A self-described “worker bee,” Cheryl has a vision for getting across the climate protection finish line through small but mighty local actions. The advocacy skills Cheryl learned through the Leadership Academy in 2017 – including speaking to elected officials, creating coalitions, mentoring others to advocate – have been instrumental in her success so far.
Alumni Program
The Alumni Program is a dynamic and diverse community of over 200 changemakers who are advancing collaborative environmental justice initiatives in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Through the alumni program, graduates support one another as they advance both their leadership and collaborative community initiatives in service of environmental justice.
CALA graduates successfully lead campaigns that secure funding for green space, participate in public and private commissions, hold positions of power in nonprofits, public agencies, and the private sector, and are active in various civic processes in benefit of the environment and their communities.
The Alumni Program is supported by alumni volunteers who help carry out CALA’s vision of a representative, effective environmental movement in the Bay Area. Alumni volunteers have organized as CALA Community Ambassadors to augment connections among fellow alumni while the CALA Advisory Committee works closely with the Program Director to improve the Training and Alumni Programs.
Latest Updates
Class of 2020

Adriana Fernandez

Amada Montelongo

Ariana Hoyt Perez

Camille Hong Xuan Nguyen

Shauna “Honu” Nichols

Iliana Nicholas

Jonathan Davis

Maisha House Asemota

Marina J Rose

Mel Sarmento

Michele Beasley

Monica Noel Matthews

Natalie Goolsby

Raymond Larios

Roxana Franco

Sophia Christel

Sudha Fatima

Susan Steinbrecher

Alex Coronado

Dashiel Leeds
Class of 2018-2019

Jaime Angulo

Patricia Becker

Robin Brune

Alba Cardenas

Shay Franco-Clausen

Andrea Fraume-Valencia

Kathleen Goforth

Jessica Gonzalez

Rick Holder

Kris Lannin Liang

Mary Larenas

Ava Lindstrom

Connie Ludwig

Jay Macintosh

Alison Madden

Cherise Orange

Julianna Page

Alexii Sigona

Barb Singleton

Michael Smith

Matthew Warren

Elaine Bauer

Diego Castro

Stephanie Flores

Diego Martinez

Deepti Nanawati
Class of 2017-2018

Kathy Alford

Nick Allen

J.R. Bae

Kat Baumgartner

Ofelia Bello

Lauren Bigelow

Andrew Boone

Matthew Burrows

Serena Desai

Miguel Gonzalez

Bill Grove

Trina Hineser

Rick Hunter

Flora Kaplan

Riley Knight

Karen Lattin

Rebecca McDowell

Nicole McLane

Chiseche Mibenge

Jane Mio

Mackenzie Mossing

Mitchell Oster

Smita Patel

Peter Ruddock

Emily Schwing

Nicole Shaddox

Erica Stanojevic

Cindy Urquidez

Megan Waters

Vibha Akkaraju

Donna Cortez

Cynthia Denny

Mariska Gaska

Elizabeth Softky

Vilami Young
Class of 2016-2017

Kelli Brownell

Valdeir Faria Filho

Rani Fischer

Uriel Hernandez

Jessica Huckabay

Deb Kramer

Terian Lee

Margaret Li

Eliza Manchester

Jude Martin

Barbra Mathewson

Shab Nemati

Albert Nguyen

Ravi Pathak

Nancy Paul

Christopher Sturken

Sridhar Subramaniam

Yvette Valenzuela

Cheryl Weiden

Martha Davis

Lauren Edwards

Nicole Fernandez

Jan Hintermeister

Sylvia Miller

Sajeemas Pasakdee

Christina Thalls

Doreen Villemaire

Benazir Vohra

Cid Young

Sophia Young
