These 6 professionals are making a difference: North Bay Gives Awards for 2022

North Bay Business Journal recognizes the following professionals for their impact on their communities in Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties.

Winners of the 2022 North Bay Gives Awards will be recognized at an event in Santa Rosa on Wednesday afternoon.


Alejandra Quintana

Senior case manager, Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center (PACRC), 952 Napa St., Napa 94559; 707-224-1786; puertasabiertasnapa.org

About me

“I work for a nonprofit organization and my role is to lead programs like the Farmers Market Program for people to access food. In addition, I also lead the CLS program at Puertas Abiertas (Citizenship Legal Services) which is a program that offers free services for people to naturalize.

“I also coordinate the workshops we offer relating to labor rights, housing rights and financial literacy. Lastly, the heart of the services at Puertas Abiertas is social services. It is the main umbrella for services which our community relies on for us to help and support them.”

In what ways has this philanthropic work enriched your life?

“My day to day basis is not cookie cutter. You will find me constantly on the phone talking to clients or meeting with clients in person accessing services and doing a lot of advocacy work when implementing other programs I take a lead in. I am always surrounded by the community and doing what I like to call ‘heart work.’

“Doing this type of heart work, really fulfills my soul and being. Having the privilege to be able to go to work everyday and be an advocate for the community and knowing that you are contributing for a better community collectively is rewarding and really fulfills my purpose in life.

“Coming from a humble, compassionate and empathetic upbringing that has always been embedded in me, has been a spark and inspiration for the heart work I continue to do today. There was always a sense of collective community and helping others in everything I do and how I was raised.”


Ana Maria Alvarez-Padilla

Executive Assistant, Catholic Restorative Justice Ministries, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, 987 Airway Court, Santa Rosa, 95403; 707-528-8712; srcharities.org

Organization’s mission: “Ministering to all those who have been harmed by crime who reside within Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.”

About me…

“The type of philanthropic work that I do is to offer spiritual advisory to the inmates at the Main Adult Detention Facility. I do this through Catholic Restorative Justice Ministries.

“I also do community engagement through the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office as part of the Community Round Table for Equity, Engagement, and Diversity (CREED); this organization works at different local events. I recently joined the Russian River Rotary and support community events in my town.”

Is there a story or an inspiration behind your philanthropic work?

“The inspiration behind my philanthropic work is this type of work is a calling, one that isn’t for everyone but certainly is for me. Watching my mother work for years in prison industry greatly inspired me to explore the same, it was a good fit.

“As family units improved and individuals became productive in society, my inspiration grew. As I recruit new volunteers for the ministry, I am encouraged further by our successes.

“I feel most fortunate to be in a helping profession and volunteer position. Both continue to inspire me to continuously expand my belief that those in need should never be ignored but instead be offered encouragement and a helping hand.”


Claudia Sisomphou

Board member, Food for Thought, 6550 Railroad Ave., Forestville 95436; 707-887-1647; fftfoodbank.org

Organizational mission: “Dedicated to meeting the nutrition needs of people living with serious medical conditions in Sonoma County.”

About me…

“Volunteering and giving back to my community are an integral part of my life and have been for 10+ years. Most notably, Food For Thought is an organization that I have volunteered with since high school and I now serve on its board of directors.

“I have volunteered with many organizations over the years with each focusing on a topic or issue that I am passionate about, including health, sustainability, and human rights.

“I have also been fortunate to incorporate community work into my job at Sonoma Clean Power. We volunteer our time to different organizations (e.g. food drives, tree planting, road clean-ups, etc.), donate to local causes, and sponsor community events. I am always looking for new groups or efforts that SCP can connect with and support.

In what ways have you seen individuals or the community benefit from your philanthropic work?

“Volunteering at Food For Thought’s food bank was always rewarding because you get to actually meet the community members who are benefiting from the services you support.

“When I do food drives at local grocery stores, often I’ll have people come up to me and share how they or someone they know is a client and how much FFT has helped them.

“When I volunteered with Global Student Embassy at the Park Village community garden, I loved seeing the students and residents experience the freedom that comes with learning how to grow your own food.

“During my time on the Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council, I helped residents whose homes had been severely impacted by the February 2019 floods receive the time and resources they deserved from the County and FEMA to recover.

“In general, I feel like any amount of funds or time I spend with organizations who are supporting quality education, climate action, and access to basic needs is an investment in the community that truly benefits all of us.”


Elizabeth Flower, M.D.

Sebastopol Urgent Care, 555 Petaluma Ave., Suite B, Sebastopol 95472; 707-509-5961; sebuc.org

About me

“I have been caring for under served patients here in Sonoma County through the urgent care clinic with the help of the Sonoma West Foundation and Dr. Richard Powers for the last year.

“We have collaborated to provide care for people that are under insured and uninsured. I have done similar philanthropic work previously in the Virgin Islands both in the capacity as a hospice doctor and as owner of an urgent care there.

“I am currently establishing a nonprofit to raise funds to care for uninsured and under insured people in our community.

“We have provided over $10,000 in free care to Sonoma County residents so far this year. This ranges in treating people with injuries and illnesses, diagnosing and treating people that have had no access to care, assisting people with psychiatric issues and referring people to places where they can get specialty care. People are so grateful when they get the care they need when they have limited means.”

In what ways have you seen individuals or the community benefit from your philanthropic work?

“When we care for a newly unemployed person that just lost their insurance or a single parent that works two jobs and has a sick toddler, I see the relief they experience to not have a big financial burden in addition to the other stressors they are experiencing.

“When we diagnose hypertension in a person that would otherwise not get diagnosed due to lack of resources, that is one more patient cared for that will not be landing in the ER with a stroke.

“When we take care of the child of an undocumented couple and get their baby to care, we know we have made a big difference in the lives of these people. It may not be very obvious in the community in general, but over time on an individual basis, I know we make a difference.”


Mary Jane Burke

Superintendent of schools, Marin County Office of Education, 1111 Las Gallinas Ave., San Rafael, 94903; 415-472-4110; https://www.marinschools.org/

What the nominator said about her

“In addition to serving Marin's children for 47 years as a public school administrator and forming SchoolsRule-Marin, Mary Jane also played an indispensable role in bringing education foundation leaders together though the Marin Alliance for Public Schools (MAPS), a group that meets periodically to share best practices of their work in support of their individual districts, but who recognize the importance of working towards equity for all students across the county.

“She's past president of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) and past President of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) Board of Directors, still serving on that board.

“She is also a current member of the board of trustees of Dominican University of California — the university from which she received both her bachelor and master's degrees.”

More about her

She also helped establish SchoolsRule-Marin in June 2010 According to the group’s website, “Superintendent Burke brought in education foundation leaders though the Marin Alliance for Public Schools (MAPS), a loosely organized group that met periodically to share best practices of their work in support of their individual districts, but who recognized the importance of working towards equity for all students across the county.

“Efforts included advertisements in area media, an interactive website to encourage public discourse, link to volunteer experiences, and offer donors a chance to give to SchoolsRule-Marin or to link to the individual foundation of their choice.

“Through 2019, contributions to SchoolsRule continued to grow each year with more and more businesses, corporations, foundations and individuals seeing the benefit of being able to support every child in every community with a single contribution. 2019 marked are highest distribution amount at $1,000,000.

“Each October, SchoolsRule-Marin distributes the funds raised to the individual Marin public school foundations and districts on a per student basis to fund programs in the areas of the arts, technology, literacy and health. Since 2012, SchoolsRule has distributed nearly $6.2M in funds.”


Rebecca Kendall

Chief development officer, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, 987 Airway Court, Santa Rosa 95403; 707-528-8712; srcharities.org

About me

“I lead an amazing team of nonprofit professionals and volunteers who connect donors and volunteers to Catholic Charities’ mission to serve the most vulnerable in Northern California.

“In 2022, our team brought to completion a $53M capital campaign, one of the largest in Sonoma County history, to build Caritas Center, a one-stop-shop for shelter and services for people without homes. The seven-year journey culminated in something that will help thousands of people find and keep housing each year.  In the words of campaign co-chair Vic Trione, ‘Caritas Village is the right project, in the right place, at the right time, led by the right people.’”

Is there a story or an inspiration behind your philanthropic work?

“When I was 7, my family and I experienced homelessness for about a year. It was frightening, disorienting, and devastating.

“To make matters worse, the places we stayed were cramped, bug-infested, and lacking in privacy or dignity. That’s why Caritas Center was always a very personal project for me. Catholic Charities’ old family shelter was way past its useful life, and didn’t convey the right message. I wanted to create a space that, while still a shelter, says to each child, ‘You are loved. You are important. You are valued.’ That’s what we can do now through Caritas Center.

“A major tipping point in the project came in 2017, when the wildfires swept Sonoma County. I remember gathering with our whole team in Catholic Charities’ old family shelter, praying together as a staff each day before we triaged the staggering need in front of us.

“That experience became a catalyst for a bigger, bolder vision, and a rallying point for the entire community. I believe it was no coincidence that Tipping Point Community generously gave $5M to Caritas Village in response to the disastrous Tubbs Fire, inspiring over 650 others to eventually support the endeavor.”

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