Meet Our Team
Find out more about Upstream's amazing team!
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Oscar Chavez, Assistant Director of the Sonoma County Human Services Department, manages the Department’s planning, research, and evaluation functions, oversees community and client engagement, and provides executive leadership for the Upstream Investments Initiative. Oscar is an avid thrifter and relishes the thrill of finding that perfectly nearly-new item for pennies on the dollar. |
Kellie Noe, Program Development Manager, leads and supports the Upstream Investments Initiative with a passion for a just and equitable community. With over 20 years of experience, she is committed to developing and improving public systems, services, policies and programs to work better for children, youth, families and older adults. When not doing what she loves at work, she enjoys dancing to live music, and skiing and camping with her husband and two daughters.
Helen Simi, Upstream Outreach & Engagement Manager, connects our organizational partners and local community to the heart of Upstream’s mission. She oversees our committee management, communications and partner engagement and supports meeting and training facilitation. Helen brings to Upstream a wealth of knowledge in stakeholder engagement, partnership development and community outreach. She loves experiencing the beautiful diversity of the world with her family through travel, food and opening doors to new adventures.
Joni Huntsperger, Training & Technical Assistance Manager, provides group trainings and individualized coaching to support agencies to adopt evidence-informed strategies, strengthen organizational capacity, and implement equitable anti-racist strategies. She holds a Masters of Social Transformation and Masters of Theological Studies and brings years of experience in early childhood education, special needs education and group facilitation. Joni loves yoga, running and digging in her garden.
Annie Silverman, Administrative Aide, supports the administration of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, coordinates the integration of Results-Based Accountability into County contracts and contributes to Upstream trainings. The common thread of her diverse work experience is a passion for teaching and a commitment to continue learning. When not at work (and sometimes while at work), Annie enjoys gazing out the window observing the landscape around her.
Jake Harpin, ARPA Community Resilience Programs Contract Manager, is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) contract manager for Upstream Investments. He has worked extensively with non-profit agencies and has years of experience advocating for Sonoma County children and families, and adults with developmental disabilities. Jake appreciates family time free from screens, especially kayaking, hiking, and spending time at the ocean.
Bella Baxter, MSW Intern, supports various projects. She received her B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from San Francisco State University and has completed services in the AmeriCorps (S.F.) and Peace Corps (Fiji). She has established herself through a career in social services providing direct services to youth and is currently completing her MSW at UC Berkeley, specializing in strengthening organizations and communities. While studying abroad in Sweden, Bella traveled to Lapland, Finland, where she did a polar plunge in the Arctic Ocean and crossed the Arctic Circle.
Holly White-Wolfe, Program Planning Evaluation Analyst, supports the Shared Outcome Measurement work for Upstream Investments. Holly utilizes her data systems management experience and analysis skills to help Upstream and partners determine how much did we do, how much did it cost, and how much did it matter. When not crunching code or engaging with community partners, Holly spends her time dancing at local festivals to Americana music.
Norine Doherty, Program Planning and Evaluation Analyst, manages the Road to Early Achievement and Development of Youth (READY) Project in partnership with First 5 Sonoma County. For the past 13 years, Norine has been working in the Health and Human Services field developing, managing and evaluating programs with the goal of increasing Social Justice, prioritizing our most undeserved communities. Prior to her work in Health and Human Services, Norine worked as a professional massage therapist for 10 years and still values a holistic mind-body centered approach in her work and life.
Allison Carr, Administrative Aide, primarily support the READY Initiative and Upstream's Shared Outcome Measurement work. She loves working with community partners to use data for decisison-making with an equity focus. Allison is an enthusiastic reader and often stays up too late to read "one last page!".