NADIA RAHMAN, CO-PRESIDENT
Nadia is an activist, organizer, communicator and entrepreneur. Civic engagement and voter empowerment are her passions, and she has served in leadership for both Post March Salon and the United Democratic Club. Nadia is an Emerge California alumnae, and ran for a seat on San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee in March 2020. She is Principal Consultant at the firm she founded, Rahman Consulting, and also currently serves on the boards of the SF Marin Food Bank and SWANA (South West Asian/North African) Democratic Club. Nadia received her BBA in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin and her MBA from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.
JENNIFER LONGLEY, CO-PRESIDENT
Jennifer Longley is an experienced campaign, public affairs, and communications strategist with over a decade of expertise organizing on behalf of clients throughout California, including San Francisco’s Jane Kim for Supervisor and Mark Leno for State Senate campaigns. An organizer at heart, Jennifer has served as executive staff to local and statewide Democratic Party organizations, and as a strategic consultant to successful candidate, municipal, labor, and nonprofit clients as they seek positive change in their communities, one election at a time. Passionate about youth and neighborhood political involvement, Jennifer has previously served as Chair of the San Francisco and California Young Democrats, and of the District 5 Democratic Club. A proud SF State alum, Jennifer enjoys Giants games, local theatre, and traveling.
AMBER BISSELL, VICE PRESIDENT
Amber Bissell is a civil rights and labor and employment attorney with her own firm and is also a gender policy expert. She graduated from UCLA (B.A.), the London School of Economics (M.Sc in Gender and Social Policy); and Loyola Law School (J.D.) She has worked in the area of institutionalized harassment and discrimination for the last decade, both in advocacy and research roles. Amber co-authored “Technology and Human Trafficking: The Rise of the Mobile,” published by USC Annenberg. She was also instrumental in the publication of “Intersections of Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Assault: National Organizational Advocacy Roundtable” by the Asian Pacific Islander Institute on Gender-Based Violence. She also assisted and edited numerous articles for publication on the issues of international law and civil rights and has been interviewed by such publications as the Wall Street Journal.
ALONDRA ESQUIVEL GARCIA, PARLIAMENTARIAN
Alondra Esquivel Garcia currently serves as a Financial & Data Analyst for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Alondra is a 21-22 SF Fellow for the City and County of San Francisco. Her background as a student advocate throughout California advocating on higher education reform has inspired her to continue her advocacy at a local level advocating on women’s issues, electing women to public office, and getting youth involved in public service. As a daughter of immigrants, she believes it’s her duty to fight for a pathway to citizenship and help those who have historically been left out of the decision making table. She recently graduated from San Francisco State University with degrees in Political Science and Race & Resistance Studies.
KATIE ANGOTTI, POLICY CO-CHAIR
Katie is currently a Policy Manager at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency where she advances regulatory and legislative initiatives for emerging mobility services and technologies. She has over 12 years of experience shaping policy at the local, state and federal levels of government across a wide range of policy areas. Katie began her career in San Francisco City government at the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office in 2012. She also served as the Director of State and Federal Legislative Affairs in the Office of Mayor Ed Lee where she managed the state and federal legislative portfolio for all City departments, spearheaded legislation to address transportation, affordable housing, and homelessness issues in the City, and developed partnerships with big city Mayors across California. Katie is passionate about using policy to uplift and empower women in San Francisco.
Katie holds a degree in Political Science from UC Irvine and a graduate degree in Public Policy from UCLA. Katie lives in Parkside with her partner and new baby.
KIM CASTLE, POLICY CO-CHAIR
Kim Castle is a lawyer, policy advisor, and proud graduate of Oakland Public Schools. She has served as an attorney to California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, and worked for the San Francisco City Attorney. She also worked in the U.S. Senate and White House on issues relating to clean energy, housing justice, and financial regulation. Kim is passionate about electing more women and elevating historically underrepresented voices.
LIZ LIEBMAN, PAC CO-CHAIR
Liz Liebman has over 13 years of experience in community development and organizing. She was born and raised on Ohlone territories, where she grew up volunteering with organizations such as buildOn and Kiva.org. Liz holds a B.A. from Mills College, where she found her voice in civil rights and immigrant advocacy. During Liz’s time at Mills, she interned for Lori Droste’s office at Berkeley City Council, organized a caravan to Florida to free Marissa Alexander, and volunteered with Berkeley Student Cooperative, Emerge America, and IGNITE National. Professionally, Liz works as a Legal Secretary at Adler & Colvin, a San Francisco law firm that serves nonprofits and other tax-exempt organizations. Liz also sits on the SWANA (South West Asian/North African) San Francisco Democratic Club board and is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.
RUTH FERGUSON, PAC CO-CHAIR
Ruth Ferguson is a Master of Public Policy candidate at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School. Ruth is a proud policy generalist currently focused on how power shapes politics and ultimately, government, by developing policy solutions to harassment and transparency issues in state government. Previously, Ruth worked in the California Legislature, where she focused on housing and transportation policy. Before working in state government, she was the deputy manager of a winning campaign for Santa Clara County Supervisor and a program manager at a nonprofit in higher education. As a program manager, she created sustainable initiatives on campus disability organizing, student leadership, and led a fellowship on dialogue facilitation with Resetting the Table. Ruth joined the SFWPC PAC Co-Chair in January 2022 and is also a member of LifeMoves’ NextGen Board. She earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington in Seattle (Go Dawgs!) and lives in Bernal Heights with her husband, Zach, and their outstanding pup, Phife Dawg.
SAM CHAVEZ, COMMUNICATIONS CO-CHAIR
Sam Chavez is a digital strategy expert with over a decade of experience leading marketing and advertising campaigns for global brands. Currently, she is the founder of Knurdology, a digital agency supporting political candidates, purpose-driven companies, and nonprofits, and ReadyMade Campaign Tools, a digital campaign consultant tool for Democratic candidates in California.
Sam is passionate about racial and social justice, equitable finance, and combating the climate crisis. She brings a data-driven, empathic, and human-centered approach to strategic digital communications.
She earned her double Bachelor of Science degrees in Advertising and Radio-Film-Television from the University of Texas at Austin.
PARISA SAFARZADEH, COMMUNICATIONS CO-CHAIR
Parisa has worked to develop digital and traditional media strategy for over 10 years to support local elected officials and candidates with a community-first approach. In her time serving in local government, she has built and led teams with the goal of amplifying transparency and storytelling to the constituent base. Currently, Parisa serves San Francisco as the Deputy Director of Information Dissemination for the Emergency Operations Center. Her work with the City of San Francisco's Department of Emergency Management includes leading external communications for the COVID-19 response and more recently, the Tenderloin Street Crisis Initiative.
A first-generation Iranian-American and native Texan, advocacy involving women's reproductive rights, immigration and criminal justice reform, and behavioral health are key areas she remains committed to working on. Parisa holds a BA from the University of Houston. As a native Texan, she is desperate to locate good Tex-Mex in the Bay Area.
GABRIELA JIMENEZ, MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIR
Gabriela Jimenez currently serves as Senior Strategist at BergDavis Public Affairs. Her previous work experience includes Planned Parenthood Northern California, Eleni Kounalakis’ campaign for Lt. Governor, and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s district office. She is passionate about reproductive justice, health equity, and getting more women in office. Gabriela is an Emerge California alumnae and has previously served on the board of the San Francisco Young Democrats and as an Alameda County Public Health Commissioner.
ZAHRA HAJEE, MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIR
Zahra Hajee is a community and electoral organizer born and raised in the Bay Area. She currently serves as a Field Representative in U.S. Senator Alex Padilla's Office covering the nine Bay Area counties. Zahra previously worked as a District Representative for Senator Scott Wiener, supported Muslim rights advocacy efforts with Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, and was a Speakers Bureau organizer for the Yes on Proposition 15 campaign. Zahra is a graduate of UCLA and alum of the Southern California Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs.
LINDA LIU, EVENTS CO-CHAIR
Linda Liu is a native San Franciscan and she works at City College of San Francisco where she manages the workforce development grants to fund career technical education courses and program supplies, shares career-related resources via social media platforms, and implements Handshake, a platform for students to search and apply for job opportunities.
Linda’s passion is in workforce development, to ensure people have access to job opportunities, to allow them to live, work and thrive in San Francisco. Her dream is for public, private, and nonprofit sectors to work together and create access to job opportunities in high-demand industries.
Linda graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and a Master in Public Administration, at the University of San Francisco.
JULIE CRAVOTTO, EVENTS CO-CHAIR
Julie Cravotto is a legislative aide, focusing on housing, higher education, and basic needs for Californians. Her childhood in the Bay Area and her volunteer work with local institutions such as St. Anthony Foundation inspired her to pursue a career in public policy, leading her to intern for Governor Jerry Brown and the San Francisco Democratic Party. Previously, she served as a Legislative Fellow to then-Assemblymember David Chiu and helped San Franciscans access their benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, Julie divides her time between the Bay Area and the State Capitol. Born in San Francisco and raised in Berkeley, Julie is eager to empower Bay Area women to pursue roles in politics and to continue serving California. Julie is a Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep alum and holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from UC Davis.
GILLIAN PRESSMAN, FUNDRAISING CHAIR
Gillian Pressman is currently the Director of Development at YIMBY Action and Yes In My Back Yard, helping to grow resources for the YIMBY movement for abundant and affordable housing in San Francisco and beyond. Prior to YIMBY, she was the Senior Director of Development at Peer Health Exchange, a health equity nonprofit, and Massachusetts Executive Director at Generation Citizen, a civics education nonprofit that empowered young people to take local policy action. She has lived in San Francisco since 2017. In addition to SFWPC, Gillian serves on the Young Professionals Council of St Anthony’s Foundation.
LILY LI, TREASURER
Lily is a manager of strategic operations and programs at Fivetran and has always been active in her community. She interned at the Office of Fiona Ma (then Speaker pro tempore of the California State Assembly) while she attended Lowell High School and volunteered to improve Chinatown through Adopt-An-Alleyway. She was active in student government at UC Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Post graduation, Lily volunteers for San Francisco politicians and serves as a role model for other young girls and women at many community events through her involvement in beauty pageants. She is passionate about women’s rights, education, and improving representation of Asian Americans.
DANISHA LOMAX, AT LARGE BOARD MEMBER
Danisha is a connector by nature and practice. She has nearly 15 years of experience working in media, and is the Head of Paid Social Lead at Digitas where she partners with hands-on-key experts to create scalable and holistic activations, while highlighting the intersections of social, culture, and radical responsibility. Through Digitas, Danisha has taken the leadership role for Publicis Groupe’s San Francisco VivaWomen of Color chapter (a Business Resource Group) and creator of Digitas’ Multicultural Center of Excellence – a collective of BIPOC who are focused on bringing diversity, equity and inclusion to advertising. For her accomplishments, she is recognized as the recipient of prestigious awards. It doesn’t stop there; Danisha serves in various volunteer board and community roles including ColorComm Network and GirlVentures, while also being the self-partnered mother of two children, Kamaiyah and Ke’aun.
SARAH MUSIKER, ADVISOR
Sarah Musiker is a Bay Area native, instilling in her a commitment to community engagement and local issues. She works with locally elected officials and utilities around the country to advance sustainable water management and climate resilient communities. She has worked all over the world on water quality, water technology and water equity issues, with a specific focus on ensuring equal access to this vital resources. An experienced project and community manager, she has worked in business development, relationship management, strategic partnerships, and on policy at federal, state and local level.
Sarah holds a BA from Smith College, where she quickly realized that she is too weak for East Coast winters. She holds an MPA from U.C. Berkeley. You can usually find her with snacks in her purse and an encyclopedic knowledge of current pop-culture.
