Meet the Team

Walk SF’s work is powered by our passionate staff, Board of Directors, Advisory Council, volunteers, and members.

Learn more about our:

• Staff
• Board of Directors
• Advisory Council

Become a member, explore volunteer opportunities, or check out job and internship opportunities.

Staff & Interns

Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director

Jodie is responsible for leading Walk San Francisco’s strategic work. She has a long and successful history leading communications, fundraising, and advocacy at urban livability, active transportation, and poverty alleviation nonprofits.

Prior to joining Walk SF, Jodie was Deputy Director at the SF Housing Action Coalition, where her work was critical in passing Home SF, a policy to incentivize building more affordable and family-friendly housing in San Francisco. During her eight-year tenure as Development Director at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, she helped grow the organization from four to seventeen staff and collaborated on the Great Streets Project, which led to Sunday Streets and the now-thriving parklet program. Jodie earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Clark University.

Contact Jodie via email or call 415.431.9255, ext 2.

Cathy DeLuca, Policy & Program Director

Cathy leads the organization’s Vision Zero advocacy, including managing the Vision Zero Coalition, and she also oversees Walk SF’s walkability and Safe Routes to School work.

Cathy came to Walk SF in 2015 with a background in Safe Routes to School, active transportation, and urban planning. For two years, she served as the Coordinator of San Ramon Valley Street Smarts, a program delivering traffic safety education and walking/biking encouragement solutions to 33 schools. Previously, she provided bicycle and pedestrian planning services to the Alameda County Transportation Commission, the City of San Jose, and the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, organizing Santa Cruz’s first Open Streets event. Cathy holds a Masters in Urban Planning from San Jose State University.

Contact Cathy via email or call 415.431.9255, ext 3.

Ben Barrett, Operations Manager

Ben is responsible for overseeing the execution and continuous improvement of office operations, financial management, and vendor relations. Ben joined Walk SF in 2015 as an outreach intern, then became a staff member as an operations assistant in 2016.

In addition to his position at the organization, he is a Spanish translator and research assistant at a nonprofit research and advocacy group. Previously, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, where he worked with community-based organizations and rural entrepreneurs to encourage the adoption of sustainable and profitable practices to help curb deforestation. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.

Contact Ben via email.

Brian Haagsman, Outreach Coordinator

Brian supports outreach efforts for Walk SF’s annual events, volunteer, and membership programs. Brian joined Walk SF in 2016, bringing a diverse background in fundraising, communications, and campaign management.

Prior to Walk SF, he spent five years in fundraising at Stanford University. At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, his responsibilities included executing reunion fundraising campaigns, organizing alumni volunteer engagement and development, and managing donor stewardship and communication. Previously, Brian held roles in marketing, communications, development, and social media at organizations including Edible Front Range Magazine and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Contact Brian via email or call at 415.431.9255, ext 5.

Natasha Opfell, Community Organizer

Natasha works as a Community Organizer focused on grassroots, neighborhood engagement and empowerment to support strong transportation projects within the Excelsior/Outer Mission/Ingleside communities. In collaboration with the Vision Zero Coalition and partner organizations, she works to build the capacity of community members who have traditionally been left out of planning processes, and who often rely on walking, transit, and biking to get around. Natasha first joined Walk SF in 2016 as a Membership and Outreach Intern.

Previously she held various internships with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and holds a degree in Urban Studies and Planning with a focus in Ethnic Studies and Social Justice from San Francisco State University. Natasha moved to San Francisco from Palm Springs y ella habla español.

Contact Natasha via email or call at 415.431.9255, ext 8.

Greg Zeppa, Safe Routes to School Organizer

As a member of the San Francisco Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Partnership, Greg encourages walking, biking, public transit use, and carpooling at participating San Francisco schools. In collaboration with parents, teachers, students, and school administrators, he organizes neighborhood task forces to help create and implement positive change in San Francisco’s neighborhoods. In addition, Greg manages the Street Safety Explorers program, which helps 3rd through 5th-grade students develop their analytic and critical thinking skills by identifying, understanding, and resolving traffic safety problems.

Prior to his work at Walk SF, Greg was a community organizer and curriculum author for a number of nonprofit after-school programs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Literature from the University of California Santa Cruz. When not at Walk SF, he is a working musician, poet, and organizer of the local arts in San Francisco. Contact via email.

Contact Greg via email or call at 415.431.9255, ext 7.

Vernon Haney, Family & Schools Coordinator

As a member of the San Francisco Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Partnership, Vernon will be focused on encouraging families and students to walk, bike, take transit, and carpool to San Francisco schools in the SoMa and Bayview neighborhoods.

Before joining Walk SF in June 2018, Vernon was an Environmental Education Associate at Department of the Environment, where he educated elementary, middle, and high school students about water conservation, pollution prevention, and zero waste. A native of Louisiana, Vernon has been an engaged member of the San Francisco community for the past 10 years and is happy to continue to be able to serve San Francisco communities and residents with his work at Walk SF.

Contact Vernon via email or call at 415.431.9255, ext 6.

Paige Thornton, Policy & Program Intern

Paige supports the policy and programs team in a variety of capacities including work surrounding the Vision Zero Coalition, Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and transit-first objectives. In addition to interning with WalkSF, she is a Policy & Legislative Intern for San Francisco’s District 6 Supervisor, Jane Kim, where she focuses on housing, land-use and transportation issues. Paige holds a Bachelors of Arts degrees in American Studies and Political Science, with a minor in Urban Studies and Planning.

Philip Bailey, Outreach Intern

Philip is part of the Outreach team and supports Walk SF events as well as the membership and volunteer programs. He recently moved to San Francisco from Boston to attend the University of San Francisco with a focus on Urban Studies and Computer Science. Before joining the team, he was a city hall intern for then-Supervisor London Breed.

Board of Directors

Advisory Council

Sophie Maxwell Former San Francisco District 10 Supervisor, 2000-2011
Margie O’Driscoll Former Executive Director, American Institute of Architects, San Francisco
Bonnie Nelson Founding Principal, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting
Rodrigo Santos Principal & Co-Founder, Santos & Urrutia