Meet Our Team

Our dedicated team of experienced professionals utilizes their unique skills and passion to move forward our work towards equitable climate change solutions. Meet our incredible leaders below.

Our Staff

We are a diverse and dedicated team committed to excellence.

Abibat Rahman-Davies (she/her)

Transportation Policy Advocate

Abi is a California native happy to be back in her home state after several years working on economic justice and transportation issues in and out of government. She is passionate about racial and economic equity and centers those issues in her transportation advocacy at Transform.

Abi has an MA in Global Studies from UC Berkeley. She’s had a passion for politics since her youth. She also loves cooking and eating, playing bass and producing music, and seeing movies the old school way: in the theater.

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Carrie Harvilla (she/her/they/them)

Deputy Director

Carrie designs and leads programs at the intersection of sustainable transportation and affordable housing for those who are most impacted by historic disinvestment. Her work is founded on community collaboration with a variety of stakeholders: students, parents, senior citizens, elected officials, business owners, and city staff. By linking innovative technology to needs voiced by residents, she’s worked to bridge the transportation equity divide by bringing Mobility Hubs directly to affordable housing. She’s also led one of the nation’s largest Safe Routes to Schools programs in the country. Carrie is passionate about creative projects that build relationships — such as storytelling through oral history and placemaking through murals — as a means to use culture to influence behavior change. Carrie is an ACC-certified professional Leadership and Life Coach. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and a Master of Science in Community and Regional Development from the University of California at Davis.

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Dave Severy (he/him)

Development Director

Dave works to expand the organization’s capacity through securing and stewarding support from individuals, foundations, government agencies, and corporate partners.

Previously, he supported the capital campaign and development efforts for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Dave also spent several years working with the Public Interest Network, overseeing teams of citizen outreach and fundraising canvassers, directing voter contact offices in swing states, and cultivating a portfolio of high net donors for CALPIRG.

Before attaining an International Relations degree from UC Davis, he developed a passion for social justice activism as an organizer with ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), where he mobilized low-income communities on campaigns for renter protections, prison sentencing reform, and better access to public schools and emergency services.

A resident of Richmond, Dave enjoys exploring the many biking and hiking routes of the East Bay with his wife and two young daughters.

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Emilio Elenes (he/him)

Site Coordinator

Emilio is an SR2S Site Coordinator. He works primarily with elementary , middle and high schools primarily in San Lorenzo, Hayward , Dublin and surrounding areas. Emilio is a Bay Area native having lived between Oakland and San Leandro all his life. He is no stranger to the challenges families face getting to and from school. He previously worked as a paraprofessional supporting students in a classroom with individualized needs. Emilio has a passion for youth engagement and hopes to make a change in his community. In his spare time Emilio enjoys spending his time outside with friends, exploring the local parks in the Bay Area, and playing tennis.

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Jenn Guitart (she/ella)

Executive Director

Jenn has worked in nonprofit leadership since 1999, the last eight years in transportation policy advocacy at the California Bicycle Coalition, where she helped build CalBike into a powerful voice for mobility justice. Previously, she directed Bay Area Communities for Health Education, leading parents in advocating for comprehensive sex education. Jenn has brought her strategic thinking, relationship-building, and fundraising skills to an array of nonprofit agencies in transportation advocacy, direct services, arts education, the environment, and health. She’s worked directly with incarcerated people, homeless youth, sex workers, and disadvantaged families. She holds an MA in anthropology and a BA in Latin American Studies. She is Cuban-American and fluent in Spanish.

For fun, Jenn writes songs, produces music videos, and plays piano in a Cuban music ensemble. She loves to cook and eat delicious food. Jenn lives in Berkeley with her partner and two teens, and mostly bikes, walks, and takes transit.

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Jennifer Ledet

Program Director

Jennifer co-leads the site coordination team and does site coordination work, primarily with elementary schools in Pleasanton.

Jennifer loves riding her bike and taking the bus, and wants to work to make active and shared transportation options accessible and fun for students. She has a background in health promotion and education and weaves both into her work with the Safe Routes to Schools team. In her spare time, you can catch Jennifer on a hike, cooking a pot of gumbo, eating delicious food, or playing with her daughter.

Jennifer lives in Elk Grove near Sacramento, but still considers Oakland a second home. She has loved working with TransForm since 2013 and making positive changes in communities across Alameda County.

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Julia Gerasimenko (she/her)

Housing and Parking Policy Manager

Julia is the Housing and Parking Policy Manager at Transform. In her previous role at the Active Transportation Alliance, she spent seven years working on transportation, housing, and parking issues in Chicago. Prior to that she worked in education access at community based organizations in Chicago, motivated by her own experience as a first-generation college graduate and immigrant from the Soviet Union. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Grinnell College.

In her role at Transform, Julia will be leading our SPOT SJ program and Transit Oriented Communities outreach and engagement in the Five Wounds neighborhood of San Jose. She is excited to help shift the narrative around parking from one of lack to one of abundance and learn from the rich history of housing advocacy in the Bay Area at such a crucial time.

Outside of work, she looks forward to experiencing the flora and fauna of the Bay Area, enjoying fresh Californian produce, and attending concerts.

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Liz Holm (she/her)

Operations Manager

Liz is an Operations Manager with extensive experience in retail operations and portfolio management in the Bay Area. With more than a decade’s experience in training, HR, team leadership and business management she is uniquely positioned to eliminate barriers and keep our Oakland office running smoothly.

Liz has a BA and MA in theater and literature and has recently earned her professional certificate in Project Management.

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Michele Walker (she/her)

Program Manager

Michele works primarily with middle and high school students across Alameda County.

As an East Coast native, Michele always dreamed of moving to sunny California. She began her trek across the country via Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and a Master’s in Social Work.

Eventually she made it to Oakland, where prior to working for TransForm, Michele trained youth from low-income backgrounds in leadership skills, facilitated college and career readiness lessons at a local nonprofit, and taught math at a small middle and high school. Michele is excited about being part of the Safe Routes to School team, where she can encourage youth to make healthy choices that will lead to more active communities.

She is passionate about spending time outdoors and getting places on her own two feet. In Michele’s free time, you can find her playing with her rescue dog, visiting the playground with her daughter, and voraciously reading thrillers.

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Michelle Campbell

Staff Accountant

Michelle joined TransForm as the Staff Accountant in November of 2021. She has a B.S. in Management and Ethics and has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit financial and tax accounting working in areas of anti-human trafficking and immigration law.

Michelle also contributes her time to consulting and mentoring young POC creative entrepreneurs in the areas of financial literacy, business development, and creating equitable value systems.

Outside of work, she runs the independent record label Lake Merritt Girl Records and is a professional concert and festival photographer.

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Qianning Tang (they/them)

Program Coordinator

Qianning is an SR2S Program Coordinator, primarily working with elementary and middle schools in Alameda, Fremont, Albany, and Oakland. Born in the rainy and thunderous Guangzhou, China, Qianning immigrated to sunny California at the age of twelve and was raised into consciousness by the beloved community of Oakland. Between growing up in these fast-changing cities, they developed a deep passion for urbanism, environmental+social justice, and accessible design. Qianning graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Sustainable Environmental Design and a focus on City and Regional Planning. Outside of work, Qianning is an artist, a translator fighting censorship and disinformation, an aspiring farmer, and a cat lover.

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Sheila Islam (she/her/they/them)

Program Manager

Sheila supports Alameda County SR2S schools in K-8 schools in Berkeley, parts of Oakland, Emeryville and San Leandro. Sheila was previously Clean Water Action CA’s first Environmental Justice organizer, spending much of her time focusing on social justice throughout the Bay Area.

Sheila was born and raised in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley where she witnessed the direct health effects living next to a freeway had on her community. She believes that change happens through community empowerment and works to support people in making the best decisions for themselves, their neighborhoods, and the environment.

In their free time, Sheila consumes sci-fi and fantasy media, cuddles with their cat, bikes, and spends time with loved ones (preferably outdoors with some snacks).

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Stephanie Jim (she/her)

Program Director

Stephanie co-leads the site coordinator team. Stephanie also does site coordination for elementary and middle schools across Alameda County. Her work is focused on schools in Castro Valley and Fremont.

Stephanie is passionate about building healthier and more active communities. An expert in community health education, she lifts up the strengths of community members in her engagement efforts. Stephanie is particularly inspired by the voices of youth, whose fresh perspectives grow our communities and move us towards a better future.

Stephanie was raised primarily in the Central Valley, and has lived in the East Bay for over 15 years. She appreciates and is proud of the bike culture, beautiful weather, and connected streets of the East Bay, and looks forward to sharing her love of bikes with her growing family.

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Zack Deutsch-Gross (he/him)

Policy Director

An organizer by trade, Zack brings over a decade of local, state and federal advocacy experience to the policy team at TransForm. Born and raised in San Francisco, for Zack transportation is not just about getting from A to B, but fundamentally about how we engage with each other and build community. Zack is committed to lifting up the voices of the region’s most marginalized communities to craft thoughtful, innovative policies that support an equitable, affordable, sustainable and thriving Bay Area for all.

Prior to joining TransForm, Zack was the Policy and Community Investment Director at San Francisco Transit Riders. He holds a Masters in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and a Bachelors in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz. He currently serves on MTC’s Policy Advisory Council and on the board of I.T. Bookman Community Center. In his free time, he leads backpacking trips for the Sierra Club and is an avid soccer player and fan.

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Our Board of Directors

Get to know the talented individuals behind TransForm.

Alice Chen (she/her)

Chair

Alice Chen brings her expertise as a multimodal transportation planner having worked with several cities in the Bay Area on the circulation elements of their General Plans, bicycle master plans, and pedestrian plans. Her work includes incorporating Complete Streets and Caltrans’ Smart Mobility Framework into transportation planning practices and supporting Caltrans’ efforts to implement Senate Bill 743 and integrate equity into the Strategic Highway Safety Plan.

Originally from small rural towns in New England, she has a degree in Urban Studies from Brown University. She came to the Bay Area for her master’s degree in Transportation Engineering from the University of California Berkeley. She is a certified planner (AICP) with the American Planning Association and a member of the California Planning Roundtable. Alice lives in the walkable, transit-oriented Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland with her husband, who is a transit planner with San Francisco MTA.

Jame Ervin (she/her)

Manager, Stripe

Jame Ervin uses her marketing expertise to help connect and outreach to our communities on the need for smarter development and mobility to support our region’s growth and maintain its diversity. After attending city meetings and planning sessions over the past couple of years, Jame realized that our government agencies (and governing bodies) do not always hear from constituents who most need and desire more inclusive communities and improved transit.

Jame works in demand marketing at Stripe. She formerly worked as a sales and marketing consultant focusing on helping organizations connect marketing and sales by implementing tools and processes to and help marketers provide better ROI for marketing campaigns. Jame studied American Studies at UC Berkeley. She bikes around town and is anxiously awaiting the day we have efficient transit options across the whole region. Jame lives in Oakland and stays Oaklandish by checking out the latest developments, restaurants, and eateries around the Town; her unofficial nickname is “walking Yelp.”

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Linda Rhine

Chair
Principal, Nelson\Nygaard (Retired)

Linda Rhine is a retiree after 35-plus years in transportation planning. She was a public sector employee at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) before joining Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates in 1992. Linda was a principal, shareholder, and longtime member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Her planning practice was dedicated to transit and paratransit planning including budgeting, funding, auditing, fare policy, and inter-agency service coordination.

Nirit Lotan

Attorney, Earthjustice

Nirit Lotan is an environmental attorney and has worked in the non-profit and private sector, both in California and in her native country of Israel. She was always fascinated by the impact seemingly mundane land use decisions have on people’s lives and opportunities, and on our shared environment. She has dedicated her professional career to creating a more sustainable and just future for everyone.

Nirit holds law degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and from Columbia University and is currently working for Earthjustice, trying to push back on oil and gas drilling in California and to promote environmental justice. Prior to that, she worked for a Bay Area law firm, was the head of the Environmental Justice Clinic in Tel Aviv University, and a staff attorney in a non-profit.

She lives in South Bay and she likes to spend her free time in the beautiful outdoors of California with her partner and three boys and to read.

Sally Greenspan

Treasurer
Director, Enterprise Community Partners

Sally Greenspan is a Director at Enterprise Community Partners, where she leads Enterprise’s Building Sustainable Communities program. In this role, Sally works to implement programs that address the joint challenges of housing affordability and climate change and create more sustainable, resilient, equitable communities.

Sally’s background also includes positions in private real estate, architecture, public policy & research, and urban planning. She holds a B.A. in urban studies from Stanford and a M.U.P. in urban planning from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

In her free time Sally loves to make a huge mess in the kitchen, and go on short, slow bike rides around the East Bay with her husband and two young children.

Tejus Shankar

Policy Development Manager, Lyft

Tejus Shankar is passionate about the intersection between transportation and land-use to create equitable futures for our cities. As a Policy Development Manager, Tejus leads Lyft’s transit, bike and scooter policy research and strategy while further solidifying opportunities for public-private partnerships in mobility. Tejus brings nearly a decade of experience working in both public and private sectors. As a former management consultant, he has a background in analytics, thought leadership, project management, and mobility innovation and has worked as an innovation fellow with both the MBTA and LA Metro. His academic background also integrates business and public policy. Tejus holds an MBA from UCLA with a focus on real estate and supplementary coursework in urban planning. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelors in economics and public policy. Tejus currently lives in San Francisco and can be found often riding a bike on the slow streets!

Warren Logan (he/him)

City Planning Consultant

Warren Logan is an Oakland resident with a strong history of public service and community engagement. Professionally, Warren is a principal advisor at Lighthouse Public Affairs where he manages government relations and strategic communication projects. Before working in the private sector Warren worked in several public agencies including the City of Berkeley’s Transportation Division managing parking and travel demand management, the City and County of San Francisco managing shared mobility policy, and the Mayor’s Office of Oakland managing local, regional and state transportation policy.

Personally, Warren enjoys exploring Oakland neighborhoods on his electric bike, playing with his corgi QE and German shepherd Frankie, and spending time with friends. Warren received his Master’s in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design in 2013 and his B.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy from Occidental College in 2011.

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Elizabeth Madrigal (she/ella)

Project Developer, Mission Housing Development Corporation

Elizabeth Madrigal is a Project Developer at Mission Housing Development Corporation, a non-profit community based organization focused on creating and preserving high quality, affordable homes. Elizabeth works on a wide array of fields at Mission Housing, including transit-oriented developments, acquisition/rehabilitation projects, community initiatives, and advocating for state and local policy reforms. Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Public Policy. Elizabeth is also a member of the Link 21 Equity Advisory Council, which has the objective of shaping Link 21’s planning of passenger rail improvements in the Northern California Megaregion.

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Shawn Danino

Policy Team, Housing Department for the City of San Jose

Shawn comes with over a decade of experience in the public and private sectors of urban planning, housing, transit, and development. He currently leads the Policy team in the Housing Department for the City of San Jose, California’s third largest City. He spent the last five years at the California Department of Housing and Community Development, where he planned for the construction of over 250,000 housing units across the state and conducted over forty City’s housing element reviews. There, he also coordinated the launch of the State’s ADU Team, the Housing Accountability Unit, and the Prohousing Designation Program. Based in Oakland, he reviewed the City’s housing element, the 8-year plan to accommodate over 25,000 housing units, and worked diligently to ensure the City prioritized transit oriented development, active mobility, and efforts that advance Vision Zero. Before joining HCD, Shawn was the Policy and Development Director at a mixed-income developer in the LA area and earned a Master of Science in Information and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan. Shawn is an avid transit user and commutes with a combination of electric scooters and Amtrak rides on the Capitol Corridor. When he’s not working, Shawn enjoys biking, eating, bar trivia, air frying, New York Times games and playing with his pups, Phyllis and Petunia.

Gloria Bruce

Program Director of Housing Security and Public/Private Partnerships, Crankstart Foundation

Gloria is the Program Director of Housing Security and Public/Private Partnerships at Crankstart Foundation, overseeing grantmaking and investments to address homelessness and housing affordability in the San Francisco area. Before joining Crankstart in 2023, Gloria was Executive Director of East Bay Housing Organizations, a leading local advocacy coalition promoting affordable housing. A long-time Oakland resident, Gloria has over 20 years of experience in social justice and community development in the Bay Area, Boston, and Washington, D.C. She has a graduate degree in City and Regional Planning from UC-Berkeley, and a B.A. in History from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges. She chairs the Alameda County Measure A1 Oversight Committee. Originally from Maryland, she lives in Oakland with her wife and two sons.