Natasha Ickes-Saman

Bay Area, CA

Natasha Ickes is a Resilience Strategist, award-winning author and multi-passionate entrepreneur whose work spans across leadership development, coaching and community service. As a 4x TEDx speaker and holder of a Professional Communications Certification from Harvard, Natasha brings her expertise in resilience and leadership to help individuals and organizations navigate change and thrive in the face of adversity.
 
As the founder of Shear Passion Salon in Oakland, Natasha combines her passion for beauty with her commitment to community. She provides free haircuts for the unhoused and mentors young women of color, guiding them to overcome societal challenges and embrace their full potential. Her dedication to service has earned her numerous accolades, including a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from the California Senate and a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
Known for her belief that “to whom much is given, much is required,” Natasha brings this philosophy to every aspect of her life. She’s committed to creating lasting, positive change.
 
In her spare time, Natasha embraces adventure as an avid traveler and adrenaline junkie. Whether skydiving over the Bay Area or ziplining through the jungle with her children, she continually seeks new experiences that challenge her and expand her horizons.

Mia Arakaki

Big-Hearted Facilitator

Mia envisions a world where every young person is surrounded by connection, care, compassion and love. As a healing-centered mindfulness practitioner and creator / facilitator of culturally responsive, social-emotional learning programs, Mia integrates over 20 years of experience in youth sports coaching, classroom teaching, school administration and non-profit leadership. Her work aspires to empower young people to drive positive change in their lives and communities.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Mia played Division I college soccer at Yale and earned her Master’s in School Leadership from Columbia University’s Teachers College. As the founder of a youth soccer club, she merges her passion for soccer with her dedication to holistic youth development and wellbeing. She also plays soccer / futbol whenever she has the opportunity!

Proud of her Uchinanchu heritage from the Ryukyu Kingdom, now known as Okinawa, Mia lives by the Uchinanchu saying, “choo kukuru ru dee ichi”—The heart is the most essential quality. She hopes to pass on this wisdom to her two children and to young people everywhere.

Soul Shoppe‘s work is made possible by donors and partners who care deeply about the young people in their communities! We can’t do this work without you. Support our work in classrooms and on playgrounds across the nation by donating here.

Judith Alcalá

Concord, CA

Judith’s core belief that “every person deserves the opportunity to develop as a whole person so that they may find their way to living a fulfilled life” guided her, whether her role was as an educator in a clinic, a classroom teacher or as former principal. 

It was during her principalship that she had the opportunity to partner with Soul Shoppe over the course of three years. During that time, her school community not only learned how to impart wellbeing as an act of social justice but also to embody it.

After 20 years as a public school educator in the East Bay,  Judith has returned to the non-profit sector as an Associate Director for the Sobrato Early Academic Language Model, an organization that provides professional development, curriculum support and technical assistance to school systems to prepare all English learners and dual language learners in California to learn, thrive and lead. 

Additionally, her roles as a field instructor for Loyola Marymount University’s Administrator Credential Program and as an instructor at Cal State East Bay’s Teacher Credential program both fulfill her love for teaching and her motivation to close the opportunity gap by adequately supporting and preparing the educators that serve the students of California.

Judith balances her life by spending time with her family, staying active and enjoying the outdoors, having a good laugh with friends and regularly quenching her curiosities with new experiences that feed her mind, spirit and soul.

Prakash Bhaskaran

Danville, CA

Prakash is a seasoned CFO with experience in start-ups, publicly-traded companies and non-profits. As a CFO, he’s successfully participated in taking three tech companies public. In his capacity as CFO and finance committee member, he’s had broad experience working with various boards in several organizations.

He brings a broad perspective to the boardroom, combining deep financial and operational expertise along with strategy and governance expertise. This broad experience enables him to provide meaningful insights that help drive informed decisions. Having worked in diverse industries, including high-tech, manufacturing, governmental entities and non-profits, he’s able to draw on a wide range of experiences which allows him to collaborate effectively with senior management and with fellow board members.

Having had a successful “first half” of his career and having grown up in Oakland CA, he’s developed a strong passion for the non-profit sector. In this “second half,” he wants to use his expertise and skills to help organizations that work with children and families of poorer and underserved communities. Following his heart, he pivoted to the non-profit sector, serving as CFO at a community Charter School in East Oakland and a Counseling Center in San Jose. He continues this passion by serving on the Board at Soul Shoppe.

As a young teenager, Prakash moved with his family from India to the Bay area, where he’s lived since that time. He loves photography, vegetable gardening and taking long walks during sunrise and sunsets. He currently resides with his family in Danville, CA.