Meet Our Team

Rey is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the vital, life-saving resources they need to achieve social and economic mobility. Rey launched One Degree, a technology-driven nonprofit organization, that enables families to easily navigate the complex web of nonprofit and social services from the technology in the palms of their hands. Under Rey’s leadership as CEO and founder of One Degree, the organization grew from serving a few neighborhoods in San Francisco to serving hundreds of thousands of community members annually in cities nationwide. Rey began his career as a teacher and later was the site director at BUILD, a college-access nonprofit organization that propels low-income youth of color to attain a college education. He is an alumnus of Y Combinator, a New America CA Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow, and an Education Pioneers Fellow. Rey received Harvard’s Emerging Global Leader Award and was nominated for the San Francisco Chronicle’s inaugural Visionary of the Year Award. In his spare time, Rey practices yoga, plays with gadgets, and builds furniture from scratch.

Greg is a mission-driven leader, strategic thinker, and public-interest technologist with 20+ years of experience operating at the intersection of community, technology, and policy. He currently serves as One Degree’s Head of Development & Partnerships, working to strengthen and expand the network of stakeholders building a better and more equitable social safety net in America.

Greg is the former CEO of VolunteerMatch.org, the web’s largest volunteer engagement network, where he was responsible for scaling a cross-sector digital platform that now helps the social sector attract and engage millions of talented volunteers a year.

He is a data and public policy nerd with a strong equity and systems orientation. Greg remains an active volunteer providing pro-bono database support to the Sarara Foundation, the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, and Zephyr Impact. He also serves on the Advisory Board at the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at The University of Texas at Austin.

Greg has East Coast roots but now lives with his wife, family, and two dogs in Berkeley, CA.

Spike is a data inspired collaborator and leader with a focus on tech for good, government transparency and public policy. Spike is currently the Chief of Programs & Technology, where he leads One Degree’s community, product, design, infrastructure and security programs. He joined Alluma in 2019 as Chief Data Officer. Previously he was the Data Evangelist for Measures for Justice, a national research and transparency nonprofit seeking to publish metrics on the entire justice system.

Prior to this, Spike was the co-founder and Executive Director of OpenOakland, a civic innovation and open government nonprofit. Through this work he was recognized by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change. He spent over a decade as the Director of Research & Technology with Urban Strategies Council, a social impact nonprofit based in Oakland. He has a chapter in the book Beyond Transparency. He is married with three daughters and has family in Australia and the USA.

Sai brings a passion for social justice, equality, and empowerment of people — regardless of who they are — to his work at One Degree. He is a hands-on business and technology leader with over two decades of experience driving and developing technology products and services. Sai currently serves as a member of the Executive Team at One Degree and also the Vice President of the One Degree Engineering team building software systems that are helping tens of thousands of folks who desperately need help.

Before joining One Degree, Sai worked for Fortune 500 companies like Ford, and Pfizer, and early-stage to mid-level start-ups building world-class software systems. Along with heading several Engineering teams in his career, Sai also ventured into the entrepreneurial world and made a successful exit. Sai brings solid experience in successful planning, designing, driving, developing, delivering, and supporting technology products and services.

In his downtime, Sai enjoys playing Racquetball, some Golf, binge-watching the latest shows, and spending time with family, friends, and his 130 lb. Rottweiler, Zach.

Jessi has spent many years working as a software engineer at social justice non-profits, building software for social services, migrant justice, and secure communications. She holds a Masters in Science in Logic and Computation from Carnegie Mellon University.

According to her kids, Jessi likes to drink coffee, wear gray, and walk everywhere.

Driven by her desire to help people directly, Genevieve spent six years as an educator before transitioning to software development so she can help build products with a positive impact on a larger scale. She brings a passion for equality, diversity, and inclusion to her work. 

In her time off, Genevieve enjoys reading, traveling, and crafting.

Tijana “TJ” joined One Degree to bring her passion for creating inclusive and accessible products and services to the nonprofit sector. She has worked for several for-profit ventures in technical account management and business development roles, with a focus on supporting small businesses. Before her work with start-ups, TJ pursued nonprofit and international development work, including founding a program for marginalized entrepreneurs in her home country of Serbia, and a global, accessible educational platform for social changemakers.

Tijana has lived, studied, and worked in multiple countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America and holds a Masters in Science in Peace, Development, and Sustainability from United Nations University – Tokyo. Outside of work, TJ is passionate about baking and cooking, yoga and pilates, fashion and clothing design, finding the best desserts, and building community wherever she goes.

Steffi joined One Degree in 2021, excited to work on a small team that is improving access and transparency of life-affirming resources. Steffi has previously worked as an analyst and product manager at Thoughtworks, where she worked alongside developers building software. She has also worked with various nonprofits and community organizations through grassroots campaigns in the Bay Area.

 In their free time, Steffi enjoys reading, playing cards, and spending time outside.

Josh has worked as a software developer for 30 years, focusing on back-end development and databases.  Automation is in his blood – this inspired a move to working in DevOps 3 years ago to assist the team in creating repeatable and secure online environments.

Sara started as a software developer with One Degree in 2019, motivated by the opportunity to utilize technology in support of the organization’s community-centered and mission-driven initiatives. Throughout her tenure at One Degree, Sara has appreciated the culture of mentorship and support at One Degree that enabled her to develop professional skills beyond software development. 

Since becoming Engineering Manager, Sara’s focused on preserving the exceptional spirit of mentorship and support that once propelled her forward. Sara ardently believes in the power of equitable collaboration with her engineering team, aiming to cultivate a high-context environment where every member can contribute meaningfully. Her journey at One Degree continues to be a testament to her unwavering commitment to both her professional growth and the organization’s mission of making a positive impact on communities.

Goutham is an Infrastructure DevSecOps engineer with a commitment to securing and optimizing IT infrastructure. Motivated by a desire to bridge the gap between development and operations he has transitioned into the DevSecOps domain. As a DevSecOps engineer, he combines technical expertise, strategic thinking, and a passion for cybersecurity to create secure and resilient IT infrastructures. Prior to One Degree, he worked in banking, e-commerce, and business technology consulting companies. Goutham holds a Masters in Computational Science from Texas A&M University.

Marc came to One Degree with a Bachelors in Community Development from the University of California, Davis, and a Masters in Design from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Marc sought to combine these passions into his career in user experience design. Before coming to One Degree, Marc worked as a designer for several industries that span nonprofits, mobile gaming, enterprise communication, and educational engagement. Leading the organization’s design and research efforts, Marc ensures that One Degree’s products are designed for the community first and reflect an understanding of racial and economic inequities.

Residing in Hayward, California, Marc lives with his wife and poodle, Bingbing. In his free time, he enjoys making costumes, hip-hop dance, building keyboards, and supporting the local Bay Area Filipino-American community.

Richard brings over two decades of experience identifying and implementing technology-based solutions to the real problems people and businesses face, with a focus on privacy and security. Richard is currently the Director of Technology & Security at One Degree where he directs day-to-day operations of the infrastructure and security teams.  Richard joined the organization over 10 years ago to help build out the technology and security platforms and has been a key leader in the transition of the organization’s technology suite to the cloud. 

Prior to joining the organization, Richard worked as a consultant on several state, local, and federal infrastructure improvement projects providing technology and security implementation services.

Naresh is a dynamic and accomplished Lead Engineer with a passion for innovation and a proven track record of delivering cutting-edge solutions. As a Lead Engineer, Naresh has played a pivotal role in overseeing and driving the success of numerous high-impact projects across the organization since 2007. Naresh’s ability to blend technical prowess with strategic thinking has consistently resulted in on-time, on-budget project deliveries that exceed client expectations.

Emma joined One Degree in 2017 with the strong belief that all people deserve straightforward access to the resources they need. She proudly served on the Community Success team for 4 years, driving the strategic direction of community engagement, member support, and resources management. In the last 2 years, Emma has shifted to an internal role as Culture Manager, working to ensure that One Degree is an equitable, supportive, and fun place to work! 

Previously, Emma worked as a rape crisis counselor, domestic violence counselor, and creator of an illustrated dating advice coffee table book called Dating Between the Lines. In their spare time, you can find Emma taking a dance class, organizing for economic and racial justice, or stopping in the middle of the street to pet every dog that passes her way.