Leadership Council

The Dean's Leadership Council in the School of Social Sciences is comprised of visionary leaders in business, finance, technology, philanthropy and academia who partner with Dean Carol Padden to advance the school's strategic initiatives.

The following members are now serving on the Dean's Leadership Council.

Sara Baxter ’90
Chief Financial Officer, SubCom

Throughout her career, Sara Baxter has driven growth, transformation, and innovation in large, complex, multi-billion-dollar technology companies. Known for her out-of-the-box thinking, value creation and execution, she advanced through progressive financial leadership roles at telecommunications giant Verizon and later at Anaplan, a provider of enterprise software. In August 2023, Baxter was appointed chief financial officer of SubCom, a leader in subsea cable networks. She holds a patent in wireless technology focused on the operating network's ability to recognize unusual data consumption patterns.

Baxter earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from UC San Diego and an MBA with an emphasis on accounting from National University. She is a certified public accountant licensed in New Jersey. An advocate for women's leadership development, she was instrumental in designing and implementing the first learning and development series for women in finance at Verizon.

Sue Hart ’86
Educator and community philanthropist

After receiving her Ph.D. in mathematics from UC San Diego, Sue Hart channeled her knowledge and love for the subject as a teacher at Miramar College and the University of San Diego. She also spent many years tutoring and mentoring underserved high school and middle school students in North County. Hart has served on the boards of the UC San Diego Alumni Association and Nature and Culture International. She and her husband, Steve Hart, a co-founder of ViaSat, Inc., support various organizations dedicated to the environment, the arts, education and community development.

Ralph Ho
Managing Partner, V0

Ralph Ho is an innovative business leader and entrepreneur with a successful track record in venture capital, hedge funds, technology start-up companies and investment banking. He is the managing partner at V0 where he helps family offices invest in venture capital.

Ho started his career at Bank of America Securities where he was vice president and assistant treasurer overseeing the daily liquidity of the investment bank. He was an early employee at PayPal, serving as vice president of finance and treasurer and president of the Paypal Money Market Fund. Ho also served as chief operating officer of Sequoia Capital Global Equities and was the chief operating officer and managing director at Clarium Capital Management.

Ho has a bachelor's degree in management science from UC San Diego’s Department of Economics and is a CFA Charterholder. He enjoys surfing, cycling, and spending time with his wife and three children.

Gary Jacobs ’79
Founder, Jacobs Investment Company

Gary Jacobs is an entrepreneur and business leader who has made his mark in the finance and technology fields. He is the founder of Jacobs Investment Company and serves as a director at DermTech International, Motus GI Technologies, GEO2 Technologies, Bio2Techologies and other companies.

A member of the UC San Diego Board of Trustees since 2012, Jacobs also serves on the UC San Diego Foundation’s investment/finance committee. He is the regional co-chair for the Campaign for UC San Diego and is on the Triton Athletics Board. Jacobs and his wife, Jerri-Ann, created the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs Graduate Fellowship in Social Sciences Endowment and the Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs Chair in Social Sciences. He is on the boards of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Community Centers Association and the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute.

Jacobs received his bachelor’s degree in management science from the UC San Diego Department of Economics.

Gary Kraut
Founder and past president, G.A. Kraut Company

Gary A. Kraut is the founder of G.A. Kraut Company, an independent global investor relations counseling firm he founded in 1969. He retired from the company after serving as president for more than four decades. The company’s clients included American Express, Boeing, Deere, Lockheed Martin and Proctor & Gamble. He is also the founder of Future First USA and GovernanceMetrics.

After his retirement, Kraut shifted his focus to serving nonprofits. He is the chairman of IYL Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping South Africans in need. He is vice chair of the University of California Press Foundation and director at Big Picture Learning and Civics Unplugged. Kraut has advised several UC San Diego initiatives, including CREATE, a research-practice-partnership housed in the School of Social Sciences to support equitable educational opportunities for San Diego's students.

Kraut earned his bachelor’s degree from Boston University and is the founder of the Professors Fund and the Global Impact Research Fund at his alma mater.

Alondra Nelson ’94
Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study

An acclaimed scholar, writer and higher education leader, Alondra Nelson is known for her scholarship at the intersection of science, technology and society. She began her academic career on the faculty of Yale University and served as the inaugural dean of social science and professor of sociology and gender studies at Columbia University. She was the fourteenth president and CEO of the Social Science Research Council.

An authority on AI, Nelson is a former deputy assistant to President Joe Biden. In recognition of her valuable contributions during her tenure as acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, the journal Nature named her to its 2022 list of “Ten People Who Shaped Science.” In 2023, Nelson was nominated by the White House and appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to serve on the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI. The same year, she was named to the inaugural TIME100 list of the most influential people in the field of AI.

Nelson received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UC San Diego.

Matt Posard ’89
Retired biotech and life sciences executive

Matt Posard, a husband and proud father of three, built his career in San Diego with leadership roles at Gen-Probe Inc., Biosite Diagnostics and Illumina Inc.

Posard serves on the boards of several public and private companies. He is involved with UC San Diego’s athletics department and the School of Social Sciences’ Industry Relations program. He and his wife envision contributing more of their time to the university for the next 25 years with the goal of elevating the Triton experience and reputation for future generations.

Posard earned his UC San Diego degree in management science from the Department of Economics. He and his wife Lisa ‘89, also an economics graduate from UC San Diego, met in their freshman year at Muir College. The couple live in Del Mar and enjoy travel, philanthropy and spending time with their three adult children.

Sandra Timmons ’81
Journalist and community philanthropist

Sandra Timmons has made an impact on the San Diego community with her decades-long career as a public radio journalist and as a supporter of KPBS TV and UC San Diego. Timmons has worked as a producer, writer and video consultant for both corporate and educational clients. As a member of the KPBS-TV staff, she produced public affairs programs and was a location director for the “Nightly Business Report.” She now serves as a member of the KPBS Community Advisory Board, the Museum of Us board of directors and is chair of the inewsource board of directors.

Timmons and her husband have been supporting UC San Diego for more than 30 years. She has served as chair of Chancellor’s Associates, a scholarship program dedicated to increasing access to higher education. She has also been a trustee of the UC San Diego Foundation. From 2021-23, she served as an alumni regent on the UC Board of Regents, representing alumni throughout the UC system.

Timmons received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in mathematics from UC San Diego.