A Hand Up: Millennials and the Opportunity Divide

Jay Banfield

Jay Banfield was raised in Somerville, Massachusetts. Jay moved to California in 1986 to attend Stanford University, where he met his wife Kate. They have two daughters, Grace and Dray, and a son, Aidan.

After playing baseball in Europe, Jay began his career as a business development manager at Oracle Corporation in Washington, DC. While at Oracle, he built corporate volunteer programs and participated in the launch of the Clinton Administration's AmeriCorps program, thereby prompting a return to the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree.

Jay has worked on local, state and national political campaigns and has served in both the legislative and executive branches of government. Jay was appointed the Assistant Treasurer for the City and County of San Francisco in 1999 where he spearheaded a national award-winning e-government initiative. He was awarded the city's Public Managerial Leadership Award in 2001 and later was appointed an Assistant General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. For several years Jay served as an adjunct faculty member at the Edward S. Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University.

In the fall of 2005, Jay moved to the non-profit sector when he became the Executive Director of the San Francisco Parks Trust. Now serving on the board of the San Francisco Parks Trust, he moved on to launch the San Francisco Bay Area office of Year Up. In addition to his work as Executive Director at Year Up Bay Area, Jay remains an active member of the community. Trained as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Jay served on the board of San Francisco CASA for five years, serving one term as co-chair of the board. Jay has also served as a trustee at the San Francisco Friends School and coach of numerous youth athletic teams.