Current ICA Staff
Jose Corona
Executive Director
As Executive Director, Jose provides strategic leadership, management and direction to Inner City Advisors. Since joining the organization in 2004, Jose has led the organization in helping inner city entrepreneurs achieve success. Over a six year period, Jose has overseen the investment of $3,964,500 of pro bono services into its Portfolio Companies, supporting the creation of 623 new jobs, 1,508 retained– 62% of which are held by inner city residents. This represents over $75 million of wealth creation for the inner city San Francisco Bay Area.
Having worked in business and community development for over a decade, Jose is passionate about entrepreneurship. Raised by a family of successful farming entrepreneurs, Jose understands by way of practical experience how growing businesses have the power to transform communities. In 2009, Jose’s commitment to and track record in the development of businesses and community garnered him the Young Executive of the Year Award by the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Jose has championed inner city job creation efforts with a comprehensive series of community and economic development programs and partnerships. The centerpiece of Corona’s efforts has been the creation of strong and vibrant public-private partnerships with an emphasis on a shared commitment ensure the presence of sustainable, responsible inner-city companies that provide quality jobs, reinvest in the community, and contribute to the local economy.
Jose’s primary emphasis has been placed on strong and innovative management, the cultivation of a strong network of high caliber consultants and advisors, and on promoting a fundamental change in the way communities invest into inner city economic development and revitalization. This formula has led to Inner City Advisors reliably delivering high caliber pro bono business consulting, strategic advice, practical entrepreneurial education and smart capital to inner city entrepreneurs.
Prior to ICA, Jose served as development director at Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), a San Francisco-based non-profit organization that provides business technical assistance and neighborhood planning services to mostly Latino-owned small businesses. Before working in the non-profit sector, Jose also worked in Corporate Retail Operations and Human Resources at Macy’s, Inc.
Jose sits on various boards. He serves on the Oakland Workforce Investment Board and on the Oakland Schools Foundation. Jose also serves on the Board of Directors of People’s Grocery and the YMCA of The East Bay. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from UC Davis, and Entrepreneur Management Development Certification from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
When he is not busy doing community development work, you will find him coaching and playing soccer and learning to be a father to his five-month old son, Mateo Vincent Corona – his other passions!
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is a largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.” —Jim Collins
Sean Murphy
Director of Operations
As Director of Operations, Sean ensures the organization’s capacity to fulfill its mission of creating quality inner city jobs by managing the delivery of Inner City Adviser’s high caliber portfolio & education services. With a particular focus on enhancing the organizations infrastructure, Sean oversees ICA’s financial management, impact reporting, portfolio management, as well as positioning ICA’s entrepreneurial network for smart capital investments. Sean’s leadership style bridges disciplined focus on mission-ROI’s, with a genuine interest in investing in people to achieve key results.
Sean joined the ICA Staff in 2009 as Portfolio Manager, after two years of offering strategic consultation on a pro-bono basis. As Portfolio Manager, Sean created a sustainable model for the organization to effectively scale its programs impact through best practices in mission-ROI due diligence processes, impact tracking, and capital readiness for ICA portfolio companies. In 2009, he was responsible for the investment of over $1,583,000 of pro bono services into its Portfolio Companies, supporting the creation of 317 new jobs, 1,092 retained– 58% of which are held by inner city residents. This represents over $36 million of wealth creation for the inner city San Francisco Bay Area.
Sean has extensive experience working within the inner-city communities of the greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area, leading sustainable operations and funding strategies in the non profit sectors, including major community foundations. Sean was the lead consultant working directly with the CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, in the deploying of an operational effectiveness study related to one of the foundation key support organizations.
Prior to joining ICA, Sean was a lead consultant for The MattMar Group, Inc., a global consulting firm. Sean added value to financing transactions for Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Salman Partners and Royal Bank of Canada. He has led operation planning sessions for start-ups in Canada, Europe, Africa and the San Francisco Bay Area. He has also led projects for several maturing stage start-ups, managing M & A transactions, executing executive strategies, establishing cultures rooted in disciplined decision making, and championing the adoption of measurements for sustainable growth early in the organization life cycle.
Sean has also managed shareholder relations for a Global Resource Development firm. His core focus is on creating environments of quality service delivery, and co-developed an assessment tool that has been used to evaluate the operational effectiveness of start-ups. Sean earned his bachelors degree in Sociology and minor in Education from UCLA in 2006, and has also completed the entrepreneurship curriculum at Stanford University.
When not at the office, you will find Sean with family and friends, still actively studying his craft, playing sports, mentoring youth, working with independent music artists, and playing the drums.
“Your will must be stronger than your skill.” —Muhammed Ali
Nina Robinson
Portfolio Manager
As Portfolio Manager, Nina’s trusted with ensuring that ICA companies fulfill a joint mission to create jobs and wealth within the inner city community. In order to accomplish this, Nina leads portfolio company recruitment, due diligence, work plan management, and preparation for capital readiness. Prior to accepting the Portfolio Manager position, Nina worked on several projects including the creation and implementation of the ICA’s portfolio recruitment strategy.
With extensive experience in technology, non-profit and small business consulting, Nina has helped several organizations leverage best practices in process and resource management. She has performed strategic and operational assessments, and managed numerous projects for bay area businesses and organizations such as Glide Foundation, KQED, and Cavallo Point Resort.
An avid believer in the value of effective, fast-paced, result-oriented environments, Nina’s core competency lies in her ability to quickly assess the needs and opportunities of small to medium-sized businesses.
Soon to complete her MBA in Social Enterprise from Mills College in Oakland, CA, Nina views her present position as a valuable opportunity to continue her committed investment in the inner city community. Nina also holds a Bachelors degree in High Technology Management from California State University in San Marcos, CA.
In addition to community economic development, she is passionate about soulful music of all kinds, mentoring and training youth in technology, and loves traveling the globe to find delicious food.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” —Mahatama Ghandi