Team-Up For Youth: Staff

Executive Director

Janet Carter
Janet Carter joined Team-Up for Youth® as Executive Director in 2008. For 15 years prior to joining Team-Up for Youth she served as Vice President of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, helping to grow the organization from a local nonprofit to a national leader in the effort to end domestic violence.

Janet has been recognized nationally for her leadership in building the field of violence against women and children and has received awards from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African-American Community, and the State Justice Institute, to name a few.

She is the author of numerous articles and curricula on violence against women and children and is the Chair of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Family Fellowship.

Janet was born in Birmingham, England and lives in San Francisco.

Staff

Sylvia Alfonso, Finance and Administration Manager
sylviaa-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200 ext. 116
Sylvia brings over 25 years of experience in accounting and management to Team-Up for Youth. For fifteen years, she served as Finance Officer of the Philippine Consulates General in Vancouver, B.C.,Canada and San Francisco. As a member of the Philippine Foreign Service team, she assisted in developing programs that promote and protect the rights and welfare of Filipino immigrants. Prior to joining Team-Up for Youth she served as a Controller at ACG Global, LLC.

Olivia De Lara, Program Coordinator, Development
oliviadl-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 136
Olivia de Lara comes to Team-Up for Youth with a background in systems, communications and nonprofit development. She enjoys work that allows her to remain inspired, cultivate others, and build community. These interests culminated into Olivia working within a variety of fields, including broadcast, theater, and volunteer-based organizations. A UC Berkeley alumni and Bay Area native, Olivia appreciates activism, education, art, the outdoors, adventure eating, yoga, distance running, and bike rides. She recently became associated with Girls on the Run-Bay Area to become a running buddy for young girls.

Chris Fajardo, Program Coordinator, Coaching Corps
chrisf-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 121
Chris comes to Team-Up for Youth with a unique background in education and coaching. Chris built a foundation in education through 5 years of teaching marine mammal conservation, physiology and science. Chris coached youth soccer for 8 years at Kidz Love Soccer and helped manage and expand club soccer at UC Santa Cruz before graduating. When he is not chasing his dog Koa, Chris chases down opponents on the soccer field.

Donna Fletcher, Director of Strategic Development
donnaf-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 125
Donna has more than 30 years experience in nonprofit organizational development, communications, and management. Prior to Team-Up, she was principal consultant of Mission Driven, a communications and fundraising firm that worked with environmental, land trust, public health and arts organizations; Director of Membership and Annual Giving at the national Sierra Club; and Executive Director of The Museum Society, the membership association for the de Young, Legion of Honor and Asian Art Museums. She is expert in annual, capital, and constituency building campaigns. Donna grew up in upstate New York and graduated from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Gladys Garcia, Program Coordinator, Research & Evaluation
gladysg-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 122
Gladys comes to Team-Up for Youth with a strong background in communications and social services. During the last several years Gladys worked in the family support, sexual assault victim, and job search/retention arenas of social services. Prior, she worked in public relations with a focus on local and national media outreach. Having recently moved to the Bay Area, she plans on riding her bike to work and learning to kayak.

Bob Kirwin, Executive Assistant
bobk-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 102
Bob came to Team-Up for Youth with over 8 years of experience in land conservation. Prior to his non-profit experience Bob spent several years working in finance and also owned his own personal training business. He has extensive event planning experience and enjoys work where a high level of organization and detail is needed. In his spare time, Bob enjoys gardening and landscape design, and always has several craft projects being worked on simultaneously.

Susan Kleinman Wallis, Program Director, Research & Evaluation
susankw-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 112
Susan joined Team-Up for Youth in 2006 after five years coordinating The San Francisco Foundation's Koshland Program, where she worked with neighborhood leaders to develop community initiatives supporting youth and families. Prior to that, Susan worked as a child welfare worker in Marin and San Francisco Counties, a grant writer, and a forest ranger. Growing up she studied Tae Kwon Do at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, where she earned her black belt. Susan received her BA from Wesleyan University and her MSW from UC Berkeley.

Lynne Lee, Deputy Executive Director
lynnel-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 107
Lynne came to Team-Up for Youth with extensive experience in advertising and communications. She is an expert at social norm change, public education strategy and advertising development. Previously, Lynne served as Senior Vice President at the Family Violence Prevention Fund, where she created the "Coaching Boys into Men" campaign. Before that, Lynne worked at Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising and developed public service campaigns for the Ad Council in New York. Lynne enjoys cycling with her husband and two daughters, Sophie and Naomi.

Annie McShane, Program Manager, Coaching Corps
anniem-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 114
Annie comes to Team-Up for Youth with a diverse background in, and strong commitment to, youth development. After teaching junior high school history for several years, Annie began working with young people outside of the classroom in the non-profit sector. She was able to sharpen her theoretical skills working in the Youth Development Initiative in San Mateo County and more recently, put those skills into practice at the Boys & Girls Club in Daly City. Annie is an avid camper and with the help of her 25-pound mutt has mastered outdoor activities ranging from hiking to Frisbee.

Sheilagh Polk, Program Director, Communications
sheilaghp-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 101
Sheilagh Polk joined Team-Up for Youth after several years of working in the trenches on a myriad of social justice issues. She brings with her extensive experience in social justice communications for nonprofits, community organizing, and education advocacy. Prior to joining Team Up, Sheilagh spent two years as the Outreach Manager at The Education Trust-West where she led successful communications campaigns, as well as, worked closely with grassroots community groups to increase and strengthen dialogue between them and school districts across the state. Prior to that Sheilagh worked in South Los Angeles with Community Coalition, a non-profit founded by Karen Bass that focuses on eradicating the root causes of addiction, poverty and crime in South LA. Sheilagh is also an actress and spoken word artist. She lives with her daughter Jadyn in West Oakland.

Monica Santos, Program Director, National Service
monicas-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 118
Monica brings 10 years of prior youth development experience to her role at Team-Up for Youth. Through UC Berkeley, she conducted outreach presentations in underserved communities about success in higher education. She has also run an after-school tutoring program and a school-based mentoring program. Recently she earned a Masters in Organization and Leadership from the University of San Francisco. In her spare time, Monica plays tennis, flag football and softball.

Suzanne Sillett, Program Manager, Girls Sports
suzannes-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 104
With 15 years experience in the youth development field, Suzanne joined Team-Up for Youth from Community Bridges Beacon where she coordinated after-school sports and health and wellness programs. She is an avid soccer coach and is currently leading the girls' squad at Berkeley High School and another youth club team. Suzanne earned a Masters in Recreation from San Francisco State where her thesis focused on girls' participation in sports. Besides her passion for soccer, she also enjoys trail running and backpacking.

Lisa Wanzor, Director of Finance and Administration
lisaw-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510-663-9200, ext. 103
Lisa has worked in non-profit organizations for over 20 years. Prior to joining Team-Up for Youth, Lisa was the Associate Director at Breast Cancer Action for eight years. Before that, she coordinated the employment programs at Chinese for Affirmative Action. She has also done community organizing with low-income youth and diverse communities. A native of New Jersey and a graduate of Princeton University, basketball is her favorite sport. She also enjoys hiking and swimming with her ten-year-old daughter Shaniya and her partner Sarah.

Cory Wechsler, Program Director, Capacity Building
coryw-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 113
Cory worked for six years with Sports4Kids to bring sports and youth development workshops to Bay Area schools and neighborhoods. Previously, she was involved in violence prevention work at Destiny Arts Center. Cory is also a certified self-defense instructor and has a black belt in Kajukenbo Kung-fu. She holds a Masters degree in education with an emphasis on school-based and community restorative justice.

Jen Weiss, Program Director, Development
jenw-at-teamupforyouth.org; 510/663-9200, ext. 110
Jen Weiss, Ph.D. is the founder and former director of Urban Word NYC, co-author of Brave New Voices: Guide to Teaching Spoken Word Poetry (Heinemann, 2001) and Theory and Educational Research: Toward Critical Social Explanation (Routledge, 2008). She received her doctorate in 2008 from the Urban Education Doctoral program at the City University of New York. Her graduate research was on the topic of high school surveillance policies and is the author of forthcoming publications on the topic, including how youth poetry and spoken word serves as a vehicle of resistance for urban teens. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in writing, journalism, and education, and, spends any free time she has enjoying yoga and hiking outdoors with her family.

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