Because Keeping Oakland Beautiful is Everyone's Business
Keep Oakland Beautiful is run and managed by a board of volunteers who contribute their time and expertise to keeping Oakland beautiful. Keep Oakland Beautiful is also a Keep America Beautiful (KAB) affiliate and is part of the KAB President's Circle 2018, 2019 and 2020.

​Meet our Board of Directors​

Diane Palmer
Diane serves as the 2023 Board Chair.
Diane is an Atlanta native and newer resident of Oakland, officially joining the Oakland community in 2021. As a resident of the Bay Area for more than 6 years, Diane was like many who came before her: seeking new adventures and wanting to experience the wonders of California. She fell in love with the Bay Area, and a desire grew to give back in a meaningful way to the people and the environment around her. Diane brings 15+ years of professional experience with fast growing tech companies and has specializations in operations, project management, and leading teams in complex, matrixed environments. Diane lives in West Oakland with her partner Brian and their fur baby Leo, a chihuahua rescue and pandemic puppy. During her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and listening to music.

Debbie Lei
Debbie has served as the Board Vice Chair since 2022.
Debbie is a health insurance analyst with a passion for sustainability. Debbie strives to make health insurance more transparent and equitable and carries those values to the KOB board – an Oakland community that is safe, equitable, and beautiful for all. She has contributed to cleanup efforts around her block but is excited to further her impact and reach with the KOB organization. Debbie went to UC Berkeley and has a Masters in Health Informatics and Analytics from George Washington University. She has been living in Oakland since 2018 and spends many weekends around Lake Merritt. Prior to moving back to the Bay, she spent five years in Washington D.C. working in healthcare policy. She enjoys biking, baking, hiking, nurturing her house plants, and spending time with her Vive Church community.

Ricquel Lewis Jackson
Ricquel serves as the 2023 Board Treasurer.
Ricquel is an Oakland native who moved out of state for school, graduated, got married, had a baby and returned to her Oakland roots. She has spent most of her career working in health communications, using storytelling to educate others on healthy behaviors that increase longevity. She has great childhood memories of hiking the many trails and creeks in Oakland and spending her summers at Dimond Park. She currently resides in East Oakland with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys fellowshipping with friends and family, reading, traveling and visiting Oakland parks with her mini-me.  ​

Chris Trefil
Chris serves as the 2023 Board Secretary.
​Chris grew up in the East Bay and has lived in Oakland for the last 7 years with his partner and their cat, Turnip. Chris is an engineer and leader in the biotech/public health space. He is also an avid woodworker, gardener, and chef. On weekends you might see him hiking or biking the hills. He’s excited to bring his skills and energy to this community.

Camyle Allen​
Camyle is an environmental consultant who brings her passion and advocacy for environmental sustainability to the KOB board. She has a Masters degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan. Camyle has volunteered throughout Oakland with various organizations that focus on applying the core concepts of environmental sustainability to community revitalization projects, community development, education, public health etc. She hails from Michigan and moved to California in 2017; currently, she lives in Oakland where she can be found enjoying the many bars and restaurants the area has to offer or hiking with her Shiloh Shepherd.

Christina Porter
​Christina is an Oakland native and a super proud product of our public schools. Her passion for keeping Oakland beautiful frequently translates into working hard to maintain her yard and garden as well as the Adopt-A-Spot median she manages in Oakland's first historic district on 10th Avenue. A Silicon Valley engineer turned Customer Success leader, she's worked in the high tech industry since before the internet. You may see Christina and her husband walking the city in preparation for their 500-mile trek across Europe.

FranCine Gadsden
A native of Brooklyn, NY, FranCine relocated to Northern California to work for the San Francisco based fashion designer Jessica McClintock/Gunne Sax before starting her own children’s line FranCine’s Fashions 4 Children, which was a way for children to take pride in their heritage while making a fashion statement. She designed the collection by using Asian, African, Latino and American Indian inspired prints. The collection was featured and sold in Northern Californian Nordstrom and Macy’s stores during Black History Month and nationwide in several children specialty stores year round. FranCine is now focused on a new business, Sticks and Stones, a collection of wearable words and thought provoking images printed on tees and sweatshirts allowing both the wearer and the viewer to be empowered. Over the last few years Sticks and Stones Tees & More has grown its collection of wearable art expanding to light housewares, party accessories, tote bags, and stationary, her collection is gaining traction on the “socio-fashion” scene day by day.

James Moreno
James is a long-time Bay Area resident who recently moved to Oakland. He studied at Santa Barbara Westmont college where he pursued a B.A. in Business/Economics. Professionally, he works in the marketing technology industry helping large brands tell their story using social media. James was motivated to join KOB in order to create a cleaner and safer city. He believes that Oakland is already beautiful, but can shine brighter with a little bit of effort from everyone in the community. When he's not working or volunteering, you can probably find James on the golf course, running, at a local brewery, or taking care of his home garden.

Katie Boyer
Katie is an East Bay native who has lived near Lake Merritt in Oakland since 2011. She studied journalism and Spanish in college and has volunteered for a wide variety of organizations like the Red Cross and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Her favorite volunteer experience was with Mundo Ceiba in Oaxaca, Mexico where she helped with environmental education, planting trees, and community bike rides. Now Katie works in marketing and hopes to use her communication and project management skills to support the mission of KOB and give back to the community. In her spare time she enjoys reading, baking, or enjoying the outdoors and hiking with her boyfriend and two dogs.

Matthew Iden
​Matthew was born in Southern California and moved to Colorado and Tennessee with his family. He moved to the Bay Area to work at Apple Inc. in 2016 and now calls this beautiful place home. He currently lives in the Ralph Bunche neighborhood of West Oakland. As a part of the Ice House Community, he serves on the Social Committee where he plans and organizes community events. He and his husband V.J. have two small chihuahuas and enjoy cooking, baking, hosting dinner parties, caring for house plants, and biking.

Shine Wang
Shine is an East Bay native who has called Oakland home since 2019. She is excited to positively contribute to her city's community by helping maintain public spaces that are welcoming and enjoyable to all with the Keep Oakland Beautiful team. Shine is a business development professional in the life sciences industry, working at the intersection of her educational pursuits. She holds a B.S. in Physiology & Neuroscience from UC San Diego and a Master of Business Administration from Boston University. In her downtime, Shine can be found dancing at concerts, playing billiards, strolling around the block with her cat, or grabbing drinks at the newest venue in her Uptown neighborhood.

Keep Oakland Beautiful Interns

Siena Chai
​Siena Chai is a senior at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland. During quarantine she founded Creative Collective, an organization that gave free creative art classes to kids online, which fueled her passion for giving back to the community. She also worked with the Oakland Mayor's Office volunteering at their various events and learning about local policy. Throughout her life she has been drawn to environmental justice and hopes to continue her social justice and advocacy with Keep Oakland Beautiful, determined to make positive environmental change. ​

Winnie Mogen
Winnie is a senior at Oakland Tech and has had a passion for environmentalism for many years now. She has been a part of the ecology Club at Tech for the past couple of years. In that time they have revitalized the school garden, and met with and shared garden techniques and resources with other schools. They have also volunteered at different schools around Oakland to help restore the community gardens. In college Winnie hopes to study or have their studies surround environmental science to be able to further the work that needs to be done to help our planet.

Header Photo credit: Leonard Van Boven