She’s arguably one of Santa Rosa’s best known and most beloved citizens. Countless nonprofits list her as a benefactor. Most Santa Rosans know—or know of—Impact 100 member Jeannie Schulz. Her life is an open book-or is it? Consider this: she was born in Mannheim, Germany. Her parents, both British, were managing the Mannheim Berlitz Language School when Jeannie was born. At the urging of the British government, the family left Germany when Jeannie was just six months old. Hitler invaded [...]
Cynthia (Cindy) Denenholz didn’t envision going to college near her hometown of Modesto, but her father died at the beginning of her senior year of high school and that sealed her college choice—Stanford University. “Anywhere else would have been too far away from the family,” she says. Though she enjoyed school, Cindy thought four years at Stanford was “enough school for me.” She would spend the rest of her life to date proving herself wrong about that! Married to a classmate, [...]
Nominations Kickoff Virtual Event on May 20th with special guests Alegría De La Cruz & Lisa Carreño All members are invited to join a virtual 2021 Impact Grant Nominations Kickoff Event on Thursday, May 20th from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Our guest speakers, Alegría De La Cruz, Director - Office of Equity-Sonoma County, and Lisa Carreño, President and CEO of United Way of the Wine Country, will address how we might better promote diversity, equity, and inclusion when considering nominations for our $100,000 grant. This [...]
Sara Zeff Geber’s academic life took her from college dropout to PhD; her career path morphed from flight attendant to college instructor to organization and leadership development to a nationally recognized expert on “solo aging.” Clearly, she knows a thing or two about reinvention. Sara had a “great childhood” in Berkeley where the question in her family wasn’t “IF I’d go to college, but where.” After a year at the University of Colorado, which was “not radical enough” for a [...]
"Busting Bias - Inspiring Conversations for Change!" by Thea Hansel “Reframing” is a powerful tool in counseling because it creates an opening - an opportunity for change, growth, and solutions often buried in negativity. Shifting from “I’ll never learn this!” to “This is harder than I thought and will take me longer” is neutral and more hopeful. “Why did this happen?” can also be “Wow, there’s some big learning here!” Reframing is part of the new Impact 100 Inspirational Conversations [...]
A near-death experience at a young age left Dianne Brinson with a philosophy of life that has served her well both personally and professionally: “I’m just not willing to be unhappy.” In December 1975, a powerful bomb went off in the baggage area of LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74, including Dianne, then a 24-year Yale Law School student. The still unsolved crime has resonated with her ever since. Dianne was born in Mississippi, lived all over the Jim [...]
As a kid growing up in Santa Rosa, Tamara Stanley loved big community events, like the county fair, Fourth of July fireworks, and the Burbank Rose parade. Her family didn’t have much money to spare for entertainment, so her single mom made sure she and her sister enjoyed all the “free” events they could. When her Mom married Rincon Valley Elementary Principal Bob Stanley, Tamara realized those events didn’t just happen. It takes “lots and lots of people coming together,” [...]
Impact 100 Redwood Circle member, Kathryn Raimondi isn’t letting a pandemic slow her down. You’ll find her on a hiking trail or outdoor mahjong table these days. “But I sure miss the hugs,” she says. A native of Liverpool, England, Kathryn’s family immigrated to Eureka when she was nine. “They thought all of California was sunny, “ she laughs. She immediately went to work ditching the English accent, which brought her unwanted attention from schoolmates. Work—and family—have defined her ever [...]