Our Staff
Nikki loves working at the Sparkpoint VITA Career Center and helping out her community. As a Career Center Assistant, she is an essential part of helping clients take the steps to get back into the job market. Sparkpoint’s Career Center specializes in employment matching services, job training, resume help, and interview preparation. Nikki is a mother of two beautiful girls and is glad to be a part of the RCF staff.
Jim Becker joined the Richmond Community Foundation in 2005, becoming its President and CEO in 2014. Mr. Becker served on the Berkeley Global Campus Community Working Group and currently co-chairs the Ensuring Opportunity Campaign to End Poverty in Contra Costa County.
Betty Geishirt Cantrell, MSSW, MBA has been SparkPoint Contra Costa Director since its opening in June 2011. With an original goal to serve 185 people in the first year, the center already served well over 700 people in providing integrated services to promote financial stability.
Loren Dalbert came to RCF Connects through his work for the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County as a Lived Experience Consultant in Homelessness and quickly became an integral part of the RCF Connects team. As a storyteller, possibility maker, and yes, now a program manager, Loren brings a unique perspective to Comment Studios (formerly Mobility LABs) initiative.
Leticia “Letty” Diaz, currently works at the Sparkpoint Vita Career Center as the Assistant Receptionist. She enjoys working with the local population and providing tax preparation and ITIN issuance to clients who speak Spanish. Letty has a great personality and we are happy to have her on the team!
Before taking on the Grant Manager position, Johanna was part of SparkPoint Contra Costa as a site manager for two years. Johanna’s knowledge of the inner workings of SparkPoint and RCF Connects combined with her experience with every level of grants management, makes Johanna particularly suited for great success as our Grants Manager. Under her meticulous leadership, our organization will expand, grow and flourish.
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Roxanne currently works with resident leaders, community-based organizations, base builders, and systems leaders to develop collective policy advocacy strategies to improve health, safety, school and neighborhood environments, and economic development opportunities. Prior to joining Healthy Richmond in 2013, Roxanne was a Public Health Program Manager for Contra Costa Health Services where she worked on environmental justice, alcohol policy, neighborhood improvements and violence prevention efforts across Contra Costa County.
Katrina is not new to RCF Connects, she was a key member and Design Team partner that helped establish the Equity for Black Women and Girls Initiative in Contra Costa County before joining us as our Administrative Associate in the main office. She now serves in our Human Resources division. Before coming to us Katrina worked for Contra Costa County Office Of Education, Berkeley Media Studies Group, and UC Berkeley.
SparkPoint Contra Costa, West
Regina Keels is the first person you will likely meet when you visit the SparkPoint Richmond office. She is the first helpful voice you will hear when you call. A key and vital part of the SparkPoint team and the general West County community, Regina is the person who will direct you through the many resources SparkPoint has to offer and you couldn’t be in better hands!
Theresa is our Tax Prep Manager, managing SparkPoint CC’s only year-round Free Tax Prep site for our county. She is the only person trusted by the IRS to be able to accept Individual Taxpayer Identification Number applications in Contra Costa and Solano Counties. Through Theresa’s efforts, SparkPoint CC Free Tax Prep site is now the only place in the County where Foreign Students and Staff can also file their taxes. Her essential work and effort have put nearly $1,000,000 back in the community just during this past tax season
Meghan previously served as a SparkPoint Contra Costa Site Manager for Contra Costa College and before that the Richmond Office (SPCC West). She comes to this position with a wealth of knowledge, valuable skillsets and great understanding and enthusiasm for the success of RCF Connects and its many initiatives and partners. During her four-year tenure with SparkPoint CC, Meghan has truly demonstrated the strengths and values we need in our organization to expand, grow and flourish.
Carlos previously served as Healthy Richmond’s Project Manager for Resident Leadership since 2019, where he supported recruiting, training and mobilizing residents in the Richmond community to lead campaigns for health access, education equity and economic justice to impact key systems in West Contra Costa. Prior to that, he held positions at Richmond-based organizations RYSE Youth Center and Urban Tilth, where he participated in activities to promote civic engagement with youth and adults.
As Senior Director, Restoring Neighborhoods for RCF Connects, Alvin’s primary areas of responsibility include spearheading our neighborhood restoration work. We do this by identifying and rehabilitating abandoned homes for the Richmond Housing Renovation Program. He will also oversee the strategic deployment of affordable and accessible transportation options within our communities. Alvin is excited about the new opportunity to work at RCF Connects because he understands the impact that homeownership (and the prosperity it represents) has upon families in the here and now, and for the generations that will follow.
Born in La Paz, Bolivia, Daniela, and her family moved to California in the late 80s and have been living here ever since. Before joining Spark Point, Daniela was the director/owner of a home daycare care center. Prior to that, she worked at Spark Point as a Senior Level Clerk and is very familiar with the services provided by the different organizations there.
As a long-time resident of the Richmond community, Gerardo Mendoza returns to the community after serving as a Site Coordinator/Peer Counselor within the community of Pittsburg. For the past three years, Gerardo has worked for a non-profit known as People Who Care (PWC) Children Association serving at-risk youth with the aim of helping the youth become productive citizens throughout their respective communities.
As a Richmond High School graduate and a Saint Mary’s College of California alumni, Gerardo is pleased to return to his hometown and aspires to help with the growth of the community aiming to create an environment fit for all.
Mariana Moore serves as Director of the Ensuring Opportunity Campaign to End Poverty in Contra Costa, a cross-sector initiative that engages local elected officials, social sector organizations, businesses, labor, local government, faith-based, academia, and the philanthropic sector in a collective effort to eliminate poverty in our community.
Noemi has over 20 years of customer service and administrative experience. Originally from South San Francisco, she and her family moved to Bay Point in 2018. She and her husband share a 15-year marriage and are parents to 2 boys, 14 and 12 years old. In her spare time, she likes baking and decorating sweet treats. She told us, “I like working with people and helping them in the best way possible. I believe that a little bit of kindness can go a long way.
AnDrea Neal was born and raised in Oakland, CA, and worked with Alameda County for 12 years. After overcoming many life-challenging obstacles, AnDrea realized her passion was to assist women and children who were less fortunate. She has volunteered at various Sober Loving homes as a Substance Abuse Counselor and Mentor. In 2012, AnDrea relocated to Antioch and later became a Community Leader with the Safe Return Project in Richmond.
Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Estela started her new life in the United States after getting married. She found her passion by volunteering in the community for almost 11 years after many changes in her life. Today, she enjoys being a mentor of a group of mothers of children with special needs and she continues her work to help the less fortunate in the community. We are so happy that she decided to utilize her skills in community outreach as a part of the Mobility LABs Team in Antioch, CA.
Iris Podschun dedicated their career to supporting social change work through collective impact and community-led projects. Iris grew up in Kansas and worked primarily in Washington, DC and Colorado before moving to California.
Taylor is excited about joining the RCF Connects Team as the Program Director for Equity for Black Women and Girls. As a young Black woman, Taylor is committed to empowering and uplifting Black women of all ages. She believes it is essential to learn from other Black women who have come before her. She looks forward to exchanging experiences, struggles, and obstacles to understand how to better the experiences of Black women in Contra Costa County for generations to come.
Kamela Stewart (she/her/ya’ll) was born and raised in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area. Her passion for working with youth and young adults led Kamela to provide services to current and former foster youth, trying to access sustainable housing. During her 15 years providing support, Kamela was introduced to Coaching as a way to deliver transformational services. After becoming a Certified Community Coach, Kamela then focused her energy on providing coaching, training and facilitation support. Her goal is to help others use their wisdom and knowledge to be and promote the best version of themselves. She continues to commemorate her role models (both her sisters who passed away from lupus), who taught her to never postpone Joy.
Rosalind is passionate about working within and improving her community, and comes to RCF with 20+ years of non-profit and 15 years of communications experience. She joined RCF in 2016 and quickly took over and expanded RCF’s digital presence and audience.
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Erica is originally from San Pablo and has a passion for Community Development in disadvantaged environments. Being first-generation, and coming from a predominantly low-income family, at a young age she was able to see the different levels of disparities her home, schools, and community were facing in comparison to other surrounding neighborhoods throughout the Bay Area. Seeing the disadvantages firsthand encouraged her to seek out volunteer programs and clubs that helped alleviate any form of suffering in low-income communities during her youth. Her career revolves around solving the social, political and economical disadvantages low-income communities face.