Edgewood Board of Directors

Jim Illig has had a 50-year career in San Francisco’s nonprofit health and social services, from frontline clinician to executive, advocate to commissioner, and grant seeker to grant maker. Jim’s most recent contributions include managing community health strategies and investments for Kaiser Permanente, and government relations for Project Open Hand. He was executive director for two pioneer organizations treating people disabled by mental illness, substance abuse and AIDS, served two terms and as President of the SF Health Commission, and chaired nonprofit boards for St. Mary’s Medical Center, the IHSS Public Authority, and La Casa de las Madres. He currently serves on the Board of Curry Senior Center in the Tenderloin.

As executive director of Baker Places residential treatment in the 80’s, Jim worked with Edgewood to transition aged-out clients to the community mental health system, and later in coalitions of nonprofit service providers that formed the SF Human Services Network.

Jim lives in Bernal Heights with his partner of 38 years and their rescued German Shepherd. He still officiates for weddings at City Hall as a volunteer Deputy Marriage Commissioner, and the County Clerk has estimated that over 32 years, he has joined over 13,000 couples in matrimony! 

Professionally, Alda was the head of Technology and G&A finance at Uber for the past three years. She has spent the past twenty-five years in finance across techonology companies. Prior to joining Uber, she led the FP&A (financial planning and analysis) function at Bumble as they transitioned from a private to public company. Prior to that, she spent 5 years at Twitter where she led the Corporate FP&A and Data Analytics teams. Before Twitter, she headed Global FP&A at OpenTable and performed a number of similar roles at Maxim Integrated, Electronic Arts and Avago/Agilent focused primarily on growing FP&A functions to better support the business, provide strategic support, automate systems and create scalability. 

Alda has served on the finance committee at Edgewood for the past four years, recently taking on the role of chair, using her financial acumen from her professional career to help steer Edgewood toward better financial decisions.

Alda is born and raised in SF, growing up only blocks away from Edgewood’s Ulloa street campus. One of her first jobs was working with a nonprofit that served delinquent children in San Francisco’s judicial system so she continued to feel passion toward helping children in the city thrive. Mother of two children, also growing up in San Francisco, she wants to ensure there are resources for parents and children who need mental support. 

Britt Eason has held various roles in product management, engineering, and product marketing at LinkedIn, Meta, J.P. Morgan Chase, and various startups. She has launched software products in the fintech, e-commerce, educational technology, and mobile app industries. Most recently, Britt worked as a Principal Product Manager at Intuit creating delightful customer shopping experiences. She is an angel investor in technology startups and a real estate investor. She is also an advisor to seed stage startups and non-profit organizations. In addition to her professional career, she is also an advocate of STEM education for the students.

Britt taught high school girls to code and create startups through the Technovation Challenge program and conducted research on the use of technology to successfully mentor at-risk youth through Harvard University’s School of Education. She mentors college students and professionals seeking careers in software engineering and product management. She has dedicated many years of service to the youth community. Her background as a tutor, mentor, technologist, and scholarship founder allows her to uplift children’s well being and increase their opportunities to be productive contributors to our society.

Britt holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems & Decision Sciences (Statistics) from Louisiana State University, a Master’s in Technology, Innovation, and Education from Harvard University, and a Master of Business Administration from UC Berkeley. She loves to travel to historic sites, attend studio fitness classes, and eat small batch, handmade ice cream.

Bailey Flynn is a freelance publicist with over 15 years of experience in public relations and special events, specializing in the tech and retail industries. She currently supports smaller clients as a social media and marketing manager, helping them build brand awareness and drive engagement.

Bailey joined the Edgewood board after five years of dedicated service on the Edgewood Auxiliary—a volunteer organization focused on raising critical funds and awareness for Edgewood’s mission. During her time with the Auxiliary, she held leadership roles including Vice President of Fundraising and President. Prior to that, she served as Vice President of Fundraising for UCSF Partners in Care, where she supported patient services at UCSF’s Mt. Zion and Parnassus campuses.

As a wife and mother raising children in San Francisco, Bailey is passionate about strong community resources and believes they are a vital part of the city she loves. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, golfing, and traveling with her family.

Catrina Griffin was a resident of Edgewood in the early 1990’s and aged out of the foster care system at 18. Since then, Catrina has gone on to become an attorney with over a decade of legal experience in private practice in a wide variety of legal fields including civil litigation, juvenile dependency and delinquency, criminal defense, family law, landlord tenant, contract management and estate planning. 

Catrina possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Paralegal Studies, a Juris Doctor and a Master’s of Law in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. Catrina is a lifelong learner, avid gardener, and crafter

Pamela has worked in business consulting/sales and marketing across multiple sectors for several decades, and has a strong passion for philanthropy and giving back to her community and causes that inspire her. She has worked closely with a variety of non-profits and schools across the Bay Area. Pamela was introduced to Edgewood through the Auxiliary, where she has volunteered for the past eight years, serving as Co-President for two of those years. She now joins the Board as the Chair of the Advancement Committee. She has a long history of supporting children and youth, and is especially dedicated to mental health. 

Pamela holds degrees in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis on Child Development, and Communication Theory from the University of Southern California. Originally hailing from SoCal, she has called San Francisco home for the past twenty years. She and her husband have two children and a 100 lbs Labrador that thinks he’s human.

Born in Oceanside, California, Carrie is the daughter of two fearless Marines, who instilled in her a deep appreciation for diverse ways of life. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Classics and a Master’s degree in International Law (with an emphasis in Human Rights) from the American University in Cairo.

Carrie piloted Refugee Wellness Programs for unaccompanied asylum-seeking teens in Egypt and dedicated over 3,000 hours to establishing youth activities in East Oakland, California. Alongside serving on Edgewood’s Board of Directors, Carrie participates in the annual Edgewood Fair, and spear-headed the inception of the Edgewood Open tennis fundraiser.

As Operations Manager at the Bar Association of San Francisco, Carrie coordinates the Court Appointments Department which guarantees that families and individuals are afforded their constitutional right to counsel. During her free time, she volunteers at the juvenile justice center, quilts, holds an Amateur Radio license (KO6ITV), and competes internationally in Scottish Highland Athletics (imagine kilted folks throwing stones and telephone poles). She maintains intermediate proficiency in Spanish, Arabic, Italian and Modern Greek. Carrie loves Chihuahuas and endeavors to one day open a senior small dog sanctuary.

Meredith is the People Strategy Director at Altos Labs, where she leads global people programs that support the company’s mission to restore cell health and resilience. She is also a certified leadership and life coach, passionate about helping individuals unlock their potential and live with purpose.

Prior to her work in HR, Meredith spent over a decade supporting children and families as a school psychologist and special education leader. She delivered psychoeducational assessments, facilitated social-emotional learning, and partnered with families to advocate for inclusive, supportive school environments.  Her connection to Edgewood began through volunteer service with the Edgewood Auxiliary, deepening her commitment to youth mental health. Joining the board allows her to further support Edgewood’s mission and expand access to critical services for Bay Area families.

She holds a Master’s in Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College and dual undergraduate degrees in Cognitive Psychology and Child Development from Vanderbilt University. In her free time, Meredith enjoys exploring San Francisco’s culinary scene with her husband and spending time with their family and friends.

Alicia most recently served as Vice President, Operations at All Raise, a nonprofit focused on accelerating the success of female founders and venture capitalists to build a more prosperous, equitable tech ecosystem, overseeing operations and nonprofit compliance functions, including accounting, HR, and its board of directors. Before All Raise, she spent four years at Square as the company’s first Diversity and Inclusion Lead and CEO Jack Dorsey’s Chief of Staff. 

Alicia earned a Master of Nonprofit Administration at the University of San Francisco and holds a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis in Global Peace and Security from UC Santa Barbara. She is currently Chair of the board of directors of Edgewood Center for Children and Families In addition, she recently completed Trauma Informed Systems of Care Training.

Alicia was first introduced to Edgewood as a volunteer advocate with SFCASA. The incredible level of care that she witnessed from the staff each week led her to dedicate her time and passion to supporting Edgewood’s mission on its board of directors, as well as focusing her graduate work on transitional age youth and the services Edgewood provides to support children aging out of the foster care system.  

Lori Menachof had a long career as a corporate attorney in San Francisco, retiring several years ago as general counsel of Fremont Realty Capital, the real estate private equity arm of Fremont Group. She first became involved with Edgewood through a corporate volunteer project many years ago, and then again in connection with her volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for a child in foster care through the SFCASA program. She has participated in a number of volunteer projects and events for various organizations through the years.

Lori earned her JD from University of California Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and holds a BA in History from UC Berkeley. She joined the Edgewood Board because of her long-standing commitment to children and their families, and to address the widening need for quality mental health services post-COVID. She brings to the Board her investment and legal experience and her knowledge and perspective on foster care, mental health, and the education and legal systems.

Kristin has a background in healthcare strategy & operations consulting and has worked with many of the largest hospitals and healthcare organizations in the country to improve patient care and clinical outcomes. She also worked as part of Deloitte’s Client Experience team designing and facilitating custom client experience workshops for executives and teams focused on strategy, alignment and navigating transitions.

Kristin earned a Masters of Business Administration at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and holds a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Kristin was introduced to Edgewood through the Auxiliary, where she has volunteered for the past eight years, serving as Fair Chair for one year and Co-President for two years. She is passionate about helping children, in particular supporting children’s mental and physical health. Kristin lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children.

Joanne Poile is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of leadership experience in the investment management industry, with a strong focus on finance, operations, and risk management. She most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Passport Capital, a San Francisco-based SEC-registered investment advisor, where she oversaw all aspects of back-office operations including legal, compliance, human resources, accounting, investor relations, and trading. During her 20-year tenure, she helped guide the firm through significant growth—from $300 million to $5 billion in assets under management.

Prior to her role at Passport Capital, Joanne held senior positions at Allianz Hedge Fund Partners and Citibank’s Hedge Fund Group, where she led risk management and investment due diligence. She began her career as an Audit Manager at Coopers & Lybrand in both Toronto and San Francisco, specializing in financial institutions and investment companies.

Joanne holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honors from Queen’s University in Canada and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She is also a Chartered Accountant and a former Certified Public Accountant.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Joanne has a longstanding commitment to philanthropy and community service. She has served on the board of Hedge Fund Cares (HFC), an organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, and is currently Treasurer and a Board Member of the Passport Foundation.

Joanne brings to Edgewood deep financial expertise, strategic leadership, and a passion for supporting children and families.

Jennifer began her career in Investment Management, serving in portfolio and client relationship roles at Makena Capital and Guggenheim Partners. Jennifer most recently served as an Executive Search and Talent Advisor at Hudson Gate Partners. Jennifer graduated from Brown University with a BA in Psychology. 

 As a mother of three boys, Jennifer has first-hand experience with the difficulties of identifying and securing outstanding mental health for children. Jennifer was introduced to Edgewood through an educational event and was amazed by the number of programs the organization offers and the ability to provide equitable access to incredible care for all children. 

 Jennifer has become passionate about advocating for neurodiverse youth and co-heads a Neurodiversity Resource and Support Group for parents in her community.  

Galen is a San Francisco native, and many years ago he attended a Montessori school located on Edgewood’s campus. He feels that joining the Edgewood board is an opportunity to give back to the community and provide service to an outstanding organization that supports those with mental and emotional health challenges. 

Galen graduated from Columbia University and Santa Clara University School of Law. He is Associate General Counsel at Delta Dental of California. He looks forward to utilizing his professional experience to support the Board and serve Edgewood.

Dewey is a recently retired pediatrician after practicing for 36 years at Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco.  He was Chief of Pediatrics for over 20 years in San Francisco and had the opportunity to lead the Northern California Kaiser Permanente group of 500+ multispecialty pediatricians during his tenure.

Dewey has referred several of his patients to Edgewood for services and in each instance, his patients/families received outstanding clinical care. Dewey is passionate to lend his clinical expertise as a board member to continue the excellence and care that Edgewood provides to San Francisco/ San Mateo children . 

Dewey is a native San Franciscan and enjoys family time with his wife, two sons, and his daughter-in-law-to-be!  He is cla inical Professor of Pediatrics and continues to teach medical students at UCSF.