Board of Directors

The Women's Recovery Association is proud to have the following dedicated individuals serve on our Board of Directors for 2009-2010.

We are currently recruiting new members for our Board of Directors. If you are interested in serving on our Board, please contact us.

Officers

Tom Hofstedt, Ph.D.
Chair (at WRA since 2004)
Tom has a Ph.D. in Business from Stanford University and is the head of his own management consulting firm. Professional activities are concentrated within corporate finance, planning and control applications in multidivisional companies, international and corporate banking, and litigation support. He also works with boards, management teams and owners of small companies on strategic and developmental issues.  He has been a Professor at graduate schools of business at Cornell, Stanford and Southern Methodist Universities, has published numerous articles in academic and professional journals, and is a frequent lecturer in both university and corporate-sponsored executive programs.  He is the husband of Sharon Hofstedt, former Board Chair of WRA and a major community activist in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.

Nicole Dickens
Vice Chair/Chair-Elect (at WRA since 2008)

Juliet Helft, MOD
Vice Chair (at WRA since 2004)
Juliet has worked with executives and managers at all levels to increase organizational, team and individual performance around productivity, satisfaction, and growth. She was the Human Resources Development Program Manager at Adaptec, Inc. and has consulted for 3COM, ChangeWorks Solutions, and the Peace Corps. Juliet has developed and facilitated diversity education programs, and has helped launch and provided leadership for the Beyond War Foundation in Palo Alto. She holds a Master of Arts, Organization Design Effectiveness from The Fielding Institute, Santa Barbara, and a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Columbia University, New York. Juliet enjoys traveling and exploring different cultures. She lives with her husband Mike in Los Altos Hills, has two grown children, and four lovable grandchildren.

Amy Reichanadter, Ph.D.
Vice Chair (at WRA since 2006)

Terri Richards
Vice Chair (at WRA since 2006)
Terri spent 11 years at IBM in Sales and Marketing, working in Albuquerque, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boca Raton and finally Dallas before leaving the company and joining 3Com Dealer Marketing in the Bay Area. Since retiring from 3Com, she has become very involved with her children’s schools working in the library, driving on field trips, and working in the classroom. Terri has chaired the hot lunch program, feeding 300 kids per day, and chaired the Foundation Auction, raising $500,000. Terri served as PTO President, and chaired the Jeanie Ritchie Grants committee awarding teacher grants for innovative teaching ideas.

Linda Carlson
Executive Director and Secretary (at WRA since 2005)
Linda has been in the non-profit sector since 1982 and an Executive Director for non profit organizations since the early ‘90s, working as an advocate for populations of people impacted by social injustice and its effects on families and communities. This includes two terms at WRA (from 1992 to 2001 and this tour).  She decided to pursue a career in substance abuse in 1981 when her entire family began to unravel a long-standing history of substance abuse. She has a Bachelors degree in Social Work and Public Health and has done graduate coursework in Social Work. Native to the Bay area, Linda has focused on advocacy efforts on behalf of women and children’s rights throughout California. When not at work, Linda loves the outdoors, movies, good conversation, reading, music, gardening, and most importantly, traveling to unusual places throughout the world.

Lisa Hutar
Treasurer (at WRA since 2007)

Directors

Dianne Barkley
At WRA since 2008
Dianne is a Senior Vice President, Private Client Consultant at U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management. She is responsible for new client acquisition and deepening existing client relationships, including investment, fiduciary, credit and and banking solutions. Prior to joining US Trust Bank of America, Dianne was a Managing Director, Corporate Banking, at LaSalle ABN AMRO Bank, for over 20 years, managing a portfolio of Fortune 500 clients in the telecommunications and technology industries. She started her career as a Credit Analyst at Crocker Bank. Dianne earned a BA in French, History and Education from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana and an MA in Russian History from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. She has her Series 7 license and is fluent in French. She currently serves on the Bay Area Alumni Advisory Board for Creighton University. Dianne is a past member of the Steering Committee for the Campaign for Windmills for Golden Gate Park, a past President of the Little Jim Club, California Pacific Medical Center, a past member of the Women’s Council of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and a former Board member of the Junior League of San Francisco.

Jagdish Basi
At WRA since 2009
Born in India, Jagdish immigrated to the states at the age of eight, not knowing the culture or language, to join her family.  She began life in America on the East coast and slowly migrating westward.  Along with her husband and two children, she established roots in Palo Alto.  Jagdish has extensive business experience, with a background in strategic and financial planning. Taking a hiatus from her career to spend time with her children during their high school years, she became involved in a variety of non-profit organizations and political campaigns, serving in different capacities. She firmly believes through patience, acceptance and tolerance dreams come true.

Michael Bowman
At WRA since June 2004
Michael joined the Advent Capital Management as a managing director in 2005, and is responsible for marketing the firm's institutional investment management capabilities to the public pension plans, multi-employer communities and endowments with a primary focus on the Western United States. Prior to joining the ACM, Michael was a Vice President for Hartford Investment Management. Prior to joining the Hartford, Michael served as a principal, and was responsible for public fund sales and marketing at State Street Global Advisors. He previously held a Vice President and Director of Marketing position at Sanwa Bank Investment Management. Michael earned his BS in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Michael is also a member of the Board for Friends of the Children.

Allesen Cann
At WRA since 2007
Allesen is a native Southern California who works as a Senior Program Manager in Cisco's Demand Management and Planning organization, and lives in Menlo Park. She has an MBA from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee with concentrations in Operations and Marketing and an emphasis in International Management.  She spent much of high school and college working in Gap Kids stores, and, after college, pursued her passion for retail by working in international distribution for the Gap headquarters in San Francisco. After getting her MBA, Allesen returned to California and worked for Hewlett-Packard.  She is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Co-Ed Business Fraternity, and is a mentor to students in the Stanford chapter of the fraternity. Allesen is also an avid road cyclist, and in March of 2008 completed her first 100 mile bike ride (known as a "Century") and turned the event into a fundraiser for WRA, raising $2,055.  She also enjoys running, weight lifting, reading, hiking, traveling, exploring the Bay Area, taking sewing classes, and learning to ride her mountain bike.

Monica Cappuccinni
At WRA since 2006
Monica was born in London. She has a BA in French/Italian from the University of Leeds and a degree in Italian Studies from the University of Florence. She came to the USA in 1972 for a quick visit and has stayed for 34 years. During that time, she has worked almost exclusively in the travel industry. For many years she worked as an agent in Palo Alto, focusing on her main interest of tribal and nomadic cultures, specifically those which are slowly disappearing but which can still be found in the Middle East, India and Africa. An avid photographer, her travels give her wonderful opportunities to capture the lives of the people in these areas. She works part time with an adventure company that focuses on ethnic and tribal travel, she leading small groups to Yemen and Pakistan. Monica has now returned to her first love, the stage, and is currently a proud member of the Bay Area acting community.

Claudia K. Dickman, J.D.
At WRA since 2007
Claudia is a retired attorney living in Redwood City. Born in Oakland and raised on the Peninsula, she is, except for a very few years, a life-long Californian.  She received her B.A. in Liberal Arts from Colorado Women's College, a secondary teaching credential from Texas Tech, a Master of Library Science from the University of Denver and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco. She spent 9 years as a law librarian and 20 years as an attorney with a major focus in juvenile law. She volunteered for the San Francisco Aids Panel, served on the Boards of Children's Council of San Francisco and Queen's Bench and volunteered for several years in the San Mateo High School Moot Court competition. She has one married son and two grandchildren.

Jan Hickman
At WRA since 2006
Jan is currently a Customer Care Program Manager at Interwoven, handling escalations and large projects for top revenue generating customers. She has always been a Bay Area resident, graduating from California State University, Chico with concentrations in Computer Science and Business Management.  She has worked in the software industry for 16 years as a Software Engineer, Project Manager, and Customer Support Manager. She is involved in Junior League, an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. She is currently an Assistant Chair for a Junior League Fund Raising Event that raised over $73,000 to benefit local community projects and advocacy efforts.  Among other donations, she has obtained 5 tons of organic dirt, 656 prom dresses, 2,000 shopping bags, and enough coffee, donuts, cookies and bagels to feed a small country.  She also volunteers at Lytton Gardens.

Mary Hohensee
At WRA since 2009
Mary Hohensee recently moved back to the Bay area after an eighteen year hiatus in Pennsylvania where she worked as a CPA. It was while living in Pennsylvania that she got involved with a local non-profit organization and realized the joy of work that changed lives. For thirteen years she served as the executive director for an adult literacy program and it was there that she learned she had a talent for raising money. Currently, she is the Vice President of Development for Avenidas in Palo Alto and previously served on the Proliteracy Accreditation Panel, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania Community Impact Committee, and when she isn’t busy commuting to and from the city on Caltrain, she loves to sew, read, travel, and explore all the wonderful restaurants of San Francisco.

Will Holsinger, Esq
At WRA since 2005 (On LOA until January 2010)
William is a general practice attorney in San Mateo.  He is a native of the Peninsula and has resided off and on in San Mateo County since the late 1950s.  He received his JD degree from the Hastings College of the Law in 1978. Will has been active in civic and charitable affairs, (including a previous term on the WRA board, from 1992 to 1998) for almost 40 years.

Quyen Luu
At WRA since 2008