STAFF | BOARD OF DIRECTORS | ADVISORY BOARD | HONORED MEMBERS
STAFF
Darlene Weide, MPH, MSW, Executive Director
(415) 920-3820 x105 | dweide@communityboards.org
Darlene is the Executive Director of Community Boards. Darlene has worked in the nonprofit sector- primarily in HIV prevention, women’s health and youth community-based programs– for nearly twenty years. Her current work focuses on enhancing the effectiveness and impact of organizations. At Community Boards, she collaborates with the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers to build on Community Boards’ tremendous track record. Darlene is the author of Safe Schools for Everyone: Responding to Anti-LGBTQ Bias in the Classroom & on the Playground, as well as Conflict Resolution Skills for the Jossey-Bass textbook Foundations for Community Health Workers. She is an experienced mediator, trainer and teacher. She is also a faculty member at City College of San Francisco in the Health Education and Community Health Studies Department where she teaches public health courses and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace.
Cordell Wesselink, ADR & Training Program Manager
(415) 920-3820 x109 | cwesselink@communityboards.org
Cordell works as Community Boards’ ADR and Training Program Manager, joining staff in 2011. In this position, he collaborated to create, implement and co-train volunteers for our new Conflict Coaching Program. He leads our 2-day facilitation trainings, and customizes and delivers additional trainings on conflict resolution, effective communication, and mediation to a range of clients. Cordell directs and delivers multiple trainings focused on restorative justice for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Neighborhood Court Program. In addition, he oversees all operations of our Neighborhood Mediation Program.
Arnold “Mac” McGilbray, Case Development Manager
(415) 920-3820 x103 | mac_mcgilbray@communityboards.org
Arnold “Mac ” McGilbray, our Case Development Manager, joined our staff in 2005. He comes to us with a background in law, marketing, contracting , negotiation and EEO compliance. As Case Development Manager, Mac is responsible for all contact and coordination with the disputing parties following the initial intake. Mac’s critical role is to bring the second party/parties into the mediation process. He also manages all aspects of our low-cost Specialized ADR Services.
Lucia Casaravilla, Spanish Outreach Project Manager
(415) 920-3820 x102 | lcasaravilla@communityboards.org
Lucia is the Spanish Outreach Project Manager at Community Boards. She is a Senior Communications Professional with extensive experience leading educational, philanthropic and community outreach programs at the International Monetary Fund. At the IMF, she initiated fundraising and humanitarian campaigns, helped found the Fund’s volunteer program and led the grant-making and charitable initiatives of the IMF Civic Program. A lifelong advocate of community service, she was the project manager for a dinner program at a DC women’s shelter for 12 years and volunteered at a soup kitchen in rural Costa Rica. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board at Rebuilding Together San Francisco.
Jim Garrison, Communications Manager
(415) 920-3820 x104 | jgarrison@communityboards.org
Jim has been associated with Community Boards in various capacities since 1988, when he was just a young lad. Jim’s primary responsibilities are managing our website, producing all e-communications, and designing and producing all information, outreach and marketing collateral pieces. He knows lots about the organization and is a firm believer in the empowerment that community mediation offers to everyone who needs to resolve personal and professional conflicts. Mediation really works!
Liliya Shilman, Finance Manager
(415) 920-3820 x106 | lshilman@communityboards.org
Liliya has been with Community Boards since 2002. She is the former accountant for the Recreation Center for the Handicapped. Liliya is responsible for maintaining and filing all financial records pertaining to the DRPA contract. She also prepares the monthly invoices for MOCJ and weekly updates for the Executive Director on Community Boards’ finances.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bob Bailey, President
Bob joined the CB Board in January 2010. Much of his professional career and community service has been devoted to dispute resolution – including thirteen years as a prison ombudsman in Connecticut, four+ years as staff director of the Berkeley Police Review Commission, and six years as past President and board member of Berkeley Dispute Resolution Service & East Bay Community Mediation (now SEEDS). Bob is currently Director of HR & Administration for the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund in San Francisco. Previously, he was Acting & Associate Director of HR at the Tides Center for six years, and a senior Assistant to the Berkeley City Manager for four+ years where his work focused on organizational and staff development. Bob’s community service also includes six years board experience with Resource Media, a strategic communications non-profit organization serving the environmental movement. He received his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut.
Krista Bell
Krista is a Legal Research Attorney with the Alameda County Superior Court. Previously she spent six years as a litigation associate at Nixon Peabody LLP, specializing in business litigation and labor and employment law. Before she became a lawyer, Krista spent five years working for non-profit organizations focused on sustainable development in Africa. Krista received her BSFS from Georgetown University and her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law. Inspired by Community Boards’ vision for promoting peace building through the development of conflict resolution skills in our local communities. Krista joined the Board in 2012.
Kelley Berg, Secretary
Kelley manages the Donor Relations group of Schwab Charitable Fund, a national donor-advised fund based in San Francisco. In that capacity, Kelley has the privilege of facilitating the charitable activity of an inspiring and ever-growing group of donors. Prior to joining the Fund, Kelley spent several years at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. In the early ‘90’s, Kelley participated in a CB mediation training and went on to become a volunteer mediator with a focus on the LGBT community. These experiences had a deeply positive impact on her life. Searching for a dynamic and meaningful board on which to serve, Kelley was delighted to join the CB board early in 2010.
Joseph Bubman
Joseph is a senior trainer on negotiation and conflict management at Vantage Partners, LLC, where he has helped leading companies across a range of industries to negotiate and manage their strategic relationships. During a six-month secondment from Vantage to Mercy Corps’ conflict management and peace building group in 2011, Joseph worked with field staff, government officials, and community leaders in Kenya and Guatemala on strategies and tools for negotiating and managing conflict. Joseph is also founder and CEO of Company Connector, which matches business professionals with the best employers for them. He completed a Masters in international relations—with concentrations in international economics and conflict management—at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC.
Emily Epstein
As the head of Oakbay Consulting, Emily teaches negotiation and conflict management skills to professionals all over the world. She has taught at the Harvard Program on Negotiation and Georgetown Law School, and she is currently a lecturer at the Berkeley School of Law. Her clients span a wide diversity of fields, from healthcare to technology to financial services to education. Emily mediated with Community Boards as a volunteer starting in 2000 and is now thrilled to be supporting the organization as a board member. She received her B.A. from Connecticut College and her J.D. from Georgetown Law.
Ben Hafner
Ben is an Account Executive with SCS Global Services, a third party certification body that specializes in environmental and social compliance audits. Prior to joining SCS’ sales team in 2012, Ben worked as a Social Auditor and conducted on-site fair labor audits of precious metal refiners, diamond reclamation facilities, as well as jewelry and textile manufacturing plants. Through his work as a social auditor, Ben encountered a diverse host of issues that arise in various workplaces and the critical need for effective conflict mediation services. Ben is thrilled to be a part of Community Boards and looks forward to helping bring this valuable service to the broader San Francisco business community.
Lindsay Hower
Lindsay is an executive leader and major gifts professional. She currently serves as the U.S. National Director for Right To Play, a global humanitarian organization that trains teachers in over 20 countries how to use sport and play as platforms for teaching critical life skills including disease prevention, conflict resolution and more. Previously, Lindsay directed the major gifts program at Rare, and also held positions with the Clinton Global Initiative, the Worldwatch Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the U.S. House of Representatives Resources Committee. Lindsay is a native New Yorker but enjoys calling San Francisco her new home.
Sarah Nichols
Sarah is an employment attorney with Ogletree Deakins. She partners with her clients to understand their business and to use her experience to help the client avoid the expensive and costly process of litigation. Admitted to practice in both California and Australia, she enjoys using her experience to translate a variety of foreign legal concepts so U.S. companies can ensure their policies, contracts and payroll processes comply with local laws across the globe. Sarah is an assistant lecturer, teaching mediation for litigators at Berkeley Law School. She was drawn to Community Boards because of its desire to promote access to a peaceful means of resolving conflicts. Sarah joined the Board in 2013.
Nicole O’Hay, Vice President
Nicole is an educator, who taught elementary school for many years. She began her teaching career in Alameda, and then went on to teach in International schools in both Italy and France. Her passion for learning new ways of thinking led her to graduate school, where she completed her Masters’ degree in Organization Development. Nicole is currently working as an independent consultant for non-profits and foundations.
1
Megan Oliver Thompson
Megan is a litigation attorney with the law firm of Hanson Bridgett LLP in San Francisco. Her practice covers a wide range of commercial disputes for individuals and businesses, as well as civil rights defense for public agencies. Megan moved to San Francisco in 2007 from Chicago, where she attended law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law and began practicing law with the firm of Much Shelist LLP. Megan is committed to serving the Bay Area community by regularly providing pro bono legal services and she has a special affinity for representing individuals who are seeking asylum in the United States. Dedicated to using mediation as a means of resolving disputes, Megan became a certified mediator in 2010 and is a volunteer mediator for Community Boards. She enthusiastically joined the board for Community Boards in 2012.1
Sondra Price, Treasurer
Sondra’s professional background includes 9+ years of nonprofit leadership roles and 15 years as a volunteer and trustee for public agencies and nonprofits. Her values are informed by her recognition of the challenges facing underserved communities and a commitment to make a positive difference. She received her undergraduate degree from Mills College and attended Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government (HKS) as a FannieMae Foundation Fellow in the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. She also is a past Fellow of the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) Education Policy Program. Serving on the board resonates with Sondra’s belief that a functioning civil society must apply the tools of respectful conflict resolution.
Bruce Robertson, Ph.D.
Bruce is a Marketing faculty member at San Francisco State University. He believes in building bridges between the academic and not-for-profit communities. Bruces’s teaching experience includes a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses as well as in the College’s EMBA program. His research includes publications in Organization Science and Leadership Quarterly and Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. In addition to his association with Community Boards, Robertson is an advisor to the Lovell Foundation and has served on the board of Challenge Day – a non profit that works with schools to create an environment where every child feels safe, loved and celebrated. Bruce received his doctorate from the University of Cincinnati.
Melanie Sengupta
Melanie is a land use litigation and natural resources attorney with the law firm Holland and Knight in San Francisco. She advises public and private clients through all stages of the land use and natural resources entitlement/permitting process, including litigation. Melanie assists clients to develop renewable energy projects, infill development, master-planned communities, telecommunications facilities, and commercial and industrial projects. Melanie has volunteered in inner city schools, teaching high school students “street law” and how legal principles apply to their everyday lives. Inspired by Community Boards’ vision for developing conflict resolution skills in our schools and community, Melanie enthusiastically joined the Board in 2013.
Elisa Tang
Elisa manages telecom vendor relationships for Wells Fargo. She has an MBA in Telecom Management from Golden Gate University and B.S. in Accounting. In addition to being a Board Member at Community Boards, she is also a volunteer mediator. She has a passion to promote peacemaking via community efforts and a strong supporter of educating children to learn mediation as conflict resolution tool which will benefit the child for the rest of he/her life. Her experience spans from telecom network management , contract negotiations , collaboration to problem resolution and strategic planning and optimization. Elisa is also the Co-chair of Diversity Focus Council for Technology Infrastructure Service and Risk and Governance Compliance Group in 2010.
ADVISORY BOARD
Terry Amsler | Fred D. Butler, Esq. | Kathleen Coogan | Karol Denniston | Jon Eldan | Bill Hafferty | Eileen Hansen | Betsy Jacobus | David Kirp | Tracy Lemmon | John O’Grady | Donald Proby | Barbara Proctor | Joseph Ragazzo | Gail Sadalla | Donna Salazar | Elizabeth Shwiff | Teri Sklar | Charles Spiegel | Marion Standish | Susie Wyshak
HONORED MEMBERS 2012-2013
Visionary Circle: Robert Bailey | Kelley Berg | Karol Denniston | Wendi Ellis | Emily Epstein | Margaret Keane | Dan Landy | Donna Salazar Leadership Circle: John O’Grady | Debra Varner Peacemakers Circle: Terry Amsler | Elizabeth Aron | Siobhan Cassidy | Kathleen Coogan | Veronica Joseph | Tracy Lemmon | Catherine McCracken | Susan Marsh | Adriana Moore | Michal Longfelder | Vicki Oppenheim | Giorgio Piccagli | Robert Rosborough | Tonya Saheli | Amy Shelf | Teri Sklar | George Strang | Kay Suk | Zehra Vahanvaty