Board of Directors
Jill Ratner, President
Program Director & Co-Founder
Ms. Ratner is an attorney specializing in environmental and financial law. She serves as the President, General Counsel, and Program Director of the Rose Foundation and directs the New Voices Are Rising Project. Before co-founding the Foundation in 1992, Ms. Ratner organized a multi-cultural recycling advocacy coalition in the Los Angeles area, effectively moving the City of Los Angeles to implement a curbside recycling program, and previously was an associate at the Los Angeles law firm Irell & Manella. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Foundation Partnership for Corporate Responsibility, and the California Coalition for Investor Responsibility. Former appointments include the Los Angeles City Environmental Quality Commission, LA City Solid Waste Advisory Board, and the Boards of Communities for a Better Environment and Californians Against Waste.
Kevin Hendrick, Vice President
Director, Del Norte County
Solid Waste Management Authority
Mr. Hendrick is founder and president of the Democratic Club of Del Norte County and treasurer of the Redwood Economic Development Institute. He was formerly the Wisconsin director for Citizens for a Better Environment in Wisconsin.
Ina Bendich
Excel Academy at McClymonds Learning Complex
Ms. Bendich is the Director of the Law and Government Program at Excel Academy, a public college preparatory school located in West Oakland at the McClymonds Learning Complex. As Academy Director, she is constantly on the lookout for opportunities for her students to learn about the world beyond their neighborhoods and take on leadership roles at school and in the community. Before leaving the private sector in 2001, Ms. Bendich worked to mentor young people through the Back On Track Tutorial program. She is a graduate of the New College School of Law.
Michelle Chan, Treasurer
Friends of the Earth
Ms. Chan coordinates the Friends of the Earth's "Green Investments" Project, which brings environmental advocacy to Wall Street by promoting fuller and more accurate corporate environmental disclosure and working with financial institutions to develop environmental policies and procedures. She serves as the chair for the Corporate Sunshine Working Group and is on the board of the Council for Responsible Public Investment.
Ellen Hauskens
Partner, Iarussi, Gelhaus & Hauskens, CPA
Ms. Hauskens is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She has acted as a Special Master to help run a variety of family businesses during dissolution proceedings, and is recognized as an expert witness in her field by the Superior Courts of both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
Kathryn Knight, Secretary
Major Gifts Officer, Earthjustice
Ms. Knight is a nonprofit fundraising professional who has spent the past twenty plus years raising money for groups across a broad swath of the environmental movement. In addition to her work for Earthjustice, she has worked with Earth Island Institute, Communities for a Better Environment, Californians Against Waste and others.
David Michelfelder
Labor Representative, California Nurses Association
Mr. Michelfelder has been a labor representative for unions representing California's health care, service workers, and public sector employees for over 20 years.
Sam Schuchat
California Coastal Conservancy, Executive Officer
Mr. Schuchat is the Executive Officer of the California Coastal Conservancy, a state agency that works in partnership with local governments, public agencies, nonprofits and private landowners to protect, restore and enhance coastal resources and to provide public access to the shore. He has an extensive background in fundraising and management of not-for-profit organizations, including serving as executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters.
Cindy Tsai Schultz
Ms. Tsai has been working in public health and social justice for the last 20 years. Most recently, Ms Tsai worked as the project coordinator at Organic Exchange where she worked to expand rural economic opportunities, develop sustainable agricultural practices, reduce rural poverty, and protect the environment in India. She was the associate director of Community Health Works where she developed college curriculum on health disparities, used films and documentaries to examine inequalities in health, and helped develop a pediatric asthma program. She was co-founder of the Chicago Women's AIDS Project in the early 1990's.
