Meet the Team

Chandra Alexandre, the Chief Executive Officer of Community Action Marin, is a seasoned nonprofit executive and fund development professional with 20 years of experience supporting organizations to social justice outcomes. Her work has helped strengthen regional affordable housing and early childhood education initiatives, expand education reform strategies nationally, and resource grassroots-led movement building for global women’s rights.

While at the Bay Area Council, she was commended by the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women for her work leading outreach, community engagement, and fundraising to support the 2011 APEC Women & The Economy Summit hosted by Secretary Hillary Clinton. Prior to her nonprofit roles, Chandra worked in financial services and for the US Department of State.

She has taught both full-time and part-time students in the University of San Francisco’s Master’s in Nonprofit Administration program focused on philanthropy and is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, serving her local chapter as President in 2019. She is a mentor nationally in the AFP Women’s Mentoring and Leadership Development Program and locally in the United Nations Association of San Francisco. She is a member of the Strive Together Leadership Program focused on equity efforts in Marin County. Chandra is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and holds a certificate in Ethical Leadership from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. She graduated from Columbia with a dual degree in psychology and philosophy and holds MBA and Ph.D degrees.

Chandra’s commitment to equity serves her well at Community Action Marin, where board and staff are standing with low-income families and individuals struggling to find opportunity and fulfill their dreams in challenging times. Her vision is to help propel local efforts to eradicate disparities forward while promoting self-sufficiency for all in a county that has the largest inequities between racial groups in California. Doing this will require a healing-centered approach that brings awareness of community trauma to the fore. Under her leadership, Community Action Marin will continue to provide the high-quality services necessary to meet community needs while also fostering and advocating for a thriving Marin County.

Heather Bettini grew up in Marin County and is passionate about advancing social justice and equity so everyone has the opportunity to reach his/her full potential. Heather is Community Action Marin’s Economic Opportunity Director, and in this capacity, she leads the implementation of a proven financial/career coaching model and delivery of basic needs services that mitigate economic disparities in the community. Part of her work focuses on bridging resource gaps for low-income families who are unable to make ends meet, largely due to the 48% cost of living increase in Marin County over the past four years (2014-2018).  

Prior to working at Community Action Marin, Heather led a national pilot project administered by the Center for Law and Social Policy and the American Association of Community Colleges, which demonstrated that when low-income students accessed additional financial support services, they realized greater success in school and in their careers. Heather earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences with a focus in Cross-Cultural Studies, and minors in International Relations and French.  

Heather has worked with the United Nations Environment Program in several capacities in Kenya, Germany and South Korea. Heather was a Peace Corps Master’s International student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, where she earned a Master of Public Administration in International Management degree while serving as a Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize City, Belize. While there, she conducted research on cognitive and emotional challenges Belizean children faced that impeded integration into their schools and communities. Heather is proficient in French and Creole and has basic Spanish skills. 

Rommel joined Community Action Marin as Director of Family Services in 2020, bringing over 10 years of experience in Nonprofits and Social Justice, both locally and internationally.

Driven by his passion for education, equity and inclusion, he takes pride in providing the best services possible for families and community members.

Rommel was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, and his goals include providing tools and programs that benefit families in need.

His favorite quote is, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Russell joined CAM as Director of Finance in December 2020, bringing over 25 years of experience in running finance departments. Russell has served previously in similar roles at The Linux Foundation, AKQA, and J Walter Thompson amongst others. Russell first began a career in accounting with Arthur Andersen in the early 1990’s.  During his time working in their Audit & Business Advisory Department, he also obtained his qualification as an ACA (UK equivalent of a CPA).

Russell was raised in the North of England as the youngest child in a family of 2 kids.  He has a passion for animals having volunteered at Marin Humane for several years, and also for triathlon having completed multiple events at various distances.

Russell holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Oxford University.  He now lives in San Rafael with his two children, their dog, cats, and chickens.

Gina Guillemette is committed to individual, organizational and social change that advances human dignity and justice. With over 20 years of nonprofit experience, Gina’s strategic and operational leadership skills are grounded in deep expertise in the work of community-based, direct service organizations. She has led organizational development efforts as well as public policy and advocacy initiatives strengthening public and private systems related to early childhood education and family support, immigrant and refugee rights, income supports and asset building for people with low incomes, as well as housing, health care, and human services for underserved communities.

At Community Action Marin, Gina works with individual leaders and teams to leverage the knowledge, experience, passion and skills present in each person as well as the collective toward our shared goals to transform Marin County into a place where every person can thrive.

Gina received a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, a Diploma in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor’s degree from Alma College. Prior to joining the team at CAM, Gina has served in a variety of nonprofit leadership roles, including with the Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership and Parent Services Project in California, and Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights and the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago, IL.

Laurel Hill, Vice President of Mental Health Services, is an experienced executive with a long history in civic and social services.  She has worked at Community Action Marin for 29 years in various roles, including as a Program Manager, VP of Children and Family Services, and Deputy Director.   

In her present role, Laurel oversees all of the agency’s adult- and family-serving programs including Peer Mental Health, Family Partners, Economic Opportunity and Central Kitchen; collectively these programs serve 1,500 people a year with a budget of over $4 M and 45 staff.  Laurel has deep experience managing State- and Federally-funded programs, and is particularly skilled at results-oriented outcome management, budget development and management, and outcome data collection and analysis. 

Laurel’s prior professional experience includes work in the planning department for the City of Fairfax, and in escrow for a local real estate company. 

Born and raised in Marin County, Laurel has a passion for galvanizing the community to engineer local solutions to local conditions of poverty, and promoting maximum participation in civic life for those with low incomes.  

She earned her Bachelor of Arts from San Francisco State University with a focus in English Language and Literature/Letters.  She now lives in Petaluma and enjoys gardening, the beach, and time with nearby family, including a 23-year-old daughter and two stepsons, both in their thirties. 

Monique Liebhard began her career in the field of early childhood education as a preschool teacher in Oakland CA.  She has more than twenty-five years of experience and her expertise spans from early intervention, case management, state subsidized childcare, to grants management and facilities development. She has served as the director of several large child development centers inclusive of Head Start and California Department of Education funding and has been involved in projects that have influenced early care and education for childcare initiatives in the state of California, such as First 5 California, California Early Childhood Mentor Program, West Ed-California Inclusion Behavior Consultation (CIBC) project, and several county QRIS programs. Additionally, she has taught courses in Early Childhood Education and Human Development at several California Community Colleges and holds a Master of Science degree in Educational Psychology.

Korinna Pedrosa joined Community Action Marin in June 2021 as the Director of Human Resources. As a member of the executive team, she is responsible for leading efforts to obtain the highest level of recruitment, development and retention of high-performing, mission-aligned employees. Her role involves defining and shaping the organizational culture, nurturing employee engagement, and implementing people practices that increase the agency’s capacity to fulfill its mission. In her role, she also ensures the agency provides a safe and positive work environment in compliance with legal regulations and in alignment with the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Prior to joining CAM, Korinna held several HR leadership roles for various organizations including Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, one of the largest community action agencies in the U.S. As an HR consultant she supported several nonprofits dedicated to serving low income, at-risk and underserved populations.

She holds an MBA from University of Phoenix, and BA in Mass Communication and Journalism from California State University, Fresno and is HR certified. Her professional community involvement includes having served on the board of Central California Society for Human Resource Management, including as President, and coaching other HR professionals in obtaining professional certification.

In her free time, Korinna enjoys adventures with her mini schnauzer, outdoor activities and spending time with her two grandsons.

Cassie Ristine started her personnel training back in 1988 while enlisted with the U.S. Navy.  In July 2000, Cassie began her employment with Community Action Marin as the Payroll Specialist and in 2002, she attended Sonoma State University where she received her education in Human Resource Management and was quickly promoted. 

Cassie’s ability to deal with sensitive information and her knowledge of CAM policies and procedures has served the Agency well.  Among Cassie’s many valued qualities, she is deeply committed to working in a collaborative, transparent and inclusive manner, which allows her to build positive and lasting relationships with staff and peers.  Cassie serves as a member of the Leadership Team, and is a member of the union negotiation team for the agency.

Margot joined CAM as an Encore Fellow, Director of Marketing, in September, 2021; bringing 40 years of experience in marketing strategic planning, program management and execution in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.

Margot has served previously as Chief Marketing & Operations Officer at Edventure More (EDMO) an educational enrichment nonprofit, as President at her own consulting firm and in key management roles at a variety of major advertising agencies in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Margot first began a career in marketing as an Account Coordinator for Sieber & McIntyre, a healthcare advertising agency. In this role, she gained invaluable experience in producing successful targeted marketing campaigns and all of the detail that goes into their planning, creative and production processes. Work included television, radio, direct mail, and print for a variety of pharmaceutical companies. This job was just the first step in what Margot considers a highly rewarding career ladder.

Margot was raised in New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey and later Chicago, as the youngest in a family of two children.  She has a passion for equity and is thrilled to use her marketing expertise to help Community Action Marin’s mission of breaking down the barriers that get in the way of self-sufficiency and providing the services that people need.

Margot holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Retailing, with a minor in Advertising from Syracuse University. She now lives in Corte Madera with her husband Alan, her twins Harrison and Sydney, cat Indy and dog Cali. She enjoys hiking, reading, spending time with family, and traveling.

Alanna Williams joined CAM as Director of Learning and Evaluation in August 2020, bringing experience in research, project management, and serving vulnerable populations.

Alanna was previously a Policy Associate with Opportunity Insights, a policy-research institute at Harvard University led by Professor Raj Chetty, where she worked with cities, foundations, and non-profits to translate economic research into policy action. Her projects included planning and acquiring data for evaluation of youth development programs, scaling interventions for families with housing vouchers, and analyzing upward mobility data and policies for cities including Charlotte, NC.

Earlier in her career, Alanna served as an analyst at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She primarily worked in the research division, using data to understand market trends and how to best empower consumers in the face of complex systems. She has also tutored community college students to help them towards graduation, and volunteered at an elementary school in Ecuador.

Alanna was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a major in Economics and minors in Political Economy and Latin American Studies. She now lives in San Rafael, where she enjoys occasional physical activity, watching telenovelas, doing trivia, and trying to cook.