Co-President – Kandea Mosley Gandhi

Kandea comes to the Board with a strong background in nonprofit and social enterprise management in the solar, workforce development and education sectors. She has over 15 years of nonprofit and program management experience and has a passion for sustainable community development and community organizing. She received her MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, her BA in African American Studies from UCLA, and has received professional and academic awards for outstanding service and achievement. Kandea deeply believes in the League’s mission to create a more just, equitable society by actively promoting and building democratic participation. In March of 2022, she was recognized by the League of Women Voters of California during women’s history month and by the Black Graduate Student Association at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in 2024. She is also the Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of California. president@lwvbae.org 

Co-President – Dr. Sharon Goldfarb

Dr. Sharon Goldfarb brings over 35 years of experience as a nurse practitioner, educator, and healthcare advocate with a deep commitment to serving vulnerable populations. She began her career as clinical director of Harlem’s first HIV clinic and went on to provide care through mobile medical units to the unhoused, mentally ill, and undocumented. In California, she served under-resourced communities through Rotacare, Project Room Key, and VaxForce. As Associate Dean of Nursing at Los Medanos College, she led transformative efforts in nursing student retention and community engagement. A former president of the California Organization of Associate Degree Nursing, she helped pass AB2288 into law and now advises multiple state and national health equity initiatives. Dr. Goldfarb teaches and mentors at the University of San Francisco, where she also serves as a union representative for adjunct faculty. She is a national speaker on
healthcare issues and has developed tools to support nursing education. She is the past director of Healthlmpact’s Patricia Benner Institute and was honored with the Osmosis “Raise the Line” faculty award.

Treasurer – Elise Mills

Elise has spent her entire life working in public higher education. Upon completing her B.S. in Business Administration at Indiana University of Pennsylvania she worked as an Accountant at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Pan American University. She then moved back to California which she always loved. For more than 25 years at UC Berkeley, she has partnered with faculty investigators while also training and leading other administrators in pre and post research administration. After she joined LWVBAE in early fall 2016 she became active in support of candidate forums and in support of amending Prop 13.  She is also very interested in inequality issues of all kinds- from voting and representation to climate change and protection of our natural resources and health. treasurer@lwvbae.org

Co-Secretary – Brayden Livingston

Brayden Livingston is a rising senior at Emery High School. He joined the League as a criminal justice/legal system intern in the fall of 2025. His work with the League has been committed to highlighting the importance of democracy through observing Berkeley Police Accountability meetings, writing articles, covering No Kings Day protests and helping organize a gathering for Renee Nicole Good. Brayden has worked to spread awareness about the power of voting by encouraging students; at his school to vote, hanging up posters with voting information, and coordinating with school officials to help facilitate student engagement through registration. Furthermore, he’s a committed debater, being the captain of his team and competing at tournaments at both the state and national levels. His passion for civic engagement stems from a desire for political activism and making positive changes for his community. Secretary@lwvbae.org

Co-Secretary – Rashida Hanif

Rashida is the founder and CEO of RepresentEd and has an extensive experience in the corporate sector. At RepresentEd, Rashida leverages her business background to form a unique approach to instructing students by applying academic curriculum to real-world scenarios using design methodology. 
Her passion for inspiring young adults to reach for their dreams has led her to serve as a facilitator, instructor and mentor in both academia and impact focused organizations. Rashida received her BA from University of California, Berkeley.rashida@lwvbae.org

DIRECTORS:

Eric Arens

Climate Change Eric Arens joined the LWVBAE in early 2019 to help on climate action.  Electrification of buildings has been the main focus because of the activity around the City of Berkeley natural gas hook-up ban.  Eric has explained and promoted the use of electricity at fairs and educational events.  He is a physicist and worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and at the University of California at Berkeley.  When the Sierra Club was expanding into a national organization in the 1970s, he became the chairperson of the Chesapeake Bay Group, where pollution from farms and cities is the paramount problem. ericarens@comcast.net

Linda Carothers

Communications Linda Carothers has worked with and for the League for over 20 years. She graduated from the School of Fine Arts at what is now Carnegie Mellon University. Worked in New York City in the Book industry designing books and jackets. Studied television and animation while living in London. Did further studies of animation and graphics at DeAnza College in Cupertino and the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Studied Web Design with the Contra Costa County Regional Occupational Program.  webmanager@lwvbae.org

Gail Atilano 

Gail Atilano has been a member of the Leage for over two years, where she has volunteered with voter service, membership, and DEI teams. Born in Bismarck, North Dakota, and ultimately moving to Berkeley in 1980. she was inspired by her husband’s community activism and worked alongside him with UC Raza Alumni. She graduated from UCB in 1988 from the Bio Resource Science pre veterinary program with honors. As a mother of two, she organized a 4-H program at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School (then LeConte). She was a leader of the Butterfly Garden Program and studied the ecology of Strawberry Creek to encourage ecology ecological awareness in elementary students. Gail is committed to empowering everyone’s voice as an advocate for democracy through her work with LWVBAE. Wenrich

Christine Wenrich

Criminal Justice Christine Wenrich has been a member of the local LWV for many years.  She has a BS & MA in Special Education and worked with the SFUSD schools.  After retiring, she began attending LWVBAE meetings to look into educational issues. Soon enough, she took the role of Secretary for three years, followed by Archivist. As archivist, she worked with a group of members to sort report, studies, and interviews to send to Bancroft Library for public access. When a Criminal Justice position was adopted at a LWVC Convention, she became the Chair of LWVBAE’s Criminal Justice Team. The team has been observing Berkeley’s Police Accountability Board and City Council plus Albany’s Policing Commission. archivist@lwvbae.org

 Sophia Lara

Sophia Lara will be a senior at Albany High School. She joined the League as a climate intern and has written articles providing local upates on climate news and action for the website. Additionally, she is part of the voter registration activities at the high school to increase the number of voices that are heard in our community. As a new Board member, she is excited to help and broaden her impact, especially through conducting community outreach, fundraising and event planning for the League. In her free time, Sophia enjoys playing soccer, hanging out with friends and visiting new places around the Bay! 

If you want to send a message.  Email info@lwvbae.org