About Us

Nikki oversees the smooth running of the organization, donor relationships and assists with strategic planning.  

Prior to Frontline Catalysts, Nikki was Chief of Staff to Dr. Jane Sanders during the Bernie 2020 Presidential Campaign where she was inspired by climate activists to put her passion for environmental justice into action.

Nikki’s 20 years of working in the nonprofit arena includes empowering childcare workers, supporting working families, and advocating for bedside nurses.  While at the Labor Project for Working Families, she was part of a statewide coalition that achieved California’s paid family leave law; the first in the country.

When she isn’t working, Nikki loves to hit bay area hiking trails with her dog, Alfie. She also volunteers at the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

Originally from England, Nikki has made Oakland California her home for over 20 years.  She received a BA in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley.

You can reach Nikki at Nikki@frontlinecatalysts.org

Gandari Galindo is a Climate Justice College Corps Fellow from UC Berkeley.  She is excited to be working in a middle school environment as she is passionate about educational equity.

Prior to Frontline Catalysts, Gandari interned for the Chicanx Latinx Student Development Office at UC Berkeley. 

When she isn’t studying or working, Gandari loves to spend time with friends and family, read, and make her own clothes.

Gandari is studying Urban Studies and Spanish Language and is in her fourth year.

Kaneesha Goyal is a Climate Justice College Corps Fellow from UC Berkeley.  Last year, Kaneesha interned with Frontline Catalysts through an ethnic studies class and has returned to help support the middle-schoolers in the program as a Fellow.

Prior to Frontline Catalysts, Kaneesha was involved in community organizing, including advocating for ethnic studies in their own school district.

When they aren’t studying or working,  Kaneesha loves to cook, make jewelry, and play the violin.

Kaneesha is studying Ethnic Studies and Sociology and is in their second year.

Lia Gabriela Flores Palacios is a Climate Justice Corps Fellow from UC Berkeley.  She is excited to be spending this year working with young students at United for Success Academy participating in Frontline Catalysts’ Climate Justice Leadership Development Program.  

Last year, Lia taught English in Brazil during the summer, helped children read in English and Spanish virtually during the 2021-22 school year, was a Legislative Affairs associate at UC Berkeley’s ASUC Eco-Office, and worked at a local coffee and music store.

When she isn’t studying or working Lia Gabriela loves music, traveling, nature, writing, reading, and exercising. 

Lia Gabriela is studying Political Science and Society & Environment and is in her second year.

Cristy is the Executive Director at the Haas School of Business’ Center for Social Sector Leadership, which trains and supports social impact leaders and organizations across sector and industry to advance social change.  She is also the former Director of Youth Speaks, a national youth spoken word and literary arts organization.

Growing up in San Francisco’s Mission district, Cristy received a bilingual public-school education, infused with dance, music, and theater that ignited her passion to create spaces where all young people have access to the arts. She describes her work of building communities through multi-sector partnerships and collaboration as being centered in the arts, culture, business, and philanthropy. 

Cristy is excited to be on the board of Frontline Catalysts to give voice to our community most affected by climate change and to advance climate justice. 

When she is not working, Cristy likes to cook and spend time with her husband and two daughters ages 2 and 7.

Cristy earned her undergraduate degree in political science at UC Berkeley and an Executive MBA from the Haas School of Business.

Tony Marks-Block is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Environmental Studies at CSU East Bay. Tony has collaborated with and learned from Karuk and Yurok peoples in Northwest California to study the social and ecological effects of Indigenous fire and small-scale subsistence practices as models for environmental justice. As a youth in San Francisco, Tony engaged in environmental justice organizing in the Mission and Bayview Hunters Point. He has also spent years developing and implementing participatory environmental youth research projects through the East Bay Academy for Young Scientists at UC Berkeley. 

Tony is excited to join the board of Frontline Catalysts because he loves to see the next generations connect with the earth and take on the responsibility of defending it from climate change.

Beyond his paid work, Tony enjoys land restoration and supporting liberation movements.

Tony earned his high school diploma from Leadership High School (SF), his Bachelors of Science in Applied Ecology from Cornell University, and his Masters and Ph.D. in Environmental Anthropology from Stanford University.

Jason Ferreira is Associate Professor Department of Race & Resistance Studies located within the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University.  He has been a recipient of the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, and in 2019-20, he served as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University in the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History.

Jason sits on several boards including the Board of Directors of the Kendra Alexander Foundation.  He also co-founded the Center for Political Education, a vibrant community institution located in the Bay Area whose ongoing mission has been to provide a space dedicated to building strong movements and the Left through education, analysis, theory, dialogue, and activism.  He is also the Project Director of the Eyes on Arizona Project, an initiative dedicated to providing political education, encouraging civic engagement, and developing leadership skills in youth in pursuit of immigrant justice.

Jason is a life-long student of social and radical movements for freedom, enjoys exploring and listening to global music (who can be found DJing as a side gig), and finds his greatest joy in spending time with his beautiful twin girls.

Jason has a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and both an MA and Ph.D. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.

Rama Ali Kased is an Assistant Professor in Race and Resistance Studies in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. She also has an extensive background in developing curriculum in K-12 and higher education.  Dr. Kased’s teaching focuses on education equity, racial and economic justice, and community engagement. She is a founder of the Metro College Success Program, an award-winning social justice program that serves low-income, underrepresented students at San Francisco State University.

Rama is also a seasoned community organizer. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, and of Palestinian origin, Dr. Kased’s community work spans major cities across the nation. She has served on the multiple boards of community-based organizations. She has also founded numerous organizations, including Arab Woman in Active in Arts in Media (AWAAM) in NYC and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) in SF Bay Area. 

Dr. Kased’s scholarship and teaching focus on the ways in which the classroom and formal education can be used as a place of liberation, including building solidarity among students, relevant and responsive curriculum, and facilitating and fostering students into agents of social change.

When she isn’t working, Rama likes to spend time with her two little children 4 and 5. She enjoys the outdoors and likes to explore parts of Northern California. 

Rama holds a B.A. in special studies with an emphasis on Philosophy and Political science from St. Francis College, a Master’s in Special Studies with a focus on social justice and equity, and an Ed.D in Educational Leadership, both from San Francisco State University.

Akachi Kalem is an educator at San Francisco State University. His lived experience from 1st generation immigrant in Brooklyn, NY, and his military service across Asia and the Middle East inform his understanding that a successful student’s experience nurtures successful adulthood. 

Akachi graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies, USC with a master’s in teaching, and currently writing his dissertation in psychology with an emphasis on instruction and cognition. 

Akachi taught across the education system, k-12, community college, and universities giving him an in-depth understanding of the different ideas driving education in the United States. His acumen expands beyond resource allocation and poor teacher preparation to grapple with inherent racialization and anti-liberation narratives of people of color identities and experiences. 

His dissertation focuses on the influence social studies curriculum narrative has on educators’ pedagogy, self-agency, and self-efficacy concerning student intersectional identity development needs. 

Akachi is excited to begin 2022 as a member of a progressive team of educators and thinkers. 

Gopal is an educator, organizer and activist focused on racial, economic and ecological justice who currently teaches at San Francisco State University and Antioch University. Gopal also supports social movements through various organizing projects. Gopal believes that grassroots, bottom-up, inter-generational social movements on the frontlines of the interconnected crises of social inequity and ecological erosion are the key to deep, transformative change-making.

Gopal co-founded Movement Generation: Justice and Ecology Project, a collective committed to realigning movement strategy with the healing powers of living systems. MG has helped launch The Climate Justice Alliance and developed a Just Transition Framework widely used across US-based Climate Justice movements. 

Gopal has an MA in Urban Sustainability from Antioch University in Los Angeles and a lifetime achievement award in the form of two amazing young adult children.

Radhika is an Associate Research Scholar at the Center for Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute at Columbia University.  She is also the founder and Education Director of the Institute’s Eco Ambassadors, a program that equips youth with skills for tackling sustainability challenges locally and globally.  

Radhika serves on the Board of advisors of NGOs affiliated with the Government of India working towards rural educational literacy and women’s empowerment.  She is excited to be an advisor for Frontline Catalysts.

When she isn’t working or advising, Radhika likes to plant native varieties with her two girls and wait for Monarch butterflies to come into her yard.  

Radhika received her Ph.D. (with Distinction) in Economics of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.  

Dianna Rae Mullins is a serial entrepreneur who has launched and helped define multiple start-ups.  She is the COO of Work Sandy, an online one-stop-shop that helps clients find, manage and pay teams of freelance experts.

As a co-founder of Mode Media (Glam Media), Dianna helped the start-up grow from 10 employees to the #1 Lifestyle Media company and the 6th largest US Media company with 144 million US & 400 million global users a month and annual revenues of $100 million.

Dianna helped launch The Women’s Leadership Institute, helping executive women break through the glass ceiling.  She is an advisor to numerous women-led startups, co-founder of UC Berkeley’s Beverly Mullins Memorial Scholarship, a mentor with the #hireBlack Project, and supports women and BIPOC founders.  

She is excited to combine her support of women and educational equity by providing her expertise and experience to Frontline Catalysts.

When not working, Dianna is raising her 2 youngest children side-by-side with her wife and supporting her 22-year-old recent college graduate as she finds her path in the biotech world.