Staff/Board Bios

Phyllis Rosenfield, M.A., Executive Director/President

Rosenfield is a founder and Executive Director/President of Listening for a Change. She has a background in education, social science and fine arts, and has a masters in Equity & Social Justice. She was the photographer and co-creator for “The Sonoma County Survivor Project”, and has served on numerous boards and commissions, including Chair of the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights and President of the Sonoma County League of Women Voters.

Melissa Long, Director of Community Engagement

Melissa Long worked as a trial attorney before moving to Hong Kong where she worked in the arts, first writing and editing for the Arts Festival, and then as Director of the Hong Kong Literary Festival. Since then she has been Executive Director of the Aspen Education Foundation, and most recently, Director of Advancement at the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County. She has served on several boards, and in her free time, tries to keep up with her children’s myriad activities.

Evan Johnson, Videographer/Website/Social Media

Evan Johnson is a 20 year multimedia professional with stops along the way in public television at The Community Media Center of Santa Rosa, C-Media and The Community Media Center of Marin.  As well as Broadcast coordination and video production for the City of Santa Rosa.  Studio production for Al-Jazeera affiliate AJ+.  Jack-of-all-trade video credits in numerous non-profit and company productions.

Emily DeMeo

Emily DeMeo is a fourth generation Sonoma County attorney practicing with Geary, Shea, O’Donnell, Gratton & Mitchell.  She has a BS from the University of Tennessee, a law degree from The American University in Washington D.C. and was a student of the International Asian studies program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law.  She is currently a Board Member for the Sonoma County Bar Association and Valley of the Moon’s Children’s Foundation.  Emily is also a member of the Executive Board for the Richard M. Sangster chapter of the American Inns of Court.  She’s been a volunteer and academic tutor at the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home since 2014.

Bruce Fortin

Bruce Fortin is a psychotherapist in private practice, an ordained Zen Priest, currently leading meditation groups in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Petaluma as well as a former mediation attorney. For eight years he was Directory of Home Hospice of Sonoma Country and has served on many nonprofit boards including the Sonoma Land Trust, the San Francisco Zen Center, the California AIDS Task force and Northern California Association of Marriage Family Therapists. Bruce has lead workshops and retreats in psychology and mediation throughout the Bay Area. He is a husband and a father.

Carla Hernandez Castillo

Carla Hernandez Castillo is a family law attorney in Sonoma County. She has been working in the legal field since 2010, and was licensed as an attorney in 2013. She is a Board Member of the Sonoma County Bar Association and Sonoma County Women in Law. While in law school she interned at the Alameda County Family Law Facilitator’s office and participated in the Self Held Access Center, providing free services to self-represented litigants.

Daniel J. Lanahan

Daniel J. Lanahan is a local business law attorney. He is the former Assistant Dean of Empire Law School. He previously directed the Sonoma County Small Claims Advisory Clinic which provides free legal assistance to self-represented litigants. He presently serves as a board member with Friends of Trione-Annadel State Park and previously served on the board of directors of the Wednesday Night Market. Prior to law school he worked as a fundraiser for a local PBS station. He is also a licensed real estate agent. Dan enjoys fly fishing, running, and traveling in his free time.

Ken Emery

After 29 years of teaching, Ken Emery is currently working at Maria Carrillo where he engages students in the social sciences and discusses his love of travel. Ken has been the recipient of two Fulbright Hayes summer seminars, one in India and the other in Egypt and Israel, and the recipient of a Fulbright Memorial Fund travel/study scholarship in Japan. Aside from traveling, he enjoys spending time working on his photography skills.

 

Emeritus Directors