Congratulations to Freada Kapor Klein on receiving the 2020 Cal Alumni of the Year Award!
Freada Kapor Klein, Co-founder and Board Chair of SMASH, has been honored by the University of California, Berkeley as the 2020 Alumna of the Year. This award recognizes a prominent alumnus/a who exemplifies the very best of Berkeley. Someone whose professional leadership and contributions have led to extraordinary advances that benefit the greater good of society, who gives back to the community and university, and who inspires others in their careers and personal lives.
Freada, CO’74, is an entrepreneur, activist, and pioneer in the field of organizational culture and diversity. Through her dedication to equality and justice for the underrepresented, she helped found the Level Playing Field Institute, now rebranded as SMASH.
SMASH’s mission is to build a strong, diverse, and socially conscious tech workforce, and level the playing field through academic learning and experiential engagement programs for high school and college students. Established in 2004 at UC Berkeley, SMASH empowers dedicated students of color with an intensive STEM education, culturally-relevant coursework, and access to resources and social capital that allow them to be successful in college and in their careers. The program has grown to 10 sites nationwide, with Cal being the flagship program.
Since its inception, SMASH Berkeley has served:
- 337 alumni
- 44 SMASH alumni attended Cal for college
- 50.4% female and 49.6% male
- 62% were first generation college students
- The backgrounds of our alumni were:
- 53.1% Latinx
- 27.2% African-American
- 8.1% Mixed Race
- 8.1% Asian/Pacific Islander
- 3.5% Other
In 2020, SMASH Berkeley is serving:
- 94 scholars
- 51% male, 49% female
- 84% receive free or reduced-price lunch
- 62% will be first generation college students
- The backgrounds of our scholars are:
- 69.9% Latinx
- 23.1% African-American
- 5.5% Asian/Pacific Islander
- 3.3% Mixed Race
- 2.2% Other
In honor of Freada as the Cal Alumna of the Year, please consider making a donation to support the SMASH Berkeley scholars and their dreams of pursuing an education and persisting with a career in STEM.
To send a check:
SMASH
2148 Broadway
Oakland, Ca 94612
ATTN: Development
To wire a contribution:
Account: MK Level Playing Field Institute
Amalgamated Bank
Routing number: 026003379
Account Number: 2012540
255 California Street, #600
San Francisco, CA 94111
414-995-8100
Please contact
Zareen Khan at zareen@smash.org
or call 209-400-2072 for more info.
Thank you for supporting SMASH!
