David is a community leader and activist. As co-founder and co-director of Cre8Innovations, he assumes a pivotal position, wielding significant responsibility for the establishment of the organization’s operational systems, including accounting procedures and HR policies. Having personally experienced the profound impact of the carceral system through a life sentence handed down during his teenage years, David possesses an intimate understanding of its intricacies. As a first-generation student and firm believer in reducing the wealth gap in the United States, he is passionately dedicated to reshaping the narrative surrounding formerly incarcerated individuals. David is an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on wealth and poverty in the United States.

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Jonathan owes his tenacity to being raised by a widowed-mother in a multi-family household and deriving from a community with dire resource deprivation, fueling his drive and commitment to co-creating thriving communities for all. Originating in East San Jose, Jonathan’s family struggled with housing instability during childhood, resulting in hazardous living conditions and teenage homelessness. Amid dire circumstances and removed from parental support, Jonathan would consecutively spend his teens and young adult years incarcerated. Jonathan overcame enormous obstacles to become the first in his extended family to attend college, starting college correspondence courses while in prison, transferring to a community college in Sacramento, and landing at UC Berkeley as a Regents’ & Chancellor’s Scholar.

Jonathan is a graduate of UC Berkeley, earning a degree in urban planning with an emphasis in housing & real estate development. His field of study involves housing and planning policy, economic analysis, urban health, innovative design (architecture), financing and development, entrepreneurship, citizen participatory planning with underrepresented communities, and real estate rehabilitation and acquisition.

While at Berkeley, Jonathan volunteered for various community impact groups and worked for Alameda County’s Housing and Community Development agency as a policy and programs specialist, collaborating with various Bay Area governments for policy implementation and capacity building with local community agencies. Jonathan was awarded several housing and real estate development fellowships nationally and across the Bay Area, achieving 1st-place for competitve real estate development competitions. Jonathan Dena is also a 2023 Gardner Fellow at Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund. The John Gardner Fellowship is a highly competitive fellowship awarded to three Berkeley graduates and three Stanford graduates each year, funding them to work for a public service agency of their choice."

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John Lam is a first-generation Chinese-American originally from Sacramento, California. As the co-founder of Cre8Innovations, a groundbreaking initiative addressing housing challenges and advocating for marginalized and formerly incarcerated students facing homelessness in higher education, John is a passionate advocate for equity and justice.

Drawing from his own experiences as someone who has navigated the challenges of incarceration, John has found purpose in utilizing technology and policy to spearhead criminal justice reform. His commitment to empowering marginalized communities extends to Cre8Innovations, where he plays a pivotal role in developing housing solutions and advocating for policies that support the unique needs of students facing homelessness.

In addition to his co-founder role, John is an undergraduate student majoring in Political Science at UC Berkeley. His vision extends beyond the academic realm, as he plans to pursue a Master's in Public Policy to further contribute to creating positive change.

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Erin McCall is a North Bay native, who has lived in Oakland for the past fifteen years. In 2020 she graduated from Foothill Community College with honors with an A.S.-T in Business Administration and transferred to UC Berkeley to major in Legal Studies. She will be graduating this fall. Erin enjoys pushing the boundaries of legal scholarship and introducing the perspective of a formerly incarcerated student into the often-punitive classroom.

In addition to her work with Cre8 Innovations, Erin has been a student leader of the Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) at UC Berkeley for the last three years, serving first as the Treasurer, and finally as the Retention Chair. USI is an ASUC-sponsored registered student organization that supports formerly incarcerated, and system-impacted students at UC Berkeley. As the treasurer she successfully secured more than $200,000 to create an Underground Scholars Wellness Fund, where members could apply for and receive funds to meet their medical, dental, mental health, and other wellness expenses. She has also been an Underground Scholars Policy Fellow for the past two years, traveling to Sacramento to advocate for $4 million in ongoing funding from the state legislature to support expanding the Underground Scholars programs to all UC campuses statewide.

Erin is also a research assistant with the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley, where she and four other scholars published the Policy Brief, Creating Career Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters. In her free time, she enjoys playing golf, cycling, and spending time fostering animals for the East Bay SPCA.

Kevin Coleman heads Urban Farmers Inc. West Coast Operation. Kevin began his investment career with Intel Capital in 2010 where he helped actively manage a $3B portfolio of over 230 companies in post investment activities, including IPO, M&A, private sales, restructuring and corporate governance matters.

Kevin advised the Director and Managing Director in a broad range of sectors on exit strategies, mergers and acquisitions, portfolio performance, and most importantly coordinating with Investment Managers, lawyers, and target company staff to drive the deal to an asset purchase or investment funding of over 300+ start- ups. Kevin left Intel Capital in 2014 to launch Kingdom Development Group LLC, a company formed with a holistic approach to real estate investing.

KDG’s value-investing approach capitalized on opportunities created by inefficient capital structures and value-added re-development in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2018 Kevin Coleman partnered with Urban Farmers Inc to lead their West Coast Operations.

Annie Roge (she/her) is the Development & Communications Manager at UnCommon Law, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Media Studies from Whitman College in 2017, where she graduated cum laude with Honors. During her time at Whitman, Annie coordinated community organizing campaigns around issues of gender-based violence, interned with several film production companies, and served as a member of the College’s Senior Fund committee.

Annie’s is UnCommon Law's resident storyteller. Her work with UnCommon Law includes crafting and implementing messaging campaigns, building relationships with constituents, community members, and donors, and leading strategic communications work in support of UnCommon Law's advocacy goals.

Jeremiah Tolbert LEED AP, AIA is the founding principal of Tolbert Design Architects, of Oakland, CA which has de­veloped a national reputation for the design of a range of major public and private buildings, high-tech/startup tenant improvements, university and institutional projects, and high-end custom homes.

He is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and is the past-President of the American Institute of Ar­chitects East Bay chapter where he resided over the third largest chapter in the state of California as the youngest president the board ever had. He is the former teacher of ARE’s (Architecture Registration Exams) and promotes education on vital design topics in the community and supports outreach for current and aspiring architects.