Our Team
SF Children & Nature brings together educators, program directors, recreation and parks staff, health care and urban planning professionals —who are aligned with our vision, mission, and core values and interested in maximizing their impact through collective action.
EXECUTIVE CO-CHAIRS
The administrative “backbone” of the organization is jointly supported by SF Recreation & Parks, the Presidio Trust, California Academy of Science, the Department of Early Childhood, and YMCA – SF through our executive co-chairs:
- Jamie Bruning-Miles, President & CEO, YMCA of San Francisco
- Jean Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, Presidio Trust
- Jenny Lam, Past President, San Francisco Board of Education and Director of Policy, Communications & Strategic Partnerships, San Francisco Department of Early Childhood
- Phil Ginsburg, General Manager, San Francisco Recreation and Parks
- Scott Sampson, Executive Director, California Academy of Science
2024 STEERING COMMITTEE
- Amy Miller, California Academy of Sciences
- Chad Nico Hiu, YMCA of San Francisco
- Damien Raffa, Presidio Trust
- Jenny Lam, San Francisco Board of Education and San Francisco Department of Early Childhood
- Liz Winograd, Low Income Investment Fund
- Maria Durana, SF Recreation & Parks
- Elena Norberg-Brown, SF Recreation & Parks
- Renée Marcy, SF Unified School District
- Sarah Madland, SF Recreation & Parks
- Vanessa Carter, SF Unified School District
- Yakuta Poonawalla, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Our working groups are being updated for 2024. Many thanks to our 2021-2023 working groups listed below.
WORK GROUPS | 3 working groups meet every two months to plan and execute priority strategies, share best practices, collaborate, and learn from each other.
Early Childhood Education
- Chair: Tamar Barlev, SF Unified School District (Green Schoolyards)
- Chair: Liz Winograd, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)
- Amy Miller, California Academy of Sciences
- Anne Señores, YMCA of San Francisco
- Barbara Johnck, SF Unified School District
- Beatrice Gibson, Children’s Council of San Francisco
- Cheryl Horney, Wu Yee Children’s Services
- Jenny Lam, YMCA of San Francisco
- Kelsey Gottschalk, Tandem Partners in Early Learning
- Licette Montejano, SF Department of Early Childhood
- Lucero Irizarry, Children’s Council of San Francisco
- Lupe Cruz Cardena, SF Department of Early Childhood
- Mary Roscoe, Children in Nature – Bay Area
- Monique Guidry, Guidry’s Early Child Care & Education Program
- Olivia Leung, SF Department of Early Childhood
- Patricia Sullivan, Family Child Care Association of San Francisco
- Raegan Sales, Children’s Council of San Francisco
- Roberta Gonzales, Tandem Partners in Early Learning
- Sandy McKeithan, Kai Ming Head Start
- Terry Trejo, SF Recreation & Parks (SFRPD)
Community & Youth Engagement
- Chair:
- Chair:
- Charity Maybury, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
- Christy Estrovitz, SF Public Library
- Curt Yagi, R.O.C.K.
- Cyntia Salazar, Tenderloin Community Benefit District
- Debra Tomaszewski, Planet Bee Foundation
- Eli Fox, Outward Bound
- Ernesto Pepito, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
- Esther Tang, SF Department of the Environment
- Fatima Colindres, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (NPS)
- Francis Mendoza, Children & Nature Network
- George Spencer, Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI)
- Ileana Pulu, SF Public Library
- Jackie Kaiser, SF Planning
- Jason Graham, Planet Bee Foundation
- Jessica Chen, Park Youth Collaborative
- Julie Reed, Planet Bee Foundation
- Loucien Sonder, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (NPS)
- Lydia Nichols-Russell, SF Recreation & Parks (SFRPD)
- Metzali Nancy Andrade, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
- Miguel Dimas, SF Recreation & Parks (SFRPD)
- Rachael Jodot, SF Department of the Environment
- Rebecca Au, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (NPS)
- Rebecca Johnson, California Academy of Sciences
- Sara Sedgwick, YMCA of San Francisco
- Tracy Phan, SF Recreation & Parks (SFRPD)
- Vanessa Carter, SF Unified School District
- Yakuta Poonawala, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Nature Connection Design
- Chair: Damien Raffa, Presidio Trust
- Chair: Maria Durana, SF Recreation & Parks/SF Children & Nature
- Annette Huddle, SF Botanical Garden
- Blair Randall, SF Public Utilities Commission
- Ilaria Salvadori, SF Planning
- Jasmine Kaw, SF Public Works
- Marien Coss, SF Recreation & Parks (SFRPD)
- Peter Brastow, SF Department of the Environment
- Sharon Danks, Green Schoolyards America
- Susanna Fraker, SF Parks Alliance
- Zach Pine, Zach Pine Create-with-Nature
SF Children & Nature Staff
Maria Durana
Director of the SF Children & Nature Collaborative
SF Recreation & Parks Department
Member Organizations
Our participating organizations contribute financially and through staff participation to support the core activities of our collaborative work. Our member organizations are being updated for 2024-2029. Many thanks to our 2021-2023 member organizations listed below.
