Board of Directors

Barbara Patterson  |   Board Chair
Retired
Barbara was elected Board Chair after five years as a Caminar Board member. She is honored to lead a fully committed, talented, and energetic board in service to the clients and employees of Caminar.   

The core of Barbara’s forty-year career has been in healthcare and management consulting. Her healthcare experience ranges from ICU bedside nursing to executive sales and operational management at Hill-Rom, to founding and leading a dermatology and cosmetic clinic. Barbara’s management consulting focus was aimed at accelerating performance in all aspects of sales, sales management, and communication processes for Grainger, Boston Scientific, and AAG -- all multi-billion-dollar companies in various industries.  

Relevant volunteer experience includes Streetsmart4KIDS™’ board president, where she built the organization; Menlo High School’s Connections Beyond the Classroom chair and founder, where she developed the infrastructure, formalized the mission and goals, and managed the growth and development of the team; board member and education chair for Mills-Peninsula Hospital Women’s Health Council, where she created the bylaws and established committees and membership functions; and board member and president of the Peninsula Temple Beth El’s Religious School board, where she restructured the religious school administration.  

Barbara graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She lives with her husband in Hillsborough, where they raised their two children. 

Jo-Ann Sockolov  |  Vice Chair
Founder and Principal, Transform Collaborative
Jo-Ann has held human resources management and executive leadership roles in the corporate sector, with responsibility for HR strategy, policies and legal compliance, talent acquisition, performance and compensation management, benefits administration, training and development, executive coaching, and workplace culture. Her experience spans a wide breadth of organizational life cycles. She held key senior positions at Marsh McLennan, Argonaut Insurance Company, and Align Technology.

Jo-Ann has served on and led a number of nonprofit boards, where she led strategic planning and execution, strengthened board diversity and governance processes and practices, helped to develop strategic partnerships with other community-based organizations and government agencies, and worked closely with executive leadership and fundraising staff to advance individual and major donor development efforts. She is well networked with diverse community, government, and business leaders throughout San Mateo County.

Jo-Ann founded Transform Collaborative, a consulting practice specializing in nonprofit organizational and leadership development, in 2016, with the goal of helping San Mateo County’s most courageous nonprofit leaders and their teams design and implement breakthrough advancements in their services and contributions in support of the public good. She takes much of her inspiration in this work from a long family history of public service, beginning at the turn of the 20th century in Ireland. Today, Jo-Ann and her husband are strongly committed, with their two daughters, to continuing this lineage of action and advocacy for the fulfillment of the vital needs of marginalized populations and communities through their volunteerism and family philanthropy.

Jo-Ann holds a M.A. and B.A. in Speech Communications Studies and a B.S. in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. She represented the United States as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar to New Zealand to promote peace and foster international goodwill. There, she attended the University of Auckland, where she studied cultural anthropology and linguistics. Jo-Ann is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and holds a lifetime designation as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She earned certifications in Specialized Studies in Nonprofit Management through U.C. Irvine Extension Program and Human Resources Management through the U.C. Berkeley Extension Program, completed The Standards for Excellence, Ethics & Accountability Program through the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, and is a graduate of the Community Advocates Leadership Academy through Green Foothills and Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. She is certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid by the San Mateo County Health Department and is a Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher.

Inessa Shishmanyan | Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, Peninsula Family Service  

Inessa is the Chief Financial Officer at Peninsula Family Service (PFS), a San Mateo-based nonprofit agency that works to provide children, families, and older adults support and tools to realize their full potential and lead healthy, stable lives. Over the last 10+ years, she has shared and honed her extensive experience in financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting at PFS. Prior to PFS, Inessa was deputy director at Seeds of Peace, a New York-based nonprofit focused on creating more just and inclusive societies. 

Born and raised in Armenia, she currently resides in San Mateo. Her commitment to serving others was inspired by the challenges brought by the regional military conflict she experienced growing up in Armenia. Inessa is passionate about human services, anti-racism, and advancing equity. Those passions brought her to Caminar’s board, where she is focused on advancing solutions to those issues and shedding light on challenges nonprofit staff and leadership are experiencing in their work. 

Inessa received her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Computer Science from the Armenian Polytechnic University of Yerevan. She also holds a Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from Brandeis University in Massachusetts and a Certificate of Advanced Accounting Proficiency from Santa Clara University. 

Frank Vento  |  Board Secretary and Corporate Officer
Realtor, Intero Real Estate
Frank Vento is a native of California’s San Mateo County and grew up on the San Francisco Peninsula. He worked in the family businesses which was a strong influence in shaping his work ethic and relationship building. He became a licensed Realtor in 2001, later receiving his broker’s license and certified CRS designation. Frank is active in real estate on the Coastside and Peninsula. Currently he manages Intero Half Moon Bay office. Elected by his peers to serve on the the Realtor San Mateo County Board of Directors (SAMCAR) for three years. After his tenure, he continues to volunteer on special events committee with  SAMCAR.

Having lived on the coast since the 1980’s, Frank was presented with many opportunities for community outreach work. As a member of the Community United Methodist Church in Half Moon Bay for over two decades, he has been active in helping with youth camp, outreach mission projects, and Pumpkin Festival food booth. He has been also been asked to serve on numerous service committees and currently is on the Board of Trustees. He currently serves as President of the Native Sons of the Golden West Parlor #230 in Pescadero, California. This organization is a plays a major role in helping preserve California history. 

Frank is a long time supporter of Caminar, having a brother-in-law who is a client fortunate enough to be the beneficiary of the many life-changing benefits Caminar's programs have to offer. Frank believes in giving back, and views board service as an opportunity to be an integral partner with the Caminar organization.

Michael Chinn  |  Board Member
Partner, Silicon Valley, PwC
Michael is a partner at PwC based out of the Silicon Valley Office with more than 20 years of experience working in the technology industry.  Michael’s overarching focus is on connection, and he is driven by a desire to connect with and understand his clients and their issues, opportunities, and direction.

Michael brings that same focus on connection to Caminar. He was introduced to the organization via the Family & Children Services of Silicon Valley (FCS) division. He was a long-time supporter and a member of the FCS finance committee. When Caminar and FCS merged, Michael remained committed to the organization and on the finance committee. He joined the Caminar board of directors in December 2020.

Michael holds a BA in Accounting and a MPAcc from the University of Washington and is also a CPA licensed to practice in California. On a personal note, he and his wife have three children. Together, they enjoy hiking, biking, cooking, and spending time in the pool.

Gio Granato, PhD |  Board Member
Revenue and Data Science Leader, Meta
Gio Granato is a senior data and analytics leader with experience in data science, analytics, and strategy. 

Gio's professional path benefited from experiences as a core research engineer in automation and electric vehicles at Renault-Nissan, as a M&A Manager at Kearney focused on strategy and deals assessments globally, and as a senior leader of data science and analytics teams in the advertisement business of Meta and Google.

He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from École Polytechnique, a Master's degree in Space Engineering from Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Universidade de São Paulo.

With his diverse educational background and expertise in data science and strategy, Gio brings value advising and steering leadership to drive and elevate Caminar forward trajectory; Gio is excited to embark on this journey together to continue providing healthcare to empower and support individuals in our communities to move toward resilience, wellness, and independence.

Belinda Hanson  |  Board Member
Attorney, Hanson Crawford Crum
Belinda Hanson has practiced family law for 22 years. Belinda is a Certified Family Law Specialist, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She has been recognized in "Best Lawyers in America" yearly since 2002, and in 2010 was named "San Francisco Area Family Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers. In addition to being listed among Northern California's "Super Lawyers" by the Northern California Super Lawyers publication each year since 2004, she has also been included in the "Top 50 Northern California Female Super Lawyers" and the "Top 100 Northern California Lawyers."

Belinda served on the board at the Thacher School in Ojai from 1994 to 2003 and most recently on the Peninsula Family Service Board in San Mateo from 2009 to 2012.  

Joanne Wu Jennings | Board Member
Director, Marketing and Business Operations
Joanne has worked in marketing and program management for over 30 years, with a proclivity for technical systems and internet management/production. She spent the majority of her career consulting with high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, working with cross-functional teams on product launches, applications development, systems migrations, private intranets, and running program management offices. She is currently employed at Kids Connection Schools, a private school in San Mateo County, where she manages marketing efforts and public-facing technologies.

Originally from New York, Joanne holds a degree in Business Administration from Boston University and an MBA from San Francisco State University. While her work has focused on business efficiency and organizational change, her true passion is helping others to achieve and exceed their personal goals. She has long been an advocate for family and children's well-being (former volunteer with the Support Network for Battered Women and CASA of San Mateo County) and is excited to bring this dedication to Caminar’s board. Joanne strongly believes in Caminar’s mission and has a special commitment to removing stigmas around mental health needs and empowering individuals and families to move towards wellness and independence within underserved minority populations.

In her free time, Joanne has a passion for fitness and is a NASM-certified personal trainer and PNLv1 sports nutrition coach. She resides in San Mateo where you can often find her training for her next 10k race or walking her dog with her daughter.

Daniel Kwak | Board Member
Chief Administrative Officer, Kaiser Permanente

Daniel Kwak, Chief Administrative Officer for Kaiser Permanente’s South San Francisco Medical Center, joined Caminar’s Board of Directors in December 2023.

Dan is an executive healthcare operations leader with extensive experience in clinical operations, human resources, quality assurance and performance improvement, regulatory compliance, experience management, capital equipment planning, and budgeting in both academic and integrated delivery system settings. In addition to his current work with The Permanente Medical Group, Dan’s experience includes time at Stanford Health Care, University of Chicago Medicine, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and GE Healthcare.

Dan holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from Northwestern University, and he completed his undergraduate studies in Community Health and Health Planning and Administration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also a Registered Radiologic Technologist, R.T. (R.)(VI).

Dan lives with his husband in San Jose and, in his free time, enjoys snowboarding, travel, and the arts. Dan looks forward to supporting the community's broader mental health care needs as a member of Caminar’s board.

Carmen Román, PhD | Board Member 
Psychotherapist and Consultant
Carmen was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States in 2007. She graduated from the University of Guadalajara as a licensed psychologist and later pursued a master’s in gestalt therapy. She applied her knowledge of psychology for 15 years in Mexico, before immigrating to the United States to pursue a second master’s degree and later a doctorate in psychology, both from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA.

With a total of 30 years of experience in the field of psychology, Carmen has dedicated this time to extensively working with stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma in adults, as well as working with couples and families. After getting her doctorate with a specialty in creative expression, Carmen received the Jill Mellick Award for her creative excellence and contribution to the scientific community in the use of creativity for mental health. 

Among her work skills, she also has vast experience working with students, as she was a professor for a total of 7 years at universities like Sofia University in the US, and in Mexico for universities like The Western Institute of Technology and Higher Studies (ITESO) and UNIVA. As well as extensive experience working with businesses to help them find their specific motivation, decide what they want to specialize in, and as a result, show creativity, responsibility, and commitment to their tasks.

Carmen is also the founder of the organization Emotions in Harmony, where her mission is to use technology to increase awareness of mental health. For this, Carmen has created a digital library with more than 250 episodes of various topics in English and Spanish distributed in three podcasts and two mental health YouTube channels.

Kalimah Salahuddin  |  Board Member
Investor Relations Professional and Community Leader

Community health has always been one of the drivers for Kalimah Salahuddin. That work led her to serve on the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Education after being elected in 2012 and on the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County Board, where she was appointed in 2019. During the COVID-19 crisis, she was one of the founding members of the REACH Coalition to advocate for equity and community health for all. As a result, she was asked to serve on the Leadership Council for the Recovery Initiative for San Mateo County. Previously served as a Board Member for Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco from 2015 to 2019 and was inducted into the San Mateo County Woman's Hall of Fame in 2018. She is currently employed at Exelixis on the Investor Relations / Public Affairs team. Her most outstanding achievement is being a mother to her three beautiful adults.

Rod Sockolov |  Board Member
President of Business Insurance & Private Client Services, Newfront
Rod has 30 years in the commercial insurance industry, where he spent the first 10 years on the carrier side specializing in the design and management of large alternative risk workers’ compensation financial plans. In 1994, Rod joined the insurance broker community where he continued his focus on Workers Compensation but also quickly established himself as an expert on Property & Casualty, E&O/Cyber Liability, and Executive Liability, including IPO risks. Rod currently specializes in the risk management and strategic oversight for clients’ global insurance programs. He is a recognized as a leader and designer of innovative risk management plans for emerging and disruptive technology, life sciences, shared economy, and rapid growth clients. He is regularly invited to participate as a speaker at industry conferences and the development of new insurance products. Risk & Insurance Magazine recognized Rod as a "Top Power Broker."

He earned his business degree from Cal Poly Pomona. Rod participates in many community activities, such as coaching youth sports and supporting local non-profit organizations. He lives in Atherton with his wife of 25 years, Jo-Ann, and their two daughters, Caitlin and Kelly.

Tze Pin Tai  |  Board Member
Property Development
Tze was born in Malaysia and later educated in Singapore and Canada.  After graduating from Ivey Business School, London, Ontario, Tze returned to Malaysia and started her career in property development corporations where she worked for a decade before returning to head the family property business.  Her experience is in the fields of shopping malls, residential, commercial, and resort projects. 

Since moving to the Bay Area in 2010, Tze has been assisting her husband in his Defense Electronics Business. She has served on the Advisory Board at the Stanford Asian Liver Center since 2013.

Caminar Lifetime Board Council

Suzan Getchell-Wallace
Realtor, Coldwell Banker Fahey Properties, Inc.
Suzan is a lifelong coast-side resident and Realtor for over 30 years.  In 2013 she was elected President of the San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® Foundation (SAMCAR) and is a consistent SAMCAR award winner.  Suzan has been on Caminar's board since September 2013.

Betsy Pace
Management Consultant
Betsy joined the Caminar board in 2014. She has over 30 years of experience in marketing and management with a proven track record of developing disciplined approaches to marketing, strategy and company stewardship. She began her business career overseas with The Boston Consulting Group before joining Apple Computer, where she led marketing for Apple’s K-12 Education business. Betsy then joined Paramount Communications as VP Marketing of their educational software division before becoming General Manager of Paramount Interactive, an internal technology start-up. She left here to join early internet start-up, OnLive Technologies, first as VP Marketing and subsequently as CEO. Since 2004, she has worked as a management consultant providing strategic market-driven advisory services to help companies and non-profits fuel their ideas with smart market decisions and successful business results.

Betsy is an active, enthusiastic volunteer in the community and is a long-standing volunteer for Peninsula Family Service, where she previously served on the Board of Directors. Betsy received her BA from Brown University and her MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Ted Robinson
Sports Broadcaster

Carol Whitfield  
Community Leader
Carol Whitfield has a proven and successful track record in the high technology industry, driving 2 IPO’s in the enterprise application software industry:  Consilium (CSIM, acquired by Applied Materials) where she was a founder and Promis Systems (PRMS, acquired by Brooks Automation) where she was the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  Carol began her career at Intel Corporation where she held a number of senior positions in planning and material management.  Her experience includes executive positions in sales, marketing, corporate planning and field operations.  Carol served on the board of Red Pepper Software that was acquired by PeopleSoft. Serving on the board of the Family Services Agency, Carol helped raise millions for their capital campaign.  She has also served on the board of the Palo Alto Hills Country Club.  Carol holds an undergraduate degree from Oxford University.

Advisory Committee

Donna Barulich
Registered Nurse and Case Manager (Retired)
Donna has provided nursing and case management services at many of our local medical centers, including Kaiser Redwood City, Sequoia Hospital, Mills-Peninsula Hospital, and San Mateo Medical Center's acute care hospital. While at San Mateo Medical Center, Donna was exposed to a wide variety of health care experiences, including floor nursing and clinic based services, work in the locked psych unit, discharge planning, and case management. Donna received her RN/ADN from the College of San Mateo.

During the past few years, Donna has served on the Downtown San Mateo Association (DSMA) Board of Directors and provided care for elder family members. In her free time, Donna enjoys travel and horseback riding with her husband. Donna has resided in San Mateo County for over fifty years, where she and her husband raised their now two adult children. Donna wholeheartedly believes in the work of Caminar to educate the community and erase the stigma of mental illness.

Lisa Conover
Corporate Social Responsibility Professional
Lisa worked at HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for 15 years, primarily on the Social Innovation team. Her team won the Cause Marketing Forum’s HALO Gold Award for Best Service Campaign by garnering over 130,000 employees to participate in “Matter to a Million,” a partnership with Kiva. Most recently she managed the HPE Foundation, leading their community engagement programs and overseeing the company’s grant making. Lisa currently serves as an independent consultant working with corporations and non-profits.  She also serves on the leadership team for The Changemaker Initiative, an Ashoka partner program, and is conducting a fellowship in social impact. Lisa is a member of Valle Monte League, an all-volunteer organization that has been supporting our FCS Division’s mental health programs since 1954, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (CEN).

Lisa holds an MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School, with a specialization in Global Finance, and a BA in political science from UCLA.

Barbara Glynn
Community Leader
A resident of Atherton, Barbara is a long-standing supporter of local mental health services. A former board member of Family & Children Services of Silicon Valley (now a division of Caminar), Barbara conceived of and helped to launch the organization's highly successful annual fundraising event, the Circle of Support Luncheon. A co-founder of the Tech Museum, Barbara and her husband, John (Glynn Capital Investments), raised four children on the Peninsula.

Olana Khan  
Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Strategy, Phillips Brooks School
Olana’s commitment to the social sector began at a young age, when she realized that the birth lottery determined a person’s access to basic human rights: shelter, food, healthcare, and education. Olana spent over 15 years in the technology sector, working with Netscape, America Online, and Google. She moved into the social enterprise sector by joining Kiva, the pioneer of online microfinance, as Chief Operating Officer and then left Kiva to join ProFounder Financial, a crowdfunding lending platform, as Chief Operating Officer. From 2006 to 2010, she ran a family foundation focused on providing technology solutions in the microfinance and education sectors. Prior to joining the administration of Phillips Brooks School, Olana was a management consultant through her company, Esan Partners, which provided strategic planning, executive coaching and leadership training. 

Olana has extensive board leadership experience and loves a good governance project. In addition to her role on our board, Olana is currently Chairperson of the Sama Group, Governance Chair of D-Rev, and a Board member of The Philanthropy Workshop (former Chair and Vice Chair). She graduated from the Honors Program of the University of Michigan, received her coaching certification from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a graduate of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program.

Dennis Pantano
President, Pantano Properties
Dennis, a Caminar Board member from 2009-2016, is President of Pantano Properties in San Mateo, holds a CA State Brokers License, and is a Certified Residential Specialist and a member of the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers. With 35 years of experience, he has been a Commissioner on the San Mateo County Assessment Appeal Board since 2004 and has served 9 years on the CA and San Mateo County Assoc. of Realtors Boards. Dennis, founder of “Books for Kids” program, helps fund books for local elementary schools. He received the “Golden Apple” award from the Redwood City/San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Resolutions Award and State of CA Senate Award for his contribution to local educational systems.

Ted Stinson  
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Quantum
Ted is the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Quantum. His professional experience with a number of leading Silicon Valley technology companies is complemented by his commitment to community engagement with a focus on mental health and education.  Ted has served as the Chair of the San Francisco Mental Health Board and as a Board Member of Community Vocational Enterprises in San Francisco.  He holds an MBA from Stanford University, and a BA in Economics from the University of Notre Dame.  He and his family reside in Menlo Park.

Richard Wood
Investment Professional