The Young Alumni Advisory Board is a volunteer advisory group for the College of Letters and Science. The Young Alumni Advisory Board will support and advocate for the College of Letters and Science through assistance with philanthropic outreach to, engagement with, and arrangement of programs for UC Davis young alumni. For the purposes of this Advisory Board, young alumni is any UC Davis alum within 15 years of graduation.

The group is comprised of engaged young alumni who are interested in helping UC Davis involve graduates and other constituencies of the university to generate funding support for specific projects, to plan networking and professional development activities for graduates, and to engage current students in career planning and mentoring opportunities.

​The mission of the San Francisco Young Alumni Advisory Board is to inform, mentor, promote and connect Bay Area alumni from the UC Davis College of Letters and Science.

Visit the UC Davis College of Letters and Science's website for the latest events, alumni updates and news.

Advisory Board Biographies

Chris Backer, Secretary (Events Committee)
Chris Backer was born and raised in Palo Alto, CA. In 2007, he received his degree in Political Science from UC Davis which quickly translated into a position at the Office of the Chief Clerk of the State Assembly at the state capitol building in Sacramento. After slightly changing career directions towards the legal industry for five years in Santa Barbara, Chris currently resides in San Francisco where he is beginning his fourth year in residential real estate sales in Marin County. Chris is married to Grace, who is a UC Berkeley alum and teaches high school science in Mill Valley. When not showing houses, Chris can be found anywhere outside or at SF Giants games in the beautiful ballpark by the bay. 

Jarvis M. Burston (Communications Committee)
Jarvis Burston was raised in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California and studied Communications and Psychology at UC Davis.  At UC Davis, Jarvis was the General Director for the Student Recruitment and Retention Center, Director of City and County Affairs for ASUCD student government, and Co-Founder of the Financial Management Program.  After graduating from UC Davis in 2007, he pursued a career in government service as a field representative for California Assembly Woman Lois Wolk.  He later transitioned into the technology sector where he worked for Apple, VMware, Salesforce, and various startups.  Currently, Jarvis works in advertising technology at RTBiQ Digital and RTBiQ Political, a digital advertising platform for corporate and political clients.  Jarvis lives in San Francisco and enjoys financial news, trading stocks, fixing cars, skiing, snowboarding, traveling, and logging his goal of 100,000 miles on his road bike.

Chris Chuang (Recruitment Committee)
Chris Chuang grew up in the Bay Area and studied International Relations at UC Davis where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was involved with various student government, social, and community service organizations. He later decided to drop out of Penn Law to pursue a career in tech where he currently heads the sales and business development team at MixRank, a Y-Combinator and Mark Cuban backed big data startup. Chris recently married his better half who is also from UC Davis and they both happily live in San Francisco. 

​William Chung (Mentorship Committee)
William Chung is currently a Managing Partner at Modern Career Advice where they've partnered in the past with other universities (UCB, VCU, etc.) and organizations such as WallStreetOasis (leading online resource for students and professionals interested in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, consulting, corporate finance, etc.) to provide their data-driven, scientific, and analytical strategies.

Mark Flowers (Communications Committee)
Mark Flowers, Class of 2005, double majored in International Relations and Italian after spending the majority of his junior year in Italy through the Education Abroad Program.  Following a stint in Insurance Operations, he graduated from the University of San Diego with an International MBA and moved back home to Sonoma County.  Over the next 8 years Mark worked with some of the most prominent wine brands in Northern California.  In 2014, he launched Pazienza by Mark Edward, a small wine business of his own that he continues to own and operate.  By day, Mark serves as a Program & Alliance Management consultant to the biotech industry.  When he isn't wine-ing or working, Mark mentors a teenager through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area.  You will often find him running around Lake Merritt, dining out, or enjoying a good sporting event.

Don Ho (Philanthropy Committee)
Don Ho is a venture capital investor at PNP Ventures, the investment arm of Plug and Play, where he invests in consumer Internet companies with a focus on digital media, e-commerce, marketplaces, and online communities. Previously, Don launched the Los Angeles Football Club; the newest professional soccer franchise part of the MLS and was an Associate at IDG Ventures.
In 2011, Don received his degree in Psychology and Environmental Policy from UC Davis where he also received the Veloyce Glenn Winslow, Jr. Award honoring the most outstanding graduate of the Class of 2011. While at UC Davis, Don was the ASUCD Controller and an elected Senator. He also held board positions on the Chancellor's Advisory Board, Student Services and Fees Advisory Committee, Campus Media Board, and was a proud member of the UC Davis Men's Lacrosse team. 

Lauren Levin, Chair 
Lauren Levin was born and grew up in the Bay Area. In 2011 she graduated from UC Davis with a major in Communications and a minor in Psychology. While at Davis, she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and Alpha Kappa Psi, the co-ed business fraternity. In 2012 she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles with a masters in Merchandise Marketing. She now works on private equity acquisitions focused on real estate. Lauren lives in San Mateo with her boyfriend, also an alum of UC Davis, and their dog Chloe. She enjoys coffee, hiking, and interior design. 

Peter C. Ng, (Philanthropy Committee)
Peter Ng was born and raised in Ames, Iowa. He graduated from UC Davis in 2007 with degrees in Economics and Political Science. While on campus, he served as the sports editor for “The Aggie” and a resident advisor in Castilian Hall’s North Courtside. Upon graduation, Peter joined Northwestern Mutual – where he is currently a field director and financial advisor. He and his wife, Megan – a kindergarten teacher and also a 2007 Aggie alum – live is San Francisco and are expecting their first child due in June. Peter is an avid Iowa State Cyclones fan and, along with Megan, enjoys travel, jokes and live music. 

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​James Sherrer (Recruitment Committee)
James Sherrer was born and raised in the Bay Area.  After graduating from Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, he attended UC Davis where he earned degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.  While at Davis, James also played Men's lacrosse.  He was a two time All-American, Captain and Club Vice President.  After graduating, James worked on several state senatorial campaigns, focusing on forensic accounting and grass roots organization.  He has spent the past 6+ years with First Republic Bank across various capacities.  Prior to becoming a Relationship Manager, he managed the Bank's unsecured underwriting group where he worked closely with private equity firms.  James also spent time as a Product Manager and helped develop First Republic's Student Loan Refinance program.  He is currently working towards his Series 7 and 63 securities licences and will be earning his Certificate in Financial Planning from Boston University in December.   James is also active in the community.  He is the JV lacrosse coach at De La Salle High School and volunteers time with Meals on Wheels and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Mentorship Committee Biographies

Frank Song
Frank Song previously worked at Accel-KKR as a private equity investor where he focused on buyouts and structured capital investments in enterprise software and tech-enabled services companies. Currently, Frank is Founder of Modern Career Advice and has built a long track record of tangible results by helping professionals in various roles/industries (IB/PE/corporate finance, management consulting, marketing, sales, HR, tech, etc.) and titles (analysts, managers, VPs, directors) land more interviews, offers, and pay that they otherwise wouldn’t have landed without Modern Career Advice’s data-driven, scientific, and analytical strategies. ​

Events Committee Biographies

Stephen Albin
Stephen Albin born and raised in southern California just outside of Los Angeles. While at Davis he was active on campus serving on business & finance commission, greek conduct board, and working at the coffee house. He graduated from UC Davis in 2011 with degrees in Economics and Communications. Since graduating he’s worked in commercial real estate helping clients develop solutions for their commercial properties. Stephen now lives in Oakland, enjoying his time golfing, reading, and learning new skills.

Wendy Chen 
​Wendy graduated from UC Davis with High Honors and as a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society in 2017. While at Davis, she worked as a Student Assistant in the L&S Dean’s Office, served as the Professional Relations Director of the Davis Accounting Society, and was a Campus Ambassador for Becker CPA Exam Review. Wendy currently works as a financial consultant in the healthcare industry in San Francisco. She enjoys urban hikes, snacking, and traveling!

Communication Committee Biographies

Grace Sim
​Grace Sim graduated from Davis in 2017 with a BA in Design and a minor in Textiles and Clothing.  During her time at Davis, she held a variety of marketing roles for Davis Women in Business and the College of Letters and Science department.  She contributed to the first Own it Summit at Davis which connected students with women professionals in Business, Science and Engineering, Activism, and Facebook's Infrastructure team.  She also led on-campus marketing for the inaugural endowed Alberini lecture featuring Lucky Brands CEO and Chief Creative Officer.  After graduating, she kicked off her career at Yelp as an Account Executive and is currently at Google as a Sales Operations Analyst.  During her free time she enjoys working out, taking photos, and exploring the city.

Philanthropy Committee Biographies

Bianca Mercurio
​Bianca was born and raised in the East Bay and danced ballet for 11 years.  In 2015, she graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Arts in English.  Her major’s emphasis was in critical theory where she studied philosophy extensively.  She now works as an Executive Assistant at the world’s leading nonprofit management consulting firm, The Bridgespan Group.  She is a co-lead and founding member of the Women at Bridgespan working group where she works with colleagues to continue building an inclusive culture. In 2018, Bianca created a lifestyle website, Rosy BVM, where she blogs about philanthropy, fashion and beauty, and she interviews remarkable individuals.  Bianca currently resides in the East Bay, where she enjoys the beauty of nature, photography, and thinking about the next topic for her blog’s global readers.