Evolve Staff

Michael Bornstein

Executive Director

Michael has 25 years' experience in Bay Area politics. He started managing political campaigns with the California League of Conservation Voters, before becoming the Executive Director of the San Francisco Democratic Party and most recently the Senior Chapter Director at the Sierra Club Bay Chapter. Throughout his career Michael has led or worked on several dozens of election campaigns, dispatched thousands of volunteers, and made too many phone calls to count.

Ben Grieff

Campaign Director and Spokesperson

Ben graduated from Boston University in 2006 and began his organizing career right away by working to unionize healthcare workers in Massachusetts. Since then he has fundraised for various non-profit organizations, directed canvass operations and done electoral field organizing. Prior to working with Evolve Ben ran a telephone outreach project for the San Francisco Democratic Party and Labor Council during the fall 2010 election cycle. Aside from being a political junkie Ben enjoys hiking and wildlife photography.

Rachita Rawal

Campaign Manager

Rachita graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2017 with a Political Science degree. It was here that she developed a passion for social justice and equality. While tutoring elementary students in Oakland, she saw first-hand that many students do not have access to necessary resources because of systemic inequalities. In pursuit of understanding these inequities at a deeper level, Rachita interned at Evolve during the summer of 2016. After graduation, her motivation to get the Schools and Communities First initiative on the ballot as soon as possible is what brought her back to Evolve. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music of contrasting genres, eating yummy vegetarian food (including ice cream), and visiting hipster coffee shops.   

Emily Cagape

Digital Coordinator

Emily graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2019 where she studied Sociology and minored in Legal Studies and Public Service & Community Engagement. In college, Emily worked with elementary and middle school students where she observed many of the systemic inequalities that are drastically affecting communities -- especially low-income communities such as the one she grew up in. She joined the Evolve team to fight to increase statewide funding for our public schools and services. In her free time, Emily enjoys baking, collecting house plants, and going out with her friends for milk tea. 

Maddie Cook

Outreach Coordinator

Maddie graduated in 2018 from Macalester College in Minnesota, where she studied International Relations and Political Science. A Bay Area native, Maddie returned home after College to start a summer internship with Evolve, marking her first foray into California politics. After completing the internship, Maddie moved to Tunisia to pursue a job in the international sector and to gain language skills. Throughout her time abroad, Maddie remained troubled by California’s corporate tax loophole and tuned in to Evolve's work to increase education funding. After a year and a half, she recently returned to join the team fighting for School and Communities First. Since moving back to California, Maddie is enjoying eating at new restaurants, going to new venues, and complaining about how new everything is.

Michelle Cardenas

Campaign Intern

Michelle is a first generation student at UC Berkeley concentrating in Peace & Conflict studies and Human Rights. She is passionate about social justice, education, and community. Michelle’s personal experience with California’s public schools and K-12 educational attainment, along with her upbringings in a working-class immigrant household, created an early understanding of the social inequities and systemic corruption that oppresses BIPOC and low-income communities. By interning for Evolve, Michelle is looking forward to increasing political power in individuals who are normally discounted from local political processes. She loves to dance, catch up with friends, and create art in her free time.  

Gillian Garaci

Lead Campaign Intern

Gillian moved to America in 2014 from the Philippines, and is currently a senior at UC Berkeley studying Political Science with a minor in Global Studies. Since moving to America, she has always been a part of the California public school system, and is extremely grateful for the experiences it has brought her. Her participation with Students for Bernie and other leftist organizations on campus have significantly impacted the way she sees inequality around the world. She is excited to work with Evolve again over the summer because she believes that tackling the systematic inequalities present in our society can be started through our public school systems. During her free time she likes looking for new music from all genres, going to punk shows, and talking to her cute villagers in Animal Crossing.

Alice Markman

Lead Campaign Intern

Alice is a junior at UC Berkeley studying Political Science and Public Policy. After working at a preschool with Jumpstart and seeing the gross disparities in educational opportunities between students based on factors such as race and class, she decided to become more involved in education policy. She first learned about the Schools and Communities First Act during an internship with Oakland Not For Sale, which inspired her to get involved in Evolve’s campaign this summer. She is excited to get involved in the fight against the many inequalities she witnessed at work. In her free time, Alice writes for Berkeley’s music magazine and enjoys hiking and painting.