Officers:
Debra Amerson , President
Anne McClain , Vice President
Georgiana Hernandez, Treasurer
Barbara Brauer, Secretary

Click on Board member's names for bio's.
Members:
Don Holmlund
Dahlia Kamesar
Jerome Rubin
Frank Binney
Marian Cremin
Liza Crosse
Noel Bartholomew
Jim Griffiths
Jean Berensmeier, Founder

Debra Amerson is a visual artist & interior landscape specialist. She received her BA Humanities at New College of California and an MA Business from the California Institute Of Integral Studies (CIIS), participating in one of the nations first graduate-level academic programs in social entrepreneurship and socially responsible business management, emphasizing "new paradigm" management practices.

She founded Plantris, specializing in decorative arts & interior landscapes (1992-present), serving numerous commercial, business and private residential clients including numerous plant and art installations for Whole Foods Markets in California and Seattle. In 2002, Plantris became a Marin County Certified Green Business and joined the Architects, Designers & Planners for Social Responsibility. In the fall of 2003, she was nominated to be the art committee chairperson for the Organization For Women Architects & Design Professionals 30th Anniversary Retreat project to build a 52 labyrinth at Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma County. Debra earned a Permaculture Design Certification from Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC).

Anne McClain grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved the San Geronimo Valley in 1976 after graduating with honors from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree from their Fine Arts program. She was drawn to the Valley by its natural beauty and by the strong feeling of community. That feeling was exemplified by the little Spanish-style building right in the heart of the Valley dedicated to community and art, the Community Center. It had to be a good place to put down roots.

Currently, she wears many hats as mother, artist, building designer (primarily local residential remodeling projects) and along with her husband, Skag Dukkers, as an investment property owner and manager. She is also an active volunteer in the Open Classroom of the Lagunitas School District and has served on various Open Classroom and school district committees.

Previously she has worked as a designer, draftsperson and office manager for a local contractor; co-owned a high-end custom cabinetmaking business in Woodacre; designed and produced t-shirts sold at Toby’s Feed Barn and the Sausalito Ferry Company; was an apprentice carpenter for beloved Valley contractor, Harlan Floyd; worked for the statistical office of the Employment Development Department; was Program Director for a YWCA summer camp in Pennsylvania and backpacking trip leader for Girl Scout Camp Riamo also in Pennsylvania.

Georgiana has lived with her family—Paul, Emiliano and Camila—in the San Geronimo Valley since 1995. Georgiana is the executive director and founder of the Institute for Social and Environmental Justice Education (ISEJE), a nonprofit organization in Oakland that uses participatory planning and evaluation tools to advance the work of organizations with social change missions. Georgiana has spent most of her career in the nonprofit sector developing, managing and evaluating human service programs. She holds a Masters in Nonprofit Administration and a Doctorate in Organization and Leadership. She is a senior research fellow with the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at San Francisco State University. Georgiana has served on the boards of: Acción Latina; The Youth Law Center; the Women’s Foundation of California; the Mission Armory Foundation; LatinoNet; the Association for Community Based Education; and Friends of the Urban Forest. She served on the advisory board of The Rockefeller Foundation’s JOBS Initiative from 1999 through 2001.

Barbara Swift Brauer is a freelance writer and editor who has worked in Bay Area publishing since 1975, on books on every topic from cookbooks, fine art, and public policy, to family psychology, travel, and poetry.

Barbara and husband Laurence moved to San Geronimo in 1984 with young son Gordon and fledgling business Wordsworth, both of which soon thrived in the Valley community.

Barbara remembers back to Wordsworth’s early involvement with the Community Center, which had just been renamed the “Cultural Center.” In 2004, she and Larry were recruited for the editorial committee of the 2006 Resource Guide for the now re-renamed Community Center. It was so much fun, they have remained on the Communications Committee and now produce the Center’s quarterly newsletter, Stone Soup.

Psychology Professor at College of Marin (1964-2003). At various times at the College of Marin, Don served as Faculty Coordinator of the Behavioral Science Field Work Program; Faculty Advisor to Alpha Gamma Sigma, the California Community College Honor Society; Faculty advisor to Students for Social Responsibility; Behavioral Science Department Chair; Chair of Educators for Social Responsibility; and President of the Faculty Association. Don has lived in San Geronimo for 34 years, and can't imagine a better place to live, raise children, and help build an even better community.

Certified Income Tax Preparer (1977-present); Personal Administrative Assistant (1984-2000); Secretary and Board member of MAITRI Residence for People Living with AIDS (1994-1999); Former Board Member and founding member of OR SHALOM Jewish Community; Secretary and Board Member Gan Halev Jewish Community (2001-present); Dolphin Club Member(1982-present); Marin Environmental Forum 2001; San Francisco Zen Center (1973-present); Mother, writer, teacher, beekeeper, gardener, traveler, SF Bay swimmer. Woodacre resident since 1994.

Interpretive Media Consultant (1978-Present) - develops exhibits and text for museums and visitor centers; worked on projects for the Discovery Channel, the Exploratorium, the SF Bay Model, the Simon Wisenthal Museum of Tolerance, the Mount St. Helens National Monument, the California Museum of Science and Industry, and Disney's EPCOT Center, among others. Frank arrived in the Valley with his horse, mountain bike and hiking boots in 1992.

Currently President of the San Geronimo Valley Land Trust, Vice-President of the San Geronimo Valley Horseman's Association, Treasurer of the San Geronimo Valley Lions Club; former Chair of the San Geronimo Valley Planning Group; past publisher of Inside Earth, the Journal of North American Cave Exploration. Volunteers one day a week at the Point Reyes National Seashore, monitoring the health of the Park's tule elk herds from the back of a morgan horse. Woodacre resident.

Liza has lived in the San Geronimo Valley with her husband, Tim Crosse, since 1986.  They and their two sons are active in many facets of Valley life.  Liza is a member of the San Geronimo Community Presbyterian Church, and is engaged in salmon and watershed protection efforts through her membership in the San Geronimo Valley Planning Group and the Tomales Bay Watershed Council.  Currently Liza is part of a team that is designing and fundraising for the proposed San Geronimo Community Gym.  Liza has found fulfillment in her nine years working as an Administrative Aide to Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey.  Prior to 1997 she worked as a graduate program adminstrator at UCSF. Liza attended high school and college in Sydney, Australia.

Jim Griffiths has been a Valley resident for 21 years. He and his wife Muniera have been active in Valley cultural events: directing the Lagunitas School 8th grade play for two years as well as adults and children in productions sponsored by the old Community Alliance. They founded, produced and performed in The World of Tales, theater for young audiences, bringing a professional, multi-ethnic company of artists to schools throughout the Bay Area and California, performing myths legends and folktales from different cultures around the world.

Marian Cremin moved to Forest Knolls in the San Geronimo Valley from Hells Kitchen, in Manhattan in 2000 to join her now-husband, poet Albert Flynn DeSilver. She had always been an avid hiker and biker and was thrilled with the miles and miles of trails right in the back yard. Learning about the San Geronimo Valley Community Center, then called the Cultural Center was another wonderful part of moving here. Coming from NYC, where you often don’t even know your next door neighbor, to a place that has such a cohesive center open to all the valley’s residents was a great joy.

Marian has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 20 years and worked with many different populations. She began her career as a Mental Health Clinician at Rikers Island, New York City’s jail, and went on to coordinate programs throughout the five boroughs of NYC, mostly doing crisis work with families in their homes. Upon moving to the Valley, she opened a private therapy practice in San Anselmo, worked as a consultant to Marin County Community Mental Health and started a girls’ group through the Valley’s own Teen Center. She now directs Visiting Angels Senior Home Care, which she co-owns with her husband. Marian and Albert now live in Woodacre in a house they completed building in 2005.

Noel Bartholomew was born in Switzerland, raised in San Francisco, Berkeley, and moved to Woodacre in 1997. A certified Instructor in the Brazilian art form Capoeira and certified member of The Tracking Project's mentor network. Noel has taught Capoeira at Lagunitas School District, the San Geranimo Valley Community Center's after school program, Bolinas Summer Camp, Pt. Reyes Dance Palace Summer Camp, The Marin Youth Center (MYC), Making Waves Youth Empowerment Summit and Sprout Fest.
Noel was a lead coordinator for S.K.I.P., The Sprout Festival, and From The Ground Up youth events and festivals. Noel works at Peet’s Coffee and Tea, Café Gratitude, and is also a mentor for The Stepping Stones Project.

Professor of Physical Education at the College of San Mateo (1956 - 1993) coached fencing and founded programs in modern dance, massage, physical fitness and womens weight training; Founding member of the San Geronimo Valley Community Center - Board member (1969 - present), Editor of Stone Soup; Founding member of the San Geronimo Valley Planning Group - Steering Committee member (1981-1996), Chairperson of Community Plan Update 1996, Chairperson of Community Plan Amendment Committee 2003 - present; Marin County Parks & Community Commission (1977 -1996), Trails & Bikeways Committee Chairperson 1977 - 1996; Marin Conversation League Board of Directors (1979 - 2003), President 1990 - 1992; Marconi Conference Center State Historical Park, Board Member 1990 - 2002, President 1992 - 1995 and 1998 - 2002; Co-founding member of Wilderness Way - President 2001 - present; Lagunitas homeowner since 1963.

Please direct any inquiries for board members to admin@sgvcc.org
or
(415) 488-8888.