News - Bay Area Women Magazine

Meet Lia Izenberg, Founding Executive Director of OneGoal

Q: After receiving your bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan … how did Stanford University land on your radar for your master’s degree?LI: Ultimately, I decided that I wanted two things: assess my career to that point and where I wanted to go and also learn more about what didn’t know about educational inequity.I chose Stanford because I wanted to do an interdisciplinary program. The POLS (Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies) program ..

An Interview with Christy Hayes, Executive Director of CASSY

Q: What is Counseling and Support Services for Youth (CASSY) about and what do you all do?CH: CASSY partners with local schools to place competent, compassionate therapists on school campuses in order to reduce the stigma of mental health care and provide comprehensive mental health services to all enrolled students at no charge. We envision a world where students have the continuity of mental health support they need, from the first day of kindergarten un..

Meet DeAnna Pursai, Co-Founder & Executive Director of College of Adaptive Arts

Q: What is College of Adaptive Arts about and what do you all do?DP: College of Adaptive Arts provides an equitable collegiate experience to adults with special needs who historically have not had access to college education. CAA offers over 35 courses offerings each week to adults to choose from, in 9 School of Instruction, including Schools of Music, Dance, Arts, TV/Film, Theatre. Q: What do you love most about COAA and the work you all do?DP: I love th..

Meet Pamela Lindsay, Co-Founder & Dean of Instruction at College of Adaptive Arts

Q: What is College of Adaptive Arts about and what do you all do?PL: The College of Adaptive Arts (CAA) is all about changing perceptions of ability. Our students are specifically re-writing the script regarding the ability of all individuals to continue higher education learning throughout adult life, and equitably contribute their growing talents to efforts of their local and global communities. Q: What do you love most about CAA and the work you all do..

An Interview With Sherri Franklin, Executive Director of Muttville

Q: What is Muttville about and what do you all do?SF: Muttville is a senior dog rescue in San Francisco. We rescue dogs slated for euthanasia from all over California. So many shelters aren’t equipped to handle treating, housing or finding homes for older dogs, and the seniors end up first to die. Many times we are the only thing standing between life and death for these wonderful dogs. We have a special program, Seniors for Seniors, that matches dogs wit..

Meet Alanna Powell, Executive Director and Founder of Boldly Me

Q: What is Boldly Me about and what do you all do?Alanna: Boldly Me helps people who struggle with feeling different by teaching them self compassion, physical wellness, and financial stability. I struggled with Alopecia Universalis (total baldness) since I was two years old. I had difficulties of loving and accepting myself as a bald person for most of my life. My dream was to teach children and their families how to overcome the ineffective thoughts of f..

A Passionate Leader Doing Her Best to Make a Difference! Meet YMCA Project Cornerstone Executive Director Ziem Nguyen Neubert

Q: When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?ZN: As a child, I loved learning new things and being in charge. I used to play “teacher” with my siblings back in Viet Nam. Being the youngest of six children, I got a kick out of being their teacher and telling them what to do. They used to irritate me as my “students” just to get a reaction out of me. At 10, besides spending time with friends, I was mostly interested in writing, drawing, play..

An Interview with Tracy Tate Jones, Executive Director of Beat the Streets

Q: What is Beat The Streets about and what do you all do?TTJ: Our mission is to empower young adults with adequate resources in stimulating self-improvement through the achievement of educational and employment goals. BTS targets our community’s young men and young women by providing answers to fundamental questions that all, if not most of them come across when transitioning between childhood and adulthood. We provide those answers through our many peer s..

An Interview With Amanda Heier, CEO of San Francisco General Hospital Foundation

Q: What is San Francisco General Hospital Foundation about and what do you do?AH: Our mission statement is broad – “to promote excellence in research, education and care for all at Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.” To do that, we take diverse approaches to support the work of the hospital – from our recently completed Capital Campaign, which raised a historic $141 million, to our Hearts Grants program, wh..

Meet Music for Minors Executive Director Sonja Wohlgemuth

Q: Tell us about your nonprofit and what you all do.SW: Music for Minors partners with schools and school districts to ensure that elementary music is part of children’s well-rounded education. In the current school year we are reaching 25,000 students in 68 schools throughout Silicon Valley, providing over 900 classes every week. We are committed to providing access for all, and that means serving under-resourced schools and communities where both the cha..

An Interview with Patricia Osage, Executive Director of Life Eldercare

Q: What is LIFE ElderCare about and what do you all do?PO: In a nutshell, we serve frail elders – and some disabled non-seniors - who live alone or simply don’t have the help they need to thrive at home. Meals on Wheels is our most well-known service but we also have a nationally award winning volunteer transportation program and we do evidence based, in-home fall prevention work. A recent AARP study showed most people want to age at home where they feel m..

An Interview With Stacey Hawver, Executive Director of Legal Society of San Mateo County

Q: What is the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County about and what do you all do?SH: The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County has been changing lives in our community for more than 50 years. Our mission is to improve access to justice for the poor, the elderly, veterans, families in crisis, immigrants: those who are most in need. In 2015, we helped over 2,400 clients. More than half were defined as extremely low income, with over 300 having no current i..

An Interview With Nancy LaBelle, Executive Director of Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area

Q: What is the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area about and what do you all do?NL: The Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area has proudly served Bay Area communities since 1998. Our mission is to empower, inspire and support people with Down syndrome, their families and the community, while fostering awareness and acceptance in all areas of life. We pride ourselves on developing programs focused on independence, development and friendship that meet..

Meet Nora Sobolov, Executive Director of JobTrain

Q: What is JobTrain about and what do you all do?NS: JobTrain began with this vision: when you level the playing field, provide the right supports, and believe in people, everyone has the potential to succeed. JobTrain helps the most needy individuals and families in Silicon Valley to transform their lives from poverty and unemployment to self-sufficiency and sustainable careers. JobTrain does this by providing a range of services including full-time vocat..

An Interview With Jennifer Simmons, Executive Director of Center for Excellence in Nonprofits

Q: What is CEN (Center for Excellence in Nonprofits) about and what do you all do?JS: At CEN, we believe that the most effective way to increase the capacity of the nonprofit sector is to strengthen and sustain the staff and board leaders of nonprofit organizations. To do this, we have a unique approach to leadership development which focuses on building long term relationships and providing high touch programs (such as our Leaders Institute, Board Consult..

An Interview with Ruth Major, Executive Director of Read-Aloud

Q: What is Read-Aloud Volunteer Program about and what do you all do?RM: Read-Aloud is a relationship-based volunteer program that places adults into Title 1, Elementary schools, K-2, in Richmond and San Pablo. Adults work with the same child for 24 weeks of the year, reading-aloud to them for 30 minutes each week. Every other week the child choses a new book to take home to build a personal library. The teachers select the children who will participate in..