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 COUNCIL
- Chair: Chuck Collins, President & CEO, YMCA of San Francisco
- Chair: Jean Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, Presidio Trust
- Chair: Phil Ginsburg, General Manager, SF Recreation & Park
- Chair: Jenny Lam, Education Advisor, Mayor’s Office and Commissioner of the San Francisco Board of Education
- Christy Rocca, Associate Vice-President, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
- Christy Estrovitz, Manager of Youth Services, SF Public Library
- Drew Becher, Executive Director, SF Parks Alliance
- Elizabeth Babcock, Dean of Education, California Academy of Science
- Michelle Gee, Chief of Interpretation and Education, Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Theresa Zighera, Interim Executive Director, First 5 San Francisco
- Ingrid Mezquita, Director, Office of Early Childhood Education
- Kim Moore Bailey, Executive Director, Youth Outside
- Maria Su, Executive Director, DCYF
- Michael Boland, Chief of Park Development and Operations, Presidio Trust
- Nik Kaestner, Director, Sustainability, SFUSD
STEERING COMMITTEE
- Anthony Khalil
- Curtis Chan, Medical Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Public Health
- Damien Raffa, Community Programs, Presidio Trust
- Gianna Fazioli, Sr. Environmental Specialist, SF Department of the Environment
- Lara Hitchcock, Senior Executive Director, Presidio & Point Bonita YMCA
- Lisa Lee, Senior Program Officer, First 5 San Francisco
- Maria Durana, SF Children & Nature Coordinator, SF Recreation and Park
- Tamar Barlev, Green Schoolyards Manager, SFUSD
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: Lisa Lee, First 5 San Francisco
- Anna Clayton, SF Department of Public Health
- Betty Pazmino, SF Unified School District (ECE)
- Julia Middleton, Children’s Council of SF
- Kelsey Gottschalk, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning
- Liz Winograd, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)
- Marissa Mota, First 5 San Francisco/OECE
- Olivia Leung, First 5 San Francisco
- Raegan Sales, Children’s Council of SF
- Sara Rizik-Baer, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning
- Terry Trejo, SF Recreation & Parks
- Xochitl Gonzales, SF Department of Public Health
Community & Youth Engagement
- Chair: Anthony Khalil
- Chair: Gianna Fazioli, Department of the Environment
- Annie Miller, Cal Academy of Sciences
- Brenda Cartagena, SF Recreation & Parks
- Charity Maybury, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
- Christina Mitra, SF Public Library
- Christy Estrovitz, SF Public Library
- Curt Yagi, ROCK
- Ileana Pulu, SF Public Library
- Laura Rodriguez, Youth Outside
- Lydia Nichols-Russell, SF Recreation & Parks
- Maybelle Miranda, YMCA of San Francisco
- Rebecca Johnson, Cal Academy of Sciences
- Tracy Phan, SF Recreation & Parks
- Vanessa Carter, SF Unified School District (STEM)
- Wendy Meluch, YMCA of San Francisco
Nature Connection Design
- Chair: Damien Raffa, Presidio Trust
- Annette Huddle, SF Botanical Garden
- Blair Randall, SF Public Utilities Commission
- Ilaria Salvadori, SF Planning
- Jasmine Kaw, SF Public Works
- Lisa Howard, Bay Tree Designs
- Marien Coss, SF Recreation & Parks
- Peter Brastow, SF Environment (advisor)
- Sharon Danks, Green Schoolyards America
- Serena Unger
- Susanna Fraker, SF Parks Alliance
- Zach Pine, Zach Pine Create-with-Nature
Members
Our participating organizations contribute financially and through staff participation to support the core activities of our collaborative work.
