David and Steve then launched a rigorous search for a leader. I was less than six years out of grad school and I saw this job announcement – a leader who could ensure California would protect the promise of college opportunity. I read that job announcement and found my purpose. Sheryl Sandberg might have called it leaning in. I’d never run an organization or raised money, but I really wanted to do this work and had ideas for why I was a good fit. I sent my cover letter and resume and got my first-round interview. It was scheduled at the Wolf home, which had a beautiful pathway to the front door with big bay windows. Behind these windows, David and Steve positioned themselves so they could see you and judge your prospects before you even got a handshake in.
I later learned later that as soon as Steve saw me, he turned to David and said, “This is gonna be quick.” David agreed. Despite their first impression, the interview went really well. We both laughed afterward in the realization that first impressions aren’t always accurate. They both loved telling this story. I was one of the top three finalists for the job but I didn’t get it. Abdi Soltani, who got the job, ended up hiring me as his #2 person because he had the confidence to ask David if there was anyone he should talk to. Both David and Steve told Abdi to talk to me. I became the President four years later.
In 17 years, I learned a lot from David, and this “how we met story” was just the first lesson he gave me. As brilliant and talented as he always was, he was absolutely comfortable with being surprised and even being wrong. He was an inquisitive man and knew that as much as he knew, he didn’t know it all. And he relished in the joy and company of people who taught him new things.
It took me a while before I got comfortable with this story. As a woman and as a Latina, I learned that being underestimated was not the worst thing you could be. You could always show up, work hard, out-strategize those who hadn’t prepared like you did, and experience the true joy of surprising those who underestimated you. David really relished that.
The work of the Campaign for College Opportunity has followed that path. For years it was difficult to get traction and we were often underestimated. But 17 years later, this small organization that started on a road trip has made the most significant changes in higher education in California. This made David incredibly proud. After a long career, retirement didn’t mean David stopped trying to make things better for students – through policy change at the Campaign and by directly mentoring students with his wife Ruth at Roseland University Prep through the Yes We Can scholarship fund.
Some might not think a retired white Jewish baby boomer who grew up in Los Angeles and worked in some of the most prestigious posts in academia would have much in common with a young Latina who was the first in her family to go to college, but we did. We were both passionate, inquisitive, and committed - David about making sure the next generation would have the same chance to advance economically and civically through higher education as he did, and myself feeling the same pressure to make sure others who looked like me, those who didn't always give a good first impression, could get a shot at college and success.
I was blessed that our paths crossed. I cannot imagine my life without him. We all know there are only a handful of people that change the trajectory of where you might end up AND who challenge and make you better for being in your life.
When Steve Weiner died, David shared the following with me, “There is a Jewish line of thought that defines immortality as the thoughts about a person that persist after the individual is no longer physically with us. We now think about our friend and in so doing, he lives on.”
So of course, in his final lesson to me, he taught me there will never be a world without David Wolf. He is a part of me. He is a part of all of us. He will always be a part of the Campaign for College Opportunity and every small and big accomplishment that's been had or is yet to come. It brings me so much comfort that we made him proud of the temple he built.
I promise each of you that our work to ensure California significantly increases college opportunity and student success will continue. David’s vision for a better California will be with us every single day. In this work, we will keep his memory alive and indeed he will be immortalized.
