|
Saffron Strand is a non-profit membership organization with new solutions to help homeless persons in Contra Costa County find gainful employment and achieve economic independence.
Board of Directors
Advisory Committee
Professionals Who Helped Attorney Elizabeth Riles of Bohbot & Riles, LLP gave excellent council and support throughout Saffron Strand’s start up phase. She understood, appreciated, and respected our unique approach to the problems of the homeless. Elizabeth made our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt application very easy. Thank you so very much, Elizabeth, for all your help and support which went far beyond your professional services. Thank you for believing in our mission! |
Lea Hundley is the Chair of the Saffron Strand Board of Directors. She works at Seton Medical Center Foundation as an executive assistant and office manager. She has five years of experience at Seton providing direct support for the executive director and has expertise in planning large events and grant writing. Lea is adept at working with the Seton Board of Directors, CEOs, and other high-profile business executives and community leaders. Lea's abilities to organize and build community are outstanding. She joined Saffron Strand because she believes that everyone deserves a real opportunity to succeed. Lea's way of giving back to the community is to help create opportunities for homeless persons, enabling them to resume productive, independent lives.
Grace Shocron is Vice Chair of the Saffron Strand Board and the owner and manager of Panache The Spa, one of the most successful service and retail businesses in the "Gourmet Ghetto" of North Berkeley. Grace has an entrepreneurial background that includes more than 25 years in business in the Bay Area. She has extensive experience in vocational training and team-building for numerous salon operations. A native of the Philippines, Grace believes in the power of community, especially to help the less fortunate learn to help themselves. Those who benefit then can help others who are less fortunate, too. Saffron Strand's solutions to homelessness spring from this strategy.
Chysandra Nair is the Secretary of Saffron Strand, Inc. She works at the Richmond Police Department as a dispatcher. Prior to moving to California, Chi worked in Wisconsin as the statewide coordinator of the Minority Counselor Training Institute of the Wisconsin Association on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and as a laboratory technician in the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. In volunteer work, she has helped rebuild homes destroyed by a hurricane, cooked meals in a center for abused children, and helped the victims of vehicle collisions, heart attacks, and attempted suicides as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. Chi appreciates how Saffron Strand can help homeless persons use their time productively, improve their social and vocations skills, and interact in positive ways with their communities.
Priscilla Leadon, Dean of Economic Development, Contra Costa College (Photo and bio coming soon.)
Joe Escobedo is an entrepreneur and authority on personal image consulting for a cross-generational audience, with achievements throughout the Bay Area as a makeup artist and licensed cosmetologist. Joe has a diverse and devoted clientele at a busy nursing home salon franchise he owns and as a master hair stylist in an upscale Berkeley spa. He also delivers self-assurance and positive self-image on location, from weddings to hospital rooms, marketing through his website, www.theglambox.me. Local media have featured Joe for his work benefiting the indigent elderly. Also, he was a volunteer hair stylist at Saffron Strand's debut in providing personal care and wellness services at Project Homeless Connect 4 in Richmond. Joe knows he can help the homeless even more by applying his expertise and energy as a Saffron Strand board member. 
Katherine Lucero is an Honorary Board Member of Saffron Strand. She is a Superior Court judge of Santa Clara County who currently sits as supervising judge in Juvenile Dependency Court, overseeing hundreds of cases involving abused and neglected children. Her judicial experience includes the Superior Court Appellate Division, Juvenile Delinquency Court, Adult Criminal Court, Family Court, and Dependency Court. In 2002, Judge Lucero started a Family Treatment Court to assist parents with substance abuse problems. Before her judicial appointment by the governor in 2001, she had spent her entire legal career in the area of child abuse and neglect, including work as a deputy district attorney specializing in crimes against children and the elderly and as a Juvenile Dependency Superior Court commissioner. Judge Lucero has trained other judges and child welfare professionals at local, state, and national conferences on issues such as the impact of domestic violence on children, family drug courts, immigration issues in dependency court, and the disproportionate impact of the child welfare system on children of color. Judge Lucero sees potential in the Saffron Strand approach to improve the lives of children and their parents who are homeless. 
Yvonne Nair is the Founder, President, and CEO of Saffron Strand, Inc. As a non-profit executive director, Yvonne has led the successful growth and development of large and small organizations in public health and human services, including the Wisconsin Association on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, ARH Recovery Homes, and Contra Costa Clubhouses. Her expertise covers innovative workforce development programs and non-traditional vocational education and job training. She holds a B.S. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as certifications in small business, office software applications, and social services training institutes. Born and raised in Malaysia, Yvonne is a naturalized U.S. citizen with two adult children. She founded Saffron Strand to meet the critical need for new solutions to the problem of homelessness.
Sue Guy is the Director of Human Resources at Pacific National Bank and has more than 20 years of experience in employee relations, performance management, career counseling, and recruiting. Her employment background includes PricewaterhouseCoopers, Right Management Consultants, and nine years leading her own firm, Career Counseling Services. Sue holds an undergraduate degree in Social Work and a Master degree in Career Counseling from San Francisco State University. She has been active in community-based organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Julia Morgan School for Girls, Wardrobe for Opportunity, and the Registrars of Voters. Through Saffron Strand, Sue wants new ways for homeless persons to acquire the skills they need for gainful employment, economic independence, and permanent housing. 