The UCR Foundation Board of Trustees has welcomed three new members, all of whom began two-year terms on July 1.  

Chaired by Wally Bakare, the 35-member volunteer Board of Trustees oversees UCR’s affiliated foundation, receiving and managing the investment of a $274.6 million endowment as of June 30, 2024, that supports the long-term strength of UCR’s research programs, colleges, and scholarship funds. Trustees advocate for UCR and advance its mission by seeking and securing private support for its programs. 

The new members are Ray Joseph, Kindra Montgomery-Block, and Jennifer Nuckles. Read more about them below.

Ray Joseph

A financial professional with over 30 years of experience, Joseph’s career spans various roles in both the public and private sectors. He is currently a senior investment counselor for ultra high net worth clients at Citi Private Bank. Prior to his role with Citi, Ray was chief investment officer (CIO) for Axxes Capital’s Private Equity, GP Stakes, Opportunistic Credit, Private Credit and Venture Capital Funds as well as chair of the board for the Private Equity and Opportunistic Credit Funds.

From 2021 to 2022, Joseph was CIO at the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Funds (LAFPP), managing $31 billion in assets. Previously, he was a vice president at the investment firm Wilshire Associates and a director at Barclays Investment Bank.  In 2011, he received a Presidential Appointment as CIO for the Office of the Special Trustee, managing assets with the U.S. Interior and Treasury Departments. He also served as deputy and acting CIO for New Jersey’s Division of Investment from 2008 to 2011. 

Joseph received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

Kindra Montgomery-Block 

Montgomery-Block has more than 18 years of experience in community development, social justice, and youth leadership initiatives aimed at creating equitable access to opportunities for marginalized communities. She is currently the vice president of diversity, inclusion, and social impact for the Sacramento Kings basketball team. 

From 2014 to 2021, Montgomery-Block was an associate director at the Sierra Health Foundation. In that role, she led the Black Child Legacy Campaign, a community-driven initiative that achieved a 40% reduction in preventable African American child deaths and secured over $100 million in grant funding. From 2006-2014, she served as the director of training and community relations at UC Davis. 

Montgomery-Block received a bachelor’s degree from UC Riverside in 1981, an MPA from Golden Gate University, and a certificate in community & design: business communication from Harvard University.

Jennifer Nuckles

Nuckles has almost 30 years of experience in leading revenue growth and profitability for companies. She has served as CEO of software technology platform R-Zero since 2022.

Previously, Nuckles worked at fintech SoFi, serving as executive vice president and group business unit leader from 2019 to 2022, launching and managing the businesses within Enterprise, Content, and Insights contributing to the successful IPO in 2021. Prior to joining SoFi, she was the chief marketing officer of several consumer technology companies, including Doctor on Demand and publicly-traded Zynga. She spent almost a decade in leadership positions at Clorox Company.

Nuckles is active in guiding conversations in the technology industry. She has been featured in the media by CNBC, Forbes, and the Fortune Global Forum, covering the intersection of technology and innovation, in addition to numerous interviews and podcasts interviews with other c-suite executives and covering business advice and insights. Her awards include recognition as a Female Disruptor by Thrive Global, as one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times, and as Outstanding Mother of the Year by the American Lung Association. 

Nuckles received a bachelor’s in political economy at UC Berkeley in 1996 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2003.