Alison C. Hunter, CPA (retired), MPA
Founder

Alison Hunter is a Certified Public Accountant who founded CAASSIE while an employee at the Southwestern College Foundation. She is the former finance director of a major non-profit where she focused on improving financial operations and efficiency.

Prior to her role as finance director, Alison worked in government and education as a finance manager, budget manager, management analyst, and government auditor. While at the County of San Diego Alison founded the African-American Employee’s Association. During her term, the Association conducted several fundraising events for student scholarships, promotional exam workshops, and provided forums for diverse populations to gather socially and share ideas and similar interests outside of their particular departments and with executive management.

Alison's commitment to helping students was inspired by her late sister Lurie Center who was a school teacher and founder of the African-American Boys Club at Grant Elementary School. "'Lurie was a role model for me. She was 17 years my senior. She taught me the meaning of words such as tracking, college-prep, Advanced Placement (AP), and A-G requirements. She made sure that I enrolled in college prep classes and she also attended my school meetings along with my parents."'

Alison holds a bachelor’s degree in business management information systems and a master’s degree in public administration.

Mildred Center
Fundraiser Leader and Head of Marketing

Mildred Center is a marketing and brand innovator. As an entrepreneur, she developed two successful products, Fortune Pad shoulder pads, and ClotheSaver® dressing hoods. As a corporate executive, she led the strategic direction for marketing, brand, creative and digital services for LPL Financial, Sony Electronics, Iyobu, LLC, Centerdesign, LLC, and CitiGroup.

A focal point of her marketing initiatives has been brand strategy and website design and development. Mildred's hands-on experience as a designer and a coder gives her deep insight into how websites should look, feel, and be experienced by users. Her websites are considered best-in-class.

Mildred’s marketing initiatives are supported by her compulsion to create innovative concepts that drive and sustain brand recognition and engagement. Mildred contributes her marketing expertise to micro-businesses and teaching brand strategy. Her portfolio can be viewed at www.iyobu-creative.com. Her bachelor’s degree is in urban development. Connect with Mildred at www.linkedin.com/in/mildredcenter.

Jaquelene Jones
Fundraiser Leader

Jacquelene Jones is a retired Human Resource Services Director, who enjoyed a career with Alameda County that spanned a 41-year period.

During her later years of employment with Alameda County, she was charged with the administration and management of a comprehensive human resources system. This system provided the full scope of human resource services to departments in the Health Care Services Agency, which included Administrative Services, Behavioral Health Services, Public Health Services and Environmental Health Services and Hospitals.

During her tenure, Jacquelene was appointed by the County's Board of Supervisors to serve as an Associate Labor Relations Specialist and Chief Spokesperson on the County's Management Negotiations Team. In this capacity, she fostered credible and effective working relationships with major labor organizations.

Jacquelene's commitment to high performance standards and excellence in the delivery of quality human resource services resulted in her being selected as Outstanding Manager of the Year. She was also the recipient of an Award of Excellence in recognition of excellence, leadership and outstanding service in her work as a human resource professional.

Linda Cumby
Fundraiser Leader

Linda Cumby is a retired High School Administrator, having served students in the Oakland Unified School District and Manteca Unified School District for 39 years.

Over the span of her esteemed career in public education, she held the roles of classroom teacher, department head, curriculum development committee member, Dean of Students, and Vice Principal.

Linda is a strong advocate of public service and fulfills this commitment through her active membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and The Links, Inc. Additionally, Linda enjoys supporting the mission efforts of the Palma Ceia Baptist Church.

Tania Center, MS
Fundraiser Leader

Tania Center has always had a passion in her heart for helping others. From an early age, she was pulled toward the medical field and decided to become a hospital volunteer in her early teens.

After entering college, Tania changed her career direction from chemistry to liberal arts. She followed a path to education laid by her eldest aunt, Lurie Center.

While teaching at a state hospital for her master’s program in Special Education, Tania discovered a passion for working with students who have Autism Spectrum Disorders. She worked in schools, homes, clinics and hospital settings providing behavior intervention and developmental play therapy. Later, she supervised up to 20 therapists in those same settings, which proved to be very rewarding.

In 2015, after over 20 years in Education, Tania left the classroom as a Special Education Teacher and Summer Day Camp Director.  She still pursued her interest in education by running for and supporting local school boards in Plainfield, New Jersey. Then, Tania decided to pursue a new and different career.

For the past two years, Tania has been a successful Realtor helping clients buy and sell homes. This new career has brought her much joy and allows her the flexibility to pursue other interests, such as writing children’s books.

Sun Cumby, MS
Fundraiser Leader and Head of Social Media

Sun Cumby holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics from the University of California Los Angeles and a Masters in Pacific International Affairs from the University of California San Diego.

While working on a research paper about policies that sustained economic development in third world countries, Sun learned that the only policy which provided sustained economic growth for any country was education.  However, education was a long-term investment that most politicians passed over for more short-term strategies to boost economic development and ensure re-election.  These short-term strategies usually yielded short-lived results that temporarily boosted the economy but would never sustain prolonged economic growth.

This newly gained insight forced Sun to self-reflect on how education has influenced and changed the very fabric and landscape of her own life.  She became very intrigued with and passionate about education and decided to pursue teaching math at Oakland Unified after graduate school.  Although she eventually left teaching and now works in supply chain in the tech industry, her passion for education never waned.  She continues to strive and fight for equal access to quality education for all, regardless of socioeconomic status.       

Kira Hunter
Student Advisor and Head of Video/Photography

Kira Hunter is an eager, passionate Economics and Marketing major at San Diego State University (SDSU) . Kira has been involved in leadership since her freshmen year of high school when she volunteered as a camp counselor and kindergarten teacher’s assistant. She currently works part-time as a photographer and videographer for Eastlake Community Church in Chula Vista.

In addition to being a full-time student and managing a part-time work schedule, Kira does freelance photography and leads a weekly bible study group for junior high school students. It is her goal to gain the skills necessary to excel in an organization that has a vibrant and positive atmosphere and values excellence and integrity in the workforce. 

Kira's work experience has not only allowed her to develop excellent leadership skills, but also team management, public speaking, business and creative writing skills.