Who We Are

After our son was born in 2021, a prolonged stay in the hospital for his care brought us face-to-face with the family challenges of navigating healthcare, education, and community support systems. In those moments, we felt firsthand how once you have children, every child suddenly becomes more precious, and every community need becomes more potent. We started our family foundation with the belief that every child deserves a safe start, and a path towards learning, growth, and embrace by their community.

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Eric grew up in a home where compassion and hard work had to overcome the struggle that too many Americans know. His father — an immigrant and a disabled veteran — suffered through the American healthcare system while his mother cared for his father, raised her three boys and worked extra shifts to keep the family afloat. The neighbors, teachers, and community groups who stepped in to help left a lasting impression. 

A first-generation college graduate, Eric earned a full scholarship to Yale and built a career focused on expanding opportunity. He has helped grow mission-driven companies including Maven Clinic, Lyra Health, Duolingo, Mercado Libre, and Nubank, expanding access to health care, education, and financial inclusion. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he stepped in to ensure over 10,000 students maintained access to safe, in-person learning. He later founded the American Dream Institute to encourage safe, constructive progressive discourse online — and to help progressive messages connect more clearly with young Americans.   

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Education similarly opened doors for Rachel. She studied Art & Architecture at Columbia and earned her Master of Architecture at UC Berkeley, where she received the AIA Henry Adams Medal, the program’s top honor. 

Raised by an immigration lawyer and a scientist, Rachel grew up on stories of her family’s roots across Northern California. Rachel believes communities grow stronger when beauty, learning, and belonging are within reach for everyone. 

Today, she is also the founder and principal of Vine Projects, an architectural design studio that revives heritage buildings and creates new spaces that strengthen community, from third spaces to homes that reflect local character. This is how she builds community every day — through the places people share. She also serves on a committee at SFMOMA and on the board of the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, championing cultural access in everyday civic life. 

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Our foundation’s work is guided by a belief in spaces and initiatives that care, inspire, and support families through education, arts access, and maternal care. We support the people too often left behind: patients and caregivers, veterans, immigrant families, and young people seeking opportunity, and supporting the social programs that helped his own family.