BUTTE CAA - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Representative of the Private Sector

Adam Fedeli represents the Public Sector. Adam attended and graduated from California State University. After graduation, he spent many years in the Construction Industry. Adam took and passed the California Real Estate licensing exam in 1999. He's been a Realtor for 23 years serving Butte, Glenn, and occasionally Tehama County. Adam is passionate about local politics, the great outdoors, and being involved in his neighborhood in South West Chico.

Job Titles:

• Program Manager - Esplanade House

Brian was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, CA, and arrived in Chico in 1989 to attend California State University, Chico. Moving into the dorms on his very first day in town, he met a young woman who he would go on to marry and with whom he raised a son and a daughter. Brian's children, now young adults, loved growing up in Chico and have continued their higher education locally. Brian earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Psychology from CSU, Chico, in the early 1990s. He began his career in the workforce development field as a Career Counselor. He spent sixteen years running and developing programs to assist dislocated workers in obtaining job training and re-entering the workforce. Brian has obtained many certifications throughout his career, becoming a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), a Registered Professional Counselor, and a Registered Professional Career Counselor, among several others. Brian joined Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc. in February 2022 as the new Esplanade House Program Manager. Brian is passionate about the organization's mission, vision, and values and considers it a privilege to serve homeless families in our community. Most of all, Brian is a steadfast child advocate who is driven to protect all vulnerable children in our community from the devastating, long-lasting effects of childhood trauma. Brian and his wife are active in the community and enjoy spending time with their kids and three little dogs. On most weekends, you can catch them at the park with their two precious pugs and their beloved French bulldog.

Job Titles:

• Representative of the Low - Income Sector

Carl has enjoyed a career in the Finance Industry with over fifteen years of experience. As a local Northern Californian, Carl enjoys helping out members who live in the region. He is passionate about the outdoors, enjoys hiking, exploring Northern California's many lakes and rivers, and spending time with his family.

Job Titles:

• Board Treasurer, Representative of the Low - Income Sector
• Treasurer of the CAA of Butte County

Cesar Alfaro, Treasurer of the CAA of Butte County, is the Branch Manager at Golden 1 Credit Union located in downtown Chico. Mr. Alfaro has provided financial workshops and guidance to the local community since 2004. Mr. Alfaro has been a proud member of the Chico community for over 30 years. Mr. Alfaro attended California State University at Chico, majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis on Production Operation Management and Management information systems. Mr. Alfaro went on to work in Silicon Valley for an IT firm before returning to his roots in Chico. Mr. Alfaro has served on the Board since 2017 as a board member and now as a Board Finance-Chair.

Job Titles:

• Director of Energy and Building Performance

Clint Bruhn was born and raised in Butte County. He left for a short time but was drawn back home because of the great atmosphere Butte County provides. Clint began his career doing drafting and construction until the recession in 2009, when most construction activities halted due to the economy. The Community Action Agency was one of the few places hiring at the time, as they were actively engaged in fighting the effects of the recession. Having a background in construction, Clint started at the Community Action Agency in 2009 as a crew member installing energy efficiency measures in Butte County homes. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the agency's General Contractor and Director of Energy and Building Performance. Clint enjoys the intricacies of building science and helping the local community understand what they can do to be more energy efficient and healthy in their homes.

Job Titles:

• Vice Chair
• Board Vice - Chair, Representative of the Low - Income Sector

Dee Hoffman Wills, Vice Chair, is passionate about bringing hope and opportunity to all those who need a hand up, Dee joined the CAA of Butte County Board in 2021. She is an experienced administrator, having served on executive teams for more than 35 years in a variety of private and public non-profit settings, including higher education and children's services. She holds a bachelor's degree in business from Simpson University, an MBA from California State University, Chico, and a master's certificate in theology from Western Seminary. She and her husband, Rich, have been part of the Chico community since 2005.

Job Titles:

• Partner

Job Titles:

• Program Manager - Butte Cares

Jamie Goekler has been an advocate for low-income communities for two decades. She holds a Master's Degree in Teaching International Languages from California State University, Chico, and has traveled across multiple continents to study, teach, and learn about the myriad of human experiences across cultures. She is Bilingual English-Spanish and holds an ADRC Options Counseling Certificate from Boston University, with significant additional training in the health and human service field. Jamie has worked for academic institutions, as well as government and non-profit agencies, developed programs for, and informed communities about, no-cost to low-cost services and support, to empower lower-income communities to thrive. Her volunteer passion project is working on a web resource to guide and inspire EVERYONE who is low-income in the U.S. to obtain low-cost and no-cost services, support, and discounts, to significantly reduce daily costs of living, save money, lessen one's financial burden, and learn to thrive rather than just survive in the 21st century, by taking full advantage of information, resources, strategies, and guided support: Low-Income Survivors to Thrivers Jamie's career experience include performing Social Service Work with the One Door Information and Assistance team at Aging and Adult Services and Employment Development Counseling at the CalWORKs Welfare to Work Program at the County of Marin; Providing Job Development services to Spanish-speaking immigrant consumers; Providing Housing Case Management for a Rapid Rehousing Program with Community Action Agency of Butte County, Inc.; Coordinating a Day Labor Training Center; Directing, Coordinating and Teaching English as a Second Language at several non-profit North Bay Area English Language Programs, assisting with administration of food bank programs, teaching at The Department of Languages and Culture (LANC) at CSU, Chico, and interning as an ESL Teacher at American Language & Culture Institute - ALCI Chico. She also has a background as a pharmacy technician and medical biller from years past. Her interest in languages and cultures, eclectic skillset, and drive to help others has pushed her into different career fields with the goal of helping people alleviate circumstances related to poverty and oppression.

Job Titles:

• Senior Leader

John Meyer is a senior leader with an international technology company specializing in state and local government transformation projects. His work has included projects with nearly every US State, Canada, Mexico, and the United Nations. For several decades, he has been involved in creating technology solutions that materially advance how citizens engage with government agencies. John also serves, in a voluntary capacity, as the Stake President for the local church congregations (about 3,500 members) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this capacity, John has guided our financial support towards providing substantial food and other material needs to our local non-profit friends. This service is directed to our local communities impacted by the Camp Fire, and those challenged with self-sufficiency. He is a local resident of Chico. Attending CSU, Chico for undergraduate in Community Services (Criminal Justice focus), Graduate School for Public Administration, and Cal-Northern School of Law.

Job Titles:

• Chief Financial Officer

Kate joined Community Action Agency of Butte County in October 2023 as the Chief Financial Officer, bringing over 15 years of senior financial experience in the non-profit sector supporting organizations in helping those with disabilities, and promoting health, well-being, and quality of life. She previously held leadership positions at Community Action Marin, Pacific Vision Foundation, United Way of the Wine Country, and the Earle Baum Center of the Blind where she dedicated her time to helping those with vision loss and eye health, promoting education, family financial stability, and supporting the community through many disaster reliefs. Kate focused her attention on solving multiple complex issues while upholding standards to build, lead, and motivate teams that drive organizational success. She is a hands-on leader that assists in achieving the organization's mission, goals, and success. Being a recipient of Community Action 19 years ago, she is devoted to giving back to the organization that helped her family during a time of need. Kate holds an MBA in Business Administration with a focus in Corporate Finance and Accounting from Walden University where positive social change is promoted. She was born and raised in the North Bay area of California. She has two sons in college; one being on the Autism Spectrum, where she is the advocate for all his programs and services. She is a volunteer and participant of Best Buddies of the North Bay and the Special Olympics of Northern California. She received the Daughters of the American Revolution award, and her hobbies include walking, hiking, painting, camping, dancing, writing, and movies.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board for Chico - Paradise Rainbow Girls
• Representative of the Private Sector

Kathy Hafer is in her third year serving as a member of the CAA of Butte County Board of Directors, currently a member of the Program Committee. She and her brother, Ray Wilson, have owned and operated Wilson Printing and Signs since 1988. Initially located in Paradise, they were able to relocate to Chico after losing their shop and homes in the Camp Fire in 2018. Kathy is an active member of the Advisory Board for Chico-Paradise Rainbow Girls. She has served as District Governor for Quota International and as President for the Paradise club three times.

Job Titles:

• Founder of an HR
• Representative of the Private Sector

Shelby Chase is the founder of an HR firm in Chico and teaches at the College of Business at Chico State. She holds a BS in Business Administration with a focus in HR Management and an MBA focusing on Management and Leadership. She is the President of the ACLU of Butte County, Chair of the Human Relations Network of Butte County, a Mentor at Chico Start, the Chair of the Lecturers Council on the Academic Senate, and an active Rotarian. She is also the proud Mother of a Labradoodle, Gilbert Roverson, and a Corgi, Boris Getz.

Job Titles:

• Director of IT and Compliance

Stefan is a native to West Germany, when it still existed, and has been living in Northern California since 1985. Stefan has been with the Community Action Agency of Butte since 2012. Prior to that, he spent nine years in computer retail and repair. That experience was brought to CAA, then was built upon to streamline and improve the agency's reliability on their computers and printers. Today, Stefan maintains and implements Community Action Agency of Butte's internal network, telephone system, servers, workstations, and data systems. Stefan also brings that knowledge and experience to Butte College as an Associate Faculty, teaching and specializing in IT certification. His motivation is to keep technology solutions running, so the staff can focus on what they do best...Helping People and Changing Lives.

Job Titles:

• Board Secretary, Representative of the Private Sector

Stephanie Powell, is in Product Development at Klean Kanteen. Ms. Powell has been in the sustainability industry since 2008. Prior to this job title, she worked for ten years in the nonprofit industry across Northern California, helping low-income families pay their energy bills, making their homes more energy efficient, managing the VITA program- (which provides free tax assistance), and managing the outreach for nonprofit services/programs to the low-income community. Ms. Powell attended California State University at Chico, majoring in Instructional Design and Technology with an emphasis in Environmental Issues. Ms. Powell has served on the Board since 2020 as a board member and now as Secretary of the Board and Chair of the Program Committee.

Job Titles:

• Chief Operations Officer

Tom spent the 1960's and early 1970's growing up in Southern California and San José, CA. Most of Tom's work history involves cooking and large kitchen administration. From 2001 through 2011, Tom held an Executive Chef Certification through the American Culinary Federation and taught Culinary Arts in Central Utah. Tom came to CAA Butte in 2016 from a Program Coordinator position with Goodwill of Silicon Valley in San José, CA, where he managed the New Opportunity Work Program; a work-training program for recently returned citizens from county jail and prison. Tom managed our Esplanade House Transitional Housing for Homeless Families, Rapid Rehousing Program, Homeless Prevention Program, and North State Food Bank before being promoted to Director of Community Services in early 2022. Tom holds a Master of Business Administration from California Coast University and, in 2021, was certified by the National Community Action Partnership as a Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP). Tom holds certifications from the National Restaurant Association as a ManageFirst Professional and a ServSafe Food Safety Instructor. Tom and his wife have a small farm in Oroville where they grow Owari Satsuma Mandarins and beef cattle. Tom's volunteer activities include serving on the Palermo Community Council and supporting Silicon Valley De-Bug, a community organizing, advocacy, and multimedia storytelling organization based out of San José, CA.

Job Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Leader

As the son of missionaries, Tim spent his teen years living in East Africa, where he attended boarding school at the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. After returning to the United States, Tim spent the first ten years of his career in the U.S. Navy as an Aviation Warfare Systems Operator and Rescue Swimmer stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. During that time, he flew 2,500 hours in the Seahawk helicopter, including 38 combat missions, and rescued 24 people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Tim was awarded three Air Medals for combat operations in Kosovo and rescue operations in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Tim received his Bachelor's Degree in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. After leaving military service, Tim moved to Ojai, California, where he became the Family and Community Services Manager of Community Action of Ventura County. Three years later, he was promoted to Director of Operations. Tim was certified in 2015 by the National Community Action Partnership as a Certified Community Action Professional. Tim moved to Butte County with his wife and three kids in 2016 to become the Chief Programs Officer at the Community Action Agency of Butte County. Tim was certified as a Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) Trainer in 2017 and a ROMA Implementer in 2021. Tim became the Chief Executive Officer of CAA Butte in early 2022. Tim is a servant leader who has spent his entire career in service of his community. He looks forward to collaborating across the community to create opportunities for everyone to thrive.