I met Ruth and David(Rusnah and Daud) in Tok Pulou kampong when they were in Peace Corps, Malaysia in 1967. I lived in a nearby village town, Ayer Hitam, and I fondly remember our many adventures together. One in particular stands out: David came down on his motor bike to take me back to his village one night because a child in his village was sick and the parents were reluctant to take him to the hospital or clinic for fear he might die there.
The kampong was dark when we arrived, and after seeing the child, thin, dehydrated, and feverish, we tried to convince the family to take him in the next day. They did not, and he died weeks later.  The episode was sad, but would be repeated over and over, despite Ruth and David's best efforts. This was 53 years ago, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. And much more.
Deborah and I have lost contact over the years, but the memories stand out, as they always do.  For some reason, maybe intuition, I was googling David Wolf and found his obituary. I am so sad for Ruth, and Ben, and Eric. When Ruth reads this, please email me at Waterman1@gmail.com or call 2023657874

I met David Wolf and Steve Weiner when I came to California in 2006 to work for New America, a think tank. Both of them were incredibly generous with contacts, ideas, and personal advice-- both for our education program and for the organization more broadly. Their dedication to improving the lives of young people through better policy was extraordinary, and the impact of what they built will live on in the formal institutions they founded and in the many chance encounters that changed so many lives.

My eulogy from Dad's memorial service in Santa Rosa on April 16, 2021:

It is nearly impossible for a son to reduce his fifty-year relationship with his father to a few minutes, so I will not endeavor to try. Rather I will briefly address a couple of themes that were important to him, and that have been on my mind quite often as I reflect on the man my father was.

The first is the notion of leadership. Professionally, my father was an administrator in higher education, and, particularly later in his life, was quite concerned with public policy and politics. Those of you who know me, know that I can be very skeptical of most leaders and notions of leadership—I have always been one to whom the notion of “question authority” was among the highest virtues. Yet one type of leadership that is often ignored in these discussions is true moral leadership through example. And it is exactly this type of leadership that was incarnated in my father so often, particularly after his diagnosis with Acute Myeloid Leukemia nearly two years ago. Those of you here who have followed the blog he kept over these two years know how he never played the victim or felt robbed, but rather celebrated the people and experiences that made his life a complete one. While failures and mistakes are presented alongside successes and achievements, it is the process of growing and surrounding oneself with the right people, the good people that formed the core of the stories he related.

And this brings me to the second theme I wish to address, that of monuments and legacy. The tomb of the great English architect Sir Christopher Wren is in the crypt of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, his magnum opus. His tomb is merely a slab of black granite with the Latin inscription “Si monumentum requiris circumspice.” (If you seek his monument, look around.) So his monument is not the grave stone, but the cathedral, or not the cathedral, but the City of London, where he built many of the great monuments that still stand today after most of the City of London burned in the Great Fire of 1666. Dad was not an architect; but he was an inspiration to many people, in all different walks of life, he led by example, and inspired all of us, so if you seek his monument, look around you at this gathering, listen to and engage with people outside your usual comfort zone and profession. This is the monument that I believe Dad would want.

I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to know and work with David. He was a passionate leader, but also warm, generous, and kind. I met him only 5 days after joining the Campaign team, and he was welcoming, charming, and funny. I will miss working with him, but am so incredibly proud to continue the work he began 17 years ago.

~Stacey Holderbach, Vice President of Development & Administration, Campaign for College Opportunity

A hundred memories flash through my mind. I first met David fifteen years ago. I was an old grad student taking a class in "deliberative democracy" from David Davenport here at Pepperdine, and David Wolf was a fellow board member (with David D.) of a fledgling bipartisan nonprofit called Common Sense California, which tasked itself with promoting greater civic participation in California policymaking.

Little did I know then that within a year, I'd take the executive director gig of Common Sense CA and work closely with both Davids for years afterwards. Of course Steve Weiner was also a founder of Common Sense CA, and it's impossible to remember one without the other. Board meetings, retreats, casual conversations, and always the good-natured jokes. Meeting David and Steve was my first exposure to knowing true civic entrepreneurs (well before that term became fashionable). David was a man who could do anything he wanted in the private sector, but dedicated his life to academia and public service.

- Pete Peterson, Dean, Braun Family Dean's Chair, and Senior Fellow at Davenport Institute, School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University

David was a great friend, colleague, and mentor. It was my great fortune to work with him as president of the WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges when I served as chair of ACCJC. After that, he “dragged” me through other ventures, such as Claremont Graduate University, the Vineyard Symposium, the formation of the Campaign for College Opportunity, and much more. He was a brilliant man, a great visionary and innovator, a sharp analyst, and a man of great heart, integrity, and soul. I will miss him forever.

- Dr. Constance M. Carroll, Chancellor, San Diego Community College District

Through his work with the Campaign for College Opportunity, David embodied the model of inclusive and active citizenship. I always appreciated his sense of responsibility, both to his ancestors and to future generations.

- Abdi Soltani, President, ACLU of Northern California and first Executive Director of the Campaign for College Opportunity

Although I didn't have the good fortune to meet David Wolf until just seven years ago, we became instant friends, close colleagues, and sharers of life's lessons almost immediately. That was the way it was with David. He was an engineer by training and used that skill to try and re-engineer almost everything he came in contact with from antique cars, to eager young college students, to California's higher education system, and ultimately, through his service on the Campaign for Free College Tuition's board, to higher educational opportunities for the entire country. His wisdom, which coupled a deep understanding of how to bring about change with a passion and a persistence that made it happen, was a unique trait that made every organization he was a part of better for his participation in it. David's contribution to creating a better world will live on if we all remember the lessons he taught us for the rest of our lives. Goodbye David, and Godspeed.

- Morley Winograd ,President and CEO, Campaign for Free College Tuition

We have lost an angel, a wonderful friend, and a visionary. He left this world a better place, our task is to keep his work alive.
- Antonia Hernandez, President & Chief Executive Officer, California Community Foundation; Campaign for College Opportunity founding board member

I met David sixteen years ago when I arrived at the Hewlett Foundation to lead the higher ed portfolio. Though he and the Campaign were beneficiaries of the foundation, I was very much the beneficiary of his wisdom, support, and mentorship. He schooled me in the culture and history of the community college system, and introduced me to numerous leaders. He was also a model for how to make meaningful change during so-called retirement. Though I haven’t seen him much in recent years, I was blessed to be part of a gathering with him shortly before the COVID curtain came down… His influence and insights will live on in all of us.

- Pamela Burdman, Executive Director, Just Equations

David Wolf led a life that exemplifies the person in your life that tirelessly goes above and beyond what you ever imagined possible, with a broad smile most of the time. He designed the Vineyard Symposium way back when, bringing bright, diverse, passionate leaders together to build trust, share personal and professional challenges, and map out ambitious plans to change millions of lives for the better. Whether it was community colleges, Jewish life, equity, or accountability, topics that David spent his life unpacking for the betterment of the public good, he transformed the status quo. He did this time and time again. He will forever remain in our hearts and minds the champion of excellence for all to which we strive.

- Martha Kanter, CEO College Promise and former US Under Secretary of Education

David was an amazing leader, mentor, and agent of change to all of us. He has left an indelible stamp on California higher education and we have all been blessed to have known him.
- Lisa Smith, Managing Director of Public Finance, MUFG Union Bank

David brought me to the Campaign and I was very honored by his interest and willingness to hear my opinions on issues facing our community colleges. Our State and our educational community was certainly blessed to have had David bring his insights and wisdom forward to make progress in our institutions. He will forever be a memory of mine and I hope I can live up to his high standards of excellence and charity.
- William G McGinnis, Trustee, Butte-Glenn Community College District

David Wolf was a friend and mentor. He was the first person that I turned to when I thought of applying to Santa Rosa Junior College. Being a resident of Santa Rosa, he always kept an eye for me. David was pioneer, thought leader, and change agent. He quietly mentored many young people from local high schools. I learned so much from David and so enjoyed my lunches with him. The California Community College system owes David Wolf a debt of gratitude. RIP my friend.
- Dr. Frank Chong, Superintendent/President, Santa Rosa Junior College

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of David Wolf. David has been a longtime leader in higher education as well as a friend, colleague, and mentor. He will be sorely missed and his legacy will be felt for decades to come.

-Eloy Ortiz Oakley, Chancellor, California Community Colleges