Board Of Directors 2021 Election

You must be a member of the BSCAA to vote. If you are not a member but would like to become one, please visit https://bscaa.coop/membership.

I, the undersigned member of the BSC Alumni Association, submit this ballot to the Secretary to represent my votes for the Candidates and Action Items being decided upon at the Annual Membership Meeting on October 23, 2021.

NANCY BLATTEL (Barrington, Rochdale, Northside 1973-80)

Nancy has recently retired from UC Berkeley as the Data Management Lead supporting UC’s database for fundraising and engagement needs. In 1996, she founded the BSC alumni association with a group of dedicated alumni who valued their experience, wanted to give back, and knew other alumni would want to as well. At the BSC, Nancy served on the student board and was vice president for three semesters. She lived in Barrington, Rochdale and Northside Apartments from 1973 to 1980. She graduated in 1977 with a degree in Social Welfare and then worked at the BSC Central Office in the housing department. She has had a long career of leadership with the Better Business Bureau in dispute resolution and the Cal Alumni Association in membership services and alumni relations.

ZACH GAMLIELI (Casa Zimbabwe 2014-18)

Zach valued his time in the co-op even more than his education at Cal. The BSC provided the opportunity for incredible leadership positions, and he had the privilege of being elected to the role of House Manager and the Board Representative for CZ. In his time on the BSC’s Board, he served as the VP of External Affairs (2016-17), and the BSC President (2017-18). During his tenure in those executive roles, he worked hard to improve the BSC’s public perception, which significantly benefited their recruitment efforts geared towards low-income students as well as their relationships with UC Berkeley and City of Berkeley officials.

STEVE GREENBERG (Cloyne Court 1980-85)

Steve will always value his BSC (fka University Students’ Cooperative Association) experience as one of two educations he got at Berkeley, the other being a couple of Cal degrees. The BSC was and is much more than a cheap place to live; it’s a special place for students to learn and grow. He worked on the maintenance crew at Cloyne, was the Maintenance Manager, and was active in helping Cloyne and the USCA broadly become more energy efficient. He started working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab when he was a grad student still living at Cloyne and is still at the Lab, working on energy efficiency in buildings. He bicycles to work every day, riding past Northside, Kidd, and Cloyne. He’s been on the BSCAA Board since 2009.

ARI HOSSEINI

Ariyana first joined the BSC in January 2013 where she boarded then lived at Wolf House and was House Manager that summer (yes her first time ever living in the co-ops!). She moved to Cloyne Court (“old Cloyne”) the next year, the year they found out Cloyne would be a Substance Free Academic house. She attended every board meeting that year, sparking her interest in running for Board Member. She served on the Cloyne Task Force to ensure the transition went smoothly and all that had been discussed with old members/new members were being upheld. After Cloyne she lived in CZ and then Ridge House and served on board at both, helping rewrite the BSC bylaws and create safe rooms; she attended almost all Cabinet meetings that year. Ariyana moved to Kingman where she served as social manager, a Board Member, and a cabinet member position--Non Executive Cabinet Member (NECM). She hosted NECM dinners throughout the year to help BSC members be more involved with everything brought to board. She moved to Northside Co-op and continued to serve as a Board Member and House Manager. Ariyana loved Board and loves the BSC and hopes to get involved more and bring her institutional memory to the conversation.

AFSHEEN LEBASTCHI (Cloyne 1996-98, Rochdale 1998)

Afsheen has worked at Google for the past fifteen years in various leadership roles. Prior to that, he worked at Intel. He also received a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. He is a Bay Area native, lived in Berkeley as a child (on Hopkins Street) and now lives in San Francisco. He's been active with BSC fundraising and is on the Political Economy Advisory Board at UC Berkeley. He loves to travel.

AUSTIN PRITZKAT

Austin lived in the BSC from 2013 until 2016. He lived at Afro House, Fenwick, and Rochdale. He served as a Maintenance Manager, Landscaping Coordinator, Councilmember, and Board Director. Austin was also the President of the BSC from May 2015 until May 2016. Austin is a proud alumnus of the BSC. He believes the affordable housing and supportive community provided by the BSC made it possible for him to thrive at UC Berkeley and graduate. After leaving the BSC, Austin worked for a supportive housing organization in Los Angeles for 3 years. Austin is currently finishing his Master of Urban Planning at Harvard. Upon graduation, he wants to return to California to continue working to combat our affordable housing crisis. He is eager to serve the BSC Alumni Association as a Board Director.

KEVIN RAMIREZ (CZ 2013, Andres Castro Arms 2013 & 2014-16, Person Of Color Themed House 2016-2017)

Kevin is passionate about disrupting systems and coaching people for more significant equity and justice. His experiences as President and VP of Experience & Training on the BSC Board of Directors and a founding leader of the Person of Color Theme House informed his career to collaborate with organizations to build equitable practices to recruit and retain talent. Currently, he works as a talent equity consultant at Edgility Consulting, where he partners with social sector organizations to embed equity in their talent management programs. He previously worked as a talent strategy associate and a program coordinator for education nonprofits supporting public schools in Los Angeles, California. He received a Bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley, where he studied Legal Studies and Philosophy. He is also a Fellow at the Riordan Programs at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

 ALFRED TWU (Afro House 2003)

Alfred has been a co-oper since 2003, starting out at Afro House and now around Lothlorien and Wilde. In addition to holding various house and central level positions, Alfred worked at CO for a couple years in the early 2010s and has been on the Alumni Board since, focusing on events like reunions and happy hours that connect current members to alumni.

Proxy Voting: In the event that an action item is brought up at the Annual Meeting and deemed in order by the President, there would be a vote. If that were to occur, anyone with a proxy from a member could vote in that item on the latter’s behalf.

If you wish, you may give your proxy to any member who will be in attendance at the meeting; to do so please contact bscaa1996@gmail.com.