Head of Learning Design, Braven

Tess Brustein is passionate about building community and creating opportunities for belonging—values that align deeply with JOINERS’ mission. She is a strategic leader in social impact and education technology with 15+ years of experience designing and scaling programs that advance equity for underrepresented communities. As the Head of Learning Design at Braven, she leads programming that supports over 7,000 first-generation and low-income college students annually secure strong first jobs and thrive after graduation. Previously, Tess co-founded SmarterCookie, an edtech startup supporting teacher growth. She began her career as a Teach For America corps member and holds degrees from Barnard College (B.A. in Urban Studies) and Relay Graduate School of Education (M.Ed.). Tess lives in Oakland, where she loves discovering local restaurants and bars, visiting neighborhood parks with her family, and supporting initiatives that make her city more connected and vibrant.

Favorite gathering place, third space, or community? The Oakland Symphony

Executive Director of Growth Analytics, New York Times

Tom’s spent the past dozen years analyzing data at Zillow and the New York Times and is new to the Bay having moved to Oakland in 2023. More interestingly, fun, and relevant to Joiners is that Tom likes to hang out and is interested in lots of things. Happy hour beers and coffee house cortados are the main ways Tom catches up with friends and meets new people. While Tom’s main hobbies (running and gardening) are largely solo endeavors, he’s used them to begin developing roots in Oakland by volunteering with Friends of Sausal Creek, prepping for the Oakland (half) marathon, contributing his Dimond neighborhood’s vibrant listserv, and of course Joiners events.

Favorite gathering place, third space, or community? Ghost Town Brewing - Laurel

CEO & Co-Founder of Practice; Miniaturist

Erica Meade is a Berkeley-based product and design leader who helps organizations build thoughtful, human-centered digital products. She is the co-founder of Practice, a creativity and wellness startup that's turning creative hobbies into the next wave of self-care. Erica also works as an independent consultant focused on product strategy, user research, and user experience, partnering with teams across industries to strengthen their product vision and execution.

Beyond her paid work, Erica is an active community builder. In addition to being a member of the JOINERS board, she serves on the board of the historic Claremont Club (not to be confused with the hotel), contributing to forward planning and revitalizing the social club’s long-standing traditions. She is also a dedicated maker and miniature artist, sharing her work under the name Mini House on the Line on Instagram and hosting workshops to inspire others to engage in creative hobbies.

Favorite gathering place, third space, or community? Miniature Shows, the historic Claremont Club

Product Marketing & Marketing, Learning Commons 

Grace Kuo is a dynamic Product Marketing leader with a proven track record of scaling high-growth companies and mission-driven products. She has led product marketing teams at Zenefits and UserTesting, and played a pivotal role in taking Udemy public - building a high-performing PMM team, and creating market narratives to highlight Udemy's marketplace model of real world practioners and their impact on learners. Today, Grace leads product marketing and marketing efforts at Learning Commons, where the work is centered on bridging the gap between AI and the needs of education. She is focused on helping edtech developers ground their products with learning science and high quality instructional materials, making AI more accurate and effective in classrooms. In addition to her passion for leveraging technology for the public good, she finds joy (and more times pain) in being a faithful to her Bay Area sports teams - the Giants, Warriors, and Niners. 

Favorite gathering place, third space, or community?

Yoga studios are where I find my flow and zen. It helps create the headspace for me to be present and positive with my peers and community. 

Senior Editor, Data and Research, San Francisco Chronicle

Dan Kopf is a senior editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. Kopf has been a data-focused journalist for over a decade, primarily focused on economics and popular culture. Before entering journalism, he was a quantitative researcher with various organisations, including the Centre for Microfinance and the RAND Corporation. Beyond work, Dan has volunteered for the Oakland Public Library, San Quentin Prison, and the Prison Policy Initiative. He is a lover of Bay Area history, music  and culture.

Favorite gathering place, third space, or community?

My favorite third space is the New Parkway Theater, an awesome movie theater that serves the community with entertainment and meaningful events.