Board

Jon Amsterdam (Co-Chair): Jon is a Director at Communities Without Borders, a nonprofit providing on-site education enrichment resources and services to public schools in Portland, OR.  Most recently, Jon was Program Coordinator at the nationally recognized Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, following a twenty-five year career in youth leadership and citizenship development work. Jon has founded and directed a number of nationally recognized youth community service programs, assisted in the creation of the Americorps national service program, and developed the design of many popular project based learning initiatives across the country. As a trained lawyer, he has taught high school Civics and other Law-Related Education curricula, as well as instructed Education courses at Temple University. Before joining the design and launch team for Science Leadership Academy in 2006, Jon managed a University of Pennsylvania-sponsored multicultural civic engagement program bringing together students from eighty of Philadelphia’s city and suburban high schools for collaborative public problem solving experiences.

Adam Borelli, Founder, New Leaders Council & MBA Candidate, Sloan School of Business at MIT  Adam Borelli is an MBA candidate in the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Class of 2013. In the summer of 2012 he interned at Sample6 Technologies, a life sciences and health diagnostics start-up. At MIT Sloan he has taken on various leadership roles including as the Managing Director of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, the Sponsorship Co-Director of the MIT Energy Conference, the Mentorship Co-Director of the MIT Clean Energy Prize, and the Speaker Director of the MIT Sloan Politics and Policy Club. Prior to enrolling in Sloan, he was a Founder and Executive Director of New Leaders Council (NLC). At NLC Adam took the organization from founding to 20 chapters and over $800k budget in just six years. Before that Adam worked on the Investments Team at Google.org as the Investments Researcher on renewable energy investments and grants. In his work at Google.org, Adam managed the Driving Experiment, a project that was highlighted in national and international media and highlighted at prominent electric vehicle and energy conferences. This project, for the first time, proved that plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 50%. In terms of investments, Adam participated in over $6M of early stage investment deals in clean technologies. Adam’s other prior work includes strategy consulting and political campaigns. He also serves on the Boards of New Leaders Council and City Hall Fellows. In 2011 Adam received the Gerbode Fellowship, a prestigious award given to the top five nonprofit leaders. Adam received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley.

Eliot Chang, Analyst, City and County of San Francisco Capital Planning Program: Eliot was a member of the 2010-2011 class of City Hall Fellows in San Francisco. He was placed in the Finance, Budget, and Performance division of the Department of Public Works, where he used business intelligence tools to improve departmental operations and services. After the Fellowship, Eliot transitioned to his current role, where he works with departments city-wide to prioritize, plan for, and finance major capital projects through the City’s 10-Year Capital Plan. Eliot graduated from Pomona College in 2010 with a B.A. in Environmental Analysis and a minor in Chemistry.

Shaibya Dalal, Regulatory Analyst, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Shaibya was an SF2012 City Hall Fellow. She stayed on at the SFPUC’s Power Enterprise post-Fellowship, as a Regulatory Analyst for the CleanPowerSF program. When it launches, CleanPowerSF will enhance local control of energy, create healthy competition, bring 100% renewable energy to San Franciscans, and provide a host of other environmental and consumer benefits. As a Fellow, Shaibya assisted with implementing San Francisco’s Electricity Resource Plan—by evaluating and developing innovative ideas such as a Green Test Bed and community renewables systems—to help the City achieve a greenhouse gas-free electricity system by 2030. Shaibya graduated from UC Berkeley in 2011 with degrees in Political Science and Public Policy. She plans on obtaining a J.D. and an MPP in the near future. 

Russ Finkelstein, Managing Director, Clearly Next; Advisor & Lead Coach, EPIP: Russ Finkelstein currently serves as the Advisor and Lead Coach for Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) Effective Leadership Career Program. He is also the Managing Director of Clearly Next – a start-up dedicated to helping people get clear about the what they want in their next job, get support in their job search and land a great job. He was on the founding team at Idealist.org where he served as Associate Director for 15 years. In that role Russ developed trainings, programs and resources that informed individuals and those who counsel them about the opportunities available in public service.

The programs Russ launched included national slates of fairs dedicated to nonprofit careers, global volunteering and public service graduate education. His team released the free online Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for First Time Job Seekers and Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers. Penguin recently published The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World: How to Turn Your Good Intentions into Actions That Make a Difference. This work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and Marketplace. Individual programs have been recognized by the National Association of Careers and Employers (NACE) and the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NAGAP) for their innovation and service to the field.

Russ has a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) in Education and Nonprofit Management from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and his B.A. is from Connecticut College. Russ serves in advisory roles for City Hall Fellows, the Point Foundation, Selah and the Talent Initiative. He has been selected for fellowships through the Social Innovation Incubator (2011), the New Organizing Institute (2010) and Selah (2007).

Dan Henderson, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Strategy, BeClose:  Over the past twelve years Dan has been a founder or early employee at four start-ups, and brings to the table more than fifteen years of experience driving growth and creating value in software and technology companies. With expertise in product marketing, product strategy, and business development, Dan has experience across both venture-backed start-ups as well as large enterprise organizations.

Dan currently heads up business development and strategy at Vienna, VA-based BeClose, a pioneer in activity monitoring technology that helps older Americans live independently and safely in their homes. Before joining BeClose, Dan served as VP Marketing for Los Angeles-based FastSoft, a venture-backed cloud software company spun-out of the California Institute of Technology. Prior to FastSoft, Dan founded and ran Bhavan Media, a digital media company that streams Indian TV for Indian ex-patriots living in the U.S. Prior to that, Dan founded and ran i-Vantage, an IT services business, which he successfully sold in 2003. Previously, Dan spent several years as an IT consultant at top-tier consulting firms including Deloitte & Touche.

Dan currently volunteers as a member of the Fairfax Area Commission on Aging, a federally mandated citizens commission, representing Falls Church City. Dan earned his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a B.A. from Oberlin College.

Jessica Huey, Project Manager, City and County of San Francisco Office of the City Administrator – General Services Agency (Co-Chair)  Jessica was a member of the 2008-2009 inaugural class of City Hall Fellows in San Francisco, where she worked on an extensive policy reform effort to modernize the governance of the City’s civil service system as part of the City’s Civil Service Reform Project, Phase II. She also helped to successfully implement citywide workforce and succession planning efforts as part of the Workforce and Succession Planning Project to help prepare departments maintain institutional knowledge as a growing number of employees retire. After completing her Fellowship, Jessica was offered a full-time position to be a part of the City’s Labor Negotiations Team where she actively contributed in negotiations to generate savings to help close the City’s $500 million budget deficit. The Labor Negotiations Team was recognized by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom for thier efforts to reduce the historic budget deficit. After completing negotiations, Jessica joined the Office of the City Administrator, General Services Agency as a Project Manager where she currently works on public sector organizational development, strategic process improvement, and community and economic development initiatives.

Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in 2008 from Brown University with a double major in Public Policy and Hispanic Studies. In addition to acting as Co-Chair of City Hall Fellows, she is on the Local Board of Project by Project and a member of the Leadership Institute Fellowship Team with HandsOn Bay Area.

Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez, Vice President, San Francisco Commission on Women: Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez serves as Vice President of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, focusing on expanding opportunities for women and girls, Anti-trafficking initiatives and programs to reduce domestic violence. Kirshner-Rodriguez also serves as National Board Secretary of Emerge America and on the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council.

Kirshner-Rodriguez’s experience spans more than 25 years in the public and private sector including national, state and local policy development and program implementation. From 2008-2012, Kirshner-Rodriguez served in senior positions with the City and County of San Francisco. In her position as Director of Government Affairs for Mayors’ Gavin Newsom and then Edwin Lee, she had direct responsibility for implementation of a comprehensive government relations program that advanced the mission and priorities of the City at the federal and state and local level. Kirshner-Rodriguez represented San Francisco on the Association of Bay Area Governments and also co-chaired the San Francisco Collaborative against Human Trafficking. Kirshner Rodriguez also managed External Affairs for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. During her tenure she coordinated the Agency’s regional partnerships, served as the City’s liaison to the Caltrain joint Powers Board, provided strategic leadership on High Speed Rail and served as the Agency lead for the San Francisco’s signature Sunday Streets program.

Kirshner Rodriguez spent many years in senior positions in Washington DC. During the Clinton Administration, Kirshner-Rodriguez served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Relations at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, DC from 1997-2001 and before that held a similar position at the US Department of Labor. She was the lead contact for the agencies with a broad coalition of interested parties spanning the private, non-profit and public sector. She has managed federally funded programs, built and directed national and state coalitions, designed effective advocacy and communications strategies and served as chief spokesperson on a variety of initiatives. During her entire career she has worked in close partnership with organizations that advocate for state and local officials. In addition to her government service, Kirshner-Rodriguez advocated for Americans for Gun Safety and spent close to a decade as an official with the National Democratic Party. She served as Director of the Women’s Council for the Senate Committee and Chief of Staff to the Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee. She served as a senior member of Senator Barbara Boxer’s first Senate campaign in 1992 and in 1997 she was recognized by the Women’s Information Network for her leadership with the Young Woman of Achievement Award.

Kirshner-Rodriguez graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. She received the Alumnae Medal of Honor in 2005 for her years of service to the college. She resides in San Francisco, CA with her husband Sam Rodriguez and daughter Kira Sonoma Rodriguez.

Vijay Kumar, Vice President & Bay Area Manager, CH2M Hill  Vijay Kumar has expertise in large infrastructure and environmental projects such as water, water reuse and pipeline projects. His main focus is to promote sustainable growth of communities using innovative and creative solutions to transportation and utility needs of the communities. Currently, Vijay is Vice President and Bay Area Manager of CH2MHILL (www.ch2m.com), an employee-owned global engineering and project delivery company with 30,000 people. For the fourth year in a row, CH2M HILL has been named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute.  He was awarded XBG Synergy Award for his outstanding contribution to the company.

Vijay has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and Masters Degree in Civil/Environmental engineering. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California. He is acting as Executive Sponsor of Congestion Management Working Group in San Francisco that is developing traffic congestion relief strategies supported by the Business Council on Climate Change.

Vijay served as the President of Sacramento Section of California Water Environment Association. He was awarded the Young Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Vijay was also awarded the 5S award by the Hawaii Chapter of the Water Environment Federation. Vijay is a strong supporter of improving efficiency in public administration and to identify future City leaders. Vijay served as Finance and Economic Development Commissioner for the City of Davis. He is active in the San Francisco Host Committee and San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Core Committee that is promoting cultural and trade opportunities between two cities. Vijay is an active member of the Water Policy Board of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. He served as the Sponsorship Chair of the 2012 California Water Environment Association’s Annual Conference.  He also served as the President of Kannada Sangha of Sacramento, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization and currently serves as the Board of Director. 

Elaine Lasnik-Broida, Founder & President, Lasnik-Broida Consulting: Ms. Lasnik-Broida brings over 25 years of compensation and performance management experience to serve client needs. She has facilitated the design and implementation of innovative programs that reinforce client’s business strategies, priorities and values. Her client base includes organizations that emphasize investment in their people assets.

Ms. Lasnik-Broida has conducted numerous seminars in compensation strategy development, total compensation management, compensation trends and issues and performance management. She co-founded the Foundation Administrators of California, a networking group of major foundations. Additionally, she conceived of a comprehensive total compensation survey focused on the foundation sector that is nationally recognized as a valued resource by organization leaders.

Prior to consulting, Ms. Lasnik-Broida was employed by Hughes Aircraft Company and Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., where she held a variety of positions in human resources management and business operations. Her responsibilities included field office, corporate and special assignments.

Ms. Lasnik-Broida holds an M.B.A. degree in Management from the University of Southern California and a Professional Designation in Personnel Management from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is an active member of WorldatWork and The Employers Group. Ms. Lasnik-Broida is a Director Emeritus on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, and is currently on the Executive Advisory Board of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center and the President’s Council of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. In addition, she is an active supporter and contributor to various charitable organizations.

Daniel Liss  Daniel belongs to the generation brought up to perceive a distinction between public service and government service.  Having overlooked local government jobs himself after college, Daniel knows all too well both the difficulties in and importance of attracting bright young people to serve in city government.  Since joining the City Hall Fellows team shortly after its founding in 2007, Daniel has provided operational and administrative support. In addition to serving on the Board, Daniel administers the annual Fellowship selection process and manages all liaisons back-office functions with Community Partners. Daniel is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Amherst College, where he was awarded a prestigious research fellowship at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.  An avid traveler, Daniel lived and worked in China after graduating college.  Daniel also has worked for the Domestic Violence Services Network in Concord, MA and Health Resources in Action, a public health non-profit in Boston.  A die-hard Red Sox fan, Daniel lives just outside Boston, MA.

Whitney Ramos, Analyst, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Whitney was a 2011 San Francisco City Hall Fellow. She worked in the Power Enterprise of San Francisco Water, Power, Sewer where she created reports on topics ranging from energy efficiency incentives to utility trouble response planning.  Whitney graduated with High Honors from UC Berkeley in 2010, earning her B.S. in Environmental Economics and Policy. She continues to work for the Power Enterprise in the Regulatory Affairs Division.

Al Schneider, Chairman Emeritus & Co-Founder, Pasadena Angels: Al Schneider is an active angel investor, experienced board member on both non-profit and for-profit boards, and mentor to early stage companies. He was a co-founder in 2000 and served as a board member, Vice Chairman, Chairman and now Chairman Emeritus of Pasadena Angels, a 100 member 501(c)(6) non-profit focused on providing a forum for entrepreneurs to present their business plans, receive counsel and engage with interested accredited investors.

He has also been active for over ten years in the 300 member Tech Coast Angels, also a 501 (c) (6) non-profit. He is a Past President (in 2008-2009) of its 90 member Los Angeles network; and served on its Board of Governors from 2006-2009. Since their inception, these two angel organizations have assisted over 200 companies raise over $140 million in angel funding and well over $1 billion in follow on funding from venture capital funds and strategic partners.

In a different kind of non-profit role, Al was a board member during the 2004-2009 period, and Chairman in 2006-2007, of Entretech, a Los Angeles 501 (c) (3) non-profit focused on empowering entrepreneurs to build their businesses by better accessing educational, networking and funding resources via conferences, strategic partnering programs and sponsoring the PWC/Entretech Entrepreneurship Award.

In his work with young for-profit companies, Al currently serves as Chairman of H2Scan, a leader in hydrogen sensing products for area monitoring and process control. In recent years he has also served on the boards of Pictage, a complete digital proofing, marketing and production solution for professional photographers acquired by an affiliate of Apax Partners and Unified Dispatch, a software company serving the ground transportation industry.

Prior to focusing on early stage investments in Southern California, most of his career was spent in the real estate and healthcare property investment, finance and development industries. He was Vice President of the B.F. Saul Company, a diversified real estate organization which then advised the public REIT now known as Saul Centers (NYSE-BFS). Later, he was the COO of The Canterbury Group, a private real estate company which developed rental apartments, condominiums, and other residential and healthcare properties, and President of the non-profit Northern Virginia Apartment Association. His earliest private equity investments outside the real estate field, in the mid 1990′s, included Clifton Mining (NASDAQ-CFTN). Al has a B.A, M.A. and M.B.A. from Harvard.

Tedde Tsang, 2008-2008 City Hall Fellows Alumnus & MBA Candidate at Harvard Business School: Tedde was a member of the 2008-2009 inaugural class of City Hall Fellows in San Francisco, where he helped to improve the reliability of the City’s public transportation system as part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Transit Effectiveness Project. After completing his Fellowship, Tedde worked in federal policy evaluation at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. He then returned to city government in New York City where he managed NYC’s international trade initiatives and oversaw the City’s network of 10 startup incubators. Tedde graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University in 2008 with a degree in East Asian Studies, for which he received departmental honors. He is currently studying for his MBA at Harvard Business School.