As a member of a military family, Rhonda Harris began serving homeless veterans before it became the right thing to do. She founded the Veterans Resource Program to express her love for her father, a veteran, and the veteran community. She is the founder and executive director of the VRP.

Ms. Harris serves in the California State Army Military Reserves as a Sergeant. Ms. Harris is also a 2013 Jefferson Award recipient; MEA Magazine Award for 25 Influential Women in Business; earned a Certification as a Drug and Alcohol Counselor from Mt. Diablo Valley College; Financial Officer for the American Legion, Cesar Chavez Post 505; and a member of Veterans Healing Veterans from the Inside Out Group in San Quentin Prison.

Veterans Resource Program. Tara was also appointed as Vice President of the Solano Black Chamber of Commerce.

 Being part of these organizations has given Tara the opportunity to interact with stakeholders and elected officials.  Her passion for the underserved community and small business owners is the reason why she works tirelessly to support the patronage of small businesses, creating a safe space for merchants to discuss ways to adapt to new business practices. Our veterans have suffered due to a lack of representation and resources for marginalized communities.

 In her downtime you can find Tara working in her garden, volunteering at the Veteran Resource Program and coaching women who aspire to become  entrepreneurs.

Aminta Mickles has over 25 years of service and experience in the Education and Behavioral Health field. She is from the San Francisco Bay Area and is currently a full time tenured faculty at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California. She serves as the Department Chair for the Health and Human Services department, while also serving as the United Faculty Vice President of the United Faculty Union.

Ms. Mickles demonstrates her love of education by working in the Human Services certificated programs, mentoring students in the department, Puente Project and the African American Staff Association. It has always been instilled in her to value education, treat it with respect and honor. She has developed and received funding to coordinate the only Peer Support Clinic, in the Bay Area Community Colleges, for a mental health/addictions/peer supported clinic on campus. She recently collaborated with consumer mental health and developed classes for SPIRIT on campus.

Born and reared in Washington, D. C., Jeff Baker is a U.S. Air Force veteran with extended service in South Vietnam.  A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, Jeff has worked for the Central Office of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., as well as the San Francisco VA Regional Office.  Additionally, Jeff has more than 15 years of experience as a municipal government Analyst and Executive for the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, California.  A service-connected disabled veteran, Jeff has counseled veterans on acquiring educational, housing medical and disability benefits.  Jeff Baker currently works as a Senior Analyst for Simone Consultant Services, a crisis mitigation agency in Berkeley, California and serves as a Board Member of the Veterans Resource Program, Richmond, California.

Dr. Susan Stryker teaches in the Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Strategies, School of Management at the University of San Francisco in San Francisco, CA. She previously worked as a staff scientist and project leader at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California—Berkeley in the Energy and Environment Division. She then moved to London, England, and managed the corporate governance for a software consulting company in the application of decision support systems.

Dr. Susan Stryker has a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a doctoral degree in Organization and Leadership, Department of Leadership Studies, School of Education, University of San Francisco.