Rhonnel Sotelo

Rhonnel Sotelo is the Chief Executive Officer of the Rogers Family Foundation, a private foundation in the closing stages of its 20-year commitment to Oakland public education.  Rhonnel engages and collaborates with the Board, Rogers family members, the Rogers Family Office, and the Foundation team on all aspects of the family’s philanthropy. He also oversees the execution of the Foundation’s operational spend down plan, ensures the on-going career development of each team member, and directs the day-to-day management of the Foundation’s strategy, grantmaking, and operations.

Rhonnel’s career in philanthropy spans more two decades, including serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Program & Operations for the Stuart Foundation and leading The San Francisco Foundation’s West Oakland Initiative and Multicultural Fellowship program. An urban planner by profession, Rhonnel previously owned and operated Urban Works, a planning and design firm focused on neighborhood planning and livable communities in the Pacific Northwest and California. Rhonnel holds a Master of Arts in Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Arts in English, both from the University of California, Los Angeles.

He lives in Oakland with his wife Chris. Together, they have raised two adult daughters: Quin, a costume designer and filmmaker, and Kate, a natural resource conservationist and recent graduate of the University of British Columbia’s College of Forestry.