights organization) for 25 years and was the Northern California Regional President from 2009-2012. He has been a member of the National Board of Governors.