ABOUT US

About the LWVBA Board:​

 

Co-Presdient: Kathleen Cha has served public, private and nonprofit sectors for more than thirty years as a Strategic Communications professional, specializing in community outreach, and crisis communications regarding community issues, public safety, housing/transportation, and the environment. As a word warrior, she is a recognized keynote speaker and leadership development/media trainer, as well as published author.  She is currently LWV Bay Area Director with a portfolio focusing on regional governance, member of the LWV Oakland, and currently serves on the LWVC Natural Resources legislative analysis team specializing in CEQA related reform.  Kathleen retired in 2014 from Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) after 14 years as Senior Communications Officer and was appointed to serve on the ABAG Bay Area Regional Planning Committee (RPC) which provides policy on land use, housing, environment for the 101 cities and 9 counties. In her commitment to equity and community building, she has been an NGO (non-governmental) delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (for the past nine years), and was awarded a 2016 Circle of Courage Award for her international leadership by Women’s Intercultural Network (Win).  She currently serves as Board Vice President for A Safe Place providing comprehensive services to families suffering abuse and violence. 

 

Co President: Louise Rothman-Riemer has been involved with the LWV for more than 10 years. A long-time activist with the ACLU, she decided there was no reason not to join the League and did. She served as President of the Oakland League for four years.  During which time the League participated in a grant from the Alameda County Probation Department that allowed the Oakland League to evaluate itself to become a more effective and impactful organization. An enduring interest in civil liberties, women’s rights, social justice, criminal justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion have been reflected in the organizations and activities she has participated in over the years. Besides the LWVBA Board, she is also on the Audit Committee for the Northern CA ACLU Affiliate and is a long-time board member of the Rockridge District Association, a business improvement district in Oakland’s Rockridge District. She co-owned DHR Investment Counsel with her husband Davis Riemer for 40 years and recently merged their firm with Schultz Collins and retired in 2025. Raised in the Midwest, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in Theater and English and then received a Master’s in Theatre at San Francisco State followed by a Para Legal degree from St. Mary’s College.

 

Vice President: Madeline Kronenberg is a retired Adult Education instructor and education leader – serving as Board member and President of the California Council for Adult Education Costanoan Chapter – and received their annual state Excellence in Teaching Award. She has been an active league member since 2006. A member of the West Contra Costa County League, she has served on the West Contra Costa County Board in a variety of capacities and has been on the LWV Bay Area Board since April 2015 as Administrative Vice President and later serving two terms as President. She was elected and served three terms on West Contra Costa Unified School District governing board from 2006-18. During that time, she served as Board President twice and was elected to serve as a Delegate to the statewide California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly and as Board member and President of the Contra Costa County School Boards Association. 

 

Secretary: Yolanda Schonbrun lives in Napa with her husband and has two children and five grandkids who live in Suisun City and Petaluma. She was raised in Napa, attended local schools and Napa Community College. She received a BA degree and a Teaching Credential from Sonoma State University and an MA degree from Cal East Bay State University. She served a two-year term on the LWV of Oakland BOD as Program Chair and about five years as the Local Education Committee Chair. She was a member of the City of Oakland Latinx Education Network (LEN) whose mission and vision were to advocate and ensure best practices for the educational achievement of Latinx students in the Oakland Unified School District.

 

Yolanda is currently Co-President of the LWV of Napa County where she has served as the chair for the Membership Committee, Chair of the of the Local Criminal Justice Committee and Co-Chair of the Voter Service Committee. Yolanda spends her leisure time working in her garden, reading, and participating in Book Clubs. She also loves to travel around the world; has visited places like Papua New Guinea, the Galapagos, Laos, India, Turkey, and many countries in Central, South America and Europe.

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Directors:

 

Marieann Shovlin, a LWV member since 1988, has been very active since 2015. Sharing her passion and experience in communications and marketing, she has contributed as LWV Cupertino-Sunnyvale Director of Communications and VOTER editor. As an outgrowth of her interests in enabling effective communication, she initiated the Civil Discourse Committee in 2017 as a Santa Clara County Council Committee. This committee has delivered over a dozen events to educate and train League and other community members and is continuing this program through 2022. Event topics have included the Opioid Epidemic, Immigration, Racial Wealth Gap, Education Equity and other current community issues.

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Sheri Thomas joined the LWV of Napa County in October of 2020.  She became part of the communications team and quickly became the chair of the committee and in January 2021. She joined the LWV Bay Area Board in April of 2022. Sheri served as president of LWV of Napa County (23-25) and continues to serve on the Napa County BOD.  Sheri’s career spans over 33 in sales and marketing in the hotel industry until she retired in 2020. Throughout her career she has been a member of and has served on the board of several industry related associations.  Sheri also has experience managing several associations.  Participating in these organizations whether they were hospitality industry specific or not provided her with a great understanding of communications and marketing needs of a non-profit organization. Sheri has been married to her retired assistant-fire chief husband for 26 years and has lived in Napa for 24 years and owns and rides her two horses.

 

Jean Perry is the member of LWVNCSMC. She has a long and deep experience in advocating for improved mental health services in the area, including serving on the San Mateo County Behavioral Health Commission. She is active in the LWVC-Healthcare Interest Group. Educated in public universities, University of Utah and University of California San Francisco, she is retired from a career on teams conducting “bench to bedside” research and providing direct care as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner.”

 

Linda Lyons-Justus is an Alameda-based real estate investor interested in social justice and community advocacy. Her educational background includes obtaining a BA from UC at Berkeley, and a JD and LLM both from Chapman University. She was a founding member of Bay Area Women Against Rape and served as an advisory liaison to the Berkeley Free Clinic. She has also served on the Orange County Girl Scouts Board of Directors, the City of Irvine Child, Youth, and Families Advisory Committee, and the Alameda County Commission for Consumer Affairs. Linda is currently serving on the following boards of directors - Alameda Family Services, Ballena Bay Yacht Club, and the LWV Alameda. Linda has three children, a tripod grand-dog named Nemo and likes crafts, and the Oakland Baller's baseball team. She is a lifelong traveler having lived in Rome and Juneau where she met her husband. With a background in real estate and civic leadership, she is an advocate for women's rights, affordable housing, mental health and LGBTQA issues. 

 

Dr. Elñora Tena Webb is a visionary strategist, educator, and financial leader committed to empowering individuals and institutions to achieve lasting success. With nearly four decades of transformative leadership in higher education—including key roles at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and as President Emerita of Laney College—she has directly influenced the growth and advancement of over 100,000 professionals nationwide and beyond.

 

Dr. Webb has excelled in leadership roles spanning academic, corporate, and policy-driven landscapes. Her career journey includes serving as a coordinator, director, program manager, instructor, dean, vice president of academic affairs, executive vice chancellor, and ultimately, president. A driving force behind institutional excellence, she has built powerful partnerships with educational, corporate, policy, spiritual, and civic leaders to create sustainable, high-impact change. A lifelong advocate for education, economic empowerment, and transformational leadership, Dr. Webb continues to inspire and lead with purpose.

 

Kevin Hagerty is a lifetime Bay Area resident. He grew up in Berkeley and has lived in San Rafael for the past 36 years. He has served as Director of the San Francisco Parking Authority, Manager of Transportation Planning at UC Berkeley, and Manager of Customer Access at BART. He retired from BART in 2012. Kevin has been a member of the LWV Marin County since 2014 and served as president from July 2023 through June 2025, becoming the first male president in the organization’s 83-year history. He is currently a LWV Marin member and is Co-Chair of its Transportation, Housing, and Land Use Committee.

 

Kevin is Chair of the Transportation Authority of Marin’s Community Oversight Committee and Chair of MTC’s Independent Oversight Committee for Regional Measure 3 bridge tolls. He also serves on the SMART Citizens Oversight Committee. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from UC, Berkeley, and a Master of Business Administration from St Mary’s College. Kevin has been married to his wife, Candace del Portillo, for 47 years. They have one daughter and two grandsons.