Board of Trustees :: Meet the team.
Glenn Q. Snyder :: President Glenn is a partner in the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, specializing in real estate and business transactions. The Pillsbury firm has served as pro bono counsel since the Parks Trust was founded in 1971. Before being elected President, Glenn was the General Counsel and Vice President of the Parks Trust Board and served on the Finance Committee. Glenn and his wife are frequent users of Mountain Lake Park, where the mallards call him by name.
Nancy Conner :: Past President Nancy Conner is an ancient Board member and former Board President. She also serves on the Boards of Presidio Trust, San Francisco Symphony, Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority, and the West Coast Council of the Garden Conservancy. As the proud grandmother of Alison Conner, she looks forward to reconnecting with the sandbox set.
Kelly Nice :: Vice-President Kelly is founder and Partner in Nice Advertising and led the marketing effort for the re-opening of the Conservatory of Flowers. He’s also Chair of the Marketing Committee.
Mollie Ward Brown :: Secretary Mollie has lived in San Francisco for the past 20 years and has been active on many local non-profit boards. In addition to SFPT, Mollie is President of the Boards of Portola Family Connections (a family resource agency with two locations serving low income families in San Francisco) and the California Tennis Club. Her employment and volunteer history include extensive public policy work on behalf of the homeless, and in establishing and sustaining family resource centers in the City. Most recently she served on the Steering Committee of Friends of Alta Plaza Park which oversaw the renovation of the playground and is now embarking on a re-lanscaping plan. As the mother of four very active children, she is committed to keeping San Francisco a family-friendly city and is targetting her energy at SFPT to improving recreational programming and upgrading our parks.
John Ware :: Treasurer Recently retired after a long career in technology, John is an avid user of our park system and a San Francisco resident for the past nineteen years. He is married to artist, Margaret Tcheng Ware, and they have two children and a Norwich Terrier who rules Crissy Field beach on a daily basis.
Jay Banfield Jay is the Executive Director of Year Up San Francisco. Year Up is a nationally acclaimed organization that provides comprehensive job training and life skills for urban youth. Jay and his family have been in the Bay Area for more than 20 years, as he received his B.A. from Stanford University and his Master in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley. After beginning his career at Oracle, he worked on local, state and national political campaigns and served in both the legislative and executive branches of San Francisco government. Prior to joining the Board of the San Francisco Parks Trust, Jay served as its Executive Director from 2005 through 2007.
Andrew Barish Andrew was a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst in the Consumer Group at Banc of America Securities LLC, where he followed the restaurant industry from 2001-2008. Andrew served as an Environmental Services Analyst at Robertson Stephens from 1993 to 1995 and at Kidder Peabody from 1989 to 1993. Andrew is married to Kathy Barish and together they have two children, Samantha and Bradley.
Connie Goodyear Baron Connie is a former member of SFPT and co-chair of the Gala celebration for the re-opening of The Conservatory of Flowers. She has served on several boards including the Environmental Design Archives at Berkeley, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, is the past President of The Friends of Langley Porter and a member of Frame, an international art organization. As the mother of three sons and the grandmother of 5 she is often found in or near a park.
Hilary Bates Hilary Bates is a California licensed architect who has been in private and group practice in the Bay Area since 1990. Hilary is an active equestrian competing in the sport of eventing. She joined SFPT to assist with the renovation of the Golden Gate Park Stables.
Meg Bertero Meg is a clinical psychologist who has worked in both hospital and community clinics throughout the Bay Area. Meg strongly believes in protecting and preserving outdoor spaces and landmarks, particularly within San Francisco’s borders. Meg is married to fellow Bay Area native Craige Bertero, who works for Union Bank of Switzerland in the Investment division.
Rebecca Green Birdsall Rebecca was the Chair of the Board of Trustees of San Francisco Parks Trust from 2002 to 2005. While serving on SFPT’s board she led the $25 million campaign to restore of the Conservatory of Flowers which reopened in 2003. Her other nonprofit efforts include the Friends of Alta Plaza Park, the San Francisco Symphony and Green Music Center and Green Music Festival. She owns and operates Black Kite Cellars, a highly rated Anderson Valley Pinot Noir winery. She also runs the Donald and Maureen Green Family Foundation.
Phoebe Cowles Pheobe is one of the founders of Russian Hill Improvement Association and serves on the boards of Californians for Population Stabilization and St. Francis Hospital Foundation and has been trustee of American Conservatory Theater, Sierra Club Foundation, and Nature Conservancy.
Noel Forrester Noel Forrester has worked for many years in sales at KGO Television/ABC, where he is responsible for political advertising sales. Noel and KGO have provided substantial assistance to San Francisco Parks Trust's "Love Your Parks" campaign. Noel currently lives in Bernal Heights with his partner of 7 years, David Hurt.
Benjamin Friend Benjamin grew up in San Francisco. He attended Urban High School in the Haight-Ashbury district before earning his degree in Anthropology and Spanish as a student-athlete pitcher at Boston University. Benjamin served as a volunteer Coordinator on the 2003 Newsom for Mayor Campaign, as well as working at the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services. Before moving to his current job at Vanguard Properties, he worked at BRIDGE housing, an affordable housing developer, creating a planned giving and real estate donation program. He coached baseball for Mission High School, and also in involved with the Jewish Home for the Aged, Environmental Travel Companions, and the St. Anthony’s Foundation.
Christine Gardner Christine lives in San Francisco with her husband and three young children. She is the founder of an environmental health consulting company called moregreenmoms and recently published her first children’s book, A Moment of Quiet is Nothing to Fear. A graduate of Stanford University, Christine has worked in diverse fields including advertising, investment research and Internet development. In addition to serving on the Board for the SFPT, she is the parent representative for the eco-Councils she helped to establish at her children’s schools. She is an active supporter of all things green, especially our parks!
Casey McGrath Giarman Casey is a native of San Francisco. A graduate of the Hamlin School and Convent of the Sacred Heart High School, she received her B.A. from the University of Richmond in Virginia and her graduate work at the Parsons School of Design in NYC. She was an interior designer for 15 years. When her daughter was born she focused on volunteer and non-profit work that involved children. Casey and her husband are also active in a national literacy program.
Steven Gwozdz Steve and his wife Ally, as parents of two young children, are regulars at the panhandle playground and the Koret children’s quarter. A transplant from the Washington, DC area, he’s been taking year round advantage of the bay area outdoors for the last eleven years and is committed to improving the city’s park facilities and recreation programs. In addition to family bike rides on JFK Drive, he enjoys surfing, mountain biking, and snowboarding on the weekends. He holds a BA from Boston College and an MBA from Northwestern University, where he is a volunteer in the admissions program. He is currently a Senior Vice President of Emerging Markets at HSBC Securities.
Lauren Hall Lauren was Chair of the Park Leadership Society and now chairs the Development Committee. She is also on the Fine Arts Museums Board and the founder of Friends of Alta Plaza Park. Lauren is a graduate of Harvard University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a molecular biologist who specializes in tropical infectious diseases.
John C. Hooper Jock is the vice-chair of the Tahoe Conservancy, owns Oz Farm and was one of the founding board members of Friends of the Urban Forest. He serves on the Community Parks Committee.
Veronica Hunnicutt, Ed.D. Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt is an educator and active community leader who, throughout her thirty-seven year career, has implemented programs and expanded educational and job-training opportunities for residents of the Western Addition, Bayview Hunter's Point, Visitacion Valley, and Potrero Hill areas. She has served on many local and state boards and is presently the President of the Visitacion Valley Community Center Board of Directors. Dr. Hunnicutt also serves on the Street Parks Committee.
Scott Kay Scott is a founding partner with the San Francisco based Hedge Fund Partner Fund Management. Prior to that he worked at Andor Capital Management in San Francisco as a healthcare investor, at Bank of America Securities as a Vice President, Senior Pharmaceutical Analyst and before leaving NY for San Francisco he worked at Pfizer Inc. in various marketing and managment roles. Scott is married to Debbie Kay and has two children Rachel, age 6 and Andrew age 4, and enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing golf, exercising, reading and skiing.
L. Jasmine Kim Jasmine is the CEO of an IDEO spin off venture ShopWell.com. She is a graduate of Anderson School of Management at UCLA and Wellesley College, where she studied architecture and urban planning. Jasmine is currently a member of SFMOMA Architecture+Design Forum and serves as an advisor to several global internet media companies. Jasmine and her family can often be found hiking in National Parks as well as secret stairways of San Francisco.
Fran Martin Fran Martin, a sculptor and design consultant, is the co-chair of Visitacion Valley Greenway Project, chairperson of Visitacion Valley Planning Alliance, and on the board of San Francisco Friends of Urban Forest, Visitacion Valley Community Center and various other community advisory groups.
Avenne McBride Avenne is currently the Program Director for CAVEC’s Asian American Leadership Program, designed to educate and train potential Asian American candidates for public office. Avenne is a long-time San Francisco resident and a frequent user of resources of the Recreation & Park Department, including Golden Gate Stables, Camp Mather, Silver Tree, and Pine Lake Summer camps.
Alexander Muromcew Alex works as a Managing Director responsible for International Portfolio Mangement (Asia Pacific) at TIAA-CREF. He has an MBA from Stanford Business School and a BA in East Asian Studies from Dartmouth College. With four young children, his family are frequent users of our city's parks. Alex joined the Board in 2003 and was Treasurer from 2004-2007.
Cynthia B. Silverstein Cynthia is a 3rd generation San Franciscan with two children. She received her A.B. at UC Berkeley and her J.D. at the University of San Francisco. With over 20 years of legal experience primarily practicing real estate transactional law and a sub-specialty of representation of winery and vineyard owners in the sale and acquisition of entire wineries and vineyards she decided in 2005 to design her own line of jewelry and personal and household accessories. Cynthia has years of experience in community service serving on various Boards and has provided lots of pro bono legal work to the local non profit arts and educational communities.
Susan Smartt Mrs. Smartt is a Senior Vice President of Forest City Development responsible for overseeing residential development activities in the Bay Area. Current projects include the 1,000 unit urban infill Project "Uptown" being developed in downtown Oakland and the rehabilitation of the Public Heal Services Hospital at the Presidio in San Francisco. Mrs. Smartt has been a resident of the Bay Area for 25 years and is active in many local organizations. She is a Board member of the Oakland School for the Arts and has recently been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times. She received a B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Washington School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Phil Ginsburg :: Ex-Officio Phil is General Manager for the Recreation & Park Department.
Mark Buell :: Ex-Officio Mark serves as president of the San Francisco Recreation & Park Commission.
Naomi Conroy :: Ex-Officio Naomi is chair of the Golden Gate Park Guides.