Who We Are
Board of Directors | Advisory Board | Staff
Board of directors
Sandy Barbour
As Director of Athletics at the University of California at Berkeley, Sandy Barbour oversees an athletic department that ranks as one of the most successful in the country with a mission that seeks to match its level of excellence with that attained by the university as a whole. Under Barbour's leadership, the Golden Bears have developed into a model program that has become a mainstay among the Top 10 in the annual NACDA Directors' Cup standings. On the academic front, nearly half of Cal's student-athletes maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, and 14 of Cal's 27 programs earned cumulative GPAs higher than their historical average.
With a career in intercollegiate athletic administration that spans 26 years, Barbour has been named one of the "100 Most Influential Women in Business" in the Bay Area by the (add italics for publications/newspapers)San Francisco Business Times. Barbour has also been chosen a 2006 Woman of Distinction by the add italicsEast Bay Business Times and the 2006 National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Division I-A National Administrator of the Year.
Barbour graduated cum laude in 1981 with a B.S. degree in physical education from Wake Forest, where she was a four-year letter winner and served as captain of the field hockey team. She also played two varsity seasons of women's basketball. Barbour went on to earn advanced degrees at both Massachusetts (an M.S. in sports management in 1983) and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management (an MBA in 1991).
Na'il Benjamin
Na'il Benjamin, an associate at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s Silicon Valley office, practices commercial litigation and serves on the firm's recruiting committee and diversity committee. Mr. Benjamin's litigation practice includes class action antitrust defense, partnership disputes, stock options backdating, trade secrets and complex class action law suits. Mr. Benjamin completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California at Berkeley. He also played wide receiver on the U.C. Berkeley football team and was one of the most prolific receivers and all-purpose players in school history. He went on to pursue a career in the National Football League before working for a Fortune 500 company and then attending law school at UC Hastings College of the Law. Mr. Benjamin serves as a mentor for members of the UC Hastings Black Students Association (BLSA), is an active member of UC Hastings Black Law Students Association Alumni and was named the 2007-2008 UC Hastings BLSA Alumnus of the Year.
While at U.C. Berkeley, Mr. Benjamin was a spokesperson for Touchdowns For Kids, where a significant number of “Old Blues” donated money to Stiles Hall mentoring programs each time Cal scored a touchdown. Mr. Benjamin was also a mentor at Stiles Hall, where he mentored Roy Haskins Jr., from the time Roy was a high school sophomore and beyond his graduation. Mr. Benjamin has been also also active in raising money for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign on behalf of Obama for America and the Obama Victory Fund.
Annabella (Annie) Flores
Annie is the oldest daughter of immigrant parents she was raised in Brentwood, California. Annie embarked on her vocation in health care policy right out of high school as a peer counselor for TAP (tobacco prevention program). She earned a bachelors degree in Public Policy from Mills College, and a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco.
Annie has worked as an eligibility worker for Contra Costa County Public Health and an E.R Social Services Worker for San Francisco General Hospital. She has been at the forefront of advocacy and health care policy initiatives addressing underserved populations. She has been an Oakland resident for the past 7 years and she currently serves Assemblymember Sandré Swanson as a legislative public health aid.
Harold Pearson
Harold Pearson, co-founder of SPAAT, has recently taken over as the program's executive director. Mr. Pearson, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, received his bachelor's degree in business communications in May 2001. As a three-year letterman for the Cal football team, Harold adds a wealth of knowledge in regards to being a student-athlete and adjusting to life as a collegiate athlete. It is important for our fellow members and future students to take special interest into Mr. Pearson and his story. He is not only the model example of our program, but he is our paradigm of success and the core reason as to why SPAAT exists. His experience as a high school star athlete, junior college transfer and Division I athlete and graduate speaks volumes into the type of success SPAAT aims to achieve for all student-athletes.
Ali Ar Rasheed
Ali Ar Rasheed, J.D., is the founder and CEO of AAR Developmental Consultants, a network of professional consultants serving business owners, venture development teams and corporations (profit & nonprofit). He is a seasoned entrepreneur who has successfully created and managed several businesses. He possesses more than 25 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur, 15 years of nonprofit management experience, seven years of law-related experience and 15 years of teaching experience. He considers himself an entrepreneur, educator and committed community activist.
Mr. Rasheed was the East Bay Coordinator for New College of California (NCOC)/East Bay and an adjunct instructor for the NCOC/East Bay B.A. Completion Program from 1998 to 2005. Under his direction, the East Bay campus grew to $740,000 in tuition revenue from $170,000 (per year?). His current volunteer activities include acting as a director on the board of directors of Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, Inc. and as a director for the board of directors of SPAAT. His current major contract work includes securing initial funding of $3 million for MagiMedia, Inc. and acting as business development manager for add italicsThe Black Biker Magazine.