YBA Board

The purpose of the Board of Directors of YBA is to be the champions of YBA’s Vision and Mission, and to ensure the operation executes its key Objectives. To support the YBA Staff, the Board provides corporate governance, oversight and the development of the resources – both financial and professional – necessary to support the anticipated operational needs of YBA.

Alexsis de Raadt St. James

 Alexsis de Raadt-St.  James is the Founder and Chairman of The Althea Foundation, a social venture fund created in 2003 based in San Francisco and London. She has a diverse background in technology and international business development that spans 20  years and 25 countries. She and her foundation team have designed pioneering software in the mental health sector that has been used by the U.S. Army,  Scotland Yard and the Ministry of Defence (UK). Her  foundation funds diverse social initiatives ranging from providing psychiatric treatment to adolescents through the University of California Medical School in  San Francisco, California, to funding an Internet-based children’s newspaper to  promote global literacy. Prior to creating The Althea Foundation, de Raadt-St.  James spent 13 years with Shell International and Royal Dutch Shell in London  and The Hague in various management positions including Director of Mergers and Acquisitions and Senior Treasury Advisor. Before joining Shell, de Raadt-St.  James worked for the Investment Bank Kidder Peabody in London and Boston.

Her current board  positions include Chairman of Youth Business America, International Business Leaders Forum North America and UK, Astia – Women in Technology and Life Science, Patron Youth Business International UK and Leadership Board The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine University of California, San Francisco.  de Raadt-St James holds an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from Erasmus University,  Holland and BA from the University of Texas at Austin.   de Raadt-St James  was awarded the Scotland Yard Commendation in 2007 and in 2008 won Astia’s Inspiring  Women Award.  She is also a frequent speaker and author on topics ranging from philanthropy, management, the roles of women in leadership, and technology. de Raadt St James has been a featured presenter at the West Point Military Academy Leadership Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology  (MIT) Women’s Leadership conferences, The Kauffman Foundation Global Women’s Summit. She has also been published in The Economist, The MIT Magazine and the Financial Times.

Sir Malcolm Williamson

Chairman of CDC, appointed in January 2004. He is Deputy Chairman of Resolution plc, a main Board member of National Australia Bank and Chairman of National Australia Group Ltd. He is also a Board member of Group 4 Securicor, JP Morgan Cazenove Holdings and Signet Group plc. He is also Chairman of The Prince’s Youth Business International.

Until March 2004, he was President and Chief Executive of Visa International. He held various positions with Standard Chartered Bank in the 1990s, including that of Group Chief Executive from 1993 to 1998. He also served as a member of the Post Office Board and was Managing Director of Girobank. He started his career with Barclays Bank.

Jon Eldan

Jon Eldan is an attorney in Oakland, California who has practiced civil litigation at the trial and appellate level for the last eight years.  Jon is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and as well as Survivors International, a San Francisco-based non-profit that provides social and psychological services to victims of torture and gender-based violence who reside in Northern California.  He is on the steering committee for Slow Food East Bay.

Jon served as legal coordinator for the non-profit Life After Exoneration Program, which provided social and legal services to exonerees – those who have proven they were innocent of the crimes for which they had been convicted and incarcerated. He continues that work on behalf of individual clients. Jon has also represented an Ethiopian man in his application for political asylum, and is currently supervising a number of pro bono cases involving expungement of criminal records. He has been a guest lecturer in American law at the Facolta’ di Giurisprudenza at the University of Trento and at the University of Foggia, in Italy.

Jon received his B.A. degree in History, with High Honors, from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduation, he lived in Rome, Italy where he wrote travel guides and worked for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. He returned to Berkeley and received his law degree from Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall) in 2002.

Leigh Wasson

Leigh Wasson is a Senior Director with BNY Mellon Wealth Management. She brings 23 years of investment management and client relationship management experience as a dedicated client-advocate and investment professional.  Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Leigh was Regional Managing Director of Northern California for Citi Private Bank.  Leigh’s background includes 16 years at JP Morgan where she was a Managing Director with JP Morgan Private Bank and held investment, business development, and relationship management roles with JP Morgan Investment Management, with assignments in Australia, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Newport Beach.

At BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Leigh collaborates with team members and external advisers to develop and implement comprehensive wealth management solutions for high net worth individuals and family offices.

Leigh is on the Board of Youth Business America and San Francisco Beautiful. She is also a member of the Silicon Valley Advisory Board of Astia, the west coast board of buildOn and serves on the Education Committee of the San Francisco Symphony.  Leigh is involved in various programs focused on youth leadership development and financial literacy.  Leigh has a BBA in Finance from The University of Texas and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She resides in Sausalito and enjoys sailing, hiking and cooking.

Rob Massey

Rob is a Tax Partner with Deloitte in San Francisco where he collaborates with clients on tax provisions, consolidated tax returns, merger and acquisition structuring and due diligence, and corporate reorganizations of large public and private multinational companies.  He specializes in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industries, as well as the Technology sector.  Rob started his public accounting career with Arthur Andersen in 1998 and has been with Deloitte since 2002.
Rob is the Northern Pacific regional leader for Deloitte’s Diversity and Inclusion initiative where he spends time building and retaining the talent pool of tax professionals, capturing a broad array of backgrounds and unique perspectives to best serve the challenges of Deloitte’s clients.  He leads the regional campus recruiting efforts for Deloitte Tax which includes a presence at over 30 schools in the region.
Supporting Deloitte’s community involvement focus on skills-based volunteerism, Rob is the Northern Pacific Tax pro bono leader and serves on Deloitte’s cross-functional Pro-Bono Council. This role includes advising, managing and assisting with the Firm’s tax pro bono work with non-profits throughout the region.

Rob also has a long history of personal volunteerism and non-profit Board responsibilities. He leads Deloitte’s relationship and skilled volunteer programs with Tax-Aid which prepares tax returns for low income families in the Bay Area.  He’s served on their board for many years and also acts as site manager for the San Rafael and Yountville locations.  Rob is an adjunct faculty member at Dominican University where he teaches Intermediate Accounting and advises students on the advantages of their choice in accounting as a profession.  Rob has been a long time volunteer with IMPACT Day, Deloitte’s annual day of celebration of year-round commitment to the community. His previous IMPACT Day involvement includes Junior Achievement, school construction projects, and trail maintenance at Muir Woods. He also serves on the Board of Directors at the Corinthian Yacht Club where he’s been an active member since 2003.

Rob has a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from the University of San Diego and a Masters of Taxation from San Diego State University.

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