Meet the Women in Leadership Bay Area cohort

Alma Barocio

Administrative Manager
East Oakland Youth Development Center

Alma is the Administrative Manager of East Oakland Youth Development Center. In her capacity as Administrative Manager, she oversees the admin department and works closely with all departments. Alma is a model example of an exceptional administrator and role model to the community. Her work ethic is exemplary. She is a self-starter, motivated by the desire to contribute at high levels. She is always looking for ways to learn, researching opportunities, as well as learning on her own time.

She maintains enthusiasm for her job and by her example, models how other administrators and employees alike should approach their jobs. Through the Coro program, she hopes to gain more knowledge to continue growing, and make new connections, future partnerships, or opportunities. She enjoys her work and is a role model for her kids, family, and everyone around her.

Taylor Booker

Senior Community Development Specialist
San Francisco Planning, City & County of San Francisco

Taylor is a Senior Community Development Specialist with the San Francisco Planning Department, where she serves as liaison to the Fillmore/Western Addition community on access to resources, small business support, family retention, and community capacity building, and currently leads the community’s Community Action Plan. With over a decade in Bay Area community development – including nearly ten years with the San Francisco Housing Development Corporation, where she rose to Director of Community Development and Engagement, and early work as a Health Educator at Potrero Hill Neighborhood House – she believes lasting change happens when communities shape their own futures.

Taylor also lends her time to boards such as youth development nonprofits and community empowerment organizations and currently serves on BART’s Equity Advisory Council for the Link21 Program. Through Coro, she hopes to widen her lens – learning from leaders outside her world and returning a more expansive version of herself.

Jennifer Byrne

Program Manager
St. Anthony Foundation, Free Clothing Program

Jennifer is the Program Manager of the Free Clothing Program at St. Anthony Foundation, where she oversees the entire program — including the volunteer program, service delivery, and the donation program — for guests across San Francisco. She works closely with her team and cross-departmental partners to keep operations running smoothly and guest needs at the center of every decision.

Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys cooking and hiking. Through Coro’s Women in Leadership Program, she hopes to sharpen her strategic thinking, communication, and public speaking skills so she can lead her team with greater clarity and advocate more confidently for the Free Clothing Program and mission of St. Anthony’s with internal and external audiences.

Paulette Cha

Research Fellow
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)

Paulette is a research fellow at PPIC, where her work focuses on the health of underserved populations, especially children and immigrants. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed outlets including the American Journal of Public Health and the Journal of Adolescent Health, and she has been cited in numerous media outlets such as the Sacramento Bee and the Orange County Register. Before joining PPIC, she was a joint postdoctoral fellow at UCLA and the University of Southern California, and she has past experience evaluating social policy interventions in health and education for low-income individuals. She holds a PhD in health policy/health economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Karen Chen, PhD

Independent Consultant
Karen Chen Consulting

Karen is an independent consultant who brings more than 20 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and strategic planning across international development and domestic social justice work. Previously she worked at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, where she built the bureau’s first MEL system and helped guide strategy for 300–400 human rights and democracy grants totaling over $400 million annually. For the past 10 years, she has advised U.S. agencies, foundations, and NGOs on evidence-based program design, mixed-method evaluation, and systems-aware learning strategies. She currently serves as head of operations and program manager for a pooled fund focused on responsible tech issues.

Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and exploring the outdoors with her family. Through Coro, Karen hopes to sharpen her leadership skills, figure out how to grow and sustain her consultancy, and connect with other Bay Area women leaders with similar experiences.

Mariel Estrada Bonilla

Data Management & Partnerships Consultant

Mariel is a cross-sector program and partnerships professional with experience implementing High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) and currently supporting the UCLA Labor Center and the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity’s HRTP initiative through data management, evaluation, and partner support. In this work, she collaborates with higher education institutions, labor organizations, nonprofit organizations, and workforce training providers to improve data reporting, build partner capacity, and foster collaboration across organizations. Throughout her career, she has designed and led programs, managed cross-sector partnerships, and brought people together to navigate complex challenges and advance shared goals.

Mariel is passionate about expanding economic opportunity, building strong partnerships, and working alongside others to create meaningful opportunities for communities. She enjoys learning from people with diverse perspectives and believes meaningful progress is built through trust, curiosity, and collaboration.

She is excited to join the Coro Women in Leadership program to deepen her leadership practice, strengthen her ability to navigate complex challenges, and learn alongside women committed to strengthening their organizations and communities.

Sara Geliebter

Program Manager, High Impact Tutoring and Educator Grants
San Francisco Education Fund

Sara brings over a decade of experience working in various community-based organizations and education nonprofit sectors. Over the years, she has worked with diverse populations including youth, young adults, families, and community partners. Sara developed her leadership, community engagement, strategic planning, and thinking skills through a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, emphasis on leadership, from California State University, San Bernardino.

As the Program Manager of High Impact Tutoring and Educator Grants, she oversees initiatives that strive to make education equitable and accessible for all students. Through Coro’s Women in Leadership program, Sara hopes to become a more effective leader, refine her strategic thinking skills, and develop a network of women leaders throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Josephine Guzman

Public Policy Manager
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

Josephine is the Public Policy Manager at the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, where she leads government relations and advocacy efforts that advance policies supporting economic development, housing, workforce development, land-use, and public safety to strengthen Oakland’s economy and business community. A first-generation Latina and lifelong Oaklander, Josephine previously served on the Oakland City Council, advancing from District Representative to District Director, following earlier work in youth leadership, civic engagement, and policy advocacy with community-based organizations.

She holds a Master of Public Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management Administration from Northeastern University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Education and Public Policy from Mills College. Outside of work, Josephine enjoys mentoring emerging leaders, volunteering with community organizations, and fostering civic engagement. Through Coro, she hopes to strengthen her adaptive leadership skills, build meaningful cross-sector relationships, and collaborate with leaders committed to creating lasting, equitable change across the region.

Karen Henderson Malone

HR Director
Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development

Karen is the HR Director at the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. In her role, she has over 19 years of experience in HR and Operations. Her work reflects reinforcing fairness, open communication, and shared accountability. She believes people perform at their best when they feel valued, respected, and connected to the larger impact of their work, while ensuring HR is not a silo but a strategic partner. As the HR Director, she oversees recruitment, employee relations, and leave management safeguarding regulatory and policy compliance. She supervises admin staff, providing day-to-day guidance, coaching, and operational consistency.

Through her participation in the Coro Women in Leadership program, she hopes to build a supportive network of women leaders, a stronger strategic mindset, and space for reflection and personal growth.

Sharon Huntsman

Manager
Enterprise Change & Organizational Effectiveness

Sharon Huntsman is the Manager of Enterprise Change and Organizational Effectiveness at a large, community-owned electric utility in Sacramento. She leads initiatives to build change management capability and strategic talent development. She is known for translating ambiguity into clear direction and creating space for leaders to think, decide, and act in high-stakes environments. Sharon is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Prosci-certified in change management, and an ICF-credentialed coach, and has taught leadership and organizational effectiveness in executive education programs at UC Davis.

Sharon enjoys traveling with her husband and teen-aged son and combining travel with her love of running. She is a novice keyboard musician and backup singer in a cover band. She appreciates Coro’s emphasis on adaptive leadership and building social capital across sectors, and looks forward to learning and strengthening her leadership skills alongside a diverse group of women.

Chrisel Martinez

Cultural Strategist
Independent

Drawing from her upbringing as a first-generation Dominican-American raised in Harlem, Chrisel is an Independent Cultural Strategist and community leader who views art and culture as essential tools for shaping public consciousness and advancing social transformation. Chrisel has led multimillion-dollar cultural initiatives in East Oakland, curated public arts experiences in Lower Manhattan, co-authored a book on advancing diversity in higher education, and contributed to a national documentary series exploring public service and civic leadership. Across New York City and The Bay Area, Chrisel has cultivated a leadership practice that bridges cultural strategy, public leadership, and grassroots organizing to reimagine how institutions engage the people they serve.

Grounded in the lived experiences of historically underinvested communities, she believes lasting change begins by shifting both systems and the stories that sustain them. Through Coro’s Women in Leadership program, Chrisel hopes to join a community of women leaders committed not simply to leading institutions, but to transforming the conditions under which leadership is practiced.

Julia Nelsen

Principal Policy Analyst
University of California

Julia has over 10 years of experience across programs, policy, and outreach within the University of California. For the UCLA Academic Senate, she currently steers governance committees and provides strategic advisement to help campus leaders make informed decisions about undergraduate education. She previously conducted research, taught courses, managed international partnerships, and led professional development initiatives at UC Berkeley.

Alongside her career in higher ed, Julia is a writer and translator. She has published in numerous literary and scholarly venues and collaborates with arts and cultural organizations in the Bay Area and beyond. A San Francisco native with Italian roots, she holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. Through Coro, Julia is eager to cultivate her creative and humanistic approach to leadership by learning from and with her peers.

Belen Orozco

Sr. Director of Operations and Community Initiatives
Lighthouse Community Public Schools

Belen is the Senior Director of Operations and Community Initiatives at Lighthouse Charter Public Schools, where she leads cross-functional strategies that support student success and organizational excellence. Her responsibilities include overseeing facilities, enrollment, nutrition services, safety and emergency preparedness, operational planning, procurement, budgeting, and community-centered initiatives that strengthen engagement and access across school communities. She is passionate about building strong teams, developing sustainable systems, and ensuring operational strategy directly supports equitable educational outcomes.

Outside of her professional role, Belen enjoys traveling, trying new foods, and spending quality time with her family. She values experiences that broaden perspectives, create meaningful connections, and deepen her appreciation for different communities and cultures. Through participation in Coro, Belen hopes to strengthen her leadership practice, expand her cross-sector perspective, build lasting relationships with fellow leaders, and develop new approaches to creating meaningful community impact.

Audrey Parangan-Smith, PhD

Program Director
SF BUILD, San Francisco State University

Audrey is Director of the SF BUILD Program and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University. A first-generation college graduate, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in microbiology from SFSU and her PhD in microbiology from UC Berkeley.

She returned to San Francisco State as a postdoctoral fellow in science education to learn more about inclusive science teaching and research mentorship. As an inaugural member of SF BUILD, she helped build the program, growing from Program Administrator into her current role as Director. She now leads efforts focused on culturally affirming research experiences and faculty pedagogical development that support STEM students’ belonging, persistence, and pathways into biomedical research careers.

Through Coro’s Women in Leadership program, Audrey hopes to strengthen her leadership skills and develop new strategies for leading through change. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking and sharing good food with family and friends.

Pooja Sharma

Manager
ULI San Francisco

Pooja is a Manager at ULI San Francisco, where she leads initiatives that strengthen member engagement, industry collaboration, and organizational impact across the Bay Area real estate community. She oversees strategic programs focused on Silicon Valley, Housing the Bay, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, corporate sponsorship, and district council operations. Previously, Pooja was a Community Consultant with AvalonBay Communities, where she gained experience in multifamily property management and residential operations. She holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Politics from Saint Mary’s College of California and studied international business and culture in Seville, Spain.

A Bay Area native, Pooja is passionate about community building through volunteer service and civic engagement. As a participant in the Women in Leadership cohort, she looks forward to building meaningful relationships with fellow women leaders, serving as a trusted peer, and growing into an impactful and community-centered leader.

Christyne Tyler

Senior Research Strategist

Christyne is a Senior Research Strategist who specializes in helping organizations make better decisions by understanding the human behaviors, systems, and environments that shape people’s experiences. Drawing on a foundation in social work, she brings a systems perspective to understanding how people experience and navigate institutions, technology, and the environments around them.

Her civic interests include strengthening public institutions, improving women’s safety, and advancing equitable systems that expand opportunity and well-being. Through Coro’s Women in Leadership program, Christyne hopes to strengthen her ability to lead across sectors, deepen her understanding of organizational and civic leadership, and build lasting relationships with women committed to creating meaningful change.

Adrienne Wright

Payroll Manager
Community Initiatives

Adrienne is the Payroll Manager at Community Initiatives, where she oversees multi-state payroll operations, 401(k) administration, and payroll compliance while partnering with Finance, Human Resources, and Legal to support organizational goals. She is passionate about creating efficient, compliant payroll processes that improve the employee experience and strengthen organizational operations.

Outside of work, Adrienne enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and volunteering in her community. She is also an active member of PayrollOrg – American Payroll Association, East Bay Chapter, where she stays engaged with industry trends and professional development.

As a member of the Coro Fall 2026 Women in Leadership Bay Area Cohort, Adrienne looks forward to strengthening her leadership presence, communication, and strategic thinking skills; building confidence in navigating challenging workplace situations; expanding her professional network; and learning alongside a diverse group of women leaders. She is excited to gain new perspectives, develop tools to lead with greater influence, and continue growing as an authentic and effective leader.