Rockwood Leadership Program Staff

Akaya Windwood, President and CEO
Akaya is known nationally for her commitment to social and economic justice, and to building a new and compelling vision for effectiveness and collaboration in the non-profit sector. Prior to joining Rockwood as its President and former Director of Leadership Development, Akaya was founder and President of in common, a multicultural consultation firm, co-founder of the Women's National Leadership Project and Executive Director of the Pacific Center, a leading Bay Area LGBT Community Center. An executive leadership coach and organizational consultant with more than 30 years experience working for social justice, Akaya is dedicated to strengthening her many communities and has served on the Alameda County Human Relations Commission, the Alameda County Hate Violence Prevention Task Force, and the board of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. A long-time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, she loves the richness of living and working with diversity, and is committed to joy, laughter, and healthy communities.

André Carothers, Founder and Senior Fellow
André believes that leadership matters in inspiring social change. In order to help today's non-profits meet the increasingly complex challenges facing the sector,André co-founded the nationally-recognized Rockwood Leadership Program to deliver the best practices and methodologies in leadership development to the non-profit community. Since 2000, Rockwood has trained more than 1500 leaders from thousands of organizations in the US and Canada through a variety of programs designed to increase the collaborative capacity of the non-profit advocacy sector. Rockwood also supports a growing online and in-person network of local, regional and national leaders. A veteran environmental activist, André has served on the staff and Board of Directors of Greenpeace USA, and currently serves on the boards of the International Rivers Network and the Rainforest Action Network. He is an organizational development consultant and trainer with a long background in non-profit management, political organizing and progressive politics, and has written extensively on social change and political issues. André has a Master's degree in environmental science and policy from UC Berkeley.

Amanda Berger, Program Director
Amanda brings to Rockwood more than 20 years of social justice experience, focusing on leadership development, civic participation and racial justice. She is responsible for overseeing Rockwood's programs including the Organizational Excellence initiative and developing the Alumni Network. Prior to joining Rockwood, Amanda was the Director of Programs at the Women Donors Network and the Senior Program Officer at the Jewish Fund for Justice in New York City where she co-founded the Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing to build the capacity of youth activists nationwide. For almost ten years Amanda also was the program director at the Panel, Inc. where she designed and delivered race relations training throughout NYC public Schools. Amanda was a Revson Fellow for the Future of New York City at Columbia University for her contributions to youth leadership development and racial justice work.

Mike Sowle, Director of Finance and Operations
Michael has been with Rockwood since the days when we were a fledgling project of the Tides Center. Since 2002 he has been responsible for oversight of the day-to-day as well as the long-term financial management of Rockwood. Michael also supports the Rockwood community by maintaining a well-rounded employee benefits package, office technology, and our relationships with the requisite governmental entities. Michael has worked in the public benefit sector for 20 years, as staff, volunteer, and board member with organizations such as Youth ALIVE!, Greenpeace USA, the Ruckus Society and many others.

Elizabeth Wilcox, Director of Development
Elizabeth brings to Rockwood more than 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, fundraising, and social change philanthropy. Most recently she was the Executive Director of the Common Counsel Foundation, a consortium of family foundations and retreat programs that support social change organizations and leaders. Prior experience includes development director positions at the Foundation of National Progress, Global Exchange, and the SHARE Foundation. Her volunteer service has included committee memberships on the Northern California Grantmakers Association and National Network of Grantmakers; and board memberships on Communication Works and Global Exchange.

Han Pham, Communications Manager
Before joining Rockwood, Han worked with award-winning advertising TBWA\Chiat\Day and Ogilvy and as a freelance journalist. Her stories have been featured on the radio and in publications such as Hyphen Magazine, Nguoi Viet News and Nha Magazine. Active as a supporter, performer, artist, and curator with Asian American arts organizations throughout California, Han has ties with the largest Vietnamese theater ensemble in the United States, Club O'Noodles, as well as Bindlestiff Studio, the first Filipino American Theater in the nation. She is a founding curator of Fling!, a multi-disciplinary art show uniting artists, writers and performers to explore the art of relationships. She is also an advising curator for several San Francisco arts organizations, including Kearny Street Workshop, the country's oldest multidisciplinary Asian Pacific American (APA) arts organization. A member of the San Francisco Bay Area art collectives The 24HourShow and the Vietnamese Artists Collective, Han is a contributor and editor of "AS IS: A Collection of Visual and Literary Art by Emerging Vietnamese Americans".

Peter Kim, Program Manager
Peter is responsible for managing logistics and enrollment for all Rockwood trainings. He has over 10 years of nonprofit experience with the Sustainable Communities Leadership Program at the Environmental Careers Organization, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and Asian Community Mental Health Services. Peter's skills include training recruitment, database administration, contract development, program administration, event coordination, and website maintenance and design.

Stacy Kono, Fellowship Director
Stacy is responsible for coordinating the Media Justice and the new LGBT Fellowship Programs, which offer leaders in these sectors training and support to strengthen and build their collective capacity. Before joining the Rockwood Leadership Program, Stacy worked as a program coordinator for ten years with Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA), a community-based organization that develops the leadership and power of low-income Asian immigrant women and their families. She has also worked as a nonprofit consultant to organizations focused on youth and social justice organizing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently on the Board of the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL).

Corrine Van Hook, Program Associate
Corrine assists the Program Department with training logistics, curriculum production, participant and alumni support, and fellowships, and also provides general support to Communications, Finance and the general office. She is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Political Science. Prior to joining Rockwood, Corrine worked in non-profit education/social change for four years as an IDEAL scholar (Initiative for Diversity in Education and Leadership), an education program if the Level Playing Institute (LPFI). She continues to support LPFI and IDEAL, serving as an event committee member for the past two years.

Paul Goldberg, Development Associate
As Development Associate, Paul assists with all aspects of fundraising for Rockwood, as well as providing support to Executive Management and the Board of Directors. Previously, Paul served as Grants Manager for the Prospect Park Alliance, raising funds to protect landscape designers Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's masterpiece and support the Alliance's educational programs in Brooklyn, NY. Paul holds a B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY and is a passionate advocate for progressive issues, the environment, live music, his partner Meredith, and his puppy dog Bean.

Rockwood Leadership Program Trainers

Robert Gass, Ed.D
Robert Gass, lead designer of the Art of Leadership and lead trainer for Rockwood's yearlong fellowship for executive leaders, is a Harvard-trained psychologist, organizational development consultant, leadership coach and workshop leader. The former President of the global consulting company ARC International, he was the former Board Chair of Greenpeace USA, and has over 30 years experience consulting at the most senior levels to organizations ranging from major corporations like Chase Bank and General Motors, the Institute of Cultural Affairs (China), the EPA, the U.S. Senate, MoveOn.Org, Tides Foundation, Rainforest Acton Network, and the Democracy Alliance. More than 100,000 people have attended Robert's seminars at centers around the world such as the State of the World Forum, Brown University, the Omega Institute, and the U.N. Peace University in Costa Rica. Robert has for many years served as executive coach to well-known political, business and non-profit leaders. He has a deep passion and commitment to bringing the skills of leadership, organizational development and large systems change to those working for social and racial justice, human rights, sustainability and preservation of our natural environment.

N. José Acevedo
N. José Acevedo is president of New World Consulting and an expert in facilitating the development of leadership skills and the creation of high-performing organizations. José has spent the last 25 years working with a brod range of organizations to help them become higher-performing teams that function innovatively in pursuit of specific mission-critical results. José was one of the lead facilitators of JPMorgan's Strategies for Personal Leadership program for six years and is currently the lead trainer for The CORO Immigrant Civic Leadership Program. José has also designed and taught special programs on team learning skills, communicating for action and cultural change, both in English and Spanish, for organizations throughout the world, such as IBM, CORO NY, Hewlett Packard, Healthcare without Harm, HOK Sport Architects, IBM, LexisNexis, Make the Road New York, New World Foundation, and Donna Karan. José spent three years as an attorney for a large union in New York City. He also spent two years on the staff of Landmark Education, a training group specializing in personal effectiveness. He received his BA from The City College of New York, and his JD from New York University.

Michael Bell
Michael is the Co-founder, President and CEO of InPartnership Consulting Inc., an organizational development and strategic change firm specializing in global diversity and leadership development. Based in the Bay Area, Michael is a leader in the fields of organizational development, diversity, and strategic planning. He designs training, leadership development programs and conference presentations, and is an expert in assisting organizations in understanding their cultures and their need for transformational learning. He is also an executive coach and consultant and a core member of two national think tanks, Fetzer Institute's "Healing the Heart of Diversity" and the "Bohmian Dialogue Research Group." Michael is a graduate of Cornell University, and his doctoral work at the California Institute of Integral Studies ("CIIS") focused on organizational development and cross-cultural communication with a focus on "Adult Learning and Change." Michael is also an advanced facilitator using the conflict resolution model of Powerful Non-Defensive Communication (PNDC).

Toby Lynn Herzlich
Toby is a facilitator and trainer with a background in community development, conflict resolution, and participatory strategic planning. Her work focuses on assisting grassroots organizations, public agencies, and nonprofits devoted to building community assets, fostering progressive change, and protecting cultural and natural resources. Her clients include non-profits organizations in the Southwest as well as national and international organizations, arts organizations and public arts agencies, foundations, and city, state and federal policy-makers.

Roberto Vargas PhD, MSW
Roberto is an educator, community organizer, and organizational consultant with over 24 years experience providing leadership development, team-building, and strategic planning services primarily to proactive organizations engaged in advocacy, community service, empowerment, and social change. A founder of several Chicano community programs and an active ceremony leader, Roberto often integrates the practice of spirit connection and cultural activism in his consultations. As principal consultant for New World Associates, he continues working for select non-profits, public agencies and educational institutions, and as founder of the Porvida Council, which provides leadership training that integrates cultural, social, and spiritual healing.

Leslie Sholl Jaffe
Leslie Jaffe has been a Rockwood trainer for four years. She has over 19 years' experience in consulting and training as well as 6 years as the executive director of two non-profit organizations. She is currently an associate with The Stratton Consulting Group, an international consulting firm specializing in transformational change within large organizations; as well as Claire Raines Associates, focusing on generational diversity in the workforce. From 1997 - 2004, Leslie was the chief architect of the Executive Leadership Development Program at JP MorganChase. Prior to her work as a consultant, Leslie was a senior trainer for Lifespring, a personal development organization; the Executive Director of Women Business Owners of New York, an association that trains, develops and promotes women entrepreneurs and women in business; she also served as the Executive Director of the Old Greenwich Riverside Community Center. She has been recognized as the New York City Young Career Woman of the Year and has received the ARC International Founder's Award for Excellence and Outstanding Contribution.

Maria Ramos-Chertok
Maria is a consultant, trainer, writer and mediator. Her areas of expertise are in conflict resolution, teambuilding, managing change, sexual harassment prevention and cultural competency. She is the author of Cultural Considerations in Domestic Violence Cases, a national benchbook for judges. Maria was a 2001 fellow with the National Hispana Leadership Institute and has also been a part of the training team with the National Indian Justice Center. She earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (1987) and her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley.

Suzanne Hawkes
Suzanne Hawkes has been focused on strengthening the voice of civil society organizations in Canada and overseas for over fifteen years. As a facilitator, workshop leader, coach and campaign consultant, she has worked with hundreds of non-profit organizations in that time. Her clients have ranged from the World Wildlife Fund and LEAD International to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, as well as dozens of grassroots social justice organizations and movement-wide coalitions. Suzanne is driven by a passion for supporting the inherent power, skills and wisdom in social change leaders and organizations. Her training and consulting work also focuses on direct and third party political engagement. She is a volunteer trainer with the Women's Campaign School, and the co-founder of Organizing for Change, a movement-level environmental initiative focused on building public and political salience in British Columbia. Suzanne is a principle with Convergence Strategies, and sits on the Board of Smart Growth BC and three modern dance companies. She lives with her partner and their two boys in Vancouver, Canada.

Rockwood Leadership Program Coaches

Nefer-Ra Amen
Nefer-Ra Amen is a professional speaker and human relations consultant. For over 20 years he has worked with organizations and communities throughout the United States, providing speaking engagements, developing and delivering workshops, train the trainer programs and strategic consulting for organizations seeking to lead in the 21st century. Mr. Amen worked for the Oakland Men's Project for 10 years, training and developing institutional and organizational leaders, leading them toward strategies for systemic change. The Oakland Men's Project gained national presence and prominence for their commitment to end men's violence among men and toward women and children, cultural diversity and the eradication of domestic violence. Mr. Amen's role and leadership with the Oakland Men's Project ranged from, project development and implementation in a variety ways, including communication mediums such as: curriculum development, video, radio and television, including the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Maria Ramos-Chertok
(See trainer biography)

Suzanne Hawkes
(See trainer biography)

Carole Johnson
Carole, J.D. is a co-founder and President of the Equity Consulting Group and the former Equity Institute. She has twenty-five years experience as a national trainer and program development specialist on diversity issues, with demonstrated accomplishments in litigation prevention, leadership development and executive coaching. Carole has developed cutting-edge, practical tools for long-term organizational change, and reconciliation skills coaching for corporate and non-profit leaders. Her executive coaching clients are global, and her reputation is well established as strategic and compassionate. As Deputy Director of the Equity Institute, she was Executive Producer of "Sticks, Stones and Stereotypes/Palos, Piedras, Y Estereotipos," a nationally acclaimed, award-winning video-curriculum for young people on issues of homophobia and racism. Sticks and Stones has been used in more than 5,000 schools throughout the United States, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Carole is a non-practicing lawyer with five years as a project director in the United States Federal Desegregation Center. She holds a Doctor of Law degree from Western New England College School of Law, and a BS degree in Special Education from Moorhead State University, Minnesota.

John Poore
John specializes in leadership training and coaching for nonprofit leaders and has worked in environmental and leadership education for the past 16 years. He is the founder of Eco Education, a Minnesota-based organization that partners with young people and teachers to improve environmental conditions in their communities. ([www.ecoeducation.org]) John also founded the Red Lodge Youth Council, a partnership of youth and adult leaders working to make their community an ideal place for young people. His approach to leadership development emphasizes humans' ability to choose life-affirming behaviors and actions that enhance the vitality of others while delivering desired results. John is the founder and President of Whole Leaders. His clients represent a variety of sectors including healthcare, environmental education, youth development and philanthropy. He holds a Masters Degree in Education from Montana State University, Billings. John lives with his family in Montana where he keeps bees and gardens. He is an avid hiker and a proud father.

Patricia St. Onge
Patricia (Haudenosaune) is a Partner in Seven Generations Consulting Company - training, consulting and technical assistance in the areas of community organizing, social justice advocacy, organizational development, cross-cultural effectiveness, consensus building and executive, spiritual & personal coaching. Patricia, formerly Director of Education and Training, and current affiliate consultant at the National Community Development Institute (technical assistance intermediary working in grassroots communities of color) has served as Executive Director of several non-profit agencies including Habitat for Humanity (Boston, Oakland, and San Francisco affiliates), which preceded her role as Western Regional Director. She serves on several community boards. Patricia also performs ceremonies & rituals, such as weddings, holy unions, naming ceremonies, rites of passage, house blessings, and memorial services. Patricia is of Haudenosaune (Mohawk) and Quebecois descent. She reads, writes, and makes jewelry. Between them, she and her life partner, Wilson Riles have six daughters and eight grandchildren.