Sage Mentorship Project
UC Berkeley's Largest One-on-One Elementary School Mentoring Program
Executive Board
Anna Tsuchimoto
President
Major: Nutritional Sciences
Sage Experience: 5 semesters!
Plans After College: PA school
Favorite Sage Memory: Making Play-Doh snowmen with my mentee
Fun Fact About You: I listen to Christmas music year round
Nicole Ru
VP Membership
Major: Psychology, Chemistry Minor
Sage Experience: 4 semesters!
Plans After College: Attend medical school (interested in Pediatrics or Child/Adolescent Psychiatry)
Favorite Sage Memory:I love seeing how excited my kiddos are about reading! One time in the library, they all wanted me to read their book with them. I had them gather around to listen to me go through one of the books, and they were all so fascinated by the story!!
Fun Fact About You: Every year, I attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during November, also known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I've done this for the past nine years, and I've been successful four times!
Chloe Phely-Bobin
Co-VP of Alumni
Major: Political Science, Linguistics Minor
Sage Experience: 3 semesters!
Plans After College: Attend law school
Favorite Sage Memory: Getting schooled by third graders in island ball
Fun Fact About You: My roommate and I listened to a combined total of 14,000 minutes of Taylor Swift in 2021.
Jackson Gress
Co-VP of Alumni
Major: Economics
Sage Experience: 3 semester!
Plans After College: Not sure yet
Favorite Sage Memory: When my mentee wrote me a super sweet thank you card at the end of the semester
Fun Fact About You: I love fishing
Jesus Gonzalez
VP Finance
Hometown: South Gate, CA
Major: Business Administration
Sage Experience: 5 semesters!
Plans After College: Work for a consulting firm
Favorite Sage Memory: First ever end of the year party with mentees
Fun Fact About You: I speak English, Spanish, and Japanese!
Winnie Cheng
VP
Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Major: Psychology + Legal Studies
Sage Experience: 3 semesters!
Plans After College: I would love to work with undeserved communities by combining my passions in both law and psych!
Favorite Sage Memory: One time a girl asked me over Zoom if I wanted to see her blanket fort, and when she gave me a tour, her puppy was inside!
Fun Fact About You: I love bees, frogs, and mushrooms
Katrina Goto
VP Outreach
Major: Political Science
Sage Experience: 3 semesters!
Plans After College: I’m taking the LSAT this summer and applying to law schools next winter, so hopefully getting my JD :)
Favorite Sage Memory: Meeting my Oxford Class for the first time
Fun Fact About You: I can’t curl my tongue
Karina Gadkari
VP Communications
Hometown: Fremont, CA
Major: Environmental Science, Toxicology Minor
Sage Experience: 3 semesters
Plans After College: Medical School!
Favorite Sage Memory: During my first Zoom call with my mentee, she was so excited to see me and we spent three hours talking while she gave me a tour of her entire toy room.
Fun Fact About You: I'm a twin!
Melissa Gonzalez
Managing Director
Major: Economics and Business Administration
Sage Experience: Since Fall 2019!
Plans After College: I want to work in the business sector but my dream job is to work at a nonprofit
Favorite Sage Memory: I went to BAM with my three mentees, Indigo, Sara, and Maya, and they noticed I didn't have my hair done that day. They decided it would be fun to play beauty salon and they made me a flower crown out of the school's plants and grass. They were super excited that I was letting them play with my hair and their laughs were contagious. I was expecting a whole mess in my hair but they actually did a decent job. We had so much fun that day and I left my flower crown in my hair all day.
Fun Fact About You: I read 29 books last year!
School Directors
Allison Hersh
Acorn Woodland
Major: Psychology
Sage Experience: 1 semester!
Plans After College:My plans after involve working to strengthen mental health programs in Title I schools.
Favorite Sage Memory: My favorite Sage memory is meeting my class for the first time. It was such a great and memorable experience!
Fun Fact About You: Fun fact is that my birthday is on New Years.
Juliana Hartley
Ruth Acty
Major: Integrative Biology
Sage Experience: 2 semesters!
Plans After College: Attend medical school
Favorite Sage Memory: My favorite Sage memory is when my mentee and I created a makeshift hopscotch court using potholes and leaves when all the recess toys were taken. We had such a good time!
Fun Fact About You:A fun fact about me is that I was born on New Year’s Day!
Sophia Velilla
Emerson
Major: Integrative Biology
Minor: Theater and Performance
Sage Experience: 3 semesters
Plans After College: Attend medical school
Favorite Sage Memory: My favorite Sage memory was the first time I met my 1st grade mentee. The moment we were introduced, she had the biggest smile on her face and gave me a hug. She was so excited to spend time with me and I knew from that moment, we would have a great time together!
Fun Fact About You: A fun fact about me is that I went to the all girls high school that the movie Ladybird is based on.
Rebecca Ramirez Quinonez
Fairmont Elementary
Major: Political Science and Ethnic Studies
Sage Experience: 5 semesters
Plans After College: I would like to pursue a graduate degree!
Favorite Sage Memory: My favorite Sage memory isn’t a specific event but recently I’ve seen a really big improvement in the confidence my mentees have in their reading and writing skills. To know that my mentees are growing in their confidence makes me extremely proud of them.
Fun Fact About You: I love to make beaded earrings!
Berkeley Arts Magnet
Rosemary Su
Major: Integrative Biology
Sage Experience: 5 semesters!
Plans After College: I plan to pursue a career in the medical field
Favorite Sage Memory:
My favorite SAGE memory is when my mentee and her friends wrote a story of themselves with magical powers and included me in it (my power was I could grow plants)!
Fun Fact About You: I am a plant mom and I have growing collection of 28+ plants in my apartment!
John Muir
Danielle Nieto
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Sage Experience: 2 semesters!
Plans after college: I would like to continue into the medical field after college through pediatric neurology
Favorite Sage memory: My favorite Sage memory was when my mentee and I made Cootie Catchers for hours and walked around the school doing them with other kids at the school!
Fun fact: I coach tennis to little kids.
Oxford
Elysia Gao
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Major: Data Science and Applied Mathematics
Sage Experience: since Spring 2020!
Fun Fact About You: I'm allergic to mint and cinnamon, so I have to use toddlers' toothpaste (Sparkle Fun anyone?)
Rosa Parks
Lily Bae
Major: MCB
Sage Experience: 3 semesters!
Plans After College: Medical School
Favorite Sage Memory: Feeling like a grand-mentor when my mentee showed me pictures of her little sister and how she mentors and takes care of her!
Fun Fact About You: My favorite fruits are mangoes!
Sylvia Mendez
Nella Batah
Major: Nutritional Sciences
Sage Experience: 2 semester!
Plans After College: medical school!
Favorite Sage Memory:
Working with my first grade class on their Halloween pumpkin drawings this past fall! I was able to make my own pumpkin and bond with the kids while cracking jokes!
Fun Fact About You: I am a black belt in karate!
Finance, Marketing, & Social Team
Athene Yu
Finance Chair
Major: Intended Data Science + Statistics
Sage Experience: 1 semester!
Plans After College: Moving back to LA
Favorite Sage Memory: When my mentee and his friends swarmed me during a game of tag
Fun Fact About You: I've never cried during a movie, no matter how sad it was
Lauren Vaca
Finance Chair
Major: Cognitive Science
Sage Experience: 8 semesters!
Plans After College: I plan to work as a medical scribe as I take a gap year to apply and prepare for medical school!
Favorite Sage Memory: Watching my
mentee grow up from a tiny 2nd grader to a full grown 5th grader!
Fun Fact About You:I was on a game show when I was 10!
fundraising2@sagementorship.org
Rhea Mishra
VP Social
Major: Cognitive Science
Sage Experience: 5 semesters!
Plans After College:I plan to pursue medical school after graduation.
Favorite Sage Memory: My favorite Sage memory would have to be playing basketball with my mentee :) He was so excited to show off his cool skills!
Fun Fact About You: I'm double jointed in my elbows.
Founder
Alejandro Velez
With the realization that there was a great need for a mentorship program that grounded itself in forging powerful, long-lasting relationships with the youth in the greater Berkeley and Oakland community, Alejandro founded Sage in 2008. Alejandro began Sage with a vision of creating a program in which UC Berkeley mentors could be paired up with an elementary student and serve not only as teachers but also as friends and role models. To this day Alejandro is very close to his mentee, Cleveland.
Since his graduation, he has gone on to have a very successful career driven by the same entrepreneurial spirit to find ways to better the world around him. Alejandro now serves as the co-founder of Back to the Roots, an Oakland-based business that sells mushroom kits and AquaFarm fish tanks to retailers nationwide. Since co-founding BTTR, Alejandro has even been named as one of Inc.’s 30 Under 30, Poder's 2010 Influential Hispanics Under 40, Forbes’ 30 Under 30, CNN’s 10 Next Entrepreneur’s to Watch, and been recognized by President Obama!