Josh Candelaria

Ever a lover of the fermented grape, Josh Candelaria began happily shuttling wine from their corner in the beverage warehouse to loyal subscribers’ doors back in the early days of Scholar Wine’s subscription-based wine club. Although he looks wistfully upon the hours spent in his car playing “delivery man”, fueled only by his passion for the organization’s mission, he is thrilled by the leaps that Scholar Wine has made since its humble beginnings. Josh has a blast working at Scholar Wine’s events and interacting with clients and volunteers while raising funds for scholars, and takes every opportunity to spread the company’s mission.


When he’s not running Scholar Wine’s day-to-day operations, Josh can be found on a backpacking trip, lounging on the beach, playing spikeball at the park, or jamming at  concerts and music festivals. Josh chooses his beverages depending upon his palate’s whims: if beer, Lagunitas IPA; if cocktail, Gin & Tonic; if red wine, Zinfandels and Cabernets; if white wine, Pinot Grigio.


Max Wahl

Originally hailing from Missouri, Max came to San Francisco as a Santa Clara University freshman on a Pell Grant. It was his own classification as a “low-income student” that sparked his interest in funding economic opportunity for others in the same situation, and he realized that he would truly hit a sweet spot if he could blend his interest in oenology and the merriment of wine with his purpose. Max has loved every aspect of the struggles and successes in leading Scholar Wine over the years, but more than anything, he appreciates all of the people who make Scholar Wine’s dream (and the dreams of their scholars) reality.

Although he did not ultimately pursue his teenage hope of becoming a professional water polo player, Max is thoroughly enjoying his days as a full-time accountant with Deloitte. Outside of work hours, he romps outdoors, play sports, pushes himself to learn new things, plays musical instruments, and learns new languages. After all that, he likes to wind down with a nice sparkling brut.

Evan Bambico

When Evan’s friend Max Wahl walked up to him in the dorms of Santa Clara University and asked if he “wanted to do something cool” involving wine and scholarship funds, Evan didn’t know exactly what he was signing up for--but he knew he was game. A Biology major and philanthropist with an interest in viniculture at the time, Evan helped to craft this new venture into an ideal way to give back to the school community while addressing a nation-wide issue and having fun with like-minded, passionate friends. Evan cherishes the many stages of Scholar Wine’s evolution over the years, and his favorite part of working events nowadays is seeing the look on clients’ faces when they learn of Scholar Wine’s unique mission.


Since graduating from Santa Clara in 2015, Evan has remained in the Bay area, working full-time in the biotech industry. In his free time, Evan rock-climbs, snowboards, and takes photos. He thinks Cabernets can be overrated, and is a Zinfandel man.

Madison Yeack 

An experienced technology entrepreneur and founder of Member.buzz. 



Charles Kim