Mark Buell is a native San Franciscan, a graduate of the University of San
Francisco and a decorated Vietnam veteran. He has spent 35 years in both
public and private real estate development. Mark served as San Francisco's
first Director of Economic Development under Joseph Alioto and later served
as the first Director of the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency from 1977 to
1985. He was a founding member and first President of CALED, the California
Association for Local Economic Development and has served on the San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission under Dianne Feinstein. Buell serves
on the Boards of various non-profit organizations including the Golden Gate
National Parks Conservancy, the San Francisco Conservation Corps, Bolinas
Museum and the Chez Panisse Foundation. Buell is married to the former Susie
Russell Tompkins and has two children from a previous marriage: Sabrina and
Justin.
Tom Harrison, born and raised in San Francisco, was appointed to the
Recreation and Park Commission in October 2004 by Mayor Gavin Newsom. He was
sworn into office by Mayor Newsom in November 2004.
Mr. Harrison worked for the Recreation and Park Department beginning in
1964 as an Assistant Gardener and was promoted to Gardener in 1972. After 28
years of service and many assignments after, he was then hired by Laborers
Local 261 as a Union Representative. Mr. Harrison was appointed to serve the
Gardeners and Laborers of the City. In 2002 he was promoted to Assistant
Business Manager of Local 261. He retired from City Employment in 2004
completing 30 years of service to the City and County of San Francisco.
Commissioner Harrison take great personal pride in his appointment to the
Recreation and Parks Commission, "I have a great respect for the people of
San Francisco for whom I serve."
Since moving to San Francisco in 2003, Commissioner Paige Arata has been working diligently in the public sector. She was Confidential Secretary for Mayor Gavin Newsom and his Chief of Staff, Steve Kawa for three years before becoming Director of Finance for Newsom's Mayoral Re-election in 2007 and his Governor's race in 2009. She is currently Director of Scheduling for Mayor Edwin M. Lee. She is involved in multiple charities in the Bay Area, including Tipping Point Community and Vista Center for the Blind.
Commissioner Arata was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom in December 2010. She has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from University of Southern California. She and her husband, Tony, are expecting their first child in May.
Since moving to San Francisco in 1976, Gloria Bonilla has been active in the
Mission District community. For the past 30 years, she has served in top
leadership positions at Centro Latino de San Francisco, Inc. From 1985 to
the present she has held the position of Executive Director. In this
capacity she has developed and implemented services (on-site and home
delivered meals, paratransit, recreation and education activities, English
as a second language classes, naturalization classes, and health care
advocacy) that address the essential needs of low-income, at-risk seniors,
immigrants, youth and families.
Prior to her current role as Executive Director, Ms. Bonilla was an
administrator for youth programs. During her tenure at CYO she oversaw the
implementation of programs that offered year-round and summer employment
training for youth, 14-21 years of age; a daycare program for elementary
school age children; and an after school recreation and sports program for
teens.
Commissioner Bonilla has provided leadership to community groups in
various capacities and served on distinguished nonprofit boards. Some of
these include: San Francisco Giants Community Fund, UCSF Community Advisory
Group, and Mission Housing Development Corporation.
Born in San Luis Obispo, CA and raised in Fresno, CA, Ms. Bonilla holds a
degree in government from University of San Francisco.
David E. Lee is Executive Director of Chinese American Voters Education
Committee (CAVEC), a private, non-profit civic education and research
organization dedicated to increasing Asian American civic participation. He
was appointed to the Recreation and Park Commission by Mayor Gavin Newsom in
2005.
Mr. Lee is also a Lecturer of Political Science at San Francisco State
University. He is active on several boards including the California First
Amendment Coalition, Wells Fargo Community Advisory Board, KQED Public
Television and Radio, New America Media and the San Francisco Lee Federal
Credit Union.
Commissioner Lee has a BA from Hamilton College and a MA in Political
Science from SFSU. David is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School's Senior
Executives In State and Local Government Program, Harvard Business School's
Strategic Perspectives for Non-profit Leaders Program and Stanford Business
School's Executive Program For Non-profit Leaders Program.
In 2002, he received the San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership
Award. David's other recognitions for public service include the Wallace A.
Gerbode Foundation Fellowship and the David Jenkins Award for Community
Service.
Born in North Beach and raised in the Richmond District, Meagan hasn't
strayed far from her native San Francisco. A graduate of Stanford
University, she has devoted most of her professional life to public sector
and non-profit work. She served under Mayors Agnos, Jordan and briefly
Brown. After a short stint in corporate public relations and local lobbying,
Ms. Levitan turned to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park
where she ran public relations and community affairs. At that time she
started and helped oversee several programs the Academy embraced to reach
out to more broad and diverse communities in the City.
After running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 (where she
narrowly missed the runoff for District 3), Meagan worked for herself as a
public affairs consultant. Her clients included the Academy of Sciences who
she helped secure unanimous approval for at the Planning Commission for
their new building in the Park. This required an extensive outreach program
and the establishment of a very successful community advisory group.
Similarly she worked with the Villas Parkmerced, one of the City's biggest
landlords located on 19th Avenue, on their efforts to reach out to the
community to become a better corporate citizen of the City.
An elected member of the San Francisco Democratic Central Committee since
1998, Commissioner Levitan was appointed to the Recreation and Park
Commission by Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004. She currently sells residential
real estate with San Francisco's Hill and Company and serves on the boards
of San Francisco Beautiful, San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation
and the Magic Theatre.
Meagan lives in the Richmond -- in the house where she grew up -- with her
husband Dale Carlson and their four year old daughter Jacqueline.
Commissioner Larry Martin began his career with the San Francisco Municipal
Railway in 1966 and rose through the union ranks to lead the influential
Transport Workers' Union (TWU) on a local, national and international level.
He is no stranger to the inner-workings of city government having worked
with seven mayors. Prior to being appointed to the Recreation and Park
Commission he served on the Human Rights Commission for over twelve years
and on the Planning Commission for over eight years. He was appointed to the
Recreation and Park Commission in 2000 and became President of the
Commission in January of 2007.
Over the years, Mr. Martin has served on many boards, including the A.
Philip Randolph Institute, the NAACP, and the San Francisco Labor Council.
He is a member of numerous constituency organizations, including the
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; the Coalition of Labor Union Women; the
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance; and Pride At Work.
He has been called an "inspiration to a lot of people in the City and
County of San Francisco because of his leadership, dedication and burning
desire to do better and to improve people's quality of life."
Commissioner Martin retired from the Transport Workers' Union and the
Municipal Railroad in 2004 allowing him to spend more time with his family
and enjoying his love for traveling.
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