STAFF | BOARD OF DIRECTORS | ADVISORY COUNCIL
STAFF
Darlene Weide, M.P.H., M.S.W., Executive Director
dweide@communityboards.org
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.
Sie Savage Chambers, Housing Stabilization Coordinator ssavagechambers@communityboards.org
Born in Louisiana, raised in Las Vegas, and a Bay Area resident for the past eighteen years, Sie Savage considers himself the embodiment of diverse experiences. He’s a former college athlete with a BA in Sociology from St. Mary’s College of California. He earned a Health Coaching Certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and then co-founded his own business, encouraging individuals to live an all-natural, holistic lifestyle. Sie Savage has spent the last decade working in human services and looks forward to sharing his expertise and knowledge from all the intersections of his experience to support participants and providers in housing programs. As Housing Stabilization Coordinator, Sie Savage will work ensure that they are being linked with Community Boards’ various services.
Margery Fairchild, Community Engagement Coordinator
mfairchild@communityboards.org
Margery comes to Community Boards with 15+ years experience as an independent theater maker and fundraiser. She received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Montana before establishing Dark Porch Theatre in 2003. As a San Francisco-based Theatre Director, playwright, actor, and educator, Margery looks forward to serving San Francisco’s many communities as a representative of Community Boards and as a keen advocate of restorative justice.
Jim Garrison, Communications Director
jgarrison@communityboards.org
Jim has been associated with Community Boards in various capacities since 1988. His primary responsibilities are maintaining the website, managing our Listserv and e-communications, and the in-house design and production of outreach, public education, and marketing collateral pieces. As a technical writer, he drafts, edits, and finalizes our training materials and grants. He is proud and pleased to see Community Boards continue serving the many diverse communities in San Francisco for over four decades.
Liz Gewirtz, Restorative Justice Facilitator & Neighborhood Courts Coordinator
lgewirtz@communityboards.org
Liz is committed to a vision of justice that is led by the community it serves. She began her activist career advocating for queer rights at WBAI Pacifica Radio and ActUp. More recently, at the Parole Preparation Projection, she collaborated with parole-eligible incarcerated people serving life sentences to prepare for their parole interview. She also researched case law, wrote for the National Law Guild Newsletter and attended parole summits at Otisville Prison. At Community Boards, Liz’s core responsibilities include leading Restorative Justice Circles and coordinating the Neighborhood Courts Program.
Arnold “Mac” McGilbray, Case Development Manager
Mac_McGilbray@communityboards.org
Mac, 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 also manages key components of our low-cost Professional Mediation services, working with a wide range of workplace and property disputes.
Sarah Moss, Mediation & Training Coordinator
smoss@communityboards.org
Sarah is responsible for overall day-to-day office administration, curating trainings, and workshops, and overseeing the neighborhood mediation program. Born in San Francisco, she is a decades-long member of the performing arts community. Sarah has volunteered at Larkin Street Youth Center and has worked with Shanti Project; providing alternative care to grantees with breast cancer. She earned a BA in Communication Studies and a professional certificate in Conflict Resolution from San Francisco State University. Since then, she has been invited to SFSU and UC Berkeley as a guest lecturer on Mediation. She was introduced to Community Boards in 2017 as an intern and then trained as volunteer mediator and role-play coach, as well as Community Outreach Coordinator. Sarah hopes to further her expertise in ADR while extending her mission as an effective social advocate.
Mark K. Thomas, Restorative Justice Coordinator
mkthomas@communityboards.org
Mark’s early interest in solving humanity’s problems began his journey to becoming a certified Restorative Justice (RJ) practitioner. Surprisingly, this honor student dropped out of college, and was shot and nearly killed after robbing banks. He turned thirteen years in prison into a great opportunity to develop personally and spiritually, and to become an adult ed instructor and an Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) facilitator. Completing his BA inside, after release, he earned a M.A. in East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Today, Mark brings all his experience and continual learning to his work.
Rachel Vyda-Venning, Program Director
rvydavenning@communityboards.org
Rachel comes to Community Boards with 20 years of experience as a business leader, consultant and advisor to Non-Profits. Rachel is a versatile executive; planning and leading the day-to-day operations and infrastructure of an organization, collaborating on strategic planning processes, honing and delivering messaging both internally and externally, and connecting the dots to make things work better. They have expertise in communications and marketing strategy, operations and business development, and cross-functional team leadership. They earned her MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. Rachel looks forward to supporting the team at Community Boards.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Christian Morales, President
Christian is an active advocate who believes in challenging and deconstructing systems that cause social and economic disparities in communities. He was born in Los Angeles, CA, and has been in the San Francisco Bay Area for five years. Christian has held a dynamic range of positions in various non-profits dealing with Health Care, Housing, and Education systems. He believes in actively reforming and creating new infrastructures where communities of color can heal, stabilize, and thrive.
Kiana Araghi
Kiana is a real estate attorney based in San Francisco, specializing in commercial leasing. As a life-long Bay Area resident, Kiana received a B.A. in English Literature from Stanford University, and a J.D. from University of California, Hastings. As an undergraduate, Kiana worked at a nonprofit research institution providing policymakers, educators, and parents accurate, empirical data to enact policies to improve public education for children K-12. Now, as an attorney and mother to two young boys, Kiana is acutely aware of the role that community engagement plays in promoting equity and is a passionate advocate for community empowerment to achieve a more cohesive, inclusive citizenry.
Virgil Bellini
Virgil was born in Benin, West Africa and grew up in a suburb of Boston. As an active community member in Watertown, Massachusetts, Virgil involved himself in a multitude of educational fundraising drives, neighborhood cleanups, and for 7 years volunteered at the local parish in a variety of roles. Following the devastating 2010 earthquake, Virgil supported Jewish Vocational Services in assisting Haitian refugees with job placement throughout Massachusetts. While living in San Diego, he volunteered at the San Diego Food Bank to help pack meal kits with local community members for shipment to impoverished families in Southern California. Virgil is a certified compliance and ethics professional who works to ensure a strong tone in the middle and at the top in his organization. Acting as corporate mediator for his company as issues arise, Virgil is committed to ensuring his employees maintain the highest legal, ethical, and professional standards of conduct in the workplace. In addition to Community Boards, Virgil serves on the board of Kidstock, a San Francisco based nonprofit that provides after school performing arts programs for children.
Alaric Degrafinried
Alaric is currently the Assistant General Manager of Administration for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) where he oversees the organization’s Human Resources, Labor Relations, and Procurement functions. Previously, Alaric worked for the City & County of San Francisco for nearly fifteen years in various roles including his final role as the Acting Director of San Francisco Public Works. Throughout his professional career, he has aimed to implement policies and procedures that promote an open and transparent government. Outside of his current official duties, Alaric served on the Oakland Public Ethics Commission from 2008-2011. He is always pursuing volunteer opportunities that will get him outdoors. Alaric lives in Berkeley with his wife and 11-year-old daughter. When not at work, he enjoys playing almost any sport, occasionally serving as a referee for local youth sports leagues.
Alice P. Mead, J.D.
Alice served for twenty years as the Vice President of U.S. Public Policy and Public Affairs for GW Pharmaceuticals, specializing in regulatory law governing new drug and device development; and domestic and international treaty issues relating to prescription drug development. While at GW, she initiated and shepherded a program which resulted in FDA approval of a new medication for children with intractable epilepsies. Prior to that time, Alice spent eleven years as staff counsel to the California Medical Association (CMA), focusing on bioethics, including informed consent, confidentiality, end-of-life care, discrimination, and drug abuse treatment/control issues. She was also a litigation associate at the firm of Morrison & Forester, and an Assistant Professor of Law at Arizona State University College of Law (now Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law), specializing in constitutional law issues. Alice currently works as a consultant; her clients include members of the pharmaceutical industry and other health-rrelated organizations.
Beth H. Parker, Vice President
Beth is Founder and Principal of Parker Law & Mediation. She serves as the General Counsel of three Planned Parenthood affiliates and their Action Funds. Prior to this, she served as Chief Legal Counsel of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC). Before joining PPAC, Beth was a partner at Arnold & Porter and, before that, Bingham McCutchen in San Francisco, trying nine cases through verdict and handling numerous appeals. She’s served as a mediator for the US District Court, Northern District of California, handling more than 65 mediations. She received numerous awards for her impact, pro bono litigation. Throughout her career, Beth has continued to volunteer and support many legal and civic organizations, sharing her expertise, energy, and vision.
Junna Ro
Junna is a legal and compliance executive who most recently served as general counsel and head of HR at Metromile, a publicly-traded insurance tech company, where she managed all legal, regulatory, compliance and HR matters, and helped lead the company through a successful acquisition in 2022. Previously, Junna worked as vice president, chief ethics and compliance officer, and associate general counsel at AAA (CSAA Insurance Group) where she was responsible for corporate compliance and ethics, privacy, product forms, and employment law. Junna also served as corporate counsel at Symantec and VERITAS Software in Silicon Valley. In addition to serving on our Board of Directors, Junna was one of our volunteer Community Mediators as a young teen. Junna sits on the Asian Pacific Fund’s Advisory Council. She is also a member at Chief, TechGC, the Bay Area Asian American General Counsel Network, the Women’s General Counsel Network, and HiPower. Junna earned her JD from Santa Clara University School of Law and BA from UCLA.
Christina Sabee, Treasurer
Christina has been a professor in Communication with an emphasis on Conflict Management since 2002 – both at San José State University and at San Francisco State University. During that time, she also served as SF State’s Dean of Equity Initiatives, Employee Ombudsperson, and Associate Dean for Liberal and Creative Arts – specifically working toward creating inclusive environments in Higher Education for all community members. Christina has published scholarship about interpersonal goals and facework during challenging interpersonal interactions, along with a textbook for Mediation. She earned a BA at Macalester College, an MA at Kansas State University, and a PhD at Northwestern University. Christina has served as the Board President of C5 Children’s School and as Board Secretary at Community Boards. With a passion for inclusive access to higher education and community building, she has been as a volunteer mediator, Director of the Conflict Resolution Certificate program, and Coordinator for Faculty Mentoring Circles. Christina’s current scholarship focuses on building connection between people in particularly polarized situations.
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Terry Amsler | Bob Bailey | Brittny Bottorff | Kathleen Coogan | Jon Eldan | Adam Green | Fred Lambright | Tracy Lemmon | Joseph Ragazzo | Gail Sadalla | Elizabeth Shwiff | Teri Sklar | Charles Spiegel | Kyungah “Kay” Suk | Marion Standish | Victoria Borrego Swepson | Michael Tobriner