UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees: Driving Meaningful Change, Near and Far
UC San Diego Foundation welcomes six new and returning trustees for the 2024-25 academic year, including four alumni, to its group of esteemed community leaders working on behalf of the campus
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As the academic year gathers momentum towards the close of the fall quarter at the University of California San Diego, a group of distinguished community leaders, university administrators, faculty and alumni representatives is working diligently on behalf of the university to further the campus’s forward trajectory. The UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees welcomed six new and returning trustees to the board for 2024-25, four of whom are UC San Diego alumni.
“As a global leader in innovation and problem solving, UC San Diego is committed to tackling the world’s most complex challenges and creating a brighter future for all,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to our distinguished UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees, whose vision, expertise and passion for philanthropy enable us to drive meaningful change locally and globally. We are excited to welcome four accomplished alumni to our Board of Trustees this year, whose unique perspectives and dedication to our mission will undoubtedly enrich our efforts to make a lasting impact.”
The UC San Diego Foundation accepts, administers and invests all private gifts to the university and is responsible for managing the funds either as endowments or as funds available for current expenditure. Including the incoming members, the Foundation Board is a diverse group of 49 trustees who help advance the university’s fundraising efforts in support of research, teaching and public service as volunteer advisors, advocates and donors.
Alumnus Leo Spiegel ’83, managing partner of Spiegel Capital Management, serves as chair of the Foundation Board this year. Chair-elect is Sandra Timmons ’81. This year’s vice-chairs are Pelin Thorogood and Phyllis Epstein.
New and returning trustees who were welcomed this year include:
Melody Gonzales ’02 – Alumni Board President
Melody Gonzales is executive director of the White House Hispanic Initiative, an office created by President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14045 and housed under the leadership of Secretary Miguel Cardona at the U.S. Department of Education. The initiative works to advance cradle to career education, equity and economic policy goals in partnership with the White House, federal agencies and external stakeholders; lead a 21-member commission that was recently announced; run a Federal interagency work group centered in advancing equity and access to federal resources for the Latino community; and lead in-person and virtual public engagement efforts.
Gonzales earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from UC San Diego in 2002.
Martin Hartono ’96
Martin Hartono is an internet venture capitalist with a passion in gaming and technology. He has a wealth of experience as the business technology director for Djarum Group, based in Indonesia, that led him to found GDP Venture in 2010. Hartono’s experience spans areas including information technology, human resources, venture investing and family business management.
Martin received his bachelor’s degree in economics from UC San Diego in 1994.
Aiiso Yufeng Li (Jeff)
Aiiso Yufeng Li (Jeff), is founder and chief strategy officer of CorDx, a global biotech company and leader in the manufacturing of in vitro diagnostics. He has led the company’s biotechnology enterprise renowned for its innovative contributions to the invention, development, manufacturing and global distribution of medical diagnostic devices within the healthcare sector. CorDx’s impact is widespread, reaching over a billion users across more than 170 countries.
Li has provided significant support to the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. The Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering was named earlier this year in recognition of his philanthropic support.
Wendy Kwok ’99
Wendy Kwok is a principal at Sunstate Development LLC, previously serving as a member attorney for the California Legislative Counsel Bureau. In 2011, she established an endowment to create the Wendy W. Kwok Research Scholarship, now known as the Springboard Eureka! Scholarship. She also created the Springboard Eureka! Hong Kong scholarship, which enables UC San Diego undergraduates to travel to Hong Kong for research studies, and international students from Hong Kong to pursue biomedical research at UC San Diego.
Kwok is returning for her second term as a trustee and serves on the Donor Relations and Stewardship and the Student Foundation Committees. She also serves on the Birch Revitalization Advisory Board and the Dean’s Leadership Council for the School of Biological Sciences. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal physiology and neuroscience from UC San Diego, and her law degree from the Golden Gate University School of Law.
Greg Papadopoulos ’79
Greg Papadopoulos is a partner with New Enterprise Associates, Inc., a venture capital firm. He formerly served as chief technology officer and executive vice president of Research and Development at Sun Microsystems. During his career, he has helped found several technology companies and currently serves on numerous boards, including Lytmus, Lytro and MapD.
Papadopoulos is returning for his second term as a trustee. He is a chair emeriti on the Jacobs School of Engineering Council of Advisors. Papadopoulos received his bachelor’s degree in systems science from UC San Diego, and his S.M. and Ph.D. from MIT, where he was an associate professor.
Sam Ramji ’94
A 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley and Seattle, Sam Ramji is the co-founder and CEO of Sailplane, a hierarchical planning AI research company. Previously, Ramji led Kubernetes and DevOps product management for Google Cloud, founded the Cloud Foundry foundation, has helped build two multi-billion-dollar markets (API Management at Apigee and Enterprise Service Bus at BEA Systems), and redefined Microsoft’s open source and Linux strategy.
Ramji is an advisor to multiple companies including Dell Technologies, Fletch, Featureform and the Linux Foundation. In addition to serving as a member of the UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees, he has also served as a member of the Chancellor’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council. Ramji received his B.S. in cognitive science from UC San Diego in 1994, and is also a UC San Diego parent.
Vickie Turner
Vickie Turner has over 30 years’ experience in advising and representing regulated manufacturers, including those in the automotive, pharmaceutical, healthcare and industrial products sectors, on risk and related product issues. Combining her accounting and law expertise, Turner serves as an independent director for Endeavor Bank, where she is a member of the Compensation, Audit, and Nominations/Governance Committees. Additionally, she chairs the Audit Committee of the National Bar Institute and is a member of the UC San Diego Foundation’s Audit Committee.
Passionate about developing future STEM leaders, Turner co-founded and chairs the Links to STEM program. Over its 10-year history, this program has positively impacted hundreds of students, enhancing the pipeline of those prepared to succeed in STEM majors and careers.
For a full list of the UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees, please visit the UC San Diego Foundation website.
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