Words to the Wise 2025

Join us in person on September 25, 2025, from 5:30pm to 9:30pm at the stunning Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club for Words to the Wise 2025. Experience an evening filled with fun as we celebrate our students and support SVUDL’s vital work in the community.

We’ll start our evening enjoying a reception where you'll have the opportunity to mingle with friends and meet SVUDL students, followed by a three-course dinner. Adding to the excitement, we are thrilled to announce that Ann Miura-Ko will be our guest of honor.

Ann Miura-Ko is known for her inception stage investments that range from marketplaces to highly technical companies. Ms. Miura-Ko's investments have earned her repeat appearances on the Forbes Midas List and The New York Times list of top twenty venture capitalists worldwide.

At Stanford University—where she received her Ph.D. for her work on mathematical modeling of cybersecurity—she is a lecturer in engineering, teaching on topics from blockchain to intelligent growth for startups. In addition, she is a co-director of the Stanford Mayfield Fellows Program, which helps train undergraduates to become technology leaders.

Ms. Miura-Ko is a co-founding member of AllRaise, an organization dedicated to increasing the success and prevalence of female funders and founders. Ms. Miura-Ko received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Yale where she served on the Board of Trustees from 2019-2025. As an alumna, she has also served on the School of Engineering & Applied Science Leadership Council and as a non-treated member of the Corporation Committee on Investments. She was elected an alumni fellow in 2019.

At Words to the Wise, Ann will be honored as SVUDL's Speaker of the Year, for her work supporting diverse entrepreneurs. She will also engage in a fireside chat and share more about her experiences as both a businesswoman and a national championship debater.

We will also be joined by The Musicians of the San Francisco Opera, a nonprofit organization created to serve, inspire, and create lasting relationships with diverse communities. Through musical performances, workshops, educational activities, and innovative collaborations with other organizations, they aim to show the transformative power of music through action. We are thrilled that they are sharing their music with us throughout the evening.

Topping off the event will be a Fund-A-Need, giving guests the opportunity to “raise their paddle” to help us reach our fundraising goal of $460,000 to help close the opportunity gap for under-resourced high school students in Silicon Valley.