|
|
 |
|
About Urban Solutions - Staff Bios |
Jenny McNulty, Executive Director
|
|
 Jenny McNulty joined Urban Solutions in 2002 and has been the Executive Director since 2005. Under her leadership, Urban Solutions designed and implemented the Sixth Street Economic Revitalization program to attract and retain businesses on Sixth Street. A passionate environmentalist, Jenny created the Green Business program to engage small businesses in sustainability and reduce their environmental footprint. Prior to becoming Executive Director, Jenny provided consulting and loan packaging assistance to small businesses and worked to establish Urban Solutions' office in the Western Addition. Jenny has won several awards for her leadership of Urban Solutions, including the Small Business Administration 2007 Financial Services Champion of the Year, the CREW Network 2008 Achievement of Excellence and Economic Improvement Awards, and the SF Bay Guardian 2009 Small Business Good Neighbor Award.
Jenny has extensive financial experience in both the non-profit and private sectors, and a background in international development and conservation. Before joining Urban Solutions, Jenny was a financial manager at Providian Financial in San Francisco, doing financial planning and profitability analysis. She worked for four years in microfinance programs, including two years in West Africa, where she was part of the management team for a program providing credit and health education to 12,000 women. She spent a year in a nature reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon teaching environmental education and promoting community health initiatives. Jenny holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Bristol, with a concentration in 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
|
|
 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.
Tracy Everwine, Project Director
|
|
 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 |
|
 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.
Jared Alaqua, Sustainability Program Manager
|
|
 Jared Alaqua leads Urban Solutions sustainability initiatives. He has a Master’s of Business Administration in Sustainable Enterprise (Green MBA) from the Dominican University of California and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Miami University of Ohio. Jared cofounded a sustainability-focused management consulting company named Regenerative Enterprise Consultants, which he ran for the last three years. He has worked with small and medium-sized companies to make them more profitable by being more environmentally and socially sustainable and has conducted numerous energy, water, and waste stream audits. Jared has held leadership positions across a number of industries including automotive, logistics, solar, and consulting. After joining IKEA North America as Receiving and Warehouse Operations Coordinator, he quickly found himself evaluating equipment for national rollout and presenting to top executives. Jared is passionate about resource efficiency, alternative energy, positive psychology, and electric cars.
Helene Sautou, Project Manager
|
|
 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 extensive 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 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.
Claudia Stillwell, Controller
|
|
 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.
Janelle Block , Program and Data Assistant
|
|
 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.
Georgia Onyemen, Executive and Human Resources Assistant
|
|
 Georgia is Executive Assistant to the Executive Director. Her other responsibilities include managing daily office operations and assisting with the organization’s human resources, development and accounting activities. Georgia received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Management and Human Resources from Cal Poly Pomona. She currently volunteers for East Bay Habitat for Humanity and Alameda Food Bank.
|
|
![Urban Solutions home [button]](../images/logo.jpg){kind=logo}
