Chris was recently promoted to Senior Manager, Safety Net Services. He first joined Community Action Marin as a Data Specialist in January 2020, bringing eight years of underwriting experience to the organization. 

In both of his roles, Chris has gained invaluable experience in short-term housing and utility assistance. Chris’s work has included providing access to all of the resources that help people in difficult times. He has also been assisting Marin residents stay housed through Community Action Marin’s rent and deposit assistance program.  

Chris was raised in the Bay Area as the middle child in a family of four kids. He now lives in San Rafael with his wife and son, and enjoys traveling, baseball, and grilling.  

Patrick Wales-Dinan joined Community Action Marin as Data Analytics Manager in December 2022, bringing four years of data science and analytics experience and over seven years of teaching experience to CAM. 

Patrick has served previously as Principal Consultant of Data with Stage 3 Talent. 

Patrick first began a career in data as an Instructor of Machine Learning and Data Science at General Assembly.  There he gained invaluable experience in data analytics, database management, predictive analysis, and data visualization.  Additionally, he helped in curriculum design and implementation of regression and classification models.   

Patrick was raised in Duxbury, Vermont and his mother Amy was a Peer Advocate for Vermont Psychiatric Survivors, and his father Jim is a chef. Patrick is passionate about running and coaching.   

Patrick holds a BA in Economics from Bates College.  He now lives in San Rafael with wife Annie and their son Jonas. 

Jennifer Bell has been the Disability and Inclusion Manager for Children and Family Services (CFS) at Community Action Marin since December 2019. In this role, Jennifer supports staff, children, and families with the inclusion of young children with special needs into our programs. The foundation of her philosophical beliefs is that learning occurs through relationship, trust, kindness, and understanding. Jennifer is an optimistic believer in the rights of every child to learn in a positive and nurturing environment and utilizes her knowledge of disability law and special education best practice to advocate for CAM children and families.  

Jennifer looks at her 20+ years as an educator with joy. Her diverse educational experience in direct service and leadership includes working in a neonatal intensive care follow up program in San Francisco, leading and directing a therapeutic preschool program in Richmond, teaching young children with communication disorders and autism spectrum disorders with the Marin County Office of Education, and as an adjunct faculty member at Santa Rosa Junior College, Dominican University, and Sonoma State University. Mid-career, Jennifer became interested in the intersection of trauma and learning in adolescence, earning an additional California teaching credential and working as a high school learning specialist in Marin. This also allowed her the opportunity to teach World History and Literature to teenagers with learning differences. 

Jennifer believes that educators have a unique privilege to work with children many hours a day and believes it is an honor to be such an instrumental person in the life of a young child. Her first job was with the Department of Psychology at Stanford University’s laboratory school. It was during these formative years that Jennifer began to understand how young children learn through active discovery and play in a way that celebrates the uniqueness of each child.  When she started working with children experiencing trauma and learning challenges, she learned that a teacher who brings compassion and expertise can help a child transcend adversity. Her work with CAM is a culmination of a career that allows her to lead collaborations with CFS teachers, families, and staff.   

Fatai Tokolahi joined Community Action Marin in November 2020 as a Peer Outreach Specialist on the Community Alternative Response Engagement (CARE) Team. He later moved into the position of CARE Team Manager of Mobile Outreach and Peer Support Services in May 2022.  

In his new role, Fatai supervises a team of talented and passionate outreach workers who go out on a daily basis to find people who are experiencing chronic homelessness and want to be connected to critical services; such as housing, health insurance, Social Security benefits, CalFresh, transportation, and more.  

Before joining the agency, Fatai was a manager and direct service provider at Marin and East Bay non-profits that served a wide variety of clients. He has served as a language interpreter for trade union members and medical patients, taught middle schoolers and their parents about the prevalence and dangers of drug abuse, and helped people with intellectual and physical disabilities live more independent lives.   

Fatai first began his career as a youth development worker in the Kingdom of Tonga nearly 20 years ago. His main areas of focus at that time was adolescent health, social and emotional development, and leadership development. He was also a UNICEF Life Skills Master Trainer for several years, where he trained youth leaders to teach essential skills to their peers. Before moving to the US, Fatai was a {roject Manager for a United Nations Population Fund and UNAIDS’s initiative that focused on HIV/AIDS prevention among transitional aged youth.  

Fatai is a graduate of Tonga College and holds a Certificate in Youth Development from the University of the South Pacific. He has loved Australian rugby since childhood,and has learned to also love Bay Area baseball, basketball, and football. Fatai lives in San Rafael with his wife and kids.  

Mimi Lee is the Development Manager at Community Action Marin. She first joined the agency in February 2023 as an Encore Fellow, serving as the Vice President of Program Support prior to her new position.

Mimi brings more than 30 years’ experience to this role. She has built, funded, run, and evaluated human service programs related to fair housing, families and children, mediation, and reentry court programs for those transitioning from jail to the community. She has also worked as an Organizational Consultant to entities in the public, private, and non-profit sectors on governance, management, and performance issues that get in the way of effective operations.  

A California girl at heart, Mimi was raised on the Peninsula, and has lived in Albany with her cat and fish for the past 25 years. Prior to that, she spent three years living in Southern California, and 13 years of mountain living in Mammoth Lakes, California. She has four grown children and four grandchildren.  

Mimi has a PhD in Organizational Leadership and Transformation, a Masters’ degree in Humanities and Leadership, and a Bachelors’ degree in Community Development and Social Cohesion. Mimi loves gardening, backpacking, the mountains, and wildflowers.  

Buntawan joined Community Action Marin as an Early Head Start Site Manager in July of 2020, coming to the organization with over 20 years of experience in the field of Early Childhood Education. She started with the agency, first in 2010 as an Early Head Start Teacher, then later becoming Site Manager for Early Head Start, Hamilton. 

Her career first began in Early Childhood Education as an Infant/Toddler Teacher and Preschool Teacher at the Cross Cultural Family Center. In these roles, she gained more interest in individual child development, nature versus nurture studies, family studies, diversity, cultural differences, and human development. Her work included getting to know the family and the ways in which each has its own cultural values, which are reflected in their child-rearing and expectations of their children during developmental milestones.

Buntawan has a passion for taking care of others and is naturally nurturing. In her childhood, she enjoyed caring for others who needed help and this has continued on through today, as it is both fulfilling and brings purpose to her life. 

Buntawan was raised in Thailand as the middle child in a family of three daughters. She earned her Bachelor’s degree (BA) in Child and Adolescent Development and Master’s degree (MA) in Early Childhood Education from San Francisco State University. She now lives in San Pablo with her family and enjoys reading and hiking during her free time. 

Gary Neal joined Community Action Marin in April of 2011 as a night janitor working at Old Gallinas Children Center. After three years he moved to facilities maintenance.

Prior to Community Action Marin, Gary worked the night shifts at Safeway stocking shelves and UPS loading the brown trucks. He also sold electronic equipment on eBay when eBay first started. His choices all supported being a stay-at-home dad to raise his son. His true calling was Landscape Contracting which he worked at for many years.

He shares his Santa Venetia home with his son, wife, two cats, two parrots and a snake. Gary has enjoyed backpacking, fly fishing in the past. He currently likes to read in his leisure time, and has a love of gardening his vegetables, roses and an outrageous lemon tree.

He attended UC Davis, where he met his wife of 31 years, and studied Biochemistry.

Sarah Philipsheck first became part of Community Action Marin as a parent in the Head Start program in 1981. Her youngest daughter was part of the classroom located in Fairfax at Christ the Victor Church. Her granddaughter also entered the Early Head Start program at four months of age and then transitioned into the Head Start program.  

Sarah started her career at Community Action Marin, in 1981 as well, and began as an Office Assistant, after spotting an ad in the Head Start Office located in the old Larkspur/Corte Madera school. Sarah has been with CAM ever since. 

Sarah’s passion for helping children & families began when she was in High School and her economic teacher made an impression regarding the importance of giving back to a community. And to helping the ones who struggle with everyday life to gain the confidence to succeed and to become self-sufficient. To help them learn how to advocate for themselves and to push themselves up and out of poverty. That same passion continues in Sarah today, after 41 years. One of the most important lessons Sarah learned from being in the program for so long is to make sure we “listen” to what the parents are saying and making sure they know that they are being listened to. 

Sarah grew up in Massachusetts on Cape Cod, went to business school in Boston and the local Community College on the Cape. She decided she had enough school and hitched hiked with a friend out to California in 1970. Met her husband, went back home and made the move out west permanently in 1971.  

Sarah has two daughters and four grandchildren and is a recent widow after 50 yrs. of marriage.  

Janis joined Community Action Marin in October 2017, initially as the Fiscal Administrator of the Mental Health Program. With over 30 years as a marketing and creative professional, a position was created for Janis the following year, naming her as the agency’s first Marketing and Communications Manager.

Using her talents in design, project management, and photography, Janis played a vital role in building the foundation of the agency’s newly created brand identity.

In creating and evolving communications building blocks, Janis develops and maintains the agency’s resource library of stories and content, supports outreach to the community and all fund development efforts. With her new title of Brand and Communications Manager, Janis is developing the agency’s first ambassador program, a brand toolkit, and implementing a new Digital Asset Management (DAM) System; all in support of the agency’s growth and development.

Janis has held numerous creative positions at ad agencies and design firms, in addition to launching direct marketing, catalog design, and photography agencies. She has worked with national Fortune 500 businesses and supported fundraising efforts for the National Boy and Girls Scouts, Easter Seals, US Olympic Society, and non-profits including The Salvation Army and American Lung Association.

Janis has a BFA in Graphic Design/Illustration from Colorado State University and pursued post-grad education in fine arts at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and advertising at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.

Janis enjoys doing anything creative, music, fine art, photography, writing, film, as well as the great outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.

Jeff joined the Community Action Marin Board in August of 2022, after learning about the agency and its mission during his term on the Marin Civil Grand Jury. Community Action Marin is Jeff’s first venture in the non-profit world after a 60-year entrepreneurial career in the private sector. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA from UC Berkeley. 

Jeff was originally attracted to Community Action Marin based on the agency’s ability to deliver tangible, measurable, and impactful benefits to the low-income community. as well as the organization’s excellent leadership and stability. 

Jeff’s business career was centered in the mortgage banking industry, beginning with a Denver-based opportunity in the early 1970s. After three years learning the basics of mortgage originations, he was then recruited to join a start-up private mortgage insurance company in San Francisco where he served as a sales and marketing executive. The industry insights and contacts developed during his eight-year term became the foundation for his next chapter. 

In 1981, Jeff founded the STRATMOR Group to provide consulting services to the mortgage industry, which was transitioning from an institutional dominance (e.g., commercial banks and savings & loan associations) to independent ownership. For most of his almost 40-year STRATMOR tenure, Jeff concentrated his efforts on mortgage industry mergers and acquisitions and participated in hundreds of transactions conducting financial analysis, performance benchmarking and assessing cultural compatibility.    

Jeff retired at the end of 2020 and resides in Ross with his wife Cate.  He has four geographically scattered children and four grandchildren. 

Mike Smylie joined the Community Action Marin Board in 2023, where he also serves as Board Treasurer. Prior to joining the board, Mike was involved with Gilead House, a Novato-based non-profit that provides transitional housing, education, and mental health support to single, often homeless, women and their children. He served on the Board of Directors at Gilead House for seven years and as the interim Executive Director for one year.   

Mike worked as an environmental consultant for over 40 years.  During that time, he worked in over 45 countries with many of the world’s largest companies in the refining, chemical, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor/high technology industries. Prior to retiring in 2015, Mike was a Principal Partner and a member of the Senior Partner Group at ERM, the world’s largest privately-owned sustainability consultancy. Mike was also chairman of ERM’s U.S. Low Carbon Enterprise Fund (LCEF), an organization that employs an impact investment model to provide financial, technical, and professional support for low carbon entrepreneurs in the developing world.  

After retiring, Mike committed himself to community service and volunteer activities. At The Marine Mammal Center, the world’s largest marine mammal rehabilitation and research center, Mike is a major gifts officer and oversees a portfolio of major donors.  In addition, he previously served as a member of the Center’s Board of Directors and Chairperson of the Center’s Volunteer Council. 

Mike currently serves as a volunteer usher at the SF Jazz Center. He also is an assistant coach of the boys’ basketball team at Hamilton Middle School.   

Mike and his wife Beth have lived in Marin County for almost 40 years where they raised their three sons. 

Cristina joined the Community Action Marin Board in May 2023, bringing over 40 years of experience in not-for-profit Healthcare Administration with an emphasis in Finance, Strategic Planning and Ethics, Compliance, and Privacy. 

Cristina served previously on the Marin Community Clinic Board for nine years and was the board chair for two years. She has also served on multiple Marin Community Clinic board sub-committees. Cristina was the secretary of the board for the Museum of the American Indian board.  She currently serves on the City of Novato Finance Advisory Commission.  

Cristina began her career in Healthcare Administration at Marin General Hospital (Marin Health) and has worked for Sutter Health, Saint Mary’s Health System in Reno Nevada, Kentfield Rehab, and Kaiser Permanente in various senior leadership roles, developing experience and expertise in Strategic Planning, Business Development, Revenue Cycle, Financial Services, Material’s Management, Personnel Management, Contract Administration, Compliance, Privacy, Information Systems, and Physician Relations. 

Cristina recently retired (April 2023) from Kaiser Permanente as the Ethics, Compliance & Privacy Officer for Marin, Sonoma, and Contra Costa counties. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology/Psychology from the University of San Franciso. She now lives in Novato, has two grown sons, and four grandchildren.  

Robert Sindelar joined the Community Action Marin Board in June 2023, bringing 20+ years of executive experience in nonprofit management and leadership. He has served previously as a board member and Board Chair at several educational institutions and professional development organizations.  

Robert first began a career in nonprofit management at the YMCA of San Francisco, eventually going on to hold multiple leadership roles at the YMCA, Playworks, and now at Justice Outside, where he serves as the Chief Advancement Officer. In those roles, he has gained invaluable experience in fundraising, strategic planning, community engagement, board development, and operations.   

Robert was raised in Florida as the oldest child in a family of four children.  He has a passion for travel, social justice, and the outdoors. 

Robert holds a Masters in Nonprofit Management in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.  He now lives in Marin City with his husband and their two teenagers. When he’s not trying to learn about home projects, you’ll likely find him out running, playing board games with family and friends, or catching a movie. 

Ana Frias-Bravo joined the Community Action Marin Board in June 2023, bringing over 15 years of experience working in non-profit organizations ,as well as in educational settings. Over the past seven years, she has focused her efforts on mental health, providing services as a psychotherapist to a vast population.    

Ana has served as a member of the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) at San Francisco State University, her current place of employment. In February 2023, she founded her psychotherapy private practice, where she provides bilingual (English/Spanish) therapy services for adults and teens that places emphasis on collaboration, social justice, and holistic wellness.  

Ana first began a career in psychotherapy as a high school clinical counselor in the Excelsior district in San Francisco, collaborating with students and families. Ana has also worked directly with the San Mateo County Private Defender Program, providing therapy within a correctional facility setting.  In those roles, she gained invaluable experience in the use of psychodynamic, narrative practices, and school-based approaches. Her work is centered around the acknowledgment and validation of the unique experiences and stories of each individual, recognizing that many of their presenting issues are often rooted in structural inequities.  

Ana was born and raised in Mexico City (CDMX), Mexico. She and her ancestors have roots in the states of Hidalgo, Queretaro, and Guanajuato. As a former undocumented immigrant, coming from a marginalized social economic background, Ana has a passion, dream, and commitment to provide services through social justice and equity lenses, creating dignified and safe spaces where individuals can have opportunities to heal and thrive.   

Ana holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from San Francisco State University and completed a training in Narrative Practices from Colectivo Practicas Narrativas, a Mexico City based collective. She now lives in Novato with her daughter and husband.  Her professional areas of interest include social justice, migration, interculturalism, language, issues affecting Latinx/Chicanx/Hispanic communities, first generation college students, non-violent parenting practices, narrative practices, and strength-based approaches. Some of Ana’s personal interests are embroidery, yoga, music, food, and collective growth and healing. 

Mary spent most of her career at the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services. During her 35 years in the Department, Mary managed all of the welfare programs as well as the Employment and Economic Assistance Division. As the Director of the Workforce Investment Board, she worked collaboratively with county employers, educational institutions, non-profits, and labor organizations.  

Although currently retired, during her tenure at the Marin County Department of Health, Mary partnered with Community Action Marin on many projects serving theirs and Community Action Marin’s mutual clientele. Based on Mary’s admiration for both Community Action Marin’s mission and the work that the agency has done in the county, she has chosen to spend her volunteer time, post-retirement working with the agency on the board/ 

Mary grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been a Marin County resident for most of her adult life.   

Violeta (V) Krasnić is a non-profit leader and a human rights advocate with expertise in human rights policy and advocacy, non-profit management, and philanthropy. Her tireless work for human rights and women’s rights, along with her commitment to collaborative action to improve mental health and well-being, has empowered the lives of tens of thousands across the globe and won her several awards.  

Violeta was born in North Macedonia, grew up in Kosovo and Serbia, and attended Columbia University for both undergraduate and graduate studies. She holds a BA in Psychology (Phi Beta Kappa) and an MA from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Before receiving her degrees, Violeta was involved in human rights and humanitarian work, and afterward, she expanded her efforts to engage with a global constituency, working in partnership with social justice organizations throughout the Balkans, Europe, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, and in the U.S. She has extensive experience in all aspects of growth and management of programs and large portfolios, eventually becoming the Program Director for the Global Fund for Women before going on to direct the Children’s Book Project and then to found and direct The April Foundation. Violeta is currently a PhD student in the Anthropology and Social Change department at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she is also the Program Coordinator for the Women’s Spirituality program. 

Deeply committed to being of service, Violeta volunteers as a suicide prevention counselor, a rape crisis counselor, a certified yoga teacher, a neighborhood emergency response team (NERT) volunteer, and a Hawaiian Hula dancer. Her previous board appointments with academic and community organizations in San Francisco and New York.  

For her outstanding social justice work, Violeta has received an Emmy® Humanitarian and Public & Community Service Award for teamwork at WITNESS.org, the 2016 City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Certificate of Honor as the Executive Director of the Children’s Book Project, and in 2018 was named the San Francisco Suicide Prevention Volunteer of the Year, also receiving California State Assembly Certificate of Recognition honoring her work against stigma and suffering of suicide.  

Violeta lives close to redwoods in Larkspur, CA with her husband, offspring, dog, cat, and a family of finches.  

Tonya Newstetter joined the Community Action Marin board in 2022, three years after moving to Marin County. She is currently head of Global Grants Operations at Salesforce, where she leads the strategy and development of core business and technology systems that power the company’s grantmaking in education, economic opportunity, community resilience, and climate justice.

She brings to the board 15+ years of experience in the social impact space, with expertise in operations, finance, technology, and organizational development.

Born in San Francisco, Tonya spent her childhood in a small town in the Sierras before returning to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley, and never left. She moved to Marin in 2019, where she now lives with her husband and son.

Jennifer came to the board of Community Action Marin through service to Marin Head Start as a liaison for Policy Council, a program oversight group comprised of Head Start parents elected each year.  She is fluent in Spanish and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Nevada, Reno.  The mission of Community Action Marin to reduce poverty and promote equity speaks to her on a personal level and motivated her continued engagement this year as a board member.  Jennifer comes from a diverse background and being a part of the low-income community has inspired her to search out means in which to be of service to others. In this search she found Community Action Marin and is looking forward to many years of service to our community.

Sean Casey joined the Community Action Marin Board in 2023, following a career of nearly 40 years in maternal and child health and early childhood development. 

Sean was one of the first staff hired at First 5 Contra Costa when the agency began in 2000, and later served as Executive Director for 15 years. Prior to First 5, he worked on infant mortality prevention at the Perinatal Network of Alameda/Contra Costa and developed sexuality education programs at Planned Parenthood affiliates in San Francisco, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. 

Sean has also served on and staffed numerous coalitions, advisory committees and boards, including two years as Executive Committee President of the California First 5 Association; staff to the Contra Costa Children and Families Commission; and longtime chair of the Contra Costa Family Economic Support Partnership.  

Sean was born and raised in Baltimore, MD, spent one humidity-free summer in Berkeley in 1986, and never moved back. He’s also a choral singer and has performed over 80 classical works with the Baltimore, San Francisco ,and Marin Symphony Choruses. 

Sean holds master’s degrees in social Welfare and Public Health from UC Berkeley, and a BA from Oberlin College, where he majored in music. He and his family have lived in San Rafael for thirty years. 

Pamela Tom joined the CAM Board in July 2023, bringing decades of communications and non-profit work to the board.

Pamela is the founder of HPVANDME, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education about HPV cancers, specifically HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. Pamela launched the multimedia news site after her husband was diagnosed with HPV throat cancer—now the #1 HPV+ cancer in the US, surpassing incidents of cervical cancer. She has also established global partners to help support cancer survivors.

Prior to this, Pamela worked as a broadcast journalist at KGO-TV and KPIX-TV in San Francisco, CA. Pamela’s work as a field reporter, witnessing the fallouts from poverty, formed the foundation for her deep empathy and commitment to help others.

Pamela earned her Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of California, Berkeley. She resides in West Marin with her husband and two Australian Shepherds.