Meet Our Board
Officers
Rev. Rhina Ramos (she, her, hers) is an ordained United Church of Christ doing work of LGBTQI inclusion in faith communities. Locally, she leads a Spanish speaking congregation she co-founded in December 2011. Ministerio Latino is home to LGBTQ Latine immigrants and a place where they are welcomed and affirmed. Nationally she coordinates a program called Encuentros Latinx at the UCC national office to help churches understand the importance of opening doors to the LGBTQ community. Pastor Rhina is also a former attorney who practiced labor law in NY during the ‘90s on behalf of immigrant workers. Originally from El Salvador, Pastor Rhina understands the pains of being an immigrant and starting life in a new country. Oasis is close to her heart because the stories of our clients are her story. In her free time, she can be found taking long walks listening to sappy romantic music in Spanish.
Rhina Ramos
Chair | Director
Jena is a CPA serving public charities, private foundations, membership associations and other not-for-profit organizations at BPM LLP. She has worked at regional and national firms, as well as within various Bay Area non-profit organizations. She has a Masters of Taxation from Golden Gate University and is a proud alumna of Mills College.
When not at work, you can find Jena walking her pit-mix in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of SF, trying new restaurants or reading the New Yorker - even though she is a Bay Area native.
Jena Lee
Treasurer | Director
Kathy (she/her/hers) was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has never left. She is a Registered Nurse (Retired) educated in Santa Rosa California and worked in the Emergency Room and ICU in Oakland and Hayward for many years. Kathy obtained her Master’s Degree in Informatics at University of California San Francisco in 2000. She finished her nursing career at Kaiser in the Information Technology Division and was the manager of a team that helped develop and implement an enterprise-wide electronic medical record. Kathy has been involved in volunteering most of her adult life at her church, and in her community. Kathy happened to sit next to Caroline at a luncheon one day, and as a result, began volunteering at Oasis. Since 2017, Kathy has been delighted to help out with various projects at Oasis.
Kathy Schwarz
Secretary
Directors
Raquel Aldana joined UC Davis in 2017 to serve as the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity with a law faculty appointment. She returned to full time teaching in 2020. Aldana is a graduate of Arizona State University and Harvard Law School. From 2006 to 2007, Aldana was a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala. Aldana’s research has focused on transitional justice, criminal justice reforms and sustainable development in Latin America, and immigrant rights. She teaches in the areas of immigration law, asylum and refugee law, human rights, and criminal justice. Since starting at UC Davis, Aldana has received numerous awards including the American Bar Association Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, the UC Davis Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity and Community and the UC Davis Office of Research and Policy for Equity Ubuntu Award for Inspiring Social Change. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI), widely considered the nation's preeminent law reform organization. She was recently elected as Chair of Latin American and Caribbean Council of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) and as a member of the ROLI board and is a Fellow of the American Bar Association. Aldana is also a proud immigrant from El Salvador and Guatemala.
Raquel Aldana
Director
A proud Bay Area native, Jensen grew up in Millbrae and is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Urban Studies. He works on the Education Initiative at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), where he partners with educators, researchers and youth to build tools, and supports to unlock the full potential of every student, no matter who they are or where they live. As a queer child of immigrants, Jensen believes that intersectional representation and advocacy is meaningful to the fabric of every community, and has previously volunteered at organizations such as Minds Matter.
Outside of work, Jensen loves trying new restaurants, tending to his herb garden, and improving his home coffee recipes.
Jensen Li
Director
Jackie Rivas-Landaverde serves as the Director of Grants and Systems at the International Community Foundation, where she is responsible for overseeing the Foundation's grantmaking initiatives. She collaborates with various organizations across Latin America to provide essential resources for programs focused on human rights, education, environmental justice, and public health.
With over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Jackie has developed a strong emphasis on community development, particularly within the LGBTQIA+ community.
She holds a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, complemented by minors in Ethnic Studies and Psychology from the University of California, San Diego.
As a first-generation queer Latina, Jackie is deeply committed to the belief that communities serve as ecosystems of change, and she is passionate about harnessing the transformational power inherent in these communities.
Jackie Rivas-Landaverde
Director
Korab is Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Purpose Communications and ESG at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he oversees the execution of the company’s communications and ESG strategy. Prior to immigrating to the U.S., Korab spent five years working for the United Nations/OSCE in Kosovo, where he supported several projects focused on promoting education for underserved youth. While at the United Nations/OSCE, Korab also founded and served as president of the Center for Social Emancipation (QESh), the first organization in Kosovo focused on LGBTQ+ rights.
Korab Zuka
Director
Ryan (he/him) is a program director at Humanity United (HU), a foundation dedicated to enduring peace and freedom. In his role, he oversees a portfolio focused on labor organizing, investor engagement, policy advocacy, and open data. He additionally collaborates on HU’s Independent Journalism & Media program as well as several change initiatives, including the organization’s workstream on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Prior to joining HU, Ryan supported donor education programming at Forward Global—a community of global leaders committed to solving the world’s most pressing social issues. He has also worked with the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, Arcus Foundation, and Outright International in their respective missions spanning LGBTIQ, economic, and environmental justice. His academic research has focused on decolonizing queer movements and the barriers faced by asylees and refugees, especially.
Ryan Heman
Director
Allan Manzanares arrived in the Bay Area in 2016. He was born and raised in Honduras. Allan has a business management and action learning educational background to a graduate level and has a long experience working in the corporate sector and in education. He currently works for the National Housing Law Project, as the People and Business Operations Specialist.
Allan has served in leadership positions at The Episcopal Church of Saint John the Evangelist in San Francisco, CA, which has a long history in the defense of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the rights of immigrants, people of color, and our unhoused siblings, among other vulnerable groups. Allan also works closely with the Ministerio Latino - a faith-based organization helping Latino LGBTQ+ individuals and households, connecting with all sorts of resources. Allan is based in San Francisco, CA.
Allan Manzanares
Director
Marcos Segura is a Staff Attorney at National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and is based in Fresno, CA. He focuses on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, USDA’s Rural Development program, and NHLP’s California policy work. Before joining NHLP, Marcos was a staff attorney with Central California Legal Services (CCLS) where he represented individuals facing eviction and represented others in both state and federal court on real estate fraud, predatory debt collection, and habitability issues. Before joining CCLS, Marcos served as a UCLA Community Economic Development Fellow at the Public Counsel Law Center where he advised nonprofit organizations and small business owners on tax and corporate governance issues.
Marcos Segura
Director
Duc Le (he/him) and his family immigrated to the United States as refugees from Vietnam and settled in the Bay Area since. Duc graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cal State East Bay. Duc has spent the majority of his professional career in Human Resources and non-profit management. He is currently the Senior Director of People at Tides Center.
Duc Le
Director
Kimberly Mejía-Cuéllar is the daughter of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants. Watching her parents struggle to obtain legal status helped her appreciate the power of legal advocacy and inspired her to pursue litigation. She was born and raised in Oakland, and is an attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in San Francisco. A graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, Kim has worked to empower others. During law school, she worked on international human rights through the Human Rights Clinic. She interned at American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project in college and law school. She has also worked on civil rights and immigration / asylum pro bono cases. From 2023 to 2024 she clerked for the Hon. Andrew L. Carter, Jr. in the Southern District of New York. She is excited to serve on Oasis’ board. In her free time, she enjoys kickboxing and improving her Japanese language skills.
Kimberly Mejía-Cuéllar
Director
julie is a co-conspirator for justice who for over 10 years, has designed equity strategies, developed effective and equitable evaluation, and facilitated change in youth development spaces, K-12 and higher education, social justice organizing, nonprofit and corporate organizations. julie now uses a multi-racial solidarity lens to mobilize resources in philanthropy. They oversee racial equity, inclusion, education, and transformative community engagement portfolios to create a racially inclusive economy for residents of Fresno and the greater Central San Joaquin Valley.
They hold an M.A. in Education, emphasis on Equity, Education and Social Justice, from CSU, Long Beach and a B.A. in Political Science with minors in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Civic & Community Engagement from UC, Irvine. Their research interests include gender, sexuality, race, and class inequities, combining feminist and critical race studies, humanities, and social sciences.
Outside of work, julie is an organizer and has facilitated community meetings and town halls, utilizing restorative and transformative justice, canvassing, campaigning, and community-based participatory action research.
julie vue
Director