Staff

Office of the President

Christy Pichel, President

Christy Pichel joined the Stuart Foundation in 2001 and was appointed President in 2003. Christy has served in leadership roles in the nonprofit sector for over thirty years, focusing on education and organizational development. Prior to joining the Foundation, Christy served in philanthropic management positions at The James Irvine Foundation, the Public Policy Institute of California and the C.S. Fund. She served as executive director of a new independent school; created an education foundation for a local school district; and served on school district advisory boards and on the board of a charter school. Christy currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Effective Philanthropy and as a member of the President’s Roundtable of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Christy received a Master of Business Administration degree in International Business with a focus on Political and Economic Development of the Pacific Basin from Dominican University in San Rafael, California, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.


Crystal Garland, Executive Assistant

Crystal Garland joined the Stuart Foundation in December 2009 as Executive Assistant in the Office of the President. She provides administrative and organizational support to the President. Crystal has over 30 years of administrative experience and has served as the Executive Assistant to the Director in a variety of Bay Area nonprofit organizations over the past 18 years, including Team-Up for Youth, Catholic Charities of the East Bay and East Bay Perinatal Council in Oakland, California. In these roles, Crystal gained a wealth of experience in providing executive level and administrative support to the Director, managing projects and serving as the primary liaison with the Board of Directors.

Crystal received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.


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Program

Rhonnel Sotelo, Vice President, Program & Operations

Rhonnel Sotelo joined the Stuart Foundation as Senior Program Officer in Youth & Communities in 2004 and was appointed Vice President for Program & Operations in 2007. Prior to joining the Foundation, his experience included directing The San Francisco Foundation’s West Oakland Initiative and Multicultural Fellowship Program, and owning and operating Urban Works, a community planning and design consulting firm focused on livable communities issues in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, and California.

Rhonnel received a Master of Arts degree in Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, both from the University of California, Los Angeles.


Teri Kook, Director of Child Welfare

Teri Kook joined the Stuart Foundation as Senior Program Officer for Child Welfare in 2003 and was appointed Director of Child Welfare in 2008. Teri has over 20 years of experience in practice, policy development and leadership in public child welfare agencies. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Teri was the Chief of Child Welfare in Stanislaus County, and was an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Social Work program at California State University, Stanislaus.

Teri received a Master of Social Work degree from San José State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from California State University, Stanislaus.


Deborah Moss, Associate Director, Child Welfare

Deborah Moss joined the Stuart Foundation as Associate Director for Child Welfare in 2008. Debi has over 20 years of experience in the field of child welfare, and came to the Foundation after working for the past 17 years in public child welfare in Contra Costa County. She played a key leadership role in many of the County’s child welfare initiatives, including Family to Family and Child Welfare Redesign.

Debi received a Master of Science degree in Counseling from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.


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Michelle François, Program Officer, Child Welfare

Michelle François joined the Stuart Foundation as Program Officer, Child Welfare in 2009. Michelle has over 14 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Michelle served as Program Officer for The Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation and as Planning and Program Development Officer for First 5 LA Los Angeles. Michelle also worked as a fund developer for The Children’s Theatre Company and Greater Twin Cities United Way in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Michelle received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Communications from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.


Susan Little, Interim Senior Program Officer, Education

Susan Little joined the Stuart Foundation in 2007 as the Interim Senior Program Officer for its combined youth and education work. She brings more than 25 years of program and research experience to her review and due diligence of the Foundation’s grantmaking.

Consulting projects over the last seven years include serving as an acting program officer in various fields; conducting research on K-12 science education for the Genentech Foundation and on healthy aging for The California Endowment; and developing policies and procedures for a new family foundation.

Prior to becoming a consultant, she was a senior manager in the Global Public Affairs Department at Levi Strauss & Co., managing national and international grantmaking, legal compliance, and docket preparation.  Susan also worked at The San Francisco Foundation, a community foundation serving five counties of the Bay Area. 

Susan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American Literature from Radcliffe College, Harvard University.


Alison DeJung, Program Officer, Education

Alison DeJung joined the Stuart Foundation as Education Program Officer in July 2010. She has worked in philanthropy for 13 years, holding various positions at the Women’s Foundation of California, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Marin Arts Council, and The California Wellness Foundation. Most recently, as Program Officer for two private charitable trusts, Alison managed grantmaking priorities in the areas of academic enrichment and college access, tuition assistance, public education reform, career development and job skills training, arts education, and other youth development programs.

Alison received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Nonprofit Administration degree from the University of San Francisco.


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Angela Quon-Chan, Program Manager

Angela Quon-Chan joined the Stuart Foundation as Program Associate for Youth & Education in 2005 and was appointed Program Manager in 2009. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Angela worked at The San Francisco Foundation as both a Donor Services Assistant and Program Assistant for the Environment and Social Justice programs.

Angela received a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education from San Francisco State University.


Cathy Torres Mercado, Program Associate, Education

Cathy Torres Mercado joined the Stuart Foundation in 2009. Cathy has over 14 years of experience in administration and operations in the nonprofit and philanthropy fields.  Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, she worked at UC Berkeley’s Center for Public Health Practice where she served as Practice Coordinator, providing support to graduate students and coordinating events with community partners. Cathy was also a Program Assistant at  The San Francisco Foundation for the Education and Community Health programs.

Cathy received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of the Philippines and a Certificate in Accounting from Ateneo de Manila University.


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Dana Wellhausen, Program Associate, Child Welfare

Dana Wellhausen joined the Stuart Foundation in June 2010 as the Program Associate in Child Welfare. Dana began her work in child welfare as the Project Coordinator for the Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Differential Response. Recently, she was the Project Associate and Project Manager for Family to Family California, an effort co-funded by the Stuart Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Dana received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Mills College.


Randi Gottlieb, Project Manager

Randi Gottlieb joined the Stuart Foundation in 2009 as Project Manager of the Ready to Succeed: Improving Education for Children and Youth in Foster Care Initiative. Randi has over 30 years of experience in the field of child welfare. She is also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Randi was a program manager of child welfare services in Tehama County, and a technical assistant with Family to Family California. Randi also was an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate-level Counseling Psychology programs at University of California, San Francisco and National University.

Randi received a Master of Arts degree in Education from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.


Kelly Hayashi, Grants Manager

Kelly Hayashi joined the Stuart Foundation as Grants Manager in 2008. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kelly managed federal and city-funded grants for youth employment programs in Portland, Oregon. She administered the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, a small grantmaking entity serving community-based organizations in metropolitan Chicago, and held the position of Grantmaking Operations Coordinator at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Kelly received a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Lewis and Clark College.


Jennifer Won, Interim Program Associate

Jennifer Won joined the Stuart Foundation as Interim Executive Assistant in 2008 and was appointed Interim Program Associate in 2009. Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as Executive Assistant for Anshen + Allen, Architects. Jennifer was also a Research Analyst for the Center of Living Education in San José, California.

Jennifer received a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.


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Operations

Anne Campbell Washington, Director of Operations & Special Projects

Anne Campbell Washington joined the Stuart Foundation as Special Assistant, Office of the President in 2008 and was appointed Director of Operations & Special Projects in 2010.  Anne has over 13 years of experience in municipal government administration and nonprofit management. Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked in the City of Oakland, California, serving as Chief of Staff to former Mayor Jerry Brown and as Assistant to the City Manager. Anne was also the Executive Director of the “I Have A Dream” Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Anne received a Master of Public Policy degree from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management/Graphic Communications Management from Carnegie Mellon University.


Bonnie Look, Program & Operations Associate

Bonnie Look joined the Stuart Foundation in 2008. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Bonnie held positions in office administration and customer service with a range of corporations, including Esprit de Corp., the American Heart Association, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Old Republic Title Company.

Bonnie received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Operations Management from California State University, Hayward.


Madeleine Lagarde, Administrative & Grants Assistant

Madeleine Lagarde joined the Stuart Foundation as Administrative & Grants Assistant in 1998. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Madeleine worked in the areas of personnel and training development with the Design Center Philippines and was Deputy Clerk with the San Francisco Municipal Court. Her previous experience also includes managing the Academy of Elegance, Performing, and Social Arts in Manila, Philippines where she supervised the faculty and administrative staff.

Madeleine received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Philippine Women’s University, Manila.

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Finance & Administration

David S. Barlow, Vice President, Finance & Administration

David Barlow joined the Stuart Foundation as Vice President for Finance & Administration in 2008. A Certified Public Accountant, David has over two decades of experience in the philanthropic, nonprofit, and private sector. His previous experience includes serving as the Executive Director of Community Initiative Funds of The San Francisco Foundation. He has also served as the Controller for The San Francisco Foundation and Assistant Controller of the San Francisco Symphony.

David received a Master of Business Administration degree from The College of William and Mary and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Pomona College.


Brad Sink, Controller

Brad Sink joined the Stuart Foundation as Controller in February 2010. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Brad served 13 years as Controller for Community Initiatives, a fiscal sponsorship intermediary that provides fiscal and management services to unincorporated, community-benefit nonprofit projects in California. Brad has also served as the Senior Accountant in the Treasury Department of USL Capital, and as Investment Accounting Supervisor at The University of Texas System Administration in Austin, Texas.

Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in Accounting from The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.


Brenda Hudson, Interim Accountant

Brenda Hudson joined the Stuart Foundation as Interim Operations Accountant in 2008. Prior to joining the Stuart Foundation, Brenda served as Comptroller for Team-Up for Youth, a Bay Area nonprofit, she gained auditing experience specializing in the nonprofit sector with Grant & Smith, LLP, and worked for five years in trust operations banking.

Brenda received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Chicago State University.


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