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BOARD CHAIR

Karl Christiansen

Karl is retired Senior Company Counsel from the Investment Banking and Securities Section of the Wells Fargo Bank law department in San Francisco. Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2005, Karl practiced law with the San Francisco office of the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP and the Los Angeles office of Riordan McKinzie, where he was a member of those firms’ litigation, financial transactions and technology transactions groups.

Karl was also a Legislative Aide to Tom Nolan, Member of the Board of Supervisors, San Mateo County, California and a Management Analyst for the Aging and Adult section of the San Mateo County Health Department, prior to law school. Karl served on the Project Open Hand board from 2013 to 2016 and returned to the board in 2024. He volunteers for various nonprofits, enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time on Lake Michigan.

VICE BOARD CHAIR

Arielle Anderson, Associate Director, Strategy at Teladoc Health

Arielle is an Associate Director of Strategy at Teladoc Health which aims to empower people through an integrated approach to virtual health. She has led and supported projects around strategy development for addressing social drivers of health (SDOH) for members and analysis for product and partnership growth.

Arielle previously held roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and a range of companies in the healthcare space, including UnitedHealth Group and Lyft Healthcare, all with the focus on improving the health and wellbeing of populations that have been marginalized historically. Arielle holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Business Economics from Indiana University. She lives in Oakland with her partner and enjoys traveling and learning French.

SECRETARY

Susanna Holt, VP Engineering, Cloud Migrations, Global Team Leadership, Regionalization Strategy, Compliance, Autodesk

As a customer-focused software engineering executive, Susanna has nearly 30 years of success delivering innovative technology solutions for startups and large companies. Her expertise includes migrating products and services to the cloud, integrating technologies and teams following acquisitions, transforming business cultures, and scaling operations.

She excels at translating technology for boards and C-Suite executives, improving productivity, driving profit and growth, and negotiating priorities and deadlines. She leverages her analytical skills to solve complex problems and guide decision-making.

FINANCE CHAIR

Andrew Chang, Investor, Premji Invest

Andrew is an investor at Premji Invest, a fund formed to support the philanthropic initiatives of the Azim Premji Foundation. He is responsible for leading consumer and healthcare investments for the firm. Andrew holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Andrew lives in San Francisco with his wife and son.  

Vishwa Chandra, VP Enterprise Partnerships, DoorDash

Vishwa's deep expertise in the food space, combined with his experience driving innovation and operational efficiency, helps Project Open Hand deliver high-quality nutrition in ways that are sustainable. Vishwa earned a BSc with Focus in operations and information management from the Wharton School.

Mike Henry, Managing Director, Google

Mike Henry oversees Google teams that help the world’s leading financial services companies get the most out of the web. Over 14 years at Google, Mike has led sales, marketing, and operations teams across the US and globally, with a passion for marrying innovative technology with great marketing ideas to help companies better serve their customers. Mike is also a leader in fostering DEI within Google and beyond. His work at POH is informed and inspired by the wisdom of his partner – a naturopathic physician dedicated to integrative care. Mike earned his MBA from Stanford and his AB from Dartmouth.

Adi Wakankar, PhD, Vice President, CMC Strategy & Program Management, Sangamo Therapeutics

In his current role, Adi oversees development of CMC strategy and program management activities across all projects and modalities in the cell and gene therapy space at Sangamo. Over his 16 plus years in the biopharmaceutical industry, he has led various leadership roles within the Technical Operations organization starting at Genentech and more recently at Portola Pharmaceuticals. He has brought numerous drug products through various stages of clinical development and helped advance three innovative technologies as now commercially available drugs in the oncology and cardiovascular disease space. Adi earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from The University of Kansas. In his spare time, Adi enjoys time spent traveling with family and friends and exploring the great outdoors in and around California.

Dr. Preston Maring, M.D.

Dr. Preston Maring is retired from a 42+ year career with Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. He believes in “food as medicine” so he started the first Organic-certified, hospital-based Farmers Market in 2003. There are now hundreds of farmers markets at hospitals around the country. Serving on the board of Project Open Hand is a privilege as their mission is the best medicine. 

Andrea Wilkinson, Global Head, Patient Engagement Portfolio Strategy, UCB

Andrea is Global Head of Patient Engagement Portfolio Strategy at UCB. Before she served as a Senior Director of Patient Advocacy and Public Policy for Zogenix, a company committed to developing and commercializing transformative therapies for people living with rare diseases. She has had a successful career of problem solving by tailoring strategic product launch solutions for 30+ complex, innovative and breakthrough biopharmaceutical therapies. She’s a trusted C-Suite advisor who has worked with early-to-late stage drug development launch teams in multinational companies, including AstraZeneca, Takeda and sanofi pasteur. Andrea holds a BA from Louisiana Tech University.

Theresa Ng Chang, VP, Strategy & Operations, Legal & Global Affairs, Splunk

Theresa Chang is V.P., Strategy & Operations, Legal & Global Affairs at Splunk Inc., a security and observability data platform provider. Theresa has responsibility for developing and executing Splunk’s legal and global affairs strategy and managing the department’s global infrastructure and operations. She previously served as legal counsel to Autodesk, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. and co-led the S.F. Bay Area chapter of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC). Theresa began her career as an associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP. She holds a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Richard Long, Principal at Cerity Partners

Rich is a wealth manager with Cerity Partners based in San Francisco. He takes a holistic view of clients’ financial situations to help ensure their investment assets are working in harmony with the financial planning components. Rich helps clients navigate financial matters and investments so they can focus on the things that matter most to them. Rich has been in the financial services industry since 1994. He earned an undergraduate degree from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania where he grew up and where most of his extended family still resides. After working for JP Morgan in New York City for many years, he pursued his dream to move “west” earning his master’s degree from Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. Rich lives in San Anselmo with his wife and two teenage boys. His family enjoys spending time together exploring the outdoors and experiencing new foods. Rich joined Project Open Hand’s Board during December 2021 and feels privileged to serve with the dedicated board members and talented staff.

Jason Wei, Director, Data Science at Meta

Jason is a Sr Director of Data Science at Meta, where he has worked on projects spanning News Feed, Facebook Stories, and Facebook Communities, amongst other strategic initiatives since joining the company in 2014. Prior to Meta, Jason worked as a quantitative trader at a hedge fund in New York. He holds a BS in Mathematical Computational Science and a MS in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University. Outside of work, he enjoys rock climbing and playing tennis, and is a member of Reality SF Church. Jason is a proud dad of two little ones (Hana and Caleb).

Board Meeting Schedule Fiscal Year 2024

Location: 730 Polk Street, San Francisco 94109

Thursday August 17, 2023

Thursday October 19, 2023

Friday December 15, 2023 

Thursday February 15, 2024

Thursday April 18, 2024

Thursday June 20, 2024

Oakland

1921 San Pablo Avenue
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 622-0221
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San Francisco

730 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 447-2300
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