Introducing our new board leadership: Meet Steve Bennet and Luz Gomez

We’re excited about the changes coming to our board leadership this year. Steve Bennet, a ScholarMatch board member since 2024, has been elected our new board chair and will work alongside Luz Gomez, a seasoned board member and ScholarMatch volunteer, as she becomes our new vice chair.

As a San José University professor and an active participant in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial landscape over the past 25 years, Steve brings decades of leadership to our work and a deep commitment to creating access to investment capital and higher education.

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“I appreciate the vote of confidence I received from my fellow board members. As a professor at San José State, recognized as the most transformative university, I’ve seen firsthand what mentorship and support can provide students through the college journey and the impact it can make in the years post-graduation.  

I was excited to join the board last year as I believe strongly in the ScholarMatch mission of providing this opportunity to first-generation students from low-income backgrounds. I have also been focused on helping more students access our resources as we enter our next phase of growth. As board chair, I look forward to supporting the organization during this critical time for all the communities that ScholarMatch serves.” 

Luz’s first involvement with ScholarMatch dates back to 2020, when she joined us as a volunteer college coach. Seeing firsthand the impact of ScholarMatch on students’ lives, Luz was drawn to take her involvement to the next level as a board member. Luz also leads Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth, focusing on technology innovation and economic development efforts at Mastercard. 

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As we enter this new phase at ScholarMatch, we look forward to Steve and Luz’s combined perspectives to help us strengthen our program offerings and financial health to serve even more students nationwide. 

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Thanking our outgoing board chair Karen Grace-Baker

We also thank our longtime friend Karen Grace-Baker for her six years of service as a board member, of which three years were dedicated as our board chair. 

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Karen’s appointment as board chair was historic, as she became the first ScholarMatch volunteer and higher education advocate to serve as board chair in the organization’s 15-year history. 

Her leadership involvement, bringing in extensive experience in the corporate environment and higher education landscape as an instructor and college counselor, made a significant difference at ScholarMatch as we navigated pandemic challenges and pivotal staff transitions. 

Through her current position at UCLA Extension as a Distinguished Instructor in the College Counseling certificate program and her educational consulting firm, Right College Choice ™, Karen has guided hundreds of first-generation students as they create their own pathways. She attributes her passion for working with students to her own journey as a first-generation student. “I wear my first-generation badge with pride. I think it’s important for students to see someone who looks like them, who can relate to their experience, and has some empathy for the things students deal with on a daily basis,” added Karen.

Karen’s well-rounded perspective has been instrumental in shaping ScholarMatch’s programmatic focus over the years and will have a lasting impact on our legacy. We are deeply grateful for her leadership and guidance and look forward to her continued involvement.

Learn more about the ScholarMatch Board of Directors and ways to contribute to our work on our website.

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