Victor Rubin has been an urban planning researcher, teacher, and consultant for 45 years. He retired in 2022 as Senior Fellow and former Vice President for Research at PolicyLink, a national nonprofit institute advancing equitable policy change. Victor joined PolicyLink in 2000 after serving as Director of the Office of University Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and research director of a partnership that linked local universities with the Oakland community. In his research and policy advocacy he has long been focused on youth development, education, and community health. He was an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, the department where he earned his MCP (1975) and PhD. (1986.) He has lived in Oakland since 1975. All these professional experiences and his deep roots in Oakland have provided the basis for his long-time connection to The Mentoring Center. While working at UC Berkeley in the 1990s, he helped establish The Mentoring Center, and he later joined the Board of Directors.

George Pressley has over 35 years experience as a senior human resource professional with global compensation design and management experience with significant experience in the management of benefits, HRIS, labor relations, and employee relations programs.

George’s non-profit experience includes volunteer and mentor with The Mentoring Center; volunteer interviewer for the University of California, Berkeley’s Incentive Awards Program, a scholarship program for high-achieving students from limited socio-economic backgrounds; Martin Luther King, Jr. Center – Atlanta, GA – organizational analyses and development of salary structure and ranges; and the Congressional Black Caucus – Washington, D.C. – organizational analyses. Mr. Pressley is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration and received certificates from San Jose State University Professional Development Center – Oracle 8 DBA; and the University of California, Berkeley – Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing.