Board

Angela Jenkins

President

Angela Jenkins is the Community Benefit Manager for Kaiser Permanente's East Bay Area, which includes West Contra Costa and Northern Alameda Counties.  Angela has worked in the community for over 17 years. Prior to working at Kaiser Permanente, Angela held several positions as a field representative for former Assemblywoman Helen Thompson, a case manager for teen parents, a counselor in women's correctional facility and as a representative for a county supervisor.  Angela has a M.S. in Public Policy and Administration and a B.S. in Justice Studies. Angela has been involved with RYSE since the planning process began in 2006 and has serves as the founding President of the Board.

Supervisor John Gioia

Treasurer

John Gioia has been serving on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors representing West County residents since 1998.  Prior to that, he served on the East Bay Municipal Utility District's Board of Directors from 1989 to 1998.  John grew up in West Contra Costa County where he graduated from El Cerrito High School and the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. with highest honors in Political Science and earned his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley.  He is a recognized leader on many important regional and local issues such as environmental justice, healthcare and transportation, access, green building, and immigration rights.  He is also known for his work on violence reduction, youth leadership, and creating healthy eating and active lifestyles for residents.  John was instrumental in helping secure a location for RYSE and continues to be a strong ally for the Center.  John lives in Richmond with his wife Jennifer and is the proud parent of Christopher, a high school senior, and Emilia, a kindergartner.  He encourages all young people to study hard and be true to their life goals and missions.

Richard Bell

Proxy for Joe Valentine

Richard Bell has an extensive history of public service and community organizing.  Richard has worked as a group home director and served as a juvenile probation officer in Baltimore, Maryland (his home town)…

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Julie Freestone

Secretary

Julie Freestone is the Assistant to the Contra Costa Health Services Director. Before joining Health Services more than a decade ago, Julie was a reporter for 10 years for a number of local Bay Area newspapers. She is lives in the North & East neighborhood in Richmond and has been very active in working on pedestrian and bike safety issues. She worked with students at Grant Elementary School to get a lighted crosswalk installed on 23rd St and spearheaded the “Have Fun but Don’t Shoot Your Gun” campaign to eliminate celebratory gunfire in Richmond. Julie has been involved with RYSE since Summer 2007.

Alvaro Fuentes

Alvaro Fuentes is Fund Development Manager for the Community Clinic Consortium of Contra Costa and Solano County.   His focus is to raise funds that support national, state, and local policy and advocacy efforts to improve access to quality and affordable health care services for low-income families.  Alvaro also represents the organization in numerous collaborative efforts throughout Contra Costa County including, Healthy Richmond and the Zero Tolerance for Human Trafficking Coalition.  Over the last fifteen years, Alvaro has dedicated his career to social service non-profit work particularly in public housing, economic and community development, and health care.  Alvaro is a native of Los Angeles and has lived in the Bay Area for almost two years.  In his spare time, Alvaro enjoys playing basketball and golf, visiting museums, as well as good food and movies.

Joseph Griffin

Joseph is the advocacy coordinator for Youth ALIVE!’s Teens on Target program. As advocacy coordinator, Joseph participated in the development of the organization’s strategic advocacy plan, works on developing staff capacity for advocacy, and trains youth advocates. Joseph received his Master’s in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health where he studied health policy and management. Prior to receiving his MPH, Joseph was a Health Educator at University Health Services- UC Berkeley. As a health educator, he taught classes on multicultural health issues, leadership and professional development, the tobacco industry and media, and cultural competence. Prior to his professional experience, Joseph received a B.A. in American Studies with an emphasis on the health of minority communities from UC Berkeley. A lifelong Bay Area native, Joseph has been involved in numerous community-based projects.

Andres Soto

Andrés Soto is a veteran of a number of policy changing campaigns, primarily in the fields of gun control and violence prevention. As Project Director for the West County Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Collaborative since March 2008, Andrés is continuing his work in building coalitions and collaboratives to change policy from the grassroots up. Working with members of the healthcare, school, business sectors of the Richmond community as well as with CBOs and community members, HEAL is addressing policies to reduce risk factors to childhood and community wide obesity. Andres has been involved with RYSE since the planning process began in Spring 2006.

Nancy Aldritt

Nancy Aldritt recently joined the RYSE Board in July 2009 to support youth development and foster social change in Richmond and Contra Costa County.  She brings over a decade of experience in the financial industry, most recently serving as a trust officer doing fiduciary work for trusts and estates.  Nancy holds a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers.  Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Nancy studied Sociology and Global Studies at UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara, examining social justice issues in international economic development as they relate to the environment and women’s empowerment.  Nancy’s non-profit experience includes working for the YMCA directing children and family programs; interning with Shelter Services for Women planning special events and fundraising for domestic violence prevention; and organizing visibility events for the LGBTQ community at UC Santa Barbara.  She has a passion for empowering youth and collaborating in youth leadership events, including serving as an adult advisor for a spiritual development program for teens.  In her spare time, Nancy loves to sail, kayak and garden, is a regular blood donor, and enjoys finding new hiking trails to explore in the Bay Area and the Sierras.  She lives with her partner in East Contra Costa County.