Stephanie Bravo-Jafari

About Stephanie Bravo-Jafari

Stephanie Bravo-Jafari is making a difference in philanthropy leveraging 15+ years of experience at the intersection of education, technology, and nonprofit sectors. She is a social innovator recognized for creating transformational programs that have impacted tens of thousands of people. More recently, she has taken her innovation-mindset, entrepreneurial skills, and research training to the private sector, where she has managed social impact programs, corporate philanthropy, and employee engagement initiatives. Having experienced the opportunity-divide in Silicon Valley firsthand, Bravo-Jafari is in a unique position as one of very few women of color in philanthropy who is making an impact on the community she comes from. She is deeply rooted in her community upholding a 75-year family legacy in Nihonmachi—or San José\'s Japantown located on unceded Muwekma Ohlone land. Serving her community has always been an integral part of her life since her grandfather owned the neighborhood taqueria for nearly 30 years—fulfilling his dream as a Mexican immigrant in the U.S. Building on her strong foundation of family, community, and service, Bravo-Jafari became the first in her family to attend a four-year university, graduate cum laude, and continue on to graduate school while working part-time in retail, conducting medical/neuroscience research, and volunteering in her community. Education has been the catalyst for her success, and she has been paying it forward to others for the past two decades. Inspired by her lived experience as a first-generation college student, Bravo-Jafari created the first-ever social network providing virtual mentoring at scale for diverse college students. She received unprecedented recognition for her work as Co-founder & President of StudentMentor.org, including the Silicon Valley Women of Influence Award, KQED Local Hero Award, and features in TIME, CNN/Fortune, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and more. Most notably, she partnered with the Obama administration in 2012 to shift the national narrative towards college success and career readiness while sparking a national movement of virtual volunteerism and the broader use of technology for social good.With an equity-centered, community-first approach, Stephanie Bravo-Jafari is leveraging her diverse professional and personal experiences to make a transformative impact on the social sector and positively impact people’s lives through education, technology, and philanthropy.

Experience

1. Board Trustee

   Latino Education Advancement Foundation

   Sep 2021 — Present · San Jose, CA, US

   Serves as Trustee for nonprofit organization aimed at improving outcomes for Latinx students and families in East San José. LEAF’s initiatives focus on college success and career preparation programs as well as advancing educational equity through advocacy and systems change. Learn more at leafca.org.

Education

• San José State University

  Bachelors of Arts, Psychology

• Stanford University Graduate School of Education

  Master of Arts (M.A.), Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies

  2014 — 2015

• Georgetown University

  Certificate, Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management

  2012

• University of California, Irvine - College of Medicine

  Doctorate of Medicine, Medicine

  2009 — 2011