NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers.

Regina was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Growing up in the liberal melting pot that is the Bay, Regina had an inclination toward social and racial justice at an early age, attending rallies and protests as young as 7 years old. She went to CSU Monterey Bay where she got her B.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences. After spending several soul crushing years in the corporate world, Regina found Summer Search and was inspired by the mission of empowering young people to thrive through meaningful mentorships and experiences.  Now as the Talent Manager, she loves enabling people to join in on that mission.

In her free time, she loves reading, karaoke, live music, tending to her dozens of plants and being the fun auntie.

Pronouns: He/Him/His.

Dr. Marc Spencer has devoted his 25 plus year career to organizations that promote educational and economic opportunities to young people and communities. Marc’s leadership is defined by a commitment to social justice and equity, paired with an entrepreneurial spirit and drive.

Marc joined Summer Search as Chief Executive Officer in 2017 and lead the organization’s growth and change under a bold and visionary strategic direction. In 2022, Marc transitioned from CEO and joined Summer Search’s National Board of Directors.

Prior to Summer Search, Marc served as Chief Executive Officer of Juma Ventures, a national organization that strives to break the cycle of poverty by paving the way to work, education, and financial capability for youth. Marc’s achievements include development of a San Francisco African American independent school, the design and directorship of the nation’s first Upward Bound Visual and Performing Arts program, the creation of CollegeSet.org, a national matched college savings platform for students, and the creation of YouthMade, a manufacturing internship program. He has been an adviser for the Aspen Institute and served on the boards of the National Youth Employment Coalition, Social Enterprise Alliance, Evergreen Lodge, City of San Francisco Youth Council, Oakland Workforce Investment Board, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. He holds an Ed.D. and an MA in Education from USF, and a BA in Anthropology from UCLA.

Kenyon joined the Summer Search community in January 2014, where he helps to build the circle of individuals and institutions who invest in our Bay Area students and alumni. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Kenyon has spent his career in nonprofit resource development, leveraging his lifelong propensity for making personal connections in service to his values of social justice and equity. Prior to Summer Search, he held development leadership roles with Jumpstart and Peer Health Exchange.

Kenyon is an enthusiastic alumnus of Macalester College and earned his Master of Nonprofit Administration degree through the University of San Francisco School of Management. He was a singing member, volunteer, and board member of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus from 2008-2020 and remains an active member of that community.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers.

Eunice Dunham, our VP of Talent, has spent the bulk of her career working in youth development. She finds inspiration from and is committed to working with others that are trying to create a better, more equitable world for all students and families. Eunice comes to Summer Search from a national non-profit, Playworks, where she was the Chief People Officer. Building strong teams, developing empathic leaders and creating an environment where employees feel empowered to be their authentic selves are just some of what Eunice considers her “super powers.”

When she’s not at work, you can find Eunice in the kitchen cooking for friends and family, hiking with her dog or joining her wife, Kira in a good game of chase with their daughter.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers.

Malika brings with her a 20+ year functional leadership skillset informed by collaboration with organizations that partner with urban school districts to support positive student outcomes. She joins us from Duke University, where she led operations for the Talent Identification Program, which supported 100,000 students across nine states and 3 countries. Reinforced with a unique systems-level change perspective, Malika’s leadership and lived experience have shaped her focus on the efficacy and sustainability of supplemental education initiatives so critical to thriving post-secondary life outcomes for our under-resourced youth.

Malika obtained dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of North Carolina in Sociology and Black Studies and spent four years as a classroom teacher while pursuing an M.A. in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Michigan. After her experiences as a Teach for America corps member in the Bay Area and with classroom teaching in a district faced with challenges in quality assurance, compliance, and sustainability, Malika went from Detroit Public Schools to law and management school, focusing on strategic planning and systems-driven organizational development of social enterprises in the education reform/equity arena. In grad school, Malika was a Public Interest Law Fellow focused on McKinney-Vento Regulations for houseless students, and spent a year at the University of the Western Cape Law Faculty in South Africa researching the right to education and its implementation provisions included in the South African Constitution (1996).

Armed with a unique operational and compliance perspective and barred as an Attorney in the state of Illinois, post-grad school Malika applied her practical knowledge as a management consultant in Chicago for a public sector development firm supporting city-wide Public Schools and Park District initiatives, before shifting into organizational leadership. Regional leadership roles afforded her the opportunity to drive public-private projects and implementation plans with school management organizations, local colleges/universities, and governing state and local agencies.

In administrative and regulatory leadership, she served as a Detroit School Administrator and a compliance specialist with the Council on Foundations. And in Chicago, she helped lead scale efforts as a KIPP Board member and a Director of Programs at Youth Guidance, an organization that — like Summer Search — helps young people to overcome obstacles, focus on education and, ultimately, succeed in school and in life. Malika holds a JD/MBA from Indiana University, and as a member of the Illinois Bar, volunteers as a Guardian Ad Litem for foster youth dually-involved with justice; builds capacity and impact as an executive trainer for the woman-founded, women-led firm Raise for Good; and protects Black and Brown Genius as a member of the Village of Wisdom Board of Directors.

Learn more about Malika >>

Pronouns: He/Him/His.

Nick has served as the Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Summer Search since 2018. In 2022, he stepped into the Interim CEO role in between CEOs.

Prior to joining Summer Search, Nick was Vice President of Public Policy at Citizen Schools and Executive Director of US2020, a national initiative to help close the opportunity gap in STEM education for girls, students of color, and children from low-income households. Launched by President Obama at the National Science Fair, US2020 served 22,000 students in thirteen cities, creating moments of discovery for the next generation of STEM professionals.

Prior to US2020, Nick served as COO at Juma Ventures, an award-winning social enterprise that provides employment and workforce development training to low-income students. During his tenure, Nick led fund development efforts to scale Juma’s model to New Orleans, New York City, San Diego, Santa Clara and Seattle, more than doubling the agency’s annual budget and quadrupling the size of Juma’s youth workforce. Before Juma, Nick served as Managing Director of the Arusha Project, a microfinance institution based in East Africa. His development background includes national political campaigns and public arts projects. He has served on the Education Committee at Opportunity Nation, the Governance Committee at Voices for National Service, and the K–12 Policy Committee at the Center for American Progress. Nick graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.