About Us

Jeff Bialik is a full-time retiree and longtime Marin County resident committed to advocating for the common good, especially affordable housing. He is a Trustee of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael Support Charitable Trust and active with the Marin Organizing Committee and Marin Interfaith Council. He is the retired executive director of Catholic Charities San Francisco and previously held administrative and/or teaching positions with Dominican University of California, Golden Gate University, and the University of Notre Dame. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and a BA from the University of Washington.

Diana Conti has been a Trustee of the College of Marin since 2009. She has directed a broad variety of nonprofits for more than three decades and is currently CEO of PARCA, which serves people with developmental disabilities. She was the founding board president of Brilliant Corners, which provides housing and services for special needs and low-income populations.

Jeff Schoppert is the former managing partner of the San Rafael law firm Keegin
Harrison Schoppert Smith & Karner LLP, where he represented Marin Housing Authority in the administration of the Below Market Rate Homeownership Program for more than twenty years.
He served as chair of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, chaired the Chamber’s workforce housing committee and is a former San Rafael Planning Commissioner. Since his retirement,
Jeff has volunteered regularly with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and currently serves on the Food Bank’s board of directors. Jeff received his B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from the University of
California at Santa Barbara and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Samina Saude serves as the chair of the San Rafael Planning Commission , the chair of the San Rafael City Schools Bond Oversight Committee, and on the Sun Valley Elementary PTO Executive Board. She recently started her own design practice after almost 20 years of working for nationally recognized Architecture & Urban Planning firms, and as a Design Director for major companies in the Bay Area.She holds a degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Christopher Barrios is a Housing Crisis Specialist with a strong background in data analytics. He holds a Bachelor’s in Business with a concentration in Finance and International Business and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Analytics.

As a first-generation college graduate from Marin, Christopher understands the local housing challenges firsthand. His passion for addressing the housing crisis is driven by his personal experiences and his expertise in data-driven solutions. Christopher also brings leadership and teamwork skills from his five years playing college soccer at Dominican University. He is dedicated to creating impactful solutions to housing instability and giving back to his community.

Joanne Webster joined the North Bay Leadership Council as President/CEO in November 2023. Formerly,  Joanne served as President/CEO of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce for nearly 10 years. She was the Executive Director for the San Rafael Business Improvement District and owned two Double Rainbow Café franchises for nearly 30 years. She has been recognized by her community, winning Marin’s Small Business of the Year and Spirit of Marin Awards in 1998 and 2008, as well as North Bay’s Best Business Community Leader Award in 2021.  Joanne currently serves on the R.E.A.L Coalition and its Education & Workforce Development Committee, Housing Crisis Action Marin Steering Committee, California Stewardship Network Partner,  Healthy Marin Partnerships, Marin’s School to Career Partnership, Keep Marin Working Vice Chair, and Sonoma Business and Agricultural Consortium.  Her specialties include business advocacy, leadership connection, and building coalitions.

Larry Kennings is an environmental planning consultant with 52 years of experience, 45 of which have been in Marin County.  He received a Master’s Degree in City Planning from Harvard University’s Graduate School of design.  He is currently serving Marin County as a sworn member of the Parks and Open Space Commission.  He was a Founding Director of the International Association of Public Participation.  Larry also was a Founding Director and President of the Alumni Association for the University of California’s College of Environmental Design.  

Cecilia Zamora is the Executive Director of the Latino Council and President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Marin. Cecilia served on the Marin Women’s Commission for 21 years, retiring in 2017. She is a Fellow of the Women’s Policy Institute of the California Women’s Foundation and a graduate of HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality)
Leadership Institute. She has been the Chair of the San Rafael Leadership Institute, a program of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, since 1998. Cecilia has received many recognitions for her leadership and is featured in the book “100 Faces of Marin”. She was named “Servant Leader of the Community” by Rep. Jared Huffman, and “Northern California Woman of the Year” by State Senator Mike McGuire. Cecilia was recently inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame – Class of 2020. 

Kiana joined Housing Crisis Action as a part-time staff in 2024. Kiana is passionate about supporting her community and leveraging her leadership skills to empower others and ensure access to essential resources. She earned her B.A. in Business Administration and Graphic Design from Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Playing college soccer for 5 years shaped her to be organized, resilient, and have effective communication. She is on her way to earning her Masters in Business.