Team

School: San Jose State University

Sport: Basketball and Track

Major: Social Work

“I’m looking forward to learning and growing aside the BAWSI Squad, BAWSI Girls, and BAWSI Rollers!”

School: Foothill Community College

Sport: Volleyball

Major: Sociology

“I’m Looking Forward to starting the season! I’m so excited to work with all the Girls and Rollers and get to know each of them in order to help them grow. I also can’t wait to see them all become athletes and teammates by working together through our activities! I’m also looking forward to the personal growth I know I’ll achieve working with such amazing kids!”

School: DeAnza College, San Jose State University, San Jose City College

Sport: Soccer, Rugby, Mountain biking, and Snowboarding

Major: Art and Psychology

“I am looking forward to learning how to better connect with and empower girls and exceptional children!”

School: Brock University and Centennial College

Sport: Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Rugby

Major: Physical Education and Nutrition Management

“I am looking forward to a season of growth among all the women and girls I will be interacting with. Being in an environment of constant encouragement and positivity creates such a desirable and motivating work experience. I’m honored to have this opportunity to use my passion for athletics and physical well-being to mentor these young girls of the community into confident and healthy young women of our future!”

School: West Valley College & Menlo College

Sport: Soccer, tennis and softball

Major: Psychology

“I’m looking forward to meeting my new friends in BAWSI!”

Margaret Abe-Koga has served on the Mountain View City Council since being elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. While on the Council, Margaret served as Vice-Mayor in 2008, and as Mayor in 2009, making her the first Asian American female to serve in those capacities in Mountain View’s history.

Margaret has been is an active member of the City Council championing the issues of public safety, affordable housing, environmental sustainability, youth and families and health and wellness.

Margaret represents Mountain View on regional bodies including the Santa Clara County Cities Association- currently serving as 1st Vice President, the Santa Clara County Emergency Preparedness Council, the Project Cornerstone Leadership Team and on the non-profit boards of the Community Health Awareness Council and the Housing Trust of Silicon Valley, and on the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Clara County.

She is also a member of the Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors having served as Chair in 2011, and as Vice-Chair in 2010. Margaret led the agency to financial solvency through the economic downturn and worked to maintain and continue progress on capital projects like the BART extension, light rail improvements and the Bus Rapid Transit system.

Prior to her service on the City Council, Margaret served as Trustee for Area 1 on Santa Clara County Board of Education and served as Board Vice-President in 2004.

In addition to elected service, Margaret has been active in the community as a Human Relations Commissioner and Environmental Planning Commissioner for the City of Mountain View, Vice-Chair of the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association, board member of Avenidas Senior Services, board member of the Mountain View Sister Cities Association, board member of the Silicon Valley Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, and President of the San Jose Taiko Board.

Margaret was born and raised on the peninsula by immigrant parents from Japan. She attended public schools K-12, and went on to Harvard University for college, where she earned her bachelors degree in government in 1992.??After graduation, Margaret joined Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s district office staff. In addition to her public service career, Margaret’s work experience includes serving as Associate Director of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute (APALI) at De Anza College from 1999-2001 and 2005-2006. Margaret also owned and ran a small business- an indoor cycling fitness facility – before taking leave from the business to raise her children.

She and her husband Yotto have two daughters who attend Stevenson PACT School in Mountain View. Margaret helped start BAWSI in a Box at her daughters’ school.

For her leadership, Margaret has been recognized with various awards including:

• South Bay Labor Council AFL-CIO Rookie of the Year Award 2011
• Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Top 100 Women of Influence, 2010
• Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Athena Award, 2010
• Association of American University Women Los Altos Mountain View Chapter’s Woman of the Year 2009
• California Assembly’s Woman of the Year for Assembly District 22, selected by Assembly member Paul Fong, 2009
• Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 years of age, 2008
• Asian Americans for Community Involvement Youth Achievement Award 2004
• Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss’ Asian American Hero Award, 2001

Margaret is also a member of the American Leadership Forum Class XXII, an Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute (APALI) Senior Fellow, and a graduate of the Working Partnerships Leadership Institute as well as Leadership Mountain View.

For her hobbies, she teaches indoor cycling classes, and is training for a half-marathon and triathlon. She also holds a third degree in Kendo, the martial art of Japanese fencing.

Darla K. Anderson is a Senior Producer at Pixar Animation Studios, and the producer of Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story 3. Ms. Anderson joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1993. Since then, her prodigious producing talents have contributed to some of the world’s most beloved and acclaimed animated feature films including Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Monsters, Inc. Ms. Anderson produced the Golden Globe™ winning feature Cars, for which she was awarded Producer of the Year in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures from the Producers Guild of America.

Before assuming her feature film production duties, Ms. Anderson was the executive producer of Pixar Animation Studios’ commercial group. Prior to joining Pixar, she worked with Angel Studios in Carlsbad, California as the executive producer of their commercial division. It was here she was introduced to the world of 3D computer graphics, and from there she relocated to the Bay Area, with the intention of gaining a position at Pixar.

As one of the studio’s and the animation industry’s most accomplished producers, Ms. Anderson was elected to the Producers Council Board of the Producers Guild of America in July 2008. She is the first producer from the animation arena to be elected to the Council.

Born and raised in Glendale, California, Anderson studied environmental design at San Diego State University. Soon thereafter she began her career in the entertainment industry, working on San Diego-based film and television productions. Anderson currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Chastain was a member of the US National team over 12 years between December 1988 and January 2004, collecting 192 caps. During that time, she served as a trailblazer for women’s soccer as part of the golden decade of the US Women’s National team during the 90’s, one of the most dominant teams the sport has seen to date. She was a member for the 1991 and 1999 Women’s World Cup Championship teams as well as the Olympic teams that brought home gold in 1996 and 2004 and silver in 2000.

The Bay Area native is best known for elevating the profile of women’s soccer with her game winning penalty kick in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup that defeated China and ignited an explosive soccer following and increased participation in the sport.
Chastain began her collegiate career in 1986 at the University of California (CAL), she was honored by Soccer America as the Freshman Player of the Year. Following her Freshman year, Chastain was forced to sit out for two years while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery on both knees. She returned to soccer in 1996 after transferring to Santa Clara University. There, she helped lead the Broncos to two NCAA College Cup Semi-Finals.

Chastain was one of 24 founding players of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), she was a member of the San Jose CyberRays from 2001-2003. During the Inaugural season of the league, she helped the team capture the WUSA’s World Championship title. She has also been a member of the California Storm since the mid 90’s and still currently holds a place on the roster.
Chastain attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, CA where she helped the AMHS girls soccer team to three section championships.

Chastain has made the most of her time away from pitch becoming a published author of a book titled It’s Not about the Bra, serving as a soccer analyst on ABC/ESPN and NBC Sports coverage of MLS and Olympic soccer competition and remaining active on the field. Chastain currently resides in San Jose, CA with her husband Jerry Smith, Head Coach of Santa Clara Women’s Soccer team, and their son Jaden. She is co-founder of the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI), a nonprofit that mobilizes women athletes to serve as role models of health, hope, and wholeness to girls and women in underserved communities and to children with disabilities.

Liza Chuck has been an active BAWSI supporter since the program inception. She has worked to coordinate the BAWSI-in-A-Bag program taking the BAWSI Girls format and bringing it to St Lucy Parish School in Campbell for the past two years. Liza has served as Secretary for the School Board at St Lucy School and is currently serving a Secretary for the Parent -Teacher Group. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, Liza worked as a department manager for a large retail chain and then as a client coordinator for a law firm involved in multi-client, class action litigation.

Liza has been married to former BAWSI Board member, Sam Chuck, for 13 years. They have three children, all of whom inspired her love of team sports. She is very active as team parent for the many sports and dance activities her children are involved in and continues to champion self-confidence in young women through fitness.

She grew up in the Bay Area and currently resides in Willow Glen.

Anne Warner Cribbs is a tour de force for all things Olympic. As a 14-year-old swimmer, she won gold in the 1959 Pan American Games. The next year as the American record-holder, Anne swam to fifth in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome in the 200-meter breaststroke and another gold as the breaststroker on the U.S.’s 4×100 medley relay team. A 1979 Stanford University graduate, majoring in social sciences, Anne launched a career of public relations, community service and advocacy for women in sports. Her work has spanned volunteering for the 1984 Olympic Games to co-founding the American Basketball League, the first women’s professional basketball league in the United States. She became President and CEO of the San Francisco Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) in 1999, and led the San Francisco Bay Area’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Since then, BASOC, under Anne’s leadership, has attracted numerous national and international athletic competitions to the Bay Area. Anne Cribbs and Company provides leadership for the Monterey Horse Park (a legacy project of the 2012 Olympic bid), the 2008 U.S. Olympian Reunion and the annual Rich May Memorial Golf Classic. Anne has served as President of the Northern California Olympians, past Vice President of the U.S. Olympic Alumni Association and is the current vice chair of the San Jose Sports Authority. She acts as an Advisory Board Member for the Women’s Sports Foundation and is interim Chair of the California Senior Games Board of Directors.

Anne recently completed a position as the President and CEO of the 2009 Summer National Senior Games, (August 1 – 15, 2009) featuring 10,000 athletes, 18 medal sports and 5 demonstration sports, at venues at Stanford, Palo Alto, San Jose, Sunnyvale and San Francisco, with an economic impact of $35 million.

Born in Menlo Park and now residing in Palo Alto, Anne and her husband have nine children.

Devorah Duncan first worked with BAWSI as the Principal of A.J. Dorsa Elementary School in East San Jose. With more than 35 years working in high poverty schools, Devorah brings a wealth of hands-on school knowledge along with a multicultural perspective given her background with migrant farmworker communities and indigenous cultures. Devorah has credentials in Special Education, Multicultural and Bilingual Education, School Administration and Gang Prevention work. Her research on resilience led to the creation of a gang prevention program in Salinas which achieved the title of a “Model for the State” and she was personally recognized by the then sitting President Clinton for this work in 1996. Devorah has spoken publicly about the impact that BAWSI has in building pro-social factors and therefore resilience for young girls who are previously identified as being at risk for school failure and gang involvement. She is a strong advocate for the continuing efforts of BAWSI to work in high poverty communities.

“BAWSI is a bridge for girls to become resilient. I have personally witnessed how BAWSI makes an impact -and it is lifesaving”

The youngest ever member of the U.S. Ski Team, Juli retired from skiing after undergoing six knee surgeries, and switched to mountain biking while on scholarship at University of Colorado.

Juli caught the mountain biking wave just as it was taking off in the U.S., and she rode it downhill and cross-country for 5 National Championships, 3 World Cup Titles, and a spot on the 1996 US Olympic Team – not bad for her second sport! Widely recognized as the First Lady of Mountain Biking, Juli was one of the early pioneers who fought to keep women’s professional mountain biking on par with the men’s circuit. Furtado retired from competitive mountain biking in 1997.

Juli recently launched her own Juliana line of women-specific, high performance mountain bikes through Santa Cruz Bicycles.

Sharon Clark Kelleher enjoyed playing many sports during her childhood, including soccer, softball, volleyball, and track and field. During her senior year of high school, while serving as captain of both the soccer and track and field teams, she became a paraplegic as a result of a car accident. Sharon began playing several wheelchair sports and excelled in tennis. In 1998, she became the number one ranked wheelchair tennis player in the United States and the number three ranked player in the world. She competed in the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. Sharon was also a member of the US National Wheelchair Tennis Team for eight years, and she led her team to the final of the World Team Cup three times.

Sharon’s career highlights include being named the Most Improved Female Player in 1991 and Player of the Year in 1998 and 2002. She has many singles and doubles titles to her name, including the USTA National Indoor Championships, National Outdoor Championships, the Thailand Open and the Japan Open. She has played exhibition matches at several professional tournaments including the SAP Open, Siebel Open, US Open and Australian Open. Her experience also includes serving as tournament director, tennis camp director, coach for top juniors, co-chair of the USTA NorCal Wheelchair Tennis Committee and manager of the South Bay Smash Wheelchair Tennis Team.

From 2006 to 2011, Sharon created and directed the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative’s BAWSI Rollers Program, a wheelchair sports and fitness program for third through sixth graders at several Bay Area schools. Through this program, more than 200 children with physical disabilities have experienced a variety of adapted sports, being part of a team, and learning life lessons from their volunteer coaches, who also serve as positive role models.

Camille Gonzalez Kennedy is currently the Vice President of Philanthropy for Menlo Park based homeless services non-profit LifeMoves. A college lacrosse player and lifelong cyclist turned triathlete, Kennedy experienced the first hand power of transformational change through sport. Kennedy credits their dedication to the long-game to their decades long commitment to endurance sports.

Prior to joining LifeMoves, Camille served as the Senior Director of Advancement Strategy at the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the senior center and advocacy group, Avenidas in Palo Alto and the Executive Director of Random Acts of Flowers, Silicon Valley.  Before working in the non-profit sector, Kennedy was an Urban Planner in both New York and California.

Kennedy got their start in the non-profit sector in 1992, when they joined the team at the Boston Living Center, a community center for people living with HIV/AIDS. As the organization’s first congregate meals Program Director, Kennedy provided both sustenance and hope to the many members who walked through the doors every day for lunch. The program grew to serve thousands of members a month and still goes strong today. 

Kennedy earned a Master’s in Urban Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, attended Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, and holds an undergraduate degree in Public Affairs from Baruch College.  They previously served on the Planning Commission and the Housing Commission for the City of Menlo Park and the Advisory Boards of Fund Her and Random Acts of Flowers. And currently sit on the board of the Wender Weis Foundation for Children.

Kennedy lives in Menlo Park with their three children.

Co-Founder, 1440 Foundation
Born in San Francisco, California, Joanie worked in Silicon Valley with both HP and Varian Associates for 15 years, before becoming a mother herself. She and her husband Scott have two children, which inspired Joanie to begin helping in the public school system and her local community.

She characterizes this shift: “My true passion for service has emerged from raising children. Being a parent has allowed me to have very powerful experiences of unconditional love, commitment, and the need for teaching, nurturing, problem solving, and communication. In the process of raising our children, I have been able to discover and reflect on the impact my own childhood has made on me, and these experiences inspire me to help others”.

“Giving is so important to me, and I strongly believe that through giving to others within our community of family, friends, and teachers, as well as other like-minded communities, we receive the benefit of their influence, inspiration, learning, and growth.”

Chairman of the Board, Juniper Networks, Inc.; Co-Founder, 1440 Foundation

Scott Kriens is chairman of Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR-NYSE). He led the company from its inception in 1996 until 2008, as both CEO and chairman, as Juniper grew to over $3.5 billion in annual revenues.

Prior to joining Juniper Networks, Scott cofounded StrataCom, Inc., in 1986 and served as its vice president of sales and operations until the company was sold in 1996 for $4.5 billion to Cisco Systems. In the early 80s, he held product-management and marketing roles for Tandem Computers, a maker of fault-tolerant computer systems, and management roles at Burroughs Corporation, now Unisys.

Scott was honored with the nationwide 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and named one of Business Week’s top 25 Managers in 2000. He has also received recognition for his achievements in the world of Internet technology, being named one of Forbes’ Top Tech Execs in 1996 and one of the “25 Most Powerful People in Networking” by Network World in 2006 he was appointed by the president as a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee; and he has been called to testify before Congress on subjects of networking and telecommunications.

During his tenure as Juniper’s CEO, Scott’s experience with leadership development led him to the belief that a commitment to explicit focus on self-awareness and authenticity were critical to success. This commitment was personally transformative and ultimately led Scott to a full-time commitment to the 1440 Foundation as a way to contribute these experiences more broadly.

A California native, Scott was born in 1957 in Berkeley and obtained his bachelor’s degree in economics, and more recently an honorary doctorate, from California State University, East Bay. He lives in Saratoga, California, with his wife, Joanie, and their two children.

Shari currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Human Resources, at Jasper. Shari is responsible for Jasper’s talent acquisition, workforce strategies and HR operations worldwide. Shari has more than 20 years of experience as an HR leader, most recently as Vice President, Human Resources for Product Operations globally at NetApp. Prior to that, she held senior leadership positions as VP of HR at Hitachi Data Systems and Performant Financial Corporation, and served in a variety of HR and business roles at Hewlett-Packard, Automatic Data Processing and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell).

Shari’s experience also includes a stint as Operations Director for e-inclusion and Emerging Market Solutions, an organization within the Corporate Affairs function. This organization worked across the Company and in collaboration with not-for-profit and government organizations to design and implement programs to increase the standard of living in under-served communities around the globe.

Shari earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and her Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Yale University. She has started coursework toward a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems at Fielding Graduate University.

Shari has a passion for fitness and helping women of all ages build self-esteem through health of body, mind and spirit. Shari is a 4th generation Bay Area native and she and her husband, Brian, have a daughter who is active in a variety of activities including soccer, Kung Fu, swimming and dance.

Kim Turner, is Senior Staff Attorney and Project Director, Fair Play for Girls in Sports, a project of the nonprofit Legal Aid at Work.

Through litigation, education, and policy work, Kim advocates for equality in athletic opportunities for female youth—particularly for low-income girls and girls of color in schools and parks and recreation departments—based on Title IX and AB 2404, the Fair Play in Community Sports Act. Since graduating from Cardozo Law School in New York City in 2008, Kim has practiced a mixture of Title IX, employment, and housing law, including with Bay Area Legal Aid in San Jose, conducting federal and state-level litigation to enforce civil rights and bring about lasting equality. She received her B.A. from Brown University in 2002, double concentrating in Public Policy and Sociology. At Brown, Kim played for the varsity women’s volleyball team, winning an Ivy League Championship. Before law school, Kim worked in Washington D.C. for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and the nonprofit National League of Cities. Kim has been a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and other news outlets and offers trainings and talks on Title IX and the Fair Play Act to a wide range of audiences. Kim is a youth sports coach and parent to two young, active children.
Kim shares that “BAWSI’s work to serve low-income girls and young women (and children generally) and bring about lifelong wellness, healthfulness, life skills, and leadership ability is absolutely critical and resonates with my personal and professional missions—for everyone to have a chance to play and thrive regardless of gender, background, socioeconomics, and any other factor.”

Brenda Villa, a top water polo player who has represented Team USA in four Olympics, fulfilled a life-long dream when she led her team to victory and won USA women’s water polo’s first Olympic gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics. A Latina child of immigrants, Brenda’s story parallels that of many BAWSI girls. Thanks to a community-funded program, Commerce Aquatics, Brenda had the opportunity to swim and play water polo from a young age. Brenda is passionate about the sport of water polo and ensuring that youth from all backgrounds have access to aquatics programming and water polo. Brenda sums up BAWSI: “BAWSI provides opportunities to girls and I am proof that new opportunities can become life-changing dreams.”

Amy is the CEO of Citizens of Humanity Group, which includes Citizens of Humanity, AGOLDE and Goldsign.
The brands are sold in more than 900 Global retail accounts including Nordstrom’s, Anthropologie, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges, Evereve, Net a Porter, Shopbop and Revolve. She has spent more then 30 years in the apparel industry, previously serving as the EVP of Lucky Brand Jeans and SVP of Product Development and Design at The Gap.

Amy has been an active volunteer in Los Gatos, and is highly motivated to support young people. She currently serves on the Board of Girls Inc of LA, EmpowerHer, and Redwood Sports Boosters. She is a member of the Founders Circle at Every Mother Counts. She and her husband Scott live in Los Gatos and are the parents of twin daughters 13 year old daughters who have enjoyed access to sports throughout their childhood. She believes that the sports play a key role in the development of young people and future leaders.