David Ortega
Director, Parent Services and Communication
David is a Cal alumnus, a former Cal football player, and now a proud parent of a recent Cal graduate and two younger daughters. He is the campus point person for parent services and communications. He assists parents with campus processes and works with Cal Parents’ social media, website, and the parent newsletter, Letter Home. David has been on campus for more than 25 years and enjoys helping parents with their Berkeley experience. Go Bears!
Mary Kelley
Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy
Mary recently joined the Cal Parents team as the Director of Parent and Family Philanthropy. As Director, she provides strategic direction and implementation of a comprehensive plan to increase philanthropic support from UC Berkeley’s parent and family community, provides leadership for the Cal Parents Board and Ambassador volunteer groups, and increases opportunities for meaningful engagement with the university through active volunteerism by current and past Berkeley parents.
Mary brings more than two decades of experience in fundraising leadership roles as human services and educational organizations such as the Center for Victims of Torture in Minneapolis, Live Oak School in San Francisco, Habitat for Humanity, Glide Foundation, and Mercy Housing of California. More recently, she served as Vice President of Philanthropy at BRIDGE Housing in San Francisco. Though a Yale grad herself, Mary comes from a long line of proud Cal and UC grads.
Michelle Mielke Walsh
Associate Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy
Michelle has worked at UC Berkeley for more than 15 years and joined the Cal Parents & Families team in 2009. As Associate Director, she oversees operations of the Parent and Family Philanthropy program, including program events and communications, parent data integrity and analytics, and efforts to engage parents and families in Big Give, Berkeley’s annual 24-hour fundraising blitz. A native of the Midwest, Michelle holds an M.A. in Depth Psychology and has worked with non-profits supporting the arts and humanitarian assistance.
Mel Ortiz
Associate Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy
Mel Ortiz joined the Cal Parents & Families Program most recently from the University of California, Irvine, where she worked to advance parent and family philanthropy initiatives. As Assistant Director, Mel works to engage parents and connect them with gratifying opportunities to elevate Cal’s greatest priorities and ambitions. Mel studied sociology as an undergraduate student at Mills College and holds a Master of Public Policy degree. Outside of the office, she enjoys cooking, travel, and outdoor activities with her husband, Daniel, their child Elena, and rescue dog, Comet.
Alejandro Ceballos
Assistant Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy
Alejandro Ceballos joined the Cal Parents team from Berkeley’s Principal Gifts and Strategic Initiatives team, where he served as a strategic thought partner to senior development staff and leadership and provided comprehensive project support to strengthen and advance Berkeley’s mission and priorities.
As an Assistant Director, Alejandro hopes to build genuine partnerships with parent donors and provide meaningful and gratifying opportunities to engage with Berkeley. Alejandro is a Latinx Berkeley alumnus, transfer student, and first-generation college graduate. In his spare time, he enjoys weightlifting, playing competitive flag football, and being outdoors.
Hannah KC Mukai
Assistant Director, Parent and Family Philanthropy
KC recently became Assistant Director on the Cal Parents & Families team after working as the Development Associate since November of 2021. As Assistant Director, she helps parent donors make meaningful gifts to make an impact on student experience at the number one public university in the world. Previously, she worked as a C.A.S.E. Advancement Intern with UC Berkeley’s Next Generation Philanthropy team. KC is also a proud alum and graduated from UC Berkeley in 2021 with a degree in Sociology. She currently lives in the Bay Area and enjoys weight lifting, charcoal drawing, and being involved with her Japanese American community.
Karen Salazar
Development Associate, Parent and Family Philanthropy
ksgonzalez2@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail)
Karen recently joined the Cal Parents & Families team as Development Associate. In her role, she supports efforts to expand philanthropic support from Berkeley's parent and family community. Previously, Karen served as the Operations Administrative Associate at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, and she began her non-profit fundraising career at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula. Karen graduated from Cal State University, East Bay with a B.A. in Human Development. She loves to hike, go to the gym, do her nails, spend time with her dog and family, and is a budding plant enthusiast.
