BOARD OF DIRECTORS Fiscal Year 2023-2024

The Board of Directors is the governing body of the California Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. Each individual is a voting member with the authority and responsibility to establish vision and direction, develop policies and procedures, ensure adequate funding, and monitor California CASA’s activities that benefit the network of 44 local programs statewide. Board members represent many regions of California, and are elected for 3-year terms up to a maximum of three terms. The fiscal year begins on July 1. There are currently 17 members on the Board.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Michelle Griffin, Chair; Sarah Delaney Rosendahl, Vice Chair; Howard Slayen, Treasurer; Allyson Pfeifer, Secretary; Kevin Gardner, Past Chair

KATY CARLSEN, MD, FAAP had spent the better part of a decade in her full time pediatric practice at Kaiser Permanente when she realized that she wanted to do more to help children on a broader scale, particularly foster children. Her quest prompted her to become a medical consultant for California Children’s Services in Placer County. She has served as a board member and past President of the Ticket to Dream Foundation, a nonprofit benefiting foster children. Since 2000, Katy has taught and supervised residents in the UC Davis pediatric continuity clinic. In addition to her medical work, Katy has served on boards including Sierra Forever Families in the Sacramento region and Child Advocates of Placer County. Katy’s passion for improving the health care coordination of foster children has guided her to work as co-chair of the Foster Care Committee for the California Chapter 1 of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She received her M.D. from the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, and did her residency in pediatrics at the University of California, Davis.  She resides in Granite Bay.

JUNE COLLISON is President of Dignity Health-Community Hospital of San Bernardino, a 343-bed nonprofit acute care hospital whose mission is rooted in building a healthier community and serving the needs of the diverse Inland Empire population. June has a long-standing interest in the needs of abused, neglected children, which led her to join the California CASA Board. A seasoned senior executive with more than 25 years’ experience, she attended Adelphi University, where she earned an MBA in Corporate Investment/Finance. She was born in Guyana, South America, and came to the U.S. to attend college. Before that, as June Griffith, she was an internationally-ranked sprinter and track-and-field contender representing Guyana in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. June has received many honors and awards, including Pasadena’s Woman of the Year; is former chair of the California State Athletic Commission; and has worked with Brothers and Sisters in Action in Rialto, CA, among other nonprofits. She resides in Rancho Cucamonga.

RENÉE ESPINOZA is Director of Program Strategy at the Metta Fund, where she guides all aspects of grant making and programmatic investments, learning and evaluation efforts, and partnerships. With over 25 years’ experience leading and developing community-based nonprofits with an emphasis on strategic planning, program development, and volunteer engagement, Renée brings broad, strategic experience as well as a passion for community and social justice. She comes to Metta Fund from the San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates (SFCASA), where she served as Executive Director for seven years.  Under her leadership, San Francisco CASA increased by 40% the total number of foster youth served, launched new programing, and built a strong base of support by tripling annual revenue. Prior to her tenure there, she served as the Interim Executive Director of the San Francisco Education Fund and Executive Director of SFPAL. Renée holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at San Diego.  She resides in San Francisco. 

KEVIN GARDNER (PAST CHAIR) is a marketing consultant in Silicon Valley who has worked for more than 30 years in product marketing and communications in the areas of semiconductors, networking, and decision support software. A past president of the California CASA Board of Directors and member of the Board since 2004, Kevin has also served on the Board of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County’s CASA program. In 2005, he won a National CASA award for Excellence as a Board Member. He also chaired the advisory Board of the Outlet Program in Mountain View, which provides support for LGBTQ+ youth. He started his affiliation with CASA in 1996 when he became a volunteer advocate for two teenagers, 15 and 17. Kevin worked with these young men until they emancipated from the foster care system, and has remained a passionate advocate for the needs of children and youth in foster care, and the cause of Court Appointed Special Advocates. He received his B.S. in Mathematics from Fairfield University, and resides in Palo Alto.

MICHELLE GRIFFIN (CHAIR), who serves as a CASA volunteer for a Bay Area youth, is a strategy consultant with nearly 25 years’ experience with her independent firm, Griffin Consulting. Michelle is a Director Emeritus of JDRF International, the International Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and currently serves as a member of their Audit Committee; since 2012, she has been a Board Member of the JDRF Northern California Chapter, chairing the Nominating & Board Development and Leadership Giving committees. She served as Senior Vice President/Competitive Strategy with the global advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding, and prior to that was responsible for marketing and strategic planning for a Fortune 500 company. She has advised numerous early-stage ventures and nonprofit organizations. For 6 years, she was an audit manager at Deloitte. Michelle received a BS in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA from the Harvard University Business School.  She resides in Mill Valley, California.

WENDE JULIEN, JD, is Executive Director of the Probation Oversight Commission at Los Angeles County, a civilian body created to steer the county agency through a series of sweeping reforms. Wende is former CEO of CASA of Los Angeles, the county that has the largest number of foster children in the nation. Prior to that position, which she held from 2016 to 2021, she was Executive Director of the California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ) where she oversaw education and conflict resolution programs that served over 7,000 people per year. An attorney, Wende previously practiced law at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in the Government and Land Use division and was a law clerk with Public Counsel, focusing on immigrants’ rights for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. She holds a J.D. from the USC Gould School of Law, an MPA and Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Arizona State University, and a BA/BS from the University of Arizona. Fluent in Spanish, Wende is also a certified mediator and is herself a foster, adoptive, and biological parent. She resides in Redondo Beach.

MARIE KENNEDY is a health care executive who leads transformative communications strategies. She brings to the executive suite and boardroom 20-plus years of being in the C-suite building and positioning early-stage and public companies and advising senior executives on engaging employees, meeting financial communications requirements, and managing key stakeholder relationships. Marie is on the nonprofit board of CHAVA, creating healthier futures for women and girls in Latin America through an app-based women-driven model of development and care. She has been on the CA CASA board since 2019 and prior to that served on the board of National CASA. Marie is extremely passionate about the work of the CASAs across the state. She has been a member of CA CASA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force since August 2020. Marie earned a B.A. in Public Relations from San Jose State University. She has lived throughout California and the Asia-Pacific region and resides in Sacramento, California. 

GEORGE LAI served as Director of Information Technology at eBioscience, Inc., a biotechnology company in San Diego, California. As President of the Lily Lai Foundation, he oversees the charitable mission to support welfare of disadvantaged children, cancer research, education, nutrition for children, libraries, and empowerment of abused women. He serves on the Board of Voices for Children, the CASA program serving San Diego and Riverside Counties, and is a past Board member of the San Diego Public Library Foundation.  Through the Lily Lai Foundation, he has supported many important organizations in Southern California, including the Oceans Discovery Institute, the Monarch School for homeless youth, and cancer research at UCSD. Dr. Lai earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of California at Irvine.  He resides in San Diego.

ALLYSON PFEIFER (SECRETARY) joined DoubleLine Capital at its inception in 2009, where she began managing the Investor Services team in 2014 and currently holds the position of Associate Director of Investor Services. She specializes in client on-boarding as well as institutional account and client service. Prior to DoubleLine, Allyson was a Vice President in the Mortgage-Backed Securities Group at Trust Company of the West, where she chaired a Sustainability Team to reduce the carbon footprint of the firm and coordinated regular volunteer opportunities for community engagement. For 6 years, Allyson was a member of the Board of CASA of Los Angeles, sitting on both the Gala and Marketing Committees. She chaired the “Evening to Foster Dreams” gala for CASA of Los Angeles (2018 and 2019), and was Auction Chair (2016 and 2017). She is now herself serving as a CASA for a youth in foster care in Los Angeles. Allyson holds a BA in Mathematics-Economics (2005) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2004, she attended Lund University, a selective education abroad program for students from across the University of California system; there, she studied Critical World Issues. She resides in Los Angeles.

SARAH DELANEY ROSENDAHL (VICE CHAIR) has expertise in public policy, legislative affairs, and government relations, and a long-standing interest in foster care and the CASA movement. An independent consultant (Rosendahl Consulting, 2017 to present), Sarah is a public policy expert who has focused on the challenge of housing affordability in San Mateo County and partnering with local government and nonprofit agencies to improve community services. She was Chief Legislative Aide for San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley (2011-2017) and Senior Field Representative for former California State Senator Joe Simitian (2004-2008). Sarah served as a Board member of CASA of San Mateo County from 2007 to 2013; from 2005 to 2012, she was a member and served as Chair of the County’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission. Sarah also chaired the State Public Affairs Committee for the Junior Leagues of California; and from 2000-2001, was President of the Junior League of Palo Alto/Mid-Peninsula. Sarah received her master’s degree in Public Policy from Mills College, and her A.B. in History from the University of California, Davis. She resides in Atherton.

GEORGE SAPP retired as Senior Vice President for U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, where he was responsible for new business development for all U.S. Bancorp Fund Services business lines. He joined U.S. Bancorp Fund Services in 1994 with more than ten years of experience in the mutual fund industry. His experience includes financial consulting for DeanWitter; management positions with Equico Securities, a subsidiary of Equitable Life, where he trained and supervised more than 200 financial consultants regarding investments products; and VP of Operations and Portfolio Manager of an “all cap” growth mutual fund at CMC Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser. In 1992, Mr. Sapp organized and operated his own investment advisory and broker/dealer firm. He is a former Board member of CASA of Los Angeles and the LeRoy Haynes Center Programs for the Development of Children in La Verne. Mr. Sapp quoted Nelson Mandela when asked about the impact of CASA/LA on a community and cultural level. “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” He resides in Los Angeles.

HEIDI DAVIS-SPARGO has been an independent consultant to small and mid-size organizations for more than two decades, helping them develop training programs and facilitating the implementation of appropriate change management initiatives and strategies to align with their organizational goals. Prior to that, she held various positions with Allevity Employer Solutions where she designed and delivered management and HR training and oversaw recruitment efforts for client organizations. Heidi is a passionate non-profit board member with volunteer experience spanning more than 25 years throughout Placer County. Previous volunteer roles include the Eureka Union School District, the Granite Bay High School Site Council and the National Charity League of Granite Bay, where she served in various board positions. Heidi was Founder and President of Boys Team Charity of Granite Bay, then served at the national level as President of Boys Team Charity Inc. She currently volunteers as a Case Supervisor for CASA of Placer County where she ensures children and youth involved in the foster care system have a voice and receive the services they need for healthy and stable futures. Heidi earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Science in Organization Development and Human Resources from the University of San Francisco. Heidi resides in Granite Bay.

HOWARD SLAYEN (TREASURER), an experienced corporate director for public, private, and nonprofit entities, brings financial acumen and nonprofit expertise to the California CASA Board, as well as experience as a CASA (2004-2014) and Board Member and Treasurer of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley (2006 to 2020). Howard is an expert in board governance, financial matters, and business strategy.  For more than 30 years, he was a tax and financial advisory partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Coopers & Lybrand. He was licensed in California as both an attorney and CPA. In addition to his current service and involvement with California CASA, Howard served on the Boards of Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco, Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma Counties (2007-2008); the Central Asia Institute (2006 – 2018) and was an Advisory Board member and Finance Committee member (2013-2016). He received his B.A. in Economics & Accounting from Claremont McKenna College (1968) and his J.D. from Berkeley Law (1971). He resides in Atherton.

CONOR TANIGUCHI is a Managing Director at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, responsible for institutional client coverage and securitized products marketing in the Western Region. Conor has more than 20 years’ experience in client relationship management, working with both issuers and investors in the capital markets across a range of sectors and industries. Conor previously worked as a Managing Director at Bank of America in Los Angeles. Prior to this, Conor was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co, in San Francisco and New York. Conor is deeply passionate about California CASA’s mission to help children and youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. He is a past board member of Up2Us and America SCORES, two organizations focused on building opportunities for disadvantaged youth. Conor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics & History from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and resides in Los Angeles.

PATRICIA YAMAMOTO TRENDACOSTA, J.D., is counsel and former Managing Shareholder at Frandzel Robins Bloom & Csato, L.C. in Los Angeles, specializing in financial services and real estate finance and transactions. Prior to joining the firm, Patricia was VP & Manager of Government Relations and Compliance for a major multinational bank where she was responsible for the bank’s regulatory, legislative, compliance, governmental, and political activities. Patricia actively participates in the banking community holding Board positions in trade and banking organizations, chairing audit, and strategic planning committees, and serving on lending and compensation committees. Patricia is committed to providing opportunities for children and youth to thrive as demonstrated by her service as the Board Chair for CASA of Los Angeles before joining the Board of Directors for California CASA. Patricia holds a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School, and she resides in Los Angeles.

TYRONE RODERICK WILLIAMS, MCP, is the CEO of the Fresno Housing Authority, following his work as Deputy Executive Director of Development at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. He was recently appointed to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors. He is an industry leader in cross-sector collaborations, organizational management, affordable housing finance, real estate, and community development. He has spent the past 20+ years in Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Sacramento, and Fresno leading comprehensive revitalization initiatives totaling over $1.5 billion. He is engaged in mentoring activities that open doors to academic advancement for at-risk students, and is the author of Igniting the Power to Succeed - Practical Performance Principles for Achieving Phenomenal Results. His community service includes the California Energy Commission/Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Group, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco/Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the Sacramento Unified Education Foundation, and the Board of Advisors for the Cybersecurity for Executives Program at California State University, Chico.  Tyrone received his master’s degree in City Planning from MIT and a B.A. in Architecture from Prairie View A&M University, Texas.  He resides in Fresno.

CLAY YOUNG is a retired senior partner from Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he served in both the Audit department and the Risk and Financial Advisory practice areas. He specialized in IT/Cyber internal controls, and he held a number of practice leadership and client leadership roles. He has published articles in the Wall Street Journal and the National Association of Corporate Directors on the topics of cybersecurity and internal audit innovation. He is a past board member of Junior Achievement and was an executive board member and Treasurer at Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT). He obtained his BA in Economics from UCLA and his MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business. He is a CPA (inactive) licensed in California. He resides in the Bay Area.