Bio's

James E. Barnes

James has been a licensed C.P.A. since 1978. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Sun Street Centers, whose mission is to prevent alcohol and drug addiction by offering education, prevention, and recovery to individuals and families, regardless of ability to pay. Jim has been an instructor at Golden Gate University as Professorial Lecturer, Chapman University, Hartnell and Monterey Peninsula Community Colleges. Jim has served the community with philanthropic fund raising and leadership as the President Salinas Rotary Club, President Gonzales Rotary Club, Treasurer of the Natividad Medical Center, Committee Chairman of the California Rodeo, Treasurer of Proposition to Improve Traffic Safety, Board of Director for the Monterey Bay Symphony, Officer of the Salinas Elks Lodge, Coached Colt Baseball.

Deanna Carvey

Deanna, a Salinas native, is the Executive Director of the Oldtown Salinas Association which exists to promote and enhance Oldtown Salinas, provide its members with a unified effort to sustain and expand commercial activity, and facilitate a lively, safe and clean downtown environment. She is a Past President and member of the Salinas Valley Business Women’s Network, Co-Chair of the Salinas Holiday Parade of Lights, and serves on the City of Salinas’ Business Development Task Force.

Marilyn Dorman

Marilyn has been the Executive Director of the Housing Resource Center of Monterey County since 1984. She is a board member of the ACTION Council which works to enhance the quality of life and empower the people of Monterey County and the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers which promotes interagency coordination for the establishment and operation of a comprehensive system of housing and support services designed to increase self-sufficiency for homeless individuals in Monterey County. She has served on various local boards and committees including the Salinas Planning Commission, Salinas Housing Trust Fund Task Force, Salinas Permitting Services, League of Women Voters, Common Ground, and St Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Mia Ferreira

Mia serves with Robert Smith in the core leadership of Franciscan Workers of Junipero Serra programs, which she joined in 2005. Mia has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and has served in Americorps VISTA, as a GED tutor in juvenile jail, and as a community forums facilitator. Mia has over 12 years experience in working with non-profits, particularly those that serve the homeless and marginalized.

Larry Hirahara

Larry is Co-Chair of the SDCB, representing the Buddhist Temple of Salinas. He has served as President of the Temple as well as several Regional and National positions with the Buddhist Churches of America. He is an active member of the Asian Cultural Encounter (ACE) and the Safety, Sanitation and Social Services (SSS) Task Forces of SDCB. Currently working with Kuida Ag Supply in Salinas as well as operating a family farm of organic grapes and blueberries in Madera.

Laura Lee Lienk

Laura Lee currently coordinates community based programs for Watershed and Service Learning Institutes of the California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). She teaches service learning courses and works with faculty in making partnerships with the community. She is dedicated to bringing children, university students, and the general public together in healing the earth and healing human communities in what has become the new environmental and social movement called “Community Based Restoration”, examples of which include Salinas’ Natividad Creek Park and the soon to be Carr Lake Regional Park. For her work, Laura Lee was chosen as one of the County’s Outstanding Women for 2006. She has been with CSUMB since its opening.

Carolina Sahagun

Carolina is the Community Development Planner for the Housing Authority where she has worked since April 2001. Her land development activities include overseeing planning, architecture, environmental, and entitlement functions; land acquisitions; securing funding sources, and special projects that ensure the preservation and creation of affordable housing in Monterey County. She is certified as a Senior Professional Housing Manager, a Family Self Sufficiency Specialist and a Notary Public. She is active in the Palma Parent’s Club, First Tee of Monterey County, an active member of the National Notary Association and NAHRO (National Assoc. of Housing and Redevelopment Officials).

Frank Saunders

Frank was raised in Monterey, but has lived and worked in Salinas since 1975. During that time he has supervised the renovation of a number of Victorian Era buildings in Oldtown Salinas. Frank has also served on the Salinas Central City Authority, the Design Review Board, and the Oldtown Salinas Association. He and his wife currently live in Carmel Valley and own and manage a number of commercial properties in Oldtown Salinas.

Robert Smith

Robert is a life-long resident of Salinas, California. He was educated at North Salinas High School (1967-1971) and professed as a Franciscan in 1973. Together with other community volunteers, he was a co-founder of a small Catholic Worker group that, while looking for meaningful service to the most needy of Salinas, began bringing food daily to the poor and homeless on Soledad Street. The group incorporated as a multi-faith non-profit organization named the Franciscan Workers of Junipero Serra in 1982 and purchased the Green Gold Inn on Soledad Street where it serves the poor and marginalized through Dorothy’s Place Hospitality Center, Women Alive! Emergency Shelter, Peter Maurin Work Co-op, and the @risK Gallery.

Tom Melville

Tom sits on the SDCB as a volunteer for Community Human Services (www.chservices.org), a nonprofit agency which has been providing mental health and substance abuse services in Monterey County since 1969. He currently works at the Community Foundation for Monterey County (www.cfmco.org) as Director of Development and is a former Executive Officer of the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers and Executive Director of John XXIII HIV/AIDS Services (www.johnxxiii.org). He has served on various local boards and commissions including the ACTION Council of Monterey County (www.actioncouncil.org), Monterey County HIV Planning Group, and the Monterey County Social Services Commission.

Margarita Zarraga

Margarita has been working for the Department of Social and Employment Services (DSES) for 25 years. She started her career in the benefits eligibility section in 1984 and in 1995 she was promoted to the position of Management Analyst and became the state liaison for the Medi-Cal program in Monterey County. In 1999 she transferred to the Community Action Partnership which is a program under the umbrella of the DSES and provides supportive services to low-income people. She currently holds the position of Community Affiliations Manager and works closely with a network of community based organizations. Margarita serves on the following local boards and committees: Central Coast Energy Services, Children Services Incorporated, Social Services Transportation Advisory Committee, Coalition of Homeless Services Providers, and the Local Homeless Assistance Committee.