Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.”
-H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Jeff Mazet President
Jeffery Mazet is President of BHM Construction Inc., located in Napa, California. After earning his BA from the University of California, Davis, Jeff entered the construction industry in order to support his wife through veterinary and graduate school. Beginning as a carpenter, he started to immerse himself in all aspects of the trade and quickly navigated up the ladder into senior management positions. In 2007, he founded and began to build BHM Construction, taking it from a small business enterprise to one of the Top 500 largest General Contractors in the United States. Jeff is a San Francisco resident and, when not working, enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife and two successful, adult children. Jeff and Jonna strongly believe in the power of education and its potential for breaking down the barriers that limit opportunity. A recent addition to the San Francisco Achievers Board, Jeff hopes to share lessons learned in business development and to make a significant contribution through organizational advancement and individual mentorship.
Aakar Vachhani Treasurer
Aakar Vachhani is a Partner at Fairview Capital where he has been a member of the Investment Team since 2008. Fairview Capital is a leading investment management firm focused on top-tier venture capital and next generation investment opportunities. Mr. Vachhani is involved in research, due diligence, investment monitoring, and business development for Fairview’s venture capital and private equity partnership and direct co-investment portfolios. He established and currently leads Fairview’s San Francisco office.Prior to joining Fairview, Mr. Vachhani was at Cambridge Associates, a leading investment advisor to foundations, endowments and corporate and government entities. Mr. Vachhani also spent time with MK Capital, a multi-stage growth equity and venture capital firm. Mr. Vachhani holds a B.S. in Economics-Finance from Bentley University and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation from the Kellogg School of Management. As a firm believer in the power of education, Mr. Vachhani is passionate about helping to provide access to education as a lever for achieving equality of opportunity.
Phyllis Culp Secretary
Phyllis Culp is a member of the Ohio and California Bars. Phyllis retired from the State Bar of California, where she was employed for many years.Phyllis’ resume also includes the following: former member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Specialization, former member of the California Supreme Court’s Judicial Council’s Access and Fairness Committee, past chair of its Education and Gender Fairness subcommittees, past president of Black Women Lawyers of Northern California, and a current member Board of Directors of the National Board of Trial Advocacy.Phyllis believes strongly in the importance of education and became part of the San Francisco Achievers. In some small way, Phyllis strives to make a difference in the lives of the students.”One person can make a difference and everyone should try.” – John F. Kennedy
Tarrell Gamble President Emeritus
For the last 10+ years, Tarrell has specialized in corporate finance coverage of Fortune 500 companies focused on soliciting and winning underwriting mandates for debt and equity offerings. His efforts have helped Blaylock Van, LLC rank as a top minority underwriter of corporate debt each year since 2007.In addition to serving as the Senior Vice President ant Blaylock?, Tarrell also serves as a Trustee of the Alameda County Employees Retirement Association. Tarrell is committed to this work to make sure every man gets his allocation of boots.”It’s alright to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel just to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Bill Phillips
Bill Phillips has vast experience in the U.S. Intelligence Community with more than 36 years as a professional intelligence officer, over 25 of which were as a CIA clandestine service officer. Among his many accomplishments, Bill served as CIA Chief of Station (COS) in South America, the Caribbean, and the Near East. Bill is the recipient of CIA’s Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the National HUMINT Collector Award, the CIA’s Latin America Division Medal, Two Meritorious Unit Citations and numerous CIA Exceptional Performance Awards.After leaving CIA, Bill served as Director of the Office of Counterintelligence (CI) at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 2005-2010. Currently, Bill is an independent consultant and has created intelligence related training programs, taught and advised clients in the IC. He especially enjoys mentoring and guiding individuals new to the intelligence field.Bill is a member of the Northern California Chapter of the Explorers Club. He is a Life Member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Bill received a B.A. from Howard University in 1972 and a J.D. from Rutgers University Law School-Newark in 1975. He is married with two adult sons.
Vincent Matthews, Ed.D
Vincent Matthews is a native of San Francisco. Mr. Matthews completed his PreK-12 education as a SFUSD student. Following graduation from McAteer, Mr. Matthews earned his BA, teaching credential, and eventually his doctorate in education from San Francisco State University. Early in his career as an educator he taught at George Washington Carver Elementary School and served as principal at Alvarado Elementary School.Before the San Francisco Board of Education selected Dr. Matthews to serve as superintendent, Matthews served the California Department of Education as the state-appointed superintendent of Inglewood Unified School District.Prior to serving in Inglewood, Matthews led the San Jose Unified School District as superintendent for 5 1/2 years where he is credited with raising academic achievement, narrowing the achievement gap between Latino and white students, and passing landmark agreements with the San Jose teacher’s union. Prior to working in San Jose, he served as a state-appointed superintendent for Oakland Unified and as an area superintendent for San Diego City Schools.Mr. Matthews recently joined the Board of the San Francisco Achievers; he looks forward to lending his experience and passion to the organization’s effort to improve the postsecondary and vocational outcomes of African American young men in the city.
Cindy Morton
Cindy Morton is an accomplished development professional and consultant. She has helped raised over $60 million for causes including pediatric cancer research, revitalizing Bay Area parklands and civic institutions by resurrecting Crissy Field and the Randall Museum, and many more. Her wide-ranging experience includes leading capital campaign planning, major donor program development, and fundraising events. Born and raised in Manhattan and now living in San Francisco, Cindy has a bachelor’s degree in Art History from Boston University, loves to read fiction, take long hikes and yearns to be bi-lingual. She has two sons who are doing great work in the world. As a volunteer, she has been a tutor with Bridge the Gap College Preparatory and Reading Partners and was on the board of Creativity Explored until recently. Cindy is delighted to be a part of the San Francisco Achievers board and also volunteers as a mentor with the organization.
Jordan Wilson
Jordan is a fifth-generation San Franciscan and a proud graduate of the San Francisco Achievers program. He brings a unique perspective to the board–serving as both a participant of the program and a mentor. Jordan received his B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Redlands and currently works for San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed in her communications department.Before joining Mayor Breed’s team, Jordan worked as a project manager for Lighthouse Public Affairs, a preeminent public affairs consultancy in San Francisco. While at Lighthouse, Jordan worked extensively on community outreach and engagement, policy recommendations, strategic communications, and political consulting for companies across the Bay Area.As a San Francisco Achievers scholar, Jordan interned on Capitol Hill with Congressman Eric Swalwell and was a fellow for the late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. Jordan believes education is one of society’s greatest tools to achieve equity and equal opportunity for all.
Igor Abramov
Igor Abramov is an El Cerrito based lawyer, specializing in business matters, corporate governance, and business ethics. Igor was born in a mountainous region of southern Russia, in the city of Derbent, located along the Caspian Sea. Igor arrived in the United States in 1977 at the age of 15. With the support of few individuals in high school who believed and encouraged him, Igor overcame challenges faced by emigration, lack of the English language, and living in low-income housing projects, to earn a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. Igor brings unique experience to San Francisco Achievers, having served: on eight different boards over the last 10 years; in law firms; and in the International Trade Administration of the U.S Department of Commerce for 11 years. He is an author, co-author, and editor of several books and numerous articles on corporate governance and business ethics and was a lecturer of law at the Stanford University Law School.
