Staff
Kelly Lee, Executive Director
Kelly brings to SFIP an extensive background in nonprofit management, mainly in the area of cultural arts. Much of his work experience has focused on Asian American organizations in San Francisco, including Center for Asian American Media (formerly NAATA)—which hosts the annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, and the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum and Learning Center, where he served as both Director of Development and Director of Marketing and Publicity. More recently, he served as the Director of Development for Heyday Institute, which publishes books on the history, literature, culture, and environment of California. He has also worked on behalf of domestic violence (Institute on Domestic Violence at APIAHF) and HIV/AIDS (NAMES Project Foundation, where he coordinated displays of the AIDS Memorial Quilt for the Workplace, Special, and World AIDS Day programs). Kelly has a Ph.D. in Integral Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he pursued a self-designed curriculum that focused on cross-cultural mythologies and Jungian psychology. He has also helped coordinate educational tours around the world and has himself traveled to various destinations in Europe and Asia, as well as North America. His most memorable travel experiences have included strolling through Hong Kong’s Night Market, taking the Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool, studying topeng in Bali for a month, sailing down the Grand Canal in both Venice and Suzchou, and eating the best gelato (dark chocolate!) in Florence while crossing the Ponte Vecchio.
Courtney LaCava, Programs Director
Courtney began her work as SFIP’s programs director in February 2007 and worked as the interim executive director from July - December 2008. Her travels and work abroad in adulthood have provided transformative experiences that have shaped her vision of intercultural exchange as an instrument for community-building on a global scale. Courtney received her master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California, San Diego, with a research focus on the discourse of gender and sexuality within the framework of international HIV/AIDS prevention organizing in Ecuador. While conducting her research, she interned with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health’s National HIV/AIDS Prevention Program in Quito, helping to develop the national framework through the country’s first Global Fund collaboration. She also holds a BA in International Relations from Colgate University, and has worked in social services on the San Diego-Tijuana border region with at-risk youth and families, and as a Spanish-speaking case manager at a women’s domestic violence shelter. Courtney has lived in Salvador, Brazil, volunteering with an alternative education program for children living on the streets. In addition to her work with SFIP, she is a certified yoga instructor and is currently studying the art of Ayurvedic medicine.
Anisha Desai, Community Outreach Manager
Anisha Desai joined SFIP as a consultant in the role of community outreach manager. With a background in education, youth development, community organizing and social justice work, she will lead SFIP’s Core and Bridging Leaders volunteer-based programs. Anisha has done Ph.D. work at the University of California of Berkeley and has focused on consciousness raising projects amongst South Asian youth in the South. She earned a Masters of Education in Risk and Prevention at Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in African-American Literature, Psychology and Secondary Education from the University of Miami in Florida. She has also traveled on a Rwanda Fulbright Program where she studied post-genocide reconciliation efforts and shared her experiences with various activist circles in the United States. Prior to relocating to Oakland, CA, Anisha served as interim executive director and deputy director at United for a Fair Economy in Boston.
Sharon Ou, Bookkeeper
Sharon was born and raised in Southern China and has travelled extensively in East and South Asian. She graduated from San Francisco State University with B.S. in Accounting and has worked in Real Estate and property management fields for about fifteen years. Her responsibilities included accounts receivable, accounts payable, bank reconciliation, payroll, etc. Her hobbies include watching movies and spending time with her friends.
Board of Directors
Mary Lyons, President (1999)
Mary in Senior Vice President of TRI Commercial Inc., a San Francisco commercial brokerage firm. An Irish national, she spent much of the 1990’s in Russia doing legal work, commodity trading, and finally setting up her own real estate company in Moscow. She came to SFIP through the Global Partners Program and today she lives with her husband and two daughters in San Francisco, while continuing to travel extensively and bridge cultures.
Allan Ng, Vice President (2007)
Allan is currently the Senior Communications Manager for Yahoo! He is an expert in brand marketing and advertising, and has lent his skills to various non-profits to promote community engagement and cross-cultural understanding. Allan holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in Economics and Philosophy and an MBA from the UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Allan enjoys travel and learning languages. He has a working knowledge of Chinese and French, and has taken classes in Italian, Spanish and Latin.
Susie Shoaf, Secretary (1996)
Susie joined the SFIP Board in 1996 and has previously served as Vice President, Program Chair, Executive Committee member, and repeat home-stay host for international participants. She currently handles special events for The Nature Conservancy’s California Chapter. Her previous experience includes: event management both here and abroad; working as associate development director for administration for JFCS; directing communications and development for the Lycée Français La Pérouse in SF; managing VIP handling for the opening of Disneyland Paris; and directing catering and conventions for luxury hotels in France and California. She began her career in the international business community opening San Francisco's French-American Chamber of Commerce and directed trainings in the US and abroad for Peace Corps volunteers posted to West Africa. A graduate of UC Berkeley, and a native San Franciscan, Susie has always been proud to share her cross-cultural perspective on her City with international visitors....and has traveled the world in search of other points of view!
Joanne Ferris, Treasurer (2007)
Lewis Dolinsky, Member (2007)
Lewis was born in Waynesboro, Georgia, and began his journalism career there writing for the weekly True Citizen when he was 12. He has a BA in history in Berkeley from the University of California at Berkeley, where he resurrected the literary magazine, Occident, and was editor in chief for three years. He has sold furniture and has tutored Native American children and junior high school students. He was an instructor in the summer editing program for minority journalists at UC Berkeley. From 1975 to 2002, he was an editor and writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. He served as copy desk chief and deputy foreign editor and wrote a foreign affairs column called “Notes From Here and There.’’ Since leaving the Chronicle, he has written free-lance articles and has organized, or moderated, programs at the Commonwealth Club and the Asia Society on such topics as American policy on Cuba, the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the Indonesian elections and the transfer of foreign prisoners. He still runs a weekly fast-pitch softball game he co-founded, now in its 40th season.
Marilyn Herand, Member (2002)
Marilyn has been drawn to international work for as long as she can remember. At the University of Hawaii she began working with international students and became a host family. She was appointed to SFIP’s Board in the early 1990’s and became the executive director in 1994 serving for several years. Under her leadership SFIP expanded its programs including the Soros Open Society Program, South Africa Internship Program and the Southern Africa Regional Program. In 1999, she joined Stanford University’s Office for International Visitors as the Program Coordinator. She continues to promote cultural understanding and the exchange of ideas among people of the world through her work as Coordinator for the San Francisco/Bay Area Fulbright Visiting Scholars Enrichment Program.
Brian R. Landa, Member (2008)
Brian has experience in management consulting (corporate strategy, marketing strategy, and operations design) in provision of service to small businesses. Currently a Vice President of Marketing for Wells Fargo, he is responsible for development of business lending and business payments services. In earlier professional work Brian owned and managed his own consulting practice serving large financial services firms in the U.S. as well as international development organizations, and has participated in and advised several business start-ups. Brian holds a B.A in Economics from Northwestern University. In his personal time, Brian most enjoys traveling internationally with his family.
Ismet T Pekin, Member (2006)
Ismet joined the SFIP board in 2006. Prior to becoming a board member, Ismet was a Global Partners Program participant. She started her career in 1996 at PricewaterhouseCoopers Istanbul office working as a tax consultant specializing in tax audits for the energy, technology and retailing industries. Currently she is working as a Business Development Manager for Worldwide Service Provider Operations organization at Cisco Systems, Inc. Ismet is a native of Turkey and holds a BS in Economics from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and a Graduate Degree from San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA.
Alan Unger, Member (1984)
Alan grew up in a CIP host family and today he is the president of the San Francisco International Program. Alan has spent over 30 years managing and providing strategic guidance in the areas of public policy, governmental relations, marketing and communications to international and domestic organizations in both the public and private sectors. He has extensive experience in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova where he planned and managed privatization and social reform projects for international organization including USAID and the World Bank. With the Canadian Foreign Service Alan served as a political-economic officer and developed media and communications, as well as academic and cultural programs. He has also managed and participated in political and public affairs campaigns at the national, state and local levels and was a Coro Foundation fellow. Currently, Alan is a visiting scholar with UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies, and a volunteer and board member of the Redwoods Retirement Community where he lives in Mill Valley, California, and where he also serves on the county’s senior advisory committee. Together with his wife Ruby Unger, he established Unger Educational Media that has produced eight award-winning educational films over the past fifteen years in addition to working with an international foundation that is establishing public management and education programs in Eastern Europe.