Antoinette Battiste is the founder and President of Educational Pathways with Antoinette Battiste, a consulting practice that provides college planning and counseling services to high school students and their parents. With an unwavering passion for equity and access in education, especially for low-income, first-generation and students of color, she also provides workshops and pro bono services in the community.

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Operating as a solo entrepreneur, Antoinette has provided individualized college counseling services to nearly 150 students and families. Additionally, she has reached nearly 1,000 students via educational workshops in support of community-based organizations. Her student clients have been accepted into a myriad of higher education institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, MIT, UC and CSU campuses, as well as our beloved HBCUs, such as Hampton, Howard, Tuskegee, Morehouse, and Prairie View A&M.

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Prior to launching her practice, Ms. Battiste held senior level program management positions with various technology companies in Silicon Valley for 20+ years.

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Ms. Battiste received an AB in Psychology and African & African-American Studies from Stanford University and an MBA in Information Systems from Golden Gate University. She also received a Specialized Certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego Extension.

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Antoinette is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Rho Delta Omega Chapter, where she has served in several leadership roles, most notably co-chair of the chapter’s Black College Awareness Fair for 7 years. As the grant writer for the chapter’s Ivy and Pearls Foundation, she has secured in excess of $80,000 to support community-focused programming. Ms. Battiste is a Founding Member of the YWCA of the Mid-Peninsula Donor Advised Fund, established in 2004. The Fund has leveraged the interest derived from its investments to distribute $3 million via a competitive grant process to 55 organizations whose programs align with the Fund's mission of eliminating racism and empowering women and girls. She was elected to serve as the Fund’s Chairperson beginning January 2023. Additionally, Antoinette serves as Board Secretary for the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators (SCCABE).

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Awards and recognition received by Ms. Battiste include:

• Ida L. Jackson Graduate Achievement Award (2022) - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Far Western Region

• Irvin Katz Memorial Award (2021) – Independent Educational Consultants Association Foundation

• Distinguished Volunteer Fundraiser (2019) – Association of Fundraising Professionals, Silicon Valley Chapter

• Regional Director’s Leadership Award (2017) – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Far Western Region

• RDO Soror Who Rocks (2016) – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Rho Delta Omega Chapter

Our organization, Justice Vanguard, was founded on the principle that we can build stronger, more-supportive communities through education, purposeful action, and open conversation.   Our motto is “on the front lines of education”, and we like to say, “solving racism and inequality with a smile.”  An integral part of being an organization that is driven by education is always striving to learn more and be better.  We are dedicated and hardworking individuals making positive changes in our communities. Kenan Moos and Kiyoshi Taylor founded Justice Vanguard in 2020 to build momentum and create lasting change in their communities.  Since 2020 they have led dozens of marches with tens of thousands of people, held events like Black is Beautiful and Juneteenth, hosted webinars, and sat on panels to educate on the inequities within our societies and to share the beauty and rich culture of Black people.

Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper’s passion is building values-based communities, places where people with intersectional identities can be their full selves in co-creating meaningful experiences. An Associate Dean for Religious and Spiritual Life in the Stanford University Office for Religious and Spiritual Life, Laurie works with a multifaith clergy team fostering communities of belonging, shaping spiritual wellness, and teaching community organizing. Before coming to Stanford, she was the School Rabbi of Yavneh Day School for fourteen years, where she also served as the Rabbinic Advisor for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Silicon Valley. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Huy Tran is a partner with Justice at Work Law Group, a law firm he co-founded in 2013 which focuses on social justice and worker's rights. In that capacity, Huy was also a Steering Committee member for the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition, which seeks to eliminate wage theft in Santa Clara County and has pushed wage theft ordinances all across the South Bay. Huy is also a board member and former board president for the Vietnamese American Roundtable and has served as an appointed member of the Housing and Community Development Commission and the Charter Review Commission for the City of San José. Huy's work in advocacy and organizing has been recognized by Representative Ro Khanna, Supervisor Cindy Chavez, former State Senator Jim Beall, and former Assemblymember Kansen Chu.