Staff

Position Title: Executive Director

Email: info@hi4youth.org

Phone: 415-274-1970 x0021

Credentials: Elizabeth came to HIFY initially as Director of Finance and Administration in 2008. When HIFY’s Executive Director left the organization for health reasons, she ably stepped in and continues to lead the organization, and has over 22 years of Non-Profit Program Management and Finance experience at health & social services organizations.

She has held various positions including Finance and Personnel Director, Program Manager, Fiscal Officer, Director of Finance and Administration among others. She has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University at Hayward, a certificate of Non-Profit Management and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration.

Haley has worked in youth development for all of her career and completed her Masters of Arts in Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State in the spring of 2020. Her thesis focused on social media representation of sexuality and gender presentation with the help of high school focus groups. Prior to that, she worked at the Girl Scouts of Northern California for several years in their program department helping girls “make the world a better place”. She conducted and managed programs at many levels in enrichment, summer camps, and large events. Haley is passionate about positive sexuality education and equity in youth development

Sheena has been working at HIFY for the past 15 years. Sheena attended MetWest High School where she got the opportunity to be an intern at Tilden Elementary where she was a teacher assistant for a first-grade class of students with special needs. She also was an intern at The Ella Baker Center For Human Rights -Books not Bars. Throughout her time at HIFY, She also worked and WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases. She continues pursuing her passion for working with youth who are growing up in the same environment she did

Born and raised in Oakland, Cindy joined HIFY as a Lead Health Educator Trainer in November of 2021. Prior to coming to HIFY, Cindy served as a Home Visitor/Parent Child Educator/Family Advocate for Oakland’s Head Start program. She holds a Bachelor of the Arts in Human Development from Sonoma State University with a minor in Anthropology. Cindy is passionate about developing the skills of young people to be confident decision-makers and active agents of change in their communities and lives

Lilia is new to HIFY in 2022 and is excited to both educate and learn from the youth in our community. Lilia spent two years as a program facilitator at Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, teaching elementary school girls to be “strong, smart and bold” through health, leadership, STEM, and more classes. Her areas of interest include nutrition and mental health. Lilia is at HIFY because it combines multiple of her passions: youth, wellness, and social justice. She looks forward to doing her part to empower youth to make informed choices for their health and wellbeing

Sam completed his Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health from Dominican University of California in the spring of 2022 with a focus on overall wellness and health education. Previously he has worked as a clinical assistant at a treatment center for adolescents with psychiatric conditions. From this work, he upholds values that prioritize the importance of mental health and utilizing coping skills to deal with the day-to-day stressors of life. He interned and collaborated with other non-profit organizations such as the Center for Domestic Peace, Kids Cooking for Life, and a tutoring program for children with learning disabilities. His combined experience has made him passionate about helping others see their potential in becoming their best selves

Geneba is a proud Mexican American first-generation grad student and feminist. Pronouns She/Her/Hers/Ella and is currently working on her master’s program at SFSU in Gender and Women’s Studies. Her passions and interests include community outreach, youth development with a focus on under-represented colored youth, and the continuation of higher education within marginalized communities. Her experience comes from serving as the program coordinator for the LGBTQ+ and Women’s Center at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She facilitated curriculum and workshops for a nonprofit organization called Girls To Women Big Island in which she mentored and built meaningful connections with students through after-school programs. Through her work at HIFY, she hopes to actively continue this mission of hers of helping as many students as possible. When she isn’t doing this you can find her traveling to new places, hanging out with her dog Sasha and or playing tennis without rules

Noah (he/they) joined HIFY as a Health Educator Trainer this past October; originally from Santa Barbara, Noah moved up to the Bay Area in 2022 in search of new opportunities with teaching youth what he wished he learned growing up – which is what HIFY provides. Specifically at HIFY, Noah specializes in LGBTQ+ issues, youth development, sexual health education, mental health in youth, and healthy communication methods. While getting his Bachelor’s at UC Riverside, Noah discovered his passion for youth involvement through hosting workshops about queer health and the like at different schools around the Inland Empire. A “bigger-picture” goal of Noah’s is to one day open up a center dedicated to queer youth growing into their own selves – it’ll be a center for their health, it’ll be a space free from judgment, it’ll be a community where they can come in and take a breath from the world outside.

But until then, Noah is proud to be a part of the work and the experience that HIFY is giving. Outside of the office, you can find Noah either exploring the Bay Area, hunched over his laptop deep in his creative outlets, or cuddled up on the couch reading a book

Jack joined HIFY in January and absolutely loves being a helpful source for others. Their focus on harm reduction and interest in teaching drove them to the type of work hify does for students. Growing up with little access to resources and experiencing displacement in education, he values and uplifts the experiences students have when attending a program because they remind him of the opportunities he wished he had access to when he was younger. Jack is also currently a community college student with a unique path and enjoys relating to his cohort with similar backgrounds. Jack’s leadership style is that he likes to lead with an open mind and an open heart!

Katherine (she/her/ella) joined HIFY as a Health Educator Trainer in January. She has been working with youth since 2016 in various contexts. As a first generation Mexican raised in the United States, she has taken a special interest in working with the communities that raised, supported and inspired her in her youth. Her career in education began as a paraeducator for students learning English as a second language and she has since switched her focus to health, wellness and harm-reduction.

Within the last two years, she has transitioned from working in the public school sector to the non-profit world. 

At HIFY, she is excited to continue working in a community-oriented environment that focuses on youth empowerment and wellness

Position Title: Grant Writing and Reporting Consultant

Email: info@hi4youth.org

Phone: 415-274-1970

Credentials: Leslie Minot has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 20 years supporting fundraising, research and writing, and program evaluation efforts in organizations addressing health, youth development, LGBT civil and human rights, and environmental justice. This includes stints as Development Director at the then International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International) and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.

Hobbies: .

Why is she at HIFY? She is here because she wants to help HIFY leverage data strenghten programs outcomes and advance HIFY’s mission.