Sandra Nathan, PhD
President & CEO

With advanced degrees in education, public administration and sociology, Sandra brings nearly two decades of leadership experience in government and social services to the Foundation — and a life devoted to improving the lives of children and families.

Before joining the Foundation, she served as Deputy County Executive for Santa Clara County, overseeing annual spending of nearly a billion dollars for crime prevention, public safety and social services.

She early served as the Executive Director of the SF Department of Aging and Adult Services, as a Regional

Director for the American Association of Retired Persons, as a Deputy Regional Administrator for the Health Care Financing Administration and as a Director for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She also helped formulate national policy on human services issues for the Carter, Reagan and Bush Sr. White Houses.

Sandra holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Christian Education, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

She is a member of the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, and serves on the boards of the National Council on the Aging and the SEVA Foundation.
   

Jim Becker
Director of Development

Jim Becker attended Grinnell College for his BA and University of Minnesota for his MA, both degrees in Anthropology. Upon graduation from the University of Minnesota, he served as a senior program director for the Minneapolis YMCA; his work focused on helping children and youth bridge the cultural gaps between Native American and European cultures. He moved to California in 1990 to serve as the Executive Director of the new Delta Family YMCA in Oakley, CA.

In 1991, he joined Delta 2000, a community based arm of the United Way of the Bay Area and served as its Executive Director until 1996. While at Delta 2000, he led several community initiatives including the establishment of the Village Drive Resource Center and the conversion of the old Antioch Police Station into a vibrant community services station which took the name Rivertown Resource Center.

In 1996, he joined the Center for Human Development as its CEO, and led the organization to significant growth and national recognition for its work in community health services. He chaired the Contra Costa Tobacco Prevention Task Force which wrote the first county smoke free work place ordinances in the United States. He led the Family Preservation and Support Collaborative in North Richmond, which resulted in successful integration of county and nonprofit services. At the request of Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, he served on a children’s services panel with First Lady Hilary Clinton, and also served on the State Advisory Board for Child Development and Home Instruction with California First Lady Sharon Davis.

His experience in North Richmond brought to clear focus the need for community revitalization that included not only services, but housing, employment, and infrastructure. Thus he joined Housing California, the State Association for Housing and Homeless Services, to serve as its Executive Director in 2001. After several years, the desire to work closer to home, and to truly engage community members in neighborhood transformation brought him the Richmond Children’s Foundation.

Jim Becker is married and lives in Antioch with his wife and four daughters.
 

Board Members
           Eric Zell, Chair
           McKinley Williams, Vice Chair
           Nicole Taylor, Secretary
           John Chapman, Director
           Michael Howe, Director
           Patricia Jones, Director
           Maris Myerson, Director
           Berah McSwain, Director
           Karen Stevenson, Director

Founding Board Members
            David Rosenthal, Founding President
            Debra Belaga
            Bart Jackson
            The Honorable Pat Herron
            Rick Norris
            Tom Schrag