Leslie Murphy

Born in San Francisco, Leslie Murphy moved with her family to Novato in 1966. She cherished her time as a child growing up in a new development in the San Marin area of Novato. Leslie’s childhood was on a court with mostly boys which led to dirt clod fights, roller ball, and fort building. Also […]

Jean Berensmeier

Jean Berensmeier was born during the Depression in 1932. She was sent to live with her Croatian-speaking grandparents in Ruth, Nevada, at the age of four. To this day, Jean still sings her Grandma’s songs of “old-country.” Her Grandmother had a schedule for everything. Jean played in the desert where two key experiences shaped her life. The first was […]

Toni Shroyer

Toni Shroyer knows what hard work is.  She knows how to champion important causes.  Born in 1967 at Marin General, she grew up in a church manse, a stone’s throw from the church where her father was a Presbyterian Minister.  As she puts it, “The cupboards were bare, but we had a lot of love […]

Cheryl Paddack

Cheryl Paddack, Chief Executive Officer of North Marin Community Services, is a nonprofit executive and fund development professional who has dedicated over 25 years to advancing community wellbeing. She is a compassionate and courageous leader, and through building effective teams, has increased access to critical human services, independence for the visually impaired, expanded energy efficient […]

Gina Fromer

Dr. Gina Fromer is CEO of Children’s Council of San Francisco and a proud native of the city’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. A sixth-generation San Franciscan, Gina’s experience of economic struggle during her childhood galvanized her from an early age to forge a path out of poverty – and ultimately to give back to her community through both volunteerism […]

Tamra Peters

Tamra Peters, Founder & Executive Director, Resilient Neighborhoods Growing Up. Over the course of five decades, Tamra Peters has demonstrated her passion to protect the natural world. She grew up in the 1950’s in Arlington, Virginia, playing in the woods and fields with her brother and the neighborhood kids. There was always something to discover […]

Patricia Kendall

Pat Kendall’s first community was the San Francisco neighborhood where she was born and raised. On her block, young couples, like her parents, bought their homes new, started their families, and many spent their last days there. Her  neighborhood became an extended family, giving the children a strong start. Pat talks fondly of the parents […]

Eva Long, Ph.D

Eva Long, Ph.D., is a Gerontologist and the Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Longevity, Transition, and Renewal. The center specializes in medical science research related to the longevity of life.  Throughout Eva’s history of professional accomplishments, she is frequently noted as the first female or first Asian American to attain or receive […]

Cecilia Zamora

Cecilia Zamora is the Executive Director of the Latino Council, a San Rafael non profit seeded by the United Way of the Bay Area in 1997. The Latino Council’s focus is strategic planning, organizational development, board diversity, data gathering/research, and advocacy/public policy development. The Latino Council, once known as the Latino Services Project, helps other […]

Amy Lewis Reisch 

Amy Lewis Reisch has had a long career dedicated to equity, civil rights, peace, and justice; these principles have been unifying themes in her life and her work.  On the West coast, Eeast coast and back again, Amy served most recently as the executive director of First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission, dedicating nearly […]