Current ICA Staff
Jose Corona
Chief Executive Officer
jose@innercityadvisors.org
As Chief Executive Officer, Jose leads the ICA team by providing 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 by assembling an unparalleled network of the Bay Area’s foremost business leaders and is often sought out for his ability to understand inner city business trends. Over a seven year period, Jose has overseen $8,253,600 of total pro bono investments into the ICA mission. In 2010, these combined investments supported the creation and retention of 1,945 jobs– 73% of which are held by inner city residents. This represents over $77 million in wages and salaries created for San Francisco Bay Area inner city communities.
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. 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. 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.
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 is Mayoral appointee to the Oakland Workforce Investment Board and serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of The East Bay and the Oakland Schools Foundation. Jose also serves on the Advisory Board of One PacificCoast Bank. 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, learning to be a father to, and chasing after, his 13-month old son, Mateo Vincent Corona.
“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
Chief Operating Officer
sean@innercityadvisors.org
As Chief Operating Officer, Sean ensures Inner City Advisors’ capacity to fulfill its mission of creating quality inner city jobs by managing the delivery of the organization’s high caliber portfolio and education services. With a particular focus on enhancing the organization’s infrastructure for scale, 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 ProfitTM with a genuine interest in investing in people to achieve key results.
In 2010, Sean lead the organization to its most proficient year of operations, turning every $1 donated to ICA into $191 of inner city wealth creation—roughly a 199% Mission ProfitTM increase from 2009. Under this mission-first operating philosophy, Sean managed $145,988,343 total revenues and ensured successful program performance by rallying the right people to get things done.
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.
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, 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.” —Muhammad Ali
Nina Robinson
Portfolio Manager
nina@innercityadvisors.org
As Portfolio Manager, Nina is 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. Under her leadership, ICA managed 17 companies and saw a significant increase in portfolio performance. In 2010, she was responsible for managing the investment of over $2,365,900 of pro bono services into ICA’s Portfolio Companies, supporting the creation and retention of 1,257 jobs— 76% of which are held by inner city residents, up from 58% in 2009.
Nina’s ability to facilitate quality advising relationships makes it easy for ICA’s High Caliber Advisors to immediately add value to inner city entrepreneurs. This consistent, high-touch management accelerated the growth of the program and improved the quality of ICA’s service to inner city businesses.
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
Chris Mueller
Marketing & Communications Manager
chris@innercityadvisors.org
As Marketing & Communications Manager, Chris is trusted with ensuring that key stakeholders know about, care about and act upon the ICA mission. To achieve these goals, Chris leads the development, implementation and measurement of ICA’s marketing and communications strategies and tactics, creating and spreading stories so that target audiences believe ICA is the partner that inner city business leaders trust most to help them grow their companies and create quality jobs.
Under his leadership, ICA published its best impact report to date. Chris created and edited the content for the 2010 Impact Report, highlighting his ability to tell compelling, purposeful stories, and reliably execute strategy. His proficient command of language, combined with his entrepreneurial tenacity, is accelerating the quality of ICA communications and creating a new standard within the organization.
Prior to accepting the Marketing & Communications Manager position, Chris honed his skills at Fenton Communications, the nation’s best public interest communications agency that has contributed to some of the defining change movements of the past quarter century. There, Chris contributed to a variety of campaigns, including First 5 LA’s initiative to improve the lives of children in Los Angeles County and The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities initiative to create places where children are healthy, safe and ready to learn. With extensive experience in place-based public interest communications, Chris has developed strategic plans and placed stories in the nation’s leading news publications, in service to building thriving communities.
A firm believer in the value of listening, the power of language and the necessity of clear strategy, Chris’ core competency lies in his ability to create, deliver and measure stories that accelerate the progress of an organization’s mission.
Chris is a Bay Area native, born in Oakland, CA, raised in El Cerrito, CA and graduated from UC Berkeley. His current position represents a defining moment in his vocation to create economic inclusion and build healthy communities for inner city residents.
In addition to his love of language, Chris manages a small enterprise called ©+, designing and producing men’s and women’s fashion accessories inspired by LEGO bricks. When he’s not playing with children’s toys, you can find him playing pickup futbol, cheering on FC Barcelona and snacking on anything his hands can reach.
“The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.”—James Baldwin
Kot Hordynski
Office Manager
kot@innercityadvisors.org
As Office Manager, Kot ensures that the ICA office runs efficiently, helping to apply results-based accountability and maximize operational impact. Kot assists operations, adding a significant level of support and strengthening the organization’s infrastructure for scale, executing day to day accounting, grant-writing and all mission impact tracking under ICA’s core competencies.
Kot joined the ICA team in early 2011 in an internship capacity. Under Kot’s leadership ICA has implemented new financial management processes, an improved system for impact tracking and contributed to its most successful Annual Awards Breakfast to date. Kot demonstrates his commitment to the ICA mission by consistently going above and beyond his role with a high degree of execution, in a way that increases the culture of efficiency at ICA. Furthermore, he adds a technological literacy and critical competence to ICA’s organizational capacity.
Prior to joining the ICA team, Kot developed his managerial expertise with non-profits, start ups and small businesses in the realms of business development, grant writing and operations. Kot has extensive skill managing the day to day operations of an organization, bringing over three years of nonprofit experience and a no-nonsense approach that leverages his expertise in grassroots community organizing and management.
Kot is a Bay Area native, having grown up in Berkeley, and is thrilled to be able to enhance the impact of the ICA mission and help create meaningful jobs in the community, a long-standing interest of his. He has devoted much of his collegiate and post-graduate time to community efforts, particularly those attempting to link environmental struggles with social justice.
Kot earned degrees in Politics and Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. When he’s not rescuing the ICA office from disorder, Kot can be found riding his bike, playing ultimate frisbee, taking photographs and exploring his newfound love of urban farming.
“O my body, make of me always a man who questions.”—Frantz Fanon
Ingrid Jacobson
Education Manager
ingrid@innercityadvisors.org
As Education Manager, Ingrid is trusted with working to position small businesses for growth by providing entrepreneurs with the highest quality educational services to improve their strategic execution skills. To achieve this goal, Ingrid leads the coordination and facilitation of ICA’s Inner City Entrepreneurship Institute, adding a significant pillar of strength and ensuring the timely execution of the organization’s education programming.
Ingrid joined the staff in 2011, and her ability to think strategically while maintaining a no-nonsense attitude in executing the task in front of her, significantly improves the educational experience of inner city entrepreneurs. Under her leadership, ICA is building out an annual calendar of entrepreneurship education, accelerating the organization’s ability to impact Bay Area small business growth. Ingrid combines a mission-first passion with a tenacity to get things done, all-the-while raising the team’s performance standards.
Before joining the ICA team, Ingrid has been working towards economic empowerment and community development as an educator in the Bay Area for over ten years, beginning as an elementary school teacher, and currently teaching young mothers to prepare for their GED. Ingrid brings extensive consulting experience in the areas of education and sustainability, combined with a track record of designing and delivering curriculum, including an innovative financial education workshop series to reduce participants’ expenses and environmental impact. She has also facilitated many convenings of thought leaders in the arenas of economic development and sustainability.
In addition to her work in education, she has worked as a project manager for an affordable housing organization where she managed all aspects of development of innovative non-profit tax credit model for solar financing, and worked with first time homebuyers to navigate the complex process to homeownership.
Ingrid received her BA at UW-Madison; majoring in English Literature and South Asian Studies; Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability in Sweden, an innovate multidisciplinary program; and her MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. The sum of her formal studies, as well informal self-directed studies, has allowed for a unique perspective on where to leverage impact and change in our community.
When not in the office Ingrid is an experimental gardener and crafter, whose favorite past time is finding similarities between science fiction and current reality. If something isn’t working Ingrid wants to figure out how to fix it, whether that is a leaky kitchen sink, or society’s inequities. She also loves to travel the world in search of a place that is as wonderful as Oakland, but hasn’t succeeded yet.
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”—Arundhati Roy
