2012-13 WPI Fellows
In 2012-2013, our Women's Policy Institute enrolled 34 fellows from across California working in seven teams. This year we launched a brand new team, Budget Advocacy, which comprises WPI graduates and nonprofit leaders experienced in the state legislative process. This team will focus on some aspect of restoring public funding for programs and services for California’s low-income women, children and families.
We are grateful for our partnerships with other foundations, which provide key funding for select WPI teams. We partnered with The California Endowment-Building Healthy Communities Initiative (BHC) to select three teams from 13 BHC sites. The three BHC teams include two Healthy Youth Development teams and one Health Reform Implementation team.
We also partnered with the Blue Shield of California Foundation in creating a domestic violence team. We selected five leaders from the field of domestic violence, who will be funded by Blue Shield of California Foundation as part of its commitment to California's domestic violence service providers.
Budget Advocacy
Emily Harris, Californians United for a Responsible Budget, Alameda County
Jennifer Kim, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Books Not Bars, Alameda County
Grace-Sonia Melanio, Community Health Partnership, Santa Clara County
Catherine Porter, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Alameda County
Phoebe Seaton, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Fresno County
MENTOR: Mike Herald, Western Center on Law and Poverty
Criminal Justice
Cheauvon Brown, Justice Now, Alameda County
Jolene Forman, ACLU of Northern California, San Francisco County
Tamiko Johnson, Alameda County Public Health Department, Alameda County
Alba Mercado, The Women's Foundation of California, San Francisco County
Lisa Pedersen, The Art of Yoga Project, Santa Clara County
Vonya Quarles, Starting Over, Inc., Riverside County
MENTOR: Karen Shain, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Domestic Violence
Virginia Ballantyne, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, Santa Clara County
Krystle Contreras, Central California Family Crisis Center, Tulare County
Colsaria Henderson, Family Violence Law Center, Alameda County
Jacquie Marroquin, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Sacramento County
Laura Segura, Women's Crisis Support - Defensa de Mujeres, Santa Cruz County
MENTOR: Tam M. Ma, Legal Services of Northern California
Reproductive Justice
Sierra Harris, ACCESS Women's Health Justice, Alameda County
Celina Keshishian, California Family Health Council, Inc., Los Angeles County
Mari Lopez, Vision Y Compromiso, Los Angeles County
Nayantara Mehta, Alliance for Justice - West Coast, Alameda County
Suely Ngouy, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, Lost Angeles County
MENTOR: Vivian Huang, Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Healthy Youth Development (Team #1)
Carmen Burgos, Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, Inc., Kern County
Amber Talburt, Wild Rivers Community Foundation, Del Norte County
Jocelyn Vargas, Raices Cultura, Riverside County
Cheryl Whittle, Department of Social Work Education - CSU Fresno, Fresno County
Debbie Wood, Bakersfield City School District, Kern County
MENTOR: Liz Guillen, Public Advocates
Healthy Youth Development (Team #2)
Coreen Aguilar, Resources for Independence, Central Valley, Fresno County
Laura Kanter, Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County, Orange County
Kaile Shilling, Violence Prevention Coalition, Los Angeles County
Alice Yang, Stone Soup Fresno, Fresno County
MENTOR: Alice Kessler, DiMare, Van Vleck & Brown, LLC
Health Reform Implementation
Mirna Flores, Center for Employment Training, Riverside County
Nomsa Khalfani, St. John's Well Child & Family Center, Los Angeles County
Adriana Moreno, OneOC - Children's Health Initiative of Orange County, Orange County
Jeanette Torres, Latino Health Access (SABHC), Orange County
MENTOR: Sarah Mercer de Guia, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network