2007 - 2008 East Bay Team
Rick Christoffersen has had a number of multi-year careers: carpenter, counselor, salesman, innkeeper, contractor & student. Most of those years were spent working with tools in residential construction. He has a political science degree, a law degree and a Masters in taxation law. Being an outdoor sort of guy, he has skied a lot and began long distance running and riding bicycles. These days, he is quite happy about being in the Bay Area and has recently accepted a job as a project director/administrative coordinator for Berkeley's syringe exchange program.
 Rita Gaber Gaber is a Ph.D. candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley, writing a dissertation that analyzes the race and class politics of California’s new Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program. She has two major research questions: What can biomonitoring tell us about some of the divisions between environmental health and environmental justice organizations in the Bay Area? And what do those divisions suggest about the uses of science as a tool for social change? Since 1999, Rita’s everyday work for social change has been in program design and evaluation, where she consults with school districts and non-profits to develop and implement health and education programs serving diverse populations. On the home front, Rita and her husband, Matthew, are the proud parents of two handsome boys, Isaac (born 2004) and Leib (born 2006).
 Valerie Lee entered the financial services industry in 1986, left the industry in 1992, and rejoined the industry in 2000. She has worked for Metropolitan Life, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. She worked in the tour industry for four years as a Tour Administrator from 1992-1996. Additionally, after the birth of her son, she started a home-based preschool which she ran for the next two years, 1998-2000. Those careers led her back and forth between the Bay Area and Honolulu, Hawaii. She has volunteered at the San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco SPCA, Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, Pets Unlimited, the Asian Art Museum, and the Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital. She graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in English. Valerie entered the graduate marketing program at Golden Gate University and in August 2007, she will graduate with a Master’s degree in Marketing. She believes the bottom line is community-oriented social change efforts can profoundly enrich the lives of others. She is excited about developing skills which will help her improve the well-being of others while being surrounded by interesting, passionate people who share her ideals.
Lauren Mack loves helping progressive nonprofit clients with their online strategies as an Account Executive at Donordigital of Fenton Communications. Before arriving in the online world, Lauren dipped her toe into the nonprofit workforce through positions at AARP and United Way. She lives in Berkeley where she gardens, runs, reads, bikes and hopes to someday own a puppy with her boyfriend, Alex.
2007 - 2008 San Francisco Team
 Leslie Andrews has been involved in a variety of issues including community activism, violence prevention, labor relations, youth development, and racial/ethnic diversity. She currently works at Blueprint Research & Design, a strategy consulting firm serving philanthropic organizations. Previously, she worked at a nonprofit residential facility for emotionally impaired teenagers. Leslie holds a B.A. in sociology and philosophy from the University of Michigan.
 Jennifer Anthony has worked at a not-for-profit education policy research institution since 1995, with a focus on early childhood education and policy. Her most recent volunteer efforts have included mentorship of a teenage girl for Big Brothers Big Sisters for the past five years, volunteering for a NGO in Hanoi, Vietnam, and a neighborhood beautification project for San Francisco’s Friends of the Urban Forest. She has an MFA in writing for children and a MA in psychology. More about her can be found on her website: www.jenniferanthony.net.
 Wyatt Arnold was born and raised in Arizona. He moved to San Francisco two years ago after completion of an Architectural Degree from the University of Arizona. Currently, he works as a Designer in a small Architectural firm in the city. He is an enthusiastic and involved community member and has been associated with HOBA for a year and a half. He enjoys helping the community and empowering its members to do the same. He is outdoors as much as possible and loves to use volunteering as a vehicle for exploration of this amazing city.
 Jerusha Breslar is a Program Coordinator for the San Francisco Food Bank where she provides support and guidance to various food distributions throughout the city. A relative newcomer to the Bay Area, Jerusha has actively worked toward eradicating various health disparities over the past five years, focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and food security issues. Her background includes volunteering as an ESL teacher, sitting on the board of the African American Coalition against AIDS, and working as a Program Associate at the Academy for Educational Development’s Center for Social Marketing and Behavior Change in Washington, DC. Jerusha has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs from James Madison University in Virginia
 Suzanne Brinkley is a planner with the Partnership Office of the National Park Service, where she develops fundraising and partnering capacity for the agency’s nonprofit partners. Prior to her work with the federal government, the bay area native provided project management, writing, research and analysis for affordable housing and redevelopment efforts in the private and nonprofit sectors. In addition to volunteering with homeless and hunger organizations through Hands Bay Area, she serves on the Immigration Reform Study Committee for the League of Women Voters and the Project Review Committee for the San Francisco Community Land Trust. Suzanne holds a Master’s degree in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economies of Industrial Societies from UC Berkeley.
Felix Deng was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and was raised in San Francisco. He is currently a second year student at UC Berkeley with interests in various fields. Felix is in the process of developing a grassroots non-profit with the mission of ‘teacher appreciation’, along with other high school and college students. He has a passion in working with hospital patients, families that are in need of resources and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, and Transgender) rights. Felix is also an active volunteer and contributor to special events with a cause.
 Mariange Russell works as a Marketing Coordinator for a commercial real estate website called LoopNet; originally from Suisun City, she recently moved to San Francisco. She enjoys hiking, hanging out with friends and new adventures...like the HandsOn Bay Area Leadership Fellowship!
 Esther Seo has been a volunteer with HandsOn Bay Area since 2003. Currently, she works for eBay in their Corporate Development group. Before eBay, she worked for an investment banking firm in San Francisco. Esther received an undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford University. In her spare time, she loves to cook (although she admits, she’s not very good), play sports and travel.
 Sid Sheel has been a HandsOn volunteer since 2003. He has also served as a member of the Programs committee for the San Francisco region. Sid works in Strategic Market Planning for Kaiser Permanente where he is currently focused on the Small Business market. Sid graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Kier Wallis has been an active volunteer with HandsOn Bay Area since October 2006. Kier graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2006 with degrees in Communication and Law and Society and a minor in Spanish. Kier works for Manatt Health Solutions where she advises a wide range of clients on issues related to healthcare policy and health information technology. She hopes that her experience with LIFT will enable her to apply new knowledge about the non profit sector to her local community and bridge the community and local agencies
2007 - 2008 Silicon Valley Team
Jamie Campbell is a Bay Area native. She graduated from San José State University with a degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Comparative Religious Studies. She is currently employed through San José State University Research Foundation at The San José Entrepreneur Center. When Jamie is not leading projects for HOBA, she stays active with exercise and a busy social calendar with friends and family. Interests include fitness/nutrition, sports (volleyball, basketball, and softball), music trivia, concerts & dancing, art & wine festivals and volunteering.
Clay Couger
Biography Pending.
 Montez Davis has over fifteen years of experience in community service working with youth and families. Montez served in the US Marine Corps as a Family Service Officer and then held similar Social Work positions for Bay Area Youth Centers in the San Francisco/Alameda Bay Area. During the past three years, Montez has served as Education Director at the Peninsula Boys & Girls Club in East Palo Alto, and as Assistant Executive Director of Valley of the Moon Boys & Girls Club in Sonoma. He has a BS degree in Psychology from Norfolk State University and a Masters in Counseling with emphasis on Marriage, Family & Child Counseling from Cal State University, Hayward. Montez is currently the Community & Corporate Relations Manager at the Bring Me A Book Foundation.
 Shubda Garani has considered the Bay Area her home for ten years now. Originally from India, she has a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering. She has worked in the telecommunications industry for about seven years. Currently, she has taken a break from her career to stay home to raise her children. She is now seeking to enter the non-profit world and is very excited to have the opportunity to be a HOBA Leadership Fellow.
 Holly Hatlo is a native of the Bay Area. After graduating from Asbury College in Kentucky with a degree in Applied Communication, she spent several months interning with The Foundation for Sustainable Development as an English teacher in Argentina. Holly works for a real estate investment firm in Palo Alto and serves as a part-time nanny. Outside of “PLing” with HOBA, she stays busy and active with exercise and quality time with friends and family. Interests include fitness/nutrition (health nut), travel (local & international), improving her skills in Spanish, dancing & the arts, hiking and volunteering.
 Tiffany Kosolcharoen is a tech enthusiast aspiring to bridge the social divide. As an MIT graduate, Tiffany is involved a technology non-profit for the developing world and leading corporate community outreach efforts. She is currently consulting at a leading internet company.
Karen Manship has been volunteering with HandsOn Bay Area since arriving in the Bay Area late in 2005. She has previously participated in Teamworks and nonprofit board internship volunteer programs with SeattleWorks in Seattle, WA, and has led volunteer recruitment efforts for HandsOn DC the 2,500-volunteer work-a-thon and fundraiser for Washington, DC public school students. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware. Professionally, she is a Research Analyst for American Institutes for Research, working on research projects related to early childhood education and school finance, and a piano teacher.
Vanessa Perez is an educator that has worked to improve access to higher education for first-generation and underrepresented youth for the past six years. She has developed and coordinated college outreach programs for urban elementary through high school youth as well as done individual college preparation counseling and consulting. She loves dancing, traveling, volunteering, crafting and all things Peruvian. Vanessa is currently finishing up her Masters in Educational Equity at San Francisco State.
 Larry Sun immigrated with his family to the United States from China when he was 15 years old. Presently he works as a Software Engineer in Test at Google Inc. About a year ago, he learned about HOBA and started participating in various activities. So far, it has been a fantastic and fun experience. HOBA has provided him with numerous opportunities to gain deeper insight about community and is a channel to get to know many quality individuals through the volunteering experience. Before volunteering with HOBA, he really had only limited volunteering experience and didn't quite understand why volunteering was such an addictive activity. However, once he saw the happy faces of the people that he helped, it was really difficult to stop putting smiles on so many other people who need assistance.
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Past LIFT Teams
