Board of Directors
Bianca Alexander
Bianca Alexander is the CEO of Conscious Planet Media and the Executive Producer and Host of Conscious Living TVTM which is currently available to over 72 million mainstream viewers via its syndicated broadband network and over 300,000 viewers in Southern California on Time Warner Cable. As a consumer advocate, conscious living expert and TV personality, Bianca is quickly becoming a powerful voice in the popular movement toward eco-friendly living. She educates and informs consumers about practical ways to live healthier, more environmentally conscious lifestyles. Bianca practiced law for ten years before venturing full-time into the creative realm as a television producer. She has demonstrated her commitment to the community by serving on the boards of several other organizations, including the Valley Verde Sanctuary in Sedona, AZ and the D.C. Coalition for The Homeless. Bianca received her B.A. from Princeton University and her J.D. from the University of Virginia Law.
“GroundSpark is igniting powerful change in our world by teaching us all how to live harmoniously within our diverse communities. Through hands-on education in the schools and using the power of the media to communicate awareness, GroundSpark is leading the way towards creating a world that works for everyone no matter their race, religion or orientation. Now that’s something we can all get behind.”
Kathy Booth
Kathy Booth, currently a project management consultant, has ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Her past positions include directing CompassPoint Nonprofit Services management and technology training program, running the San Francisco chapter of Business Volunteers for the Arts, serving as a program officer at Partners for Livable Communities, and lobbying on international peace and justice issues on Capitol Hill. Kathy has produced dozens of events, facilitated community-planning processes, conducted organizational assessments, provided training on nonprofit structures, and written two books and a major research paper on the role of arts and culture in social change.
“The first time I watched GroundSpark’s films, I was struck by how articulate children can be in addressing issues that adults are often at a loss to explain. There are few forums where children have the opportunity to speak for themselves in this fashion. GroundSpark does an excellent job of narrating the stories of real people so that viewers are forced to rethink their understandings of the world.”
Ruth Borenstein
Ruth Borenstein is a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. She is engaged in a complex civil litigation practice at both the trial and appellate levels in courts throughout the country. Ruth has served on the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco, which has honored her as a Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Her pro bono work has included co-authoring an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the American Bar Association in Lawrence v. Texas (the case that struck down discriminatory sodomy laws) and an amicus brief asking the California Supreme Court not to nullify the marriages of same-sex couples who received marriage licenses in San Francisco. She was the primary author of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Model Domestic Partners Health Benefits Policy.
“GroundSpark produces powerful films that touch people on an emotional level and motivate them to promote social change. I am proud to support that work as a donor and as a board member.”
Donna Bransford
Donna Bransford, a consultant to foundations, donors and nonprofits, has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 14 years. She was most recently the Executive Director of Changemakers, a national public social change foundation, and has previously served as the Director of ACORN International, Director of Outreach at Tides Foundation, and Director of Development and Marketing at Project Open Hand. Donna has served on the Boards of several organizations, including the League of Young Voters, Bay Area Wilderness Training, and on the advisory board of Circle of Life. Donna received her B.A. from Wesleyan University. Donna is temporarily living in Seattle, but she and her partner look forward to returning to her home in Oakland soon.
“GroundSpark has taken on the unique role of creating thoughtful, powerful films, while also developing a broad base of community networks to ensure that these films will be seen by thousands of young people, families and educators. I am honored to support GroundSpark to continue this important work of creating positive change in our schools and communities.”
Debra Chasnoff
Debra Chasnoff is executive director of GroundSpark and co-creator of GroundSpark’s Respect For All Project. Her work creating and distributing highly acclaimed documentary films has fueled progressive social-change movements in many fields. Debra has produced and directed numerous films for GroundSpark, including One Wedding and a Revolution (2004) about San Francisco’s bold move to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples; Let’s Get Real (2003), about young teens’ experiences with name-calling and bullying; That’s a Family! (2000), which looks at family diversity from a kids’ perspective; It’s Elementary Talking About Gay Issues in School (1996), hailed as “a model of intelligent directing” by International Documentary magazine; and the Academy-award winning Deadly Deception General Electric, Nuclear Weapons, and Our Environment (1991).
“I’m proud of the unusual level of success GroundSpark has had partnering with other organizations and allies to ensure widespread distribution of our films. The organization’s unique blend of filmmaking and community organizing is both creative and powerful.”
Riaz Karamali
Riaz A. Karamali is a partner in the Palo Alto office of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, a large international law firm. His areas of emphasis include business formation, venture capital finance, complex technology transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. Riaz earned his B.A. from Rice University and his JD from Columbia University School of Law. He is a frequent author and speaker on various aspects of business law, and is a member of several professional and civic organizations. Riaz lives in Palo Alto, California with his wife and two children.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the GroundSpark Board. With forces of division and intolerance unfortunately on the upswing in our society today, GroundSpark’s mission of promoting respect and understanding has become all the more important. In my opinion, the genius of GroundSpark’s filmmakers lies in their being able to produce films that move and touch both children and adults by spotlighting the common humanity and similarities we each have with each other, regardless of arbitrary divisions that are sometimes imposed by society.”
Doug Paxton
Douglas E. Paxton, PhD, was the founding program director of the Presidio World College MBA in Sustainable Management. He has worked in the public, nonprofit and private sectors, starting as an operations research manager for a New York stock brokerage firm before attending Yale University’s School of Management for an MBA. Since that time, Doug has worked in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and as the executive director of Indochinese Housing Development Corporation. He was also director of people and organizational development at Business for Social Responsibility before joining Presidio World College. He has recently completed his PhD in Transformative Learning; his dissertation research explored how white people can work together to better address racism in themselves and in organizations.
“Our nation is in a crisis of division and fear. It has never been more important to work for social justice and open hearts. I believe GroundSpark’s work is profound, effective and deeply needed in the world today. It is an honor to be associated with supporting such work in whatever manner I am able.”
Elissa Perry
Elissa Perry is the Web and Community Learning Director for The Leadership Learning Community and previously served as Vice President of Educational Technology for the Different Ways of Knowing comprehensive school reform model. For 20 years she has worked in nonprofit and education sectors where she has developed an expertise in engaging technology and media production tools to cultivate youth and community development and to catalyze social justice movements.
”GroundSpark’s work has been changing my life in real ways since Deadly Deception (1991).
In the power of media and of people telling their own stories lives the potential for change. Serving on the board is an opportunity to bring my interests and experiences together with those of others actively engaged in making media to bring about a more sustainable, just and livable world.”
Eddie Rodriguez
Eddie Rodriguez, a California-licensed attorney, has spent the last 17 years as the Real Estate Development Specialist/Contract Administrator for Neighborhood Housing Services of America in Oakland. In this position, Eddie has served as liaison between affiliated nonprofits and local, state and federal agencies. He has also assisted nonprofits, resident organizations, and community groups in developing comprehensive affordable housing development plans. Prior to this position, Eddie worked for nearly 10 years as a Tax Advisor in San Francisco and Washington, DC. Eddie has served for the last 12 years on the board of directors of Conard House, a private nonprofit social service agency serving the mental health community of San Francisco.
“I have a commitment to public interest work, and see serving on the board of GroundSpark as an opportunity to educate my community and the public at large about the important issues GroundSpark addresses in the media it produces.”
Laura Saponara
Laura Saponara currently serves as the Communications Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. She has ten years of experience as a consultant, trainer and writer to non-profit organizations, labor unions and philanthropic foundations, including the Women’s Foundation of California and the Ford Foundation. She holds a masters degree in media studies from the University of Texas in Austin, and has taught at UC Davis. Her thesis about the ways that religious right leaders frame issues of power and victimization and call for political rebirth has been referenced in several books. Laura has worked on human rights projects in Mexico City, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and Peru.
“I admire GroundSpark’s core strategy - linking training and organizing with films that serve as vehicles for sparking dialogue. I also adore the style of the work - empathic, first person narratives that portray bias in ways that allow for new, inclusive, well-facilitated conversations. GroundSpark strikes a beautiful balance between letting people speak for themselves, and structuring meaning in a way that leads viewers toward an empowered, hopeful, tangible kind of activism.”
Jo Ann Smith
Jo Ann Smith, a retired school superintendent, has more than 30 years experience in the California educational system. Her past positions include serving as Superintendent to Sequoia Union High School District, Redwood City and Grossmont Union High School District in La Mesa, acting as Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley and at Point Loma College in San Diego, and serving as principal, Vice Principal, Department Chair, counselor and teacher in various schools throughout California. Jo Ann has served on numerous committees and boards responsible for raising funds for public school activities, and has been the spokesperson on behalf of school districts on many occasions.
“I am impressed with the high quality production work of GroundSpark, but more impressed with its values and impact in the social efforts about which I care most: education, justice, respect and equality. It is an honor to associate with such an organization.”
Stephanie Yang
Stephanie is a consultant and filmmaker. She wrote and published a program guide for the Sisterhood Fund, The World Belongs to Us: Young Women, Leadership and Philanthropy, and developed the first-ever Girls as Grantmakers Tool Kit. Stephanie also co-authored Women in Transit:
Analyzing Gender for Transportation Justice, which explores the community wide benefits and challenges of using a gender base analysis in regard to transportation planning. Stephanie has also worked as a counselor at Planned Parenthood, conducted research and outreach strategies on international human rights, environmental justice, and welfare reform issues, and served on the board of a peer-based youth anti-oppression training organization. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Resource Generation and works with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project.
“Film has the power to touch hearts, release fears and present hope in a way that can directly lead to shifts in community attitudes, behaviors and policies. I am on the board because I believe the work of GroundSpark is about harnessing that power with strength and integrity — and as a result positive social change is happening in the many different communities we belong to.”