Smart Growth California

Statewide Steering Committee Members

Meet Our Statewide Steering Committee

Smart Growth California is led by an active steering committee that sets the overall strategic direction in order to facilitate aligned grantmaking and action for the Smart Growth California funder community. Members work together to identify and address priorities at the local, regional, and state levels.

Members

Ricardo G. Huerta Niño (Co-Chair)

SAN FRANCISCO FOUNDATION

Ricardo G. Huerta Niño is the Senior Initiative Officer, Great Communities Collaborative at the San Francisco Foundation. Ricardo leads the GCC in strategy development and partnership to move the region towards a more equitable and sustainable Bay Area where low-income and communities of color can stay in place and thrive. He works together with funders, non-profits, and public sector partners to identify, implement, and leverage policy and financing strategies in the region. In addition, Ricardo leads GCC’s fundraising and development strategy, manages convenings and funder network meetings and works to build greater alignment across partners.

Before coming to GCC, Ricardo was working as a consultant to nonprofits, local governments, regional agencies, and philanthropic foundations. His most recent work was as a consultant for city planning and community engagement focused on racial equity, housing, transportation, workforce development, and pandemic response efforts. Ricardo served as Policy Director for Collective Impact in the Mayor’s Office in Oakland, leading multi-sector collaborative projects focused on education and youth development. His earlier experience includes working in philanthropy as a program officer and consultant focused on a range of issues including immigrant and refugee rights, environmental justice, leadership development, and criminal justice reform.

Craig Martinez (Co-Chair)

THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT

Craig Martinez joined The California Endowment in May 2012 as a program manager tasked with supporting policy and system change efforts to create healthier neighborhoods. He is based in The California Endowment’s Los Angeles office and began serving on the steering committee of Smart Growth California in 2013 and the board of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN) in March of 2015.

Prior to joining The Endowment, Craig served as a health policy advisor in the Majority Health Policy Office of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, first under the Chairmanship of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and subsequently under the Chairmanship of Senator Tom Harkin. His legislative portfolio on the HELP Committee included issues relating to public health, disease prevention, health disparities, mental health, HIV/AIDS, and public health preparedness.

Craig received his Bachelor of Science from Stanford University, and holds both a Master of Public Health and a Doctorate in Public Health in child and adolescent health and development from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has also worked in numerous community-based organizations addressing adolescent health concerns including HIV/AIDS, violence prevention, and environmental health.

Emma-Louise Anderson

THE SEED FUND

Emma-Louise Anderson has been the executive director of the Seed Fund for almost ten years, prior to which she was the Deputy Head of Political, Press & Public Affairs and the Cultural Attache for the British Consulate General in San Francisco. Emma-Louise began her career in non profit Arts Management and has worked all over the Bay Area in organizations including Headlands Center for the Arts, the Mexican Museum and the Maritime Museum. She holds a BA Honours in English Literature, Music & Theatre from the University of Sussex, U.K. She is an avid road cyclist, having completed eight Climate Rides in the past five years and a bay swimmer- she recently swam from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge to raise funds and awareness for BayKeeper, a local Bay Area non-profit. She lives with her two children in San Geronimo, California.

Everett Au

THE SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION

As Manager of San Diego Foundation’s Climate Initiatives, Everett endeavors to provide leadership and drive philanthropic investment that promote a sustainable path to economic growth and a thriving quality of life for San Diego’s diverse communities. He plays a critical role in developing cross-sector partnerships and working with communities to advance equitable climate resilience efforts for the Foundation.

Prior to joining the San Diego Foundation, Everett served in various public sector roles where he wore many hats as an informal educator, academic counselor, volunteer coordinator, environmental programs administrator and grant writer. Everett is passionate about cultivating opportunities for others and is currently chair of Leaders 20/20, a professional network for emerging environmental professionals and leaders.

Everett holds a bachelor’s degree in Earth Sciences from the University of California Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from the California Lutheran University where he focused on environmental policymaking in the United States.

Demi Espinoza

Resources Legacy Fund

Bio coming soon.

Sally Greenspan

ENTERPRISE COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Sally Greenspan is a senior program director at Enterprise Community Partners, where she leads Enterprise’s Statewide Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Technical Assistance (AHSC TA) practice. In this role, Sally works to advance dozens of innovative projects around the state that are combining affordable housing with sustainable transportation infrastructure investments to create sustainable, thriving, connected communities. Sally joined Enterprise in 2009 as a project manager working on housing redevelopment projects involving close collaboration with numerous public and private partners. Sally also previously lead Enterprise’s New York based Vulnerable Populations program, which is devoted to leveraging affordable housing tools to create opportunity for people with special needs, especially seniors and those experiencing homelessness.

Sally’s background includes positions in private real estate, architecture, public policy and research, and urban planning. She holds an undergraduate degree in urban studies from Stanford University and a master’s in urban planning from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

Kaying Hang

SIERRA HEALTH FOUNDATION

Kaying serves on the senior management team for Sierra Health Foundation and the Center for Health Program Management as the President of The Center at Sierra Health Foundation. Previously, she had served as the director of health programs, and prior to that was a senior program officer when she joined the foundation in 2013.

Before joining Sierra Health Foundation, Kaying served as associate director for Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, where she worked with foundations, affinity groups, public policy groups and immigrant rights organizations. Previously, she served as senior program officer at the Otto Bremer Foundation in Minnesota and a program officer and senior consultant with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation.

Before she began her career in philanthropy, Kaying worked in state government as the state coordinator of the Refugee Health Program for the Minnesota Department of Health, and as assistant regional coordinator for the Refugee and Immigrant Health Program for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She served as the first Co-Chair of the national board of National Asian Pacific Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) based in Washington DC, and served on the board of Asian Americans in Philanthropy (AAPIP).

A native Hmong speaker, Kaying received a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University and a Master in Public Health from Boston University. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the oldest of seven children and comes from a family dedicated to social justice. Kaying lives in Sacramento.

Pilar Lorenzana

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Pilar is a community development leader over 20 years of experience driving positive change in housing, community development, and social justice. She currently the Vice President of Community Action, Initiatives, and Policy at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, leading a team focused on reducing systemic disparities in the region. I am excited to leverage my leadership and experience to tackle complex challenges and create a more equitable future.

Susanna Osorno-Crandall

Kaiser Permanente

Susanna Osorno-Crandall is a Community Health Manager for Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region. Susanna leads a broad portfolio that spans mental health, equity, and environmental stewardship. She is responsible for strategy development, grantmaking, scoping new strategic partnerships, and working with internal and external cross-system stakeholders to advance social health projects. Before joining the KP team, Susanna was the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) in San Francisco. She led place-based initiatives, strategic partnerships, community education, and community engagement. Susanna was also a leader in Juvenile Justice Reform and youth development as the Manager of Juvenile Justice Initiatives at the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) in New York City. She was responsible for implementing the Juvenile Gang Task Force, a multi-stakeholder collaborative to reduce juvenile gang involvement and violence in East Harlem. She supervised all youth programming at the Harlem Community Justice Center.

Susanna earned her Bachelor of Arts in sociology, with a minor in criminal justice from San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University.

Shaun Randolf

LA n sync/california community foundation

Shaun Randolph oversees the coordination and management of LA n Sync efforts and priorities including, but not limited to, work-group and advisory board coordination; grants management; advocacy; public/private partnership development; communications; convening; fundraising; budget and contracts; forecasting; and strategic planning.

Prior to joining CCF, Shaun briefly relocated to New Orleans to serve as a FUSE Corps Executive Fellow in the New Orleans Mayor’s Office followed by a short stint as Executive Director of the New Orleans Mayor’s Fund.

As a former serial entrepreneur, grant writer, social enterprise consultant and innovative finance pioneer turned venture capital/private equity advisor, Shaun remains dedicated to harnessing some of the most profit-driven concepts from the private sector (private equity, investment banking + mergers and acquisitions) and re-tooling them into vehicles for social impact via public-private partnerships.

Elizabeth Söderström

The Water Foundation

Elizabeth Söderström is a senior program officer at the Water Foundation. She has spent the last several decades working at the nexus of program strategy and philanthropy delivering resources to address environmental issues in the water sector. Previously, as part of the Strategic Partnerships team at the Water Foundation, Elizabeth helped develop and deliver on fundraising strategies.Before joining the Water Foundation, Elizabeth was senior director of conservation and development at American Rivers. Prior to that she was director of the Sierra and Africa Rivers Program at the Natural Heritage Institute. Elizabeth serves on the boards of the Consensus Building Institute, the Stockholm Environment Institute, and CHIRP, a non-profit is guided by the Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Council. She also sits on the advisory board of the South Yuba Citizens League. Elizabeth received a BA in English Literature, a BS in Biological Sciences, and an MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, as well as a PhD in Wildlands Resource Science and River Science from UC Berkeley.

Christine Tien

THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT

Christine Tien is a Senior Program Manager with The California Endowment (TCE) and is part of the Northern California Region team and the statewide Inclusive Community Development team. From 2009 through 2020, Christine oversaw TCE’s Sacramento Building Healthy Communities plan. Prior to TCE, Christine worked in local government for 11 years holding positions as Deputy City Manager for the Cities of Union City and Stockton. She has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona’s College of Law.

Steering Committee 5

Mark Valentine

REFRAME IT CONSULTING

Mark Valentine is the founder and principal of ReFrame It Consulting, which works with foundations and individual donors on grantmaking program design, implementation, and evaluation. In parallel, ReFrame It offers nonprofit organizations a range of services that include strategic planning, organizational development, and executive coaching. Mark and his colleagues have advised groups working across a diverse array of issues, including: smart growth and sustainable land use, environmental health, energy and climate, marine and coastal conservation, and conservation finance. Amongst his clients is a private donor advisory service for which he manages a portfolio of grants focused on advancing sustainable land use policy in key regions of California. Mark served as a founding co-chair of Smart Growth California. See Mark’s reflections on Smart Growth California’s growth over 10 years.

Prior to founding ReFrame It, Mark was a program director with the Packard Foundation where he helped establish the nation’s largest conservation grantmaking program with initiatives across the western United States, Mexico, China, and the Western Pacific. In addition, he created an innovative interdisciplinary grantmaking initiative that highlighted the opportunities for strategic synergy between reproductive health, environment, and community development initiatives in select geographies within the Foundation’s global portfolio.

Mark has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN) as well as on the Management Committee of the Environmental Grantmakers Association. He currently serves on the Boards of Director of the Center for the New American Dream, Resource Media, and EcoTrust Canada.

Steering Committee 7

Ann Fowler Wallace

THE FUNDERS NETWORK

Ann is director of programs at the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities (TFN). Based in Boston, Ann leads TFN’s responsive service work in the Northeast, staffs the GREEN! working group and Partners for Places (P4P) grant program, advises TFN’s Northeast Funders’ Network and Stormwater Funders Group, and manages the Network’s team of field contractors.

Before coming to TFN, Ann facilitated the planning and design of smart growth collaboratives in Vermont and Massachusetts. She has worked as a program consultant to the John Merck Fund (JMF), and consulted with other foundations and funder networks focusing on environmental, sustainable agriculture, and smart growth issues. She is a former partner at GMA Foundations, a philanthropic consulting firm serving charitable foundations and individual donors, where for 15 years she headed up GMA’s environmental grantmaking and consulting practice. Among her past clients, Ann worked for the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust, the Conservation, Food & Health Foundation, the Dolphin Trust, and The Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation.

Ann is a past trustee of the Beldon Fund, and currently a trustee of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. She has a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Duke University and has a Master’s degree with a concentration in environmental policy from Tufts University.