Leadership
Berkeley FireSafe Council Leadership
Name HAB Board BFSC Leader Committees
Henry DeNero President President Fuel Reduction- Chair
Marcus von Engel Vice President Vice President Network and Communications- Chair
Cynthia Chen Treasurer Treasurer Firewise- Co-Chair
Benay Dara-Abrams Secretary Member Development- Co-Chair
Kathleen Kelly Member Member Government and External Relations- Co-Chair
Tom Umeda Member Member Outreach- Chair
Nancy Gillette Member Member Revegetation- Chair
Annie Johnson Member Member Firewise- Co-Chair
Holly Singh Member Member Evacuation- Chair
Sondra Schlesinger Member Member Revegetation, Evacuation
Kevin Galvin Member Member Evacuation
Allan Gatzke Member Government and External Relations- Co-Chair
Alec Dara-Abrams Member Development- Co-Chair, Firewise- Co-Chair
Emeritus Board Members
Pam Gleason
Peter Lydon
Marty Lorber
Berkeley FireSafe Council Committee Charters
Berkeley FireSafe Council has nine committees led by neighborhood volunteers. Please email any of the committee chairs to get involved!!
DEVELOPMENT
Co-Chairs: Benay Dara-Abrams (benay@firesafeberkeley.org) and Alec Dara-Abrams (ada@firesafeberkeley.org)
Mission: Research, strategize, and pursue fundraising opportunities, including donations and grants to the non-profit Hillside Association of Berkeley (HAB)
EVACUATION
Chair: Holly Singh
Mission: Plan and communicate a neighborhood evacuation program, especially for those requiring neighbor assistance
FINANCE
Chair: Cynthia Chen (cynthia@firesafeberkeley.org)
Mission: Creation and maintenance of accounting system; strategies for fundraising.
FIREWISE SITE RECOGNITION
Co-Chairs: Cynthia Chen (cynthia@firesafeberkeley.org), Alec Dara-Abrams (ada@firesafeberkeley.org), and Annie Johnson
Mission: Coordination recognition with the national Firewise USA program
FUEL REDUCTION
Chair: Henry DeNero (henry@firesafeberkeley.org)
Mission: Reduce fuel load in Berkeley, seeking fuel reduction on UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories properties and working with neighbors to reduce fuel on private properties.
GOVERNMENT AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Co-Chairs: Allan Gatzke and Kathleen Kelly
Mission: Research news and developments in fire safety; maintain communication with government officials and fire safety experts.
NETWORK AND COMMUNICATIONS
Chair: Marcus von Engel (marcus@firesafeberkeley.org)
Mission: Maintain communication and networks for neighbor participation, including a website, surveys, and email distribution list
OUTREACH
Chair: Tom Umeda (tumeda@gmail.com)
Mission: Recruit and orient new volunteers; develop membership guidelines for 2022
REVEGETATION
Chair: Nancy Gillette (beetlegillette@yahoo.com)
Mission: Recommend revegetation strategies for community stakeholders