Carol Caspe, Board Vice-President
Communications & Public Relations Consultant, Wells Fargo
Carol Caspe brings with her a strong personal commitment and understanding of San Francisco’s business and not-for profit community, along with interpersonal skills learned through years of experience. She has a demonstrated commitment to the future of San Francisco’s community based charitable organizations. She works as a Communications and Public Relations Consultant for Wells Fargo, the nation’s fifth largest financial institution. Ms. Caspe’s responsibilities include community outreach, public relations and executive support for both internal and external strategic communications in the Bay Area. Carol Caspe joined the board of NPC in December of 2005. She previously served on the Board of Directors of The San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, and on various committees for the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco School. Ms. Caspe has been a resident of San Francisco for more than 30 years.
Jan Chernoff, Board Secretary/Treasurer
Operating Partner, Giant Paper
Jan served on the Board of Directors of Morrisania West (1985-2006), and the Board of Directors of Urban Resource Systems (1981-2007) which has been the launch pad for Friends of the Urban Forest, the AIDS Memorial Grove, and the current home of Neighborhood Parks Council. He is a member of the San Francisco Biodiesel Collaborative.
Natalie Diggins
Executive Director, Mission Learning Center
Natalie Diggins contributes more than 15 years experience as a senior manager directing operations in high-tech, rapid growth companies. She co-founded and was Vice President of Operations for New Edge Networks, a nation-wide telecommunications backbone network provider. She also served as Vice President of Global Operations for mBlox, the world's largest mobile transactions network, and as Vice President for GST Data Services, a telecommunications company. She currently applies her passion for literacy and reading as the Executive Director of the Mission Learning Center, which provides literacy education and training programs for children and their families. When not working, you can find Natalie reading in one of San Francisco's parks.
Lucy Fisher
International Programs, Cornell University
Lucy Fisher is the outreach coordinator for the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) and the Sustainable Rice Systems Group in Ithaca, New York. For the past decade, she has been developing global communities of practice for international agriculture topics. She is also a volunteer for Ithaca’s Citizen Pruners.
Christopher Guillard
Partner, CMG Landscape Architecture
Christopher Guillard is a founding partner of CMG landscape architecture, serving as the firm’s managing principal and directing many of the firm’s projects. Prior to founding CMG landscape architecture, he worked with Hargreaves Associates, serving as a project manager and designer on many of the firm’s award winning public open space and waterfront park projects. Chris’s passion and commitment to vibrant public space and sustainable environmental design has benefited projects such as Crissy Field, Treasure Island and the Crocker Amazon Playground, which he completed in collaboration with NPC. In 2001 he received the outstanding alumni award from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech. He lectures and teaches on landscape urbanism and design.
Anne Halsted
Anne Halsted is a devoted advocate for San Francisco’s waterfront, neighborhoods and social well-being. Through appointed civic positions and nonprofit leadership work, Anne has worked to safeguard San Francisco’s public spaces and improve the quality of life in the city. In addition to serving as a Trustee for the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association, Anne currently serves on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, SF Bay Conservation and Development Commission, City Club of San Francisco Board, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) Board, Chinatown Community Development Corporation Board, North Beach Citizens Board, and the Goldman Institute on Aging Board. Anne has been honored with the Silver Spur Award by SPUR, the Women Who Could Be President Award by the League of Women Voters, the Eisenhower Award by Business Executives for National Security, and the Environmentalist Award by San Francisco Tomorrow. Anne holds a BA in Political Science from Duke University and is married to Wells Whitney, Ph.D. Anne and Wells live in the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood in San Francisco.
Peter Hayes, Ph.D.
Nautilus Institute
Peter Hayes, Ph.D., is Director of the Nautilus Institute (www.nautilus.org ) and Professorial Associate at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is an internationally-renowned consultant on security, environment and energy policy problems; his clients include the UN Development Program, Asian Development Bank, and Global Environment Facility. Dr. Hayes was also founding director of the Environment Liaison Center in Kenya in 1975. In 2000, Hayes was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, and in 2001 received the Gleitsman Award for being an extraordinary citizen inciting social change locally and globally.
Mindelle Kershner
Tower Properties
Mindelle Kershner is a real estate agent with Tower Properties, President of Resourceful Systems, Ltd. Property Management, Board Member of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Board Member of the Friends of Noe Valley, and Chair of the Noe Valley Emergency Preparedness Group.
Janan New, Board President
Executive Director, SF Apartment Association
Janan New has served as Executive Director of the San Francisco Apartment Association (SFAA), a non-profit membership based organization, since 1993. She provides leadership in all aspects of the organization, including planning, program development and implementation, and membership development. Before joining the SFAA, she held Assistant Vice President positions at Ticor Title Insurance Company and Wells Fargo. Janan serves on numerous community boards and committees and is a registered lobbyist with the City and County of San Francisco.
Patty Phleger
Founder, Park Presidio Neighbors
Patty founded San Francisco Open Studio in 1982 and ran it for six years. In that time the organization grew from 12 to more than 300 artists, who opened their studios to crowds of thousands. Through the '80s and '90s she volunteered and raised funds for city elementary and high schools. In the mid-'90s Patty founded Park Presidio Neighbors to increase communication and common bonds among neighbors and to lobby for gardening in Park Presidio. Patty is a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for children in state foster care and she is the guardian of a mentally disabled adult. Most recently Patty conceived and instituted a program at Luther Burbank Middle School, which primarily serves underprivileged students in San Francisco's Excelsior District, to increase the number of kids who choose to stay in school by showcasing adults at work to groups of students on field trips.
Patty-Jo Rutland, Esq.
Associate, The Rutland Group
Patty-Jo Rutland is an acknowledged expert in project advocacy, strategic planning, and public policy development. She began her career in the California State Assembly, serving under then-Speaker Willie L. Brown, Jr. As the Deputy Administrative Officer of the Assembly Rules Committee, she oversaw the development of the Member Orientation Program, handled legislative bill assignments, and developed member and committee budget recommendations. In 1997, after 15 years of legislative service, Ms. Rutland accepted a position as the Regional Vice President for PRWT Services where she lead in winning for PRWT a public/private partnership with the City of San Francisco's Department of Parking and Traffic. In 2005, she was invited to join forces with The Rutland Group, where she focuses on client issues within San Francisco and neighboring Bay Area counties. Patty-Jo holds a BA from Fisk University and a JD from Lincoln Law School. She served on the San Francisco Child Abuse Council from 1997-2000, and as a member of the Mayor’s Fiscal Advisory Council from 1998-2002.
Jay Shaffer
VP of Marketing, PowerReviews.com
Jay Shaffer currently presides as Vice President of Marketing at PowerReviews.com in Millbrae, CA, where he oversees all marketing and merchandising efforts for the comparative shopping portal. Jay has an extensive background in finance, marketing and sales, particularly in the e-commerce sector, and has also served as VP of Marketing for Directly Home, VP of Customer Experience for Wine.com and Director of Customer Acquisition for Ofoto, Inc.. Jay performed much of his graduate work and received his degree in Business Administration from California State University in Fullerton and is a dynamic philanthropist and patron of the arts, as well as the former president of the Friends of Sunnyside Park.
Jim Sutton
The Sutton Law Firm
Jim Sutton has practiced law in San Francisco for over 15 years, specializing in political and election law, representing clients such as Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Attorney Kamala Harris. He graduated from Pomona College and Stanford Law School, and is a former Board member of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and Enterprise for High School Students, and is a member of the Olympic Club. Jim and his wife Victoria are raising three children in the City's Richmond District.
Isabel Wade
Executive Director, NPC
Dr. Isabel Wade, is Executive Director of Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC). Wade created NPC in 1996 in an effort to "take back" the parks, which have suffered decline due to budget cuts. In 1993, Dr. Wade received one of the first national awards for excellence in the environmental field from Good HouseKeeping Magazine. She founded the State of California's Urban Forestry Program in 1977 under Governor Jerry Brown; was the first President of San Francisco Friends of the Urban Forest; founder of the California Releaf Program at the Trust for Public Land and a co-founder of the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park. Dr. Wade served on the Commission on the Environment for the City of San Francisco from 1994-1996. She has a doctorate in Environmental Planning from the University of California at Berkeley.
