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STAFF AND BOARD
Together we make it happen
Our innovative approach and successful programs have gained us national and international recognition.
And we have done it all with a staff made up entirely of young women 26 and under, primarily young women
who have moved up through our programs into leadership roles.
We have developed a new, gender-specific model that integrates youth-development principles, leadership,
youth organizing, and advocacy.
READ MORE |
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STAFF |
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Marlene Sanchez Marlene Sanchez was born and raised in the Mission district of San Francisco by her single mother and three siblings. Marlene came to the Center for Young Women's Development at age 15 looking for employment and a way out of the juvenile justice system. She was hired as a community health outreach worker, providing HIV/STD education and harm reduction supplies and love to hundreds of young women who lived and worked in the underground street economies of San Francisco. Marlene has a passion for working with young women and girls who are involved in the juvenile justice system because of her personal experiences. In 1999, she was sworn in by the Superior Court of San Francisco as the first "youth" appointed to the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Commission, where she served for five years. She is currently the co-chair of the Community Justice Network for Youth, a national organization of community-based programs that serve youth of color in the juvenile justice system, a founding member of All of Us or None, a movement to restore the rights and fight against the discrimination of formally incarcerated people and young women. Marlene has been recognized by the Dali Lama as an Unsung Hero and most recently celebrated at the National Centerforce Conference where she received the Harold Atkins award for ending cycles of incarceration. Marlene provides trainings to organizations around the country who want to understand and adopt CYWD's vision, programs, and methodology. She is a mother of two wonderful boys Daniel and Elijah and enjoys going camping and creating spaces for healing a priority. |
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Tamaya Garcia
was born in San Jose, California where her and her four siblings were raised by their hardworking grandmother. She attended San Francisco State University where her studies focused on the mass incarceration of Latino and African American youth and where she was introduced to a community of activists. In 2005 she graduated with honors and a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology. During her last two years in college she turned her education into action by becoming CYWD’s courtroom outreach volunteer, providing legal information and referrals to young people and their families navigating the juvenile justice system. Upon her graduation she was hired as the Development Director. Since then she has been a fierce advocate for CYWD securing national funding and growing individual donor support. She is a member of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice and founder of Literary Latinas, a volunteer group that promotes Latina writers. During her free time she studies Flamenco and Spanish. She lives in the Excelsior District in San Francisco where she and her husband are raising the next generation of leaders, their son and daughter, Santos and Luna.
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Jasmine Hawkins
Sisters Rising Program Coordinator
ext. 211
jasmin@cywd.org |
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Jasmine Hawkins was born in San Francisco She was raised by a single mother and moved around a lot in her childhood. Prior to becoming the Sister’s Rising Coordinator at The Center for Young’s Women’s Development (CYWD), Jasmine went through the program herself. She came to CYWD in November of 2007 as a community organizer. Once her internship was completed Jasmine along with three other community organizers were asked to stay on for the next cycle of sisters rising as a “senior organizer”. Once she established her confidence and community organizing skills she was promoted to the Program Associate of the Sister’s Rising Program and eventually the Program Coordinator. Jasmine has excelled in the organization over the years. She is the perfect example of how a young woman moves through CYWD’s programs into a leadership role. Jasmine is the first of her family to graduate high school and is now working on her associates’ degree at San Francisco’s City College. She is excited to be at CYWD and have the opportunity to educate her community. |
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Shirlese Garrick, who was born and raised in San Francisco,
started working at The Center for Young Women's Development in the Spring of 2004 as an Office Assistant.
Within a short time, Shirlese was promoted to Administrative Assistant.
After a couple months of intensive training, she was promoted again to Office Manager/Bookkeeper.
Shirlese, who manages all the day-to-day functions for the office, is also handling the support services (HR, IT and Finance).
Shirlese, who now is the Operations Director, is currently attending college and
plans to get a degree in the medical field and a minor in Criminal Justice.
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Venus Rodriguez has been a nationally recognized youth organizer for over 10 years
and as such is the architect for all of CYWD’s programs.
Her award winning service in African-American communities across the Bay Area has included leadership roles in
movements such as the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Silence the Violence Campaign.
She currently sits on the Youth Advisory Board for the West Oakland Youth Center and
is the Regional Leader for Harry Belafonte’s national campaign, The Gathering for Justice.
Her work over the years has included informing national publications on the rights and issues of homeless youth.
Prior to becoming the Program Director, Venus worked at the Center for two years as the Sisters Rising Coordinator.
In her free time Venus enjoys reading and public speaking.
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LeaJay Harper
Young Mothers United Program Coordinator
ext. 212
leajay@cywd.org
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LeaJay Harper was born and raised in the Bay Area.
Prior to her arrival at The Center, LeaJay worked for San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Families
in the "Changing the Odds" internship, sponsored by District Attorney Kamala Harris.
She was a recipient of DCYF's Youth Empowerment Fund Great Leader Award earlier this year.
LeaJay is a proud mother to her daughters Karizma and Jayla.
She's excited to be at The Center and give back to her young sisters. |
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COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS
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Ashley Anderson
Maya Cameron
Teruko Dobashi
Adriana Embriz
Tautalatasi Failauga
Angela Genochio
Kenisha Hawkins
Jasmine Hendrix
Mercedes Henry
Iesha Jones
Valerie Klinker
Lashonda Mongi
Faama Pasene
Rebecca Pro-Compton
Danielle Russworm
BACK TO TOP |
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
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Rebekah Evenson
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Rebekah Evenson is a staff attorney with the Prison Law Office,
a nonprofit organization focused on enforcing the constitutional and legal rights of inmates in California's prisons and juvenile facilities.
A graduate of Barnard College and Yale Law School, Rebekah has worked on social justice issues for more than 15 years.
She worked on voting rights issues both in the United States and South Africa for several years before attending law school.
After law school, Rebekah served as a law clerk to Judge Betty Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Following her clerkship, Rebekah worked as a fellow with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area,
focusing on juvenile justice issues and welfare rights.
She then spent five years as an associate at the labor and civil rights law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP, litigating human rights,
civil liberties, environmental, and labor cases.
Rebekah also serves on the board of directors of the American Constitution Society, San Francisco Lawyers’ Chapter.
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The Center for Young Women's Development is currently accepting applications for our Board of Directors.
If you are interested, download our board application and submit to Marlene Sanchez at marlene@cywd.org.
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Isabelle Gillis
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Isabelle Felder Gillis has enjoyed a career that spans over 35 years
as a registered and certified public health nurse, with hands on clinical expertise both in and out of the hospital arena.
Isabelle's experience includes the development and implementation of in-house safety and prevention programs,
quality assurance and improvement, new employee orientation and medical/nursing staff in-service education.
A graduate of University of California – Los Angeles, Isabelle received degrees in the
Science of Nursing and Public Health Nursing.
She moved to the Bay Area in 2001 and managed the Native American Health Center in San Francisco and
has spent the last 13 months with a bio-medical equipment company as the Clinical Application Specialist.
Isabelle and her husband live in Sausalito. They have five children and four grandchildren.
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Beverly Ng
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Beverly Ng is the Senior Field Representative for California State Assemblyman Mark Leno
of the 13th Assembly District, which consists of the eastern portion of San Francisco.
Beverly conducts legislative policy and community outreach programs for issues encompassing:
accessibility to arts and education, affordable quality health care, upholding civil rights and women’s rights,
children youth & families and empowering the Asian Pacific Islander community.
In addition, Beverly coordinates and implements numerous conferences for at-risk youth in the Bay Area;
with innovative workshops focusing "how to deal with grief & loss" to maximizing higher education and vocational opportunities.
A graduate of San Francisco State University, she received a degree in Political Science and Philosophy.
She was also a legislative aide to former San Francisco Board of Supervisor Mabel Teng.
In addition to serving on CYWD’s board, Beverly currently serves as a board member for CYC (Community Youth Center),
Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation.
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Kelly Knapp
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Kelly Knapp is an attorney at Prison Law Office in Berkeley. While at Prison Law Office, she helped litigate against the Sacramento County Probation Department and Office of Education regarding conditions in the Sacramento Juvenile Halls, and is currently monitoring whether the youth are receiving the services required in the settlement agreement. She attended UCLA School of Law where she specialized in Critical Race Studies and Public Interest Law and Policy. Before attending law school, Kelly worked as a case manager for mentally ill patients in the San Francisco County Jail and as a counselor for teen mothers in a San Francisco group home. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Keith LeMieux, and her cat, Dreyfus.
Advisory Board:
Rachel Pfeffer
Virginia Villegas
Tita Gray
Monique Morris
Patricia Lee
Ray Balberan
Valerie Tulier
Miriam Kronberg
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The Center for
Young Women's Development
832 Folsom Street, Suite #700
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone 415.703.8800
Fax 415.703.8818 |
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