Our Staff

Karen Nemsick, Executive Director
Executive Director Karen Nemsick has been a Bay Area resident since 1988. Her long nonprofit career has focused primarily on moving families out of poverty. After working five years at Raphael House, a shelter for homeless families, Karen started her own nonprofit called Women In Action to fill a gap in job preparedness training at welfare-to-work programs. Women In Action activities taught teamwork and communication skills to women moving from welfare to work, and the activities also built confidence and challenged women to overcome self-defeating beliefs. She also provided leadership as the Executive Director of Healing Waters, a nonprofit that provides wilderness adventures to men, women, and children affected by HIV and AIDS. In addition to her direct service work, Karen has worked as a consultant to executive directors and small nonprofit organizations on program development, leadership, operations, grant writing, and fundraising. She joined RTSF in June 2009 and is thrilled to be here!

Orlanda Wilson, Construction Project Manager
Orlanda joined the Rebuilding Together staff in the spring of 1999, after volunteering for six years as a skilled volunteer and construction captain. She worked in the restaurant business for many years, has been self-employed in construction and is a licensed contractor. In her fifteen years of involvement with Rebuilding Together, Orlanda has developed strong advocacy skills for working with seniors and people with disabilities to ensure their needs are met. Orlanda has lived in San Francisco for 27 years including 20 years as a resident member of one of the city’s only not-for-profit housing cooperatives in the Haight Ashbury district.

Kat Sawyer, Facility Program Manager
Kat has been involved with RTSF since 2003, volunteering as a construction captain before joining the staff in 2005 to manage facility projects.  Having worked as an artisan for six years, she transitioned from custom metal work to nonprofit management in 2001.  Kat studied ecological design and green building at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture, where she earned her Masters degree in 2001.  Prior to joining RTSF staff, she managed the San Francisco Tool Lending Library for two years. Kat moved to the Bay Area from Louisiana in 1989, just a few months before the Loma Prieta earthquake.  She is inspired by the sense of connection that Rebuilding Together generates and enjoys coordinating efforts that strengthen community.  In her free time, she participates in projects that create a sense of place and enhance the public landscape, such as:
•  Leading the process and efforts of many volunteers to construct an earthen (cob) building in the White Crane Springs Community Garden made with recycled and natural materials.
•  Designing and constructing a tile mosaic mural in the Garden for the Environment, a public demonstration garden in San Francisco.

Valerie Coleman, Outreach Manager & Program Coordinator
Valerie Coleman joined the RTSF staff as the program coordinator in the fall of 2007, following an eye opening volunteer experience in New Orleans. With over 10 years of work experience within a wide variety of nonprofits (from animal shelters, foster youth, community arts center to a national magazine and City advocacy), Valerie has found that RTSF’s clients, low-income seniors & other nonprofit employees, are by far her favorite population and has recently become the Outreach Manger as well as Program Coordinator. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in International Politics, she’s passionate about community based work, issues of social justice and absolutely loves the tangible grassroots changes RTSF is making every year in San Francisco. Focusing on outreach and communications within RTSF, Valerie loves talking to anyone who’ll listen about our great work, has a great fondness for working with volunteers & seniors, collaborating with other SF based organizations and trying to improve the visibility of our organization. When not at RTSF, Valerie can be found volunteering for her other fave nonprofits, digging around in her community garden plot, dancing, or finding even more reasons to fall in love with San Francisco.

Jonathan Rossall, Office Manager
Jonathan joined the Rebuilding Together San Francisco team in January 2010 after relocating to the bay area from sunny San Diego.  Originally intending to become an engineer, Jonathan chose to pursue a career in non-profit social service after being inspired by the praxis of friends and professors he met while studying at the College of the Holy Cross.  His own journey has involved feeding the homeless in Phoenix, preventing evictions in Boston, career counseling at-risk teens in southern California, and more.  Jonathan moved to San Francisco at the end of August to return to school and discovered Rebuilding Together when he was looking for a place to volunteer.  He’s very happy that now, when he’s not hitting the books, he’ll be putting his organizational skills to good use supporting the great work of Rebuilding Together San Francisco.

Mel Mashman
Mel rejoined Rebuilding Together SF to support their 2010 Rebuilding Day.  He has been volunteer, a volunteer captain and a construction captain since 1991. He was RTSF's Program Director from 2002 to 2005 before going on a three year tour of the USA and Canada.  He returned believing that the Bay Area is where it's at.  Mel was first introduced to RTSF as a member of the Levi Strauss & Co.'s Homeless Community Involvement Team and later as the co-chair of Levi's CIT Steering Committee.  His MS in Quantitative Methods in Business from UCLA was so long ago he has thrown away his IBM punchcards, but he has stuck with it and helps to provides technical support.  He brings with him the concept that "Life is Finite - Live Like It" and continues to enjoy the enthusiasm of working with the FABULOUS staff and the very talented and wonderful volunteers associated with RTSF.  Mel said "Everyday something wonderful happens here - what a great place to work!".   

• Martin Cohen, Warehouse Assistant
• Mary Gerber, Home Modifications Installer
• Lanny Lampl, IT Consultant
• Ryan Marenger, Bookkeeper
• Deidre Triplett, Web Designer

Zoe Dawg, Mascot and Volunteer Recruitment Tool
Zoe has no experience and outside of general cuteness, offers very little to the organizational support of RTSF. But she is our favorite mascot, holds a world record for sleeping and loves to have her belly rubbed by volunteers.