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About Urban Solutions - Staff Bios |
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Jenny McNulty, Executive Director
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Jenny oversees all Urban Solutions' programs and initiatives. She joined Urban Solutions in early 2002 to provide loan packaging and technical assistance to small business owners and to work on the creation and implementation of the Six on Sixth economic revitalization program. After serving as a Small Business Development Specialist and then Deputy Director, she moved into the role of Executive Director in 2005. In 2009, she also became CEO of California Lending Partners, a new SBA certified development company affiliated with Urban Solutions.
Jenny has extensive financial experience in both the non-profit and private sectors. She worked for four years in micro-credit programs, including two years in West Africa, where she was part of the management team for a micro-credit program providing credit and health education to 12,000 women. She also spent a year in a nature reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon teaching environmental education and promoting community health initiatives.
Jenny's family has been in San Francisco for five generations. Prior to working at Urban Solutions, Jenny worked as a financial manager at Providian Financial in San Francisco, doing financial planning and profitability analysis. Jenny holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Bristol, with a focus on Finance, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She is fluent in French, Spanish and Bambara.
| Helen
Branham, Director of Small Business Services
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Helen works with small businesses and entrepreneurs to help them obtain financing by packaging SBA loans and assisting in developing strong business plans, financial projections and marketing strategies. She developed and manages the Urban Solutions Fillmore office in the Western Addition and meets clients there and in the South of Market office when she is not organizing technical assistance workshops for business owners or attending community meetings. Her experience includes co-creating the Buzz on Biz Youth Entrepreneurship Training program at Urban Solutions and working with micro-enterprise programs in the non-profit and private sectors, including five years as Project Director at Women's Initiative for Self-Employment, where she worked with over 2,000 women business owners. She operates her own small business consulting company, The Saba Group, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Little Children's Development Center. Helen completed graduate studies in Business and Industrial Psychology at Tennessee State University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
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Tracy Everwine, Project Director
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Tracy Everwine oversees Urban Solutions’ economic development work in San Francisco’s South of Market Redevelopment Project Area working closely with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. She has been involved in economic development and urban revitalization for over ten years focusing on business retention and expansion, business attraction, retail enhancement and small business consulting. Tracy is a graduate of UC Berkeley and is also certified in economic development finance. She began her career in Philadelphia's historic downtown marketing a two-million square foot shopping center for The Rouse Company. In Philadelphia she also worked closely with non-profit community development organizations, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City's Redevelopment Authority on economic and community development programs. After relocating to San Francisco she took on small business attraction and retention in Richmond California and later managed development and construction projects for large retail clients throughout Northern California. Tracy also leads contemporary art tours nationwide and volunteers to support seniors and at-risk youth. She is a member of CREW, SPUR and ULI, and serves on the Board of Directors for CATS homeless outreach services.
Janice Lee, Development and Communications Director |
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Janice is responsible for promoting Urban Solutions’ initiatives and programs with small businesses, generating community support, and working with the organization on its strategic plan. A second-generation native San Franciscan, she has more than 20 years of experience in media, public and community relations for organizations addressing issues of family homelessness, domestic violence, hate crimes, and community and economic development. She holds a Bachelor's degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and was most recently Deputy Executive Director at the national office of the Asian American Journalists Association. She is past president of the Board of Directors of the Asian Women’s Shelter and currently serves on the Board of Hyphen Magazine.
| Anthony
Tsai, Green Business
Program Manager
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Anthony
oversees efforts to assist
small businesses save costs
while preserving the environment
by identifying conservation
opportunities in the areas
of energy, water, waste, toxics,
and purchasing efficiency.
Prior to joining Urban Solutions,
he spent two years in management
consulting for Fortune 100
companies where he developed
and marketed new client programs.
He spent eight months in Jakarta,
Indonesia, where he provided
a startup company with business
tools to develop carbon credits
to protect rain forests in
Borneo. Anthony has a Masters
of Business Administration
from the Ross School of Business
at the University of Michigan
and a Bachelor’s degree in
Computer Science from the
University of California,
Berkeley. He is bilingual
in English and Mandarin.
| Helene Sautou, Project Manager
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Helene manages property improvement projects associated with the Sixth Street economic revitalization program. A former commercial property manager and development coordinator for the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority in Seattle, Helene has much experience working with small, owner-operated businesses, including numerous retail or food specialty stores and restaurants. She also managed retail tenant improvements for Tarragon, a well-regarded Seattle area developer. A native of France, where she studied product design, Helene completed certificate programs in Land Use Law and Commercial Real Estate at the University of Washington. She took a sabbatical year to pursue a bread & pastry program, running a booth at her local Sunday farmer’s market while going to school.
Claudia Stillwell, Bookkeeper
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Claudia
serves as a Financial Management Consultant to Urban
Solutions. She has worked in non-profit administration
for over fifteen years, the last seven in financial
management. Her current projects with nonprofits
include advising on accounting, budgeting, nonprofit
compliance and audit preparation. She has presented
workshops on financial management and project management
for local service organizations. Claudia holds an
MBA from Golden Gate University and a BA from Wesleyan
University.
| Michelle
Brady, Executive Assistant
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Michelle
Brady manages daily office operations and assists
Executive Director Jenny McNulty. A native San
Franciscan, she graduated from UC Santa Barbara
with a degree in history. Prior to joining Urban
Solutions, Michelle was the Executive Assistant
at Co-op America in Washington, D.C.
| Janelle Block , Program and Data Assistant
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Janelle manages client data, tracks outcomes, and supports various program staff. Prior to coming onboard with Urban Solutions, Janelle worked for ten years in the fashion industry with experience in retail, wholesale and marketing within the industry. A native of San Francisco, Janelle holds a BA from California Institute of Integral Studies in interdisciplinary studies. She also commits her time to educational programs that assist the youth of underserved communities.
| Audrey Molina, Development & Communications Associate
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Audrey serves as editor of Urban Solutions’ web site and monthly e-newsletter. She also assists with fundraising. Prior to joining Urban Solutions, Audrey was a youth program director in Berkeley and a volunteer with St. Anthony’s Dining Room in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. She has a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from George Washington University and worked at The Washington Post for two years. She received her Master’s degree in theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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