Staci Smith

Director of Curriculum & Training

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Sean Foster

Program Manager Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Sean Foster is an educator, mentor, artist and community worker that was born and raised in Oakland, California. Sean became committed to the work of empowering black boys after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in communications from his Alma Matter, Clark Atlanta University – an HBCU in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2012, Sean joined the African American Male Achievement Program (AAMA) whose guiding mission to engage, encourage and empower young black boys aligned with his. Within this work, Sean has taught and mentored throughout the K-12 system in Oakland and is currently teaching an AAMA class at Dewey Academy and mentoring kings at Met West High School. Drawing on his years of teaching, training and service within the AAMA organization, Sean has transitioned into the role of Senior Facilitator for Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO) where he will support other instructors on how to become transformative educators.

Nia Lundkvist

Curriculum Designer

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Matin Abdel-Qawi

Chief Program Officer

Matin Abdel-Qawi has been an equity-centered educational leader in Oakland Unified School District for nearly thirty years. As a middle school teacher, he realized the need to bring Oakland’s legacy of social activism to the classroom. He advocated for every scholar to have access to algebra in the eighth grade ending a decades long practice of assigning Black and Brown scholars to general math while creating nearly all white Algebra classes.

In 2004 as the Founding Principal of East Oakland School of the Arts, he created a small autonomous school founded on the belief that any student will perform at high levels when given the love and support needed.  After leading the school for seven years, he took his experience of advocating for Black male students and became the Director of OUSD’s African American Male Achievement’s Manhood Development Program and designed and started several programs at schools around the district.

In 2013, Matin became the Principal of Oakland High School where he created systems and programs that are rooted in equity, diversity and access for every student. In 2020 Matin was promoted to OUSD’s High School Network Superintendent. One of the first initiatives Matin led was to engage all of the high school principals in a learning and discovery experience focused on understanding and dismantling anti Blackness practices, policies, and procedures at schools and replacing them with ones that Engage, Empower, and Encourage all Black scholars.

After nearly three decades in the Oakland Unified School District Matin left OUSD to join Kingmakers of Oakland as its Chief Program Officer. In this new role Matin is responsible for making sure that all of our district partners receive best-in-class services. Matin holds a BA from Stockton State University, NJ and an MA from the University of California, Berkeley.