Evolve Education Fund Staff
Michael Bornstein
Executive Director
Michael has 25 years' experience in Bay Area politics. He started managing political campaigns with the California League of Conservation Voters, before becoming the Executive Director of the San Francisco Democratic Party and most recently the Senior Chapter Director at the Sierra Club Bay Chapter. Throughout his career Michael has led or worked on several dozens of election campaigns, dispatched thousands of volunteers, and made too many phone calls to count.
Ben Grieff
Campaign Director and Spokesperson
Ben graduated from Boston University in 2006 and began his organizing career right away by working to unionize healthcare workers in Massachusetts. Since then he has fundraised for various non-profit organizations, directed canvass operations and done electoral field organizing. Prior to working with Evolve Ben ran a telephone outreach project for the San Francisco Democratic Party and Labor Council during the fall 2010 election cycle. Aside from being a political junkie Ben enjoys hiking and wildlife photography.
Rachita Rawal
Campaign Manager
Rachita graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2017 with a Political Science degree. It was here that she developed a passion for social justice and equality. While tutoring elementary students in Oakland, she saw first-hand that many students do not have access to necessary resources because of systemic inequalities. In pursuit of understanding these inequities at a deeper level, Rachita interned at Evolve during the summer of 2016. After graduation, her motivation to get more education funding as soon as possible is what brought her back to Evolve. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music of contrasting genres, eating yummy vegetarian food (including ice cream), and visiting hipster coffee shops.
Emily Cagape
Digital Coordinator
Emily recently graduated from the University of San Francisco where she completed her bachelor's degree in Sociology and minors in Legal Studies and Public Service & Community Engagement. During Emily's first two years of college, she worked as an elementary school tutor in the San Francisco Unified School District where she developed a passion for education and social justice. While studying sociology and working with elementary school students, Emily learned about the systemic inequalities that are drastically affecting our public schools--especially those in low-income communities. She joined the Evolve team to fight to increase funding for our California public schools. In her free time, Emily enjoys listening to podcasts, watching new shows, finding new places to eat, and going out with her friends for milk tea.
Maddie Cook
Outreach Coordinator
Maddie graduated in 2018 from Macalester College in Minnesota, where she studied International Relations and Political Science. A Bay Area native, Maddie returned home after College to start a summer internship with Evolve, marking her first foray into California politics. After completing the internship, Maddie moved to Tunisia to pursue a job in the international sector and to gain language skills. Throughout her time abroad, Maddie remained troubled by California’s corporate tax loophole and tuned in to Evolve's work to increase education funding. After a year and a half, she recently returned to join the team fighting for School and Communities First. Since moving back to California, Maddie is enjoying eating at new restaurants, going to new venues, and complaining about how new everything is.
Board of Directors
Anna Wagner
Anna is a graduate of the Greencorps Field School for Environmental Organizing. She has led environmental and public interest campaigns across the country. After settling in the Bay Area Anna managed the Sierra Club’s local environmental campaigns, winning campaigns to protect hillsides in Livermore and creating solar energy programs in San Francisco. Anna is currently a Senior Organizer with Greenpeace where she supports environmental campaigns across the globe.
Laura Hahn
Laura launched her career as a State Organizer for NARAL and has been active in public life ever since. Laura has led environmental campaigns as the Organizing Manger for the Bay Chapter Sierra Club, designed statewide electoral and media strategy with MSHC Partners, and worked on many San Francisco political campaigns. She is currently the Executive Director of the California Music and Culture Association and is active in San Francisco politics.
Sam Kippen
Sam started his career in fundraising at Evolve, organizing for better public education in California. Sam has interned with Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Rescue Committee. He is a Senior Fellow at Humanity In Action, a cross-disciplinary program that links young social-justice advocates interested in minority issues. In 2014, Sam participated as a Witness at the First Stewards Symposium in Washington D.C., a conference that brings together Native groups from across the country to examine the effects of climate change on indigenous communities and coalesce thought on mitigating negative impacts.
Emil Margolis
Emil began his involvement in social activism as an undergraduate student at the University of California at Santa Barbara and went on to volunteer on numerous anti-war and fair-pay/workers’ rights campaigns. As lead organizer for Evolve's school board and city council resolution campaign, he was instrumental in crafting effective messaging and working with local elected officials to pass over 110 resolutions statewide in support of Prop.13 reform. He currently works on providing technology skills-training opportunities for the long-term unemployed at Jewish Vocational Service in San Francisco. He is also a composer. More about him and his music may be found at emilmargolis.com.
Phil Layzer
Phil is a former organizer with the California League of Conservation Voters, with grassroots campaign experience in local, state, and national candidate races and initiatives. In 2014, he built a coalition that successfully lobbied the Alameda Board of Education to pass Evolve’s Prop. 13 reform resolution. In 2019 he helped build a coalition that successfully lobbied the Alameda Board of Education to restore funding to district music programs. He is also the parent of a middle schooler in the Alameda School District.