Girls Inc. of the Island City held its 2018 - 2019 Board of Directors Installation on Tuesday, September 11th at the home of board member, Matt Bliven, and Kathy Bliven. Board members, staff, and special guests mingled and celebrated the coming year.

Special thanks to Sean McPhetridge , Superintendent of Alameda Unified School District, for officiating and our Board President, Luzanne Engh, and CEO, Christine Chilcott , for presenting. A big thanks to Matt and Kathy Bliven for hosting the event; Al Wright of Raintree Studios for taking photos; and Alameda Island Brewing Company , Dragon Rouge Vietnamese Restaurant , Feel Good Bakery , Greens & Grains , Scolari's at the Point , and Speisekammer for their delicious food and drink donations.

In addition to our wonderfully diverse and talented returning board members, we have four new members who share our passion for empowering girls and teens in Alameda. The new board members are:
June Allen - June is currently employed at First 5 Alameda County,
a public agency that serves children from birth to age five. She is responsible for the agency’s technical infrastructure as well as coordinating and participating in development, training, and support activities for the First 5 suite of web-based applications. June is also a former GIIC Board member, having served from 2008-2014. Photo courtesy of Al Wright, Raintree Studios.
Anne Gooch - Anne recently retired from a 37-year career of public service as a government employee for the Defense Logistics Agency and The US Coast Guard. Along with hands-on management and leadership qualities, she brings critical analytical and financial management skills to GIIC. Throughout her career she mentored junior colleagues and supported local communities with programs such as Partnership in Education. Photo courtesy of Al Wright, Raintree Studios.
Sandy Hobson - Sandy is the Quality Assurance Director for the Seneca Family of Agencies. There she provides leadership for activities including oversight of audit preparations for Medicaid Audits and she addresses the privacy, security, and general protected health information compliance concerns of the agency. Sandy has also
worked at eBay in the Business Development Group and as a Media Coordinator for AOL. She has volunteered at the Alameda County Foodbank, Rebuilding Oakland, and the San Francisco SPCA. Photo courtesy of Al Wright, Raintree Studios.
Ashley McLaughlin - Ashley is a marriage and family therapist and is currently a counseling instructor in the Graduate Department of Counseling at San Francisco State University. She also serves on the team for the graduate counseling admissions department, reviewing applications each Fall. In addition, Ashley is a “reader” for the Maisen Scholarship board, reviewing under-served high school applicants for scholarships in San Francisco County.
 
GIIC 2018-2019 Board of Directors
From left to right: Julie Conner, Luzanne Engh (president), Christy Consler, Anne Gooch, Hailey Castelaz, Lauren Zimmerman Cook, Juelle-Ann Boyer, Matt Bliven (treasurer), June Allen, Heather Little, Sandy Hobson, Claudia Page (secretary), and Louise Nakada. Not pictured: Linda Felts (vice president), Theresa Gonzales, Ashley McLaughlin, and Carolyn Thomas.

To view more photos from the Board Installation event,
courtesy of Al Wright from Raintree Studios & GIIC, click HERE .

Girls Inc. of the Island City
1724 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA 94501