KOO Welcomes New Chief Program Officer and Senior Director of Communications
Today, Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO), a nonprofit organization in Oakland, California committed to improving educational and life outcomes for Black male students, welcomed two new staff members; Matin Abdel-Qawi as Chief Program Officer and Carrie Crespo as the Senior Director of Communications.
As Chief Program Officer, Mr. Matin Abdel-Qawi will support school district partnerships and interpret data to improve program design. Before joining KOO, Mr. Abdel-Qawi served as an educator in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) for nearly thirty years. During that time, he also served as Director of the Manhood Development Program, a flagship initiative from the African American Male Achievement office with the OUSD. In his most recent role, Mr. Abdel-Qawi worked as OUSD High School Network Superintendent, supervising 85 schools with a 90% minority enrollment.
As Senior Director of Communications, Carrie Crespo will help guide the narrative change process and execute the communications strategy for Kingmakers of Oakland. Ms. Crespo brings nearly 20 years of experience from the public, private and nonprofit sectors leading communications campaigns for organizations, most recently with The Redress Movement, for housing justice launched to harness the response from Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. In addition to her new role at KOO, Crespo serves as the President of Make Oakland Better Now, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the city of Oakland through civic engagement.
“We’re excited to expand our leadership at Kingmakers with these two strategic roles. Carrie has been a passionate advocate for racial equity and Black futures in Oakland and nationally. Matin’s commitment to transforming learning environments that
better support students will undoubtedly further our mission,” said Kingmakers of Oakland Founder and CEO Christopher Chatmon.
About Kingmakers of Oakland
KOO unapologetically focuses on Black boys while impacting all students by being rooted in a Targeted Universalism approach. Our work has consequently proven to ENGAGE, ENCOURAGE and EMPOWER children and families of all backgrounds. We facilitate building will, strategic planning, and transforming practices with inter-generation cross-functional equity teams in schools, districts, and communities.
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