The Town Council adopted a resolution establishing the Reimagine Creek Park Community Advisory Committee at its February 12, 2019 meeting. This group of volunteers worked hard to make sure the competition ran smoothly and fairly, while also communicating to our community, and securing fundraising.
All of the meetings have been noticed and open to the public. Now the CAC is tasked with continued community fundraising and helping the Town Staff with the community input phase of the design process.
Founding Members:
Howard Altman has had a career as an award-winning planner, urban designer, architect and landscape architect responsible for a wide variety of planning and design projects in more than 50 countries on six continents: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Oceana, Africa, and the Middle East. Howard has worked extensively in both public and private sectors as an EDAW and then AECOM principal, director, senior vice president and executive consulting principal. He is particularly well-qualified in a full range of planning and design services from regional development; new towns and communities; mixed-use commercial; residential development; urban design; tourism, leisure and entertainment to resource management projects.
Aida Banihashemi is a planning professional and a local community volunteer with a diverse background in transportation and urban planning, sustainable architecture, and landscape architecture. Her professional experience encompasses working with non-profit organizations including UNICEF, as well as public and private sector. She is currently planning manager at Marin County Transit District and serves as a Board member of WTS San Francisco Bay Area chapter. Aida has Master’s Degree in urban design from University of Toronto and M.S. in architecture and landscape architecture from Shahid Beheshti University.
Richard Burns has had a career focused on branding and marketing communications for the real estate industry and the professional architectural, landscape, and engineering firms that serve them. In 1970, Richard started a branding, design, and marketing communications practice: The GNU Group. His company became one the country’s most accomplished and comprehensive communications and design firms addressing the needs of real estate developers, owners, operators, and brokers. Richard has been an active member of The Urban Land Institute and taught ULI’s Real Estate Marketing educational programs. He is the founder of The Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) and in 1987, he was named the Society’s first Fellow. With an emphasis in graphic design, Richard earned a Master’s of Science from Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design.
Brian Colbert is an entrepreneur and has been a member of San Anselmo Town Council since November 2017. Brian is currently a Commissioner for the Transportation Authority of Marin, where he serves on the Finance and Policy Committee, as well as, the liaison to Ross Valley School District, San Anselmo Chamber of Commerce, and Economic Development Committee. Prior to serving in public office, he was a corporate attorney on Wall Street before pursuing more entrepreneurial endeavors. Brian studied political science and theater at Oberlin College before earning a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and a Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
Kay Coleman has served San Anselmo for close to four decades; working as San Anselmo’s Community Resources Director, teaching at Drake High School, and leading the community in many volunteer projects. She currently serves on the Town Council and continues to foster and participate in community growth in its various forms and activities. Kay recently received the Golden Bell award from the Tamalpais District for her work coordinating community service opportunities for students and San Anselmo. She has a Master’s Degree from Oberlin College in French.
Alexander Johanson. Graduate of the University of Washington and currently working for the Central Coast Wetlands Group. Alex grew up in San Anselmo.
Katie Rice Jones has worked in media and communication industries for over twenty years. Katie is currently the Director of Communications and Marketing at Cathedral School for Boys (CSB), an Episcopal, all-boys school in San Francisco with ties to Grace Cathedral. Prior to CSB, she was the Brand Spokesperson for Target Corporation, a TV Host for Comcast Media, and a lifestyle author. She has had the pleasure of serving on two town committees—San Anselmo Arts Commission and Capital Program Monitoring Committee. Katie received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Wisconsin.
Kerrie McHugh is a retail merchandising and product design executive. She has worked both within startups and iconic brand companies such as Williams-Sonoma, Design Within Reach and The Gap, Inc. Kerrie is also the Chairperson for the San Anselmo Arts Commission. Kerrie has a BFA from the University of San Francisco and a BFA in advertising design from the Academy of Art University.
John Nelson has professional experience in sales & management in the market research, strategy consulting, and media and business data services industries. John’s most recent focus has been helping some of America’s most successful B2C such as Amazon, Visa, and Kaiser Permanente grow faster by capitalizing on the intersection of consumer insight, digital marketing, and customer experience. Recently, he devoted significant time to the campaign to pass Measure E: a parcel tax that guarantees additional funding for RVSD through 2028. John’s interest in the Reimagine Creek Park project is an extension of his commitment to the town and its children. John has a BA in history from Lawrence University.
Helen O’Shea has more than 20 years of experience working on land-use and conservation issues. She currently leads a cross-disciplinary team within NRDC’s Land & Wildlife program that fosters environmentally responsible policies for the generation and transmission of renewable energy in western states. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked for eight years at the Trust for Public Land, where she focused on land acquisition and parks development in California. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in communications from Washington and Lee University and a Master’s in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Jason Stoughton resides in the Robson-Harrington neighborhood of San Anselmo. Jason’s professional focus and passion is bringing innovative ideas and transformational products to market and has been an executive in the technology industry for over 20 years. Currently, he is a managing partner at the Foghorn Group, an artificial Intelligence consultancy. He is also a frequent writer and conference speaker on the topic of artificial intelligence. Jason graduate of San Diego State University.
Jack Warner is currently a Senior at Marin Academy High School and is a lifelong resident of San Anselmo. He serves as a youth commissioner on the Open Space and Parks & Recreation Committees. Additionally, he attended and now works as a staff member at California Boys State. His passions include running, backpacking, music, and mock trial. Jack will be attending Vanderbilt University in the fall where he will be studying political science and participating in Naval ROTC.
Kelley Ryan Warner is a marketing professional and local community volunteer. With a career in sports marketing at Triathlon Federation USA and CAT Sports and consumer product marketing at Kraft Foods and Nestle USA, she took a few years off to raise her family in San Anselmo. Kelley currently serves on the Economic Development Committee for the Town of San Anselmo. She also sits on the Northbay Advisory Council for Aim High. Kelley has a BS from UC Davis, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Town Staff:
Sean Condry – Director of Public Works
Dave Donery – Town Manager
Kelley Warner – Community Engagement Coordinator, media questions for the project