our mission
We empower youth to design their future with tools that foster self-discovery.
our vision
We aspire to motivate all young people in America to become active participants in their educational and career journeys. We aim to cultivate emotional and social skills and instill a growth mindset in how our students approach their ongoing journeys of career exploration. We believe that such a mindset, when coupled with a strong understanding of self and the tools we provide to achieve tangible results, can create the resilience and adaptability necessary for young individuals to succeed given the ever-changing realities of today’s workforce. It is our goal to instill confidence, agency, and competencies in students so they remain engaged in school, stay away from crime, and become thriving, contributing members of society.
our belief
We provide a program that sees the development of a career roadmap as a dynamic process of self-assessment, imaginative exploration, and self-management. We believe that the practical realities of the job search, such as conscientiousness about financial planning and networking skills, need to be integrated into a more holistic process by which students can imaginatively identify with, envision, and plan for the path towards their future selves.
A Message from the Founder
Nicole Serena Silver
Founder, President and Executive Director
CREATION – IMPACT – PEOPLE
“Our goal is to assist individuals to discover their full potential, hone their specific skills, and support them in contributing their gifts to society’s economic health. I have a daughter who is next in line to take care of our world, I aim for GROW to give her and those like her a blue print for success.”
The Board
Bryan Breckenridge
Vice President
AUTHENTIC – HUMANITARIAN – GLOBAL LEADER
Bryan has helped organizations, both in the nonprofit and commercial sectors, utilize technology to exceed their goals since the mid 90’s. Bryan Breckenridge is founding Executive Director of Box.org, an integrated social enterprise at Box.com Inc. that serves over 7000 nonprofits today. In his role, Bryan leads Box.org’s vision to bring the social impact and tech worlds together enabling nonprofits and the tech community to innovate and fulfill their missions. Prior to Box.org, Bryan founded the nonprofit facing pillar of LinkedIn for Good. Previously, Bryan was Director of Nonprofits and Education at the salesforce.org which leverages salesforce.com’s people, technology and resources to improve communities. Bryan is a passionate supporter of GROW’s mission and is committed to our growth.
Jill Brogan
Secretary
COMMUNICATION – DEDICATION – EXUBERANCE
Jill has fifteen years in the entertainment business operations and office administration. She has worked with record labels such as Universal and EMI/Capitol, helped produce numerous music videos, helped coordinate major tours with artists like John Mayer, worked with late night shows such as Jay Leno and David Letterman. Jill devours Excel tables, slays complex tax and legal forms, and gets down and dirty in process details to make sure the job gets done. She is reliable, smart, extremely personable and thinks fast on her feet. Jill goes the extra mile, where as most would stop at fulfilling the basic needs. Jill has discovered her passion for health and is pursuing a career in the wellness industry.
Elisa Sabatini
Board Member
GLOBAL – VERSATILE – LOYAL
Elisa has created and stewarded international nonprofit organizations for over 30 years. She has dealt with the complexity of poverty, war and human transformation in these environments. She supports GROW to develop leaders who are working to bring about change in individuals that will help shift the roots of the volatile issues of our time.
John Jefferson
Interim CFO
John has worked in a variety of capacities in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors, always with an eye to value and opportunity creation. Prior to his current position at AT&T in external affairs, he worked in roles ranging from manager of a hostel in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a history and social science teacher in Los Angeles. His extensive international travel has spanned South and Central America, Europe, India, Southeast Asia, Australia and various countries throughout Africa and the Middle East. John regularly travels to East Africa for humanitarian and faith-based mission work with indigenous people groups.
“We envision a world where young people are empowered to pursue careers aligned with their passions and skills, leading to a more engaged workforce, increased productivity, lower dropout rates, decreased crime, less depression, and a healthier society.”
The Team
Tracy Wu
Advisor
MOTIVATED – FREE-SPIRITED – PERSONABLE
Tracy Wu graduated with a B.A. in Economics from U.C. Berkeley and is an alum of the very first beta class ran by G.R.O.W. She is an accountant for a concept-to-launch software innovation company and is planning on moving into the field of becoming a financial analyst. Tracy is passionate, ambitious and is constantly looking for new challenges to increase her knowledge. She excels at quantitative and analytical problem-solving with a keen eye for detail. She joined the G.R.O.W. team after realizing how valuable having career guidance can be for people. Her goal is to help promote and expand the organization in reaching out to as many students as possible. Her main responsibilities at G.R.O.W. is financial management and strategies planning.
Vicki Lyons
Advisor
BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS – COMMUNICATION – IMPROVING COMMUNITIES
Vicki’s diverse experience has focused on communication vehicles and tools to engage people to connect with each other for success. Her career includes the management of products, projects and relationships in the telecommunications, technology and retail industries. As a partner success manager at LinkedIn she partners with sales professionals around the globe to maximize social selling and LinkedIn Sales Navigator as their primary solution to drive sales. She’s passionate about connecting employee, community and company goals for social responsibility and improved business results.
Sruti Bharat
Curriculum and Program Development
COMPASSION – LEARNING – AUTHENTICITY
Sruti has worked in project management, facilitation, and strategy for four years at OSIsoft, a software company. She graduated from UC Berkeley and is passionate about sustainability, social justice, and education in the East Bay community. Her strengths lie in understanding diverse perspectives, bringing teams together, and empowering individuals to be their best selves. She is currently getting her MBA from Kellogg School of Management in Chicago.
Lindsay Stanley
Curriculum Development
INSPIRATIONAL – OPTIMISTIC – OPEN-MINDED
Lindsay Stanley is a UC Berkeley student majoring in Social Welfare. Her involvement with G.R.O.W. began after her life changed from taking the A.I.M. class. She is a compassionate people person, energetic, and thrives on motivating others.