Executive Director

Diana Spatz

Diana Spatz is the founder of LIFETIME, Low-Income Families’ Empowerment through Education, a grassroots organization created by student mothers at the University of California Berkeley who completed college degrees while raising their families on welfare, and who are committed to helping other low-income parents do the same. A former welfare recipient, Ms. Spatz founded LIFETIME in 1996 upon graduating with honors from the University of California Berkeley with a BA in Political Economies of Industrialized Societies, and being awarded an echoing green Public Service Fellowship. An award- winning author and advocate for low-income families, Ms. Spatz won the 1996 I.F. Stone Award for Journalism by The Nation magazine for “ Welfare Reform Skips School,” an article on the role of higher education in welfare reform. Ms. Spatz, currently chairs the Education and Training Task Force for the statewide advocacy group, Californians for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency, and is a member of the California State Legislature Joint Committee to End Poverty in California (EPIC).  

Associate Director

Anita Rees

Anita Rees is a single parent of a teenage son, Alex. While on welfare, Anita completed her BA in Sociology at the University of California Berkeley, where she served as coordinator of the student-run family resource center at the University Village family housing development. As Associate Director for LIFETIME, Anita works closely with the Executive Director on program administration, and directs LIFETIME’s services and organizing activities, including participation in 3 Bay Area IDA programs, outreach to and case management for CalWORKs and other low-income parents, and leadership development of parents to advocate for policies that increase their access to education. Having experienced the challenges of juggling family, school and work responsibilities while on welfare, Anita is committed to LIFETIME’s goal of helping low-income parents enroll in, continue and successfully complete higher education and training programs. Anita is also part of the LIFETIME leadership team that won the Ford Foundation and Advocacy Institute's 2003 Leadership for a Changing World Award, and serves on the board of directors for East Bay Area Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC), and the California Family Resource Association (CFRA).

Development and Communications Coordinator

Patrice Douglass

Patrice Douglass joined LIFETIME in April of 2008. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz and holds a BA in Feminist Studies. While in college she worked as the student coordinator for an organization that engaged in transgressive writing and art workshops with women prisoners. She has a continued dedication to issues involving currently and formerly incarcerated people, and volunteers much of her time to the struggle to end the prison industrial complex. She strongly believes that empowerment through education is an essential element to ending societies reliance on incarceration. Patrice has a true investment in LIFETIME’s mission and is excited to be apart of the LIFETIME team!

Operations Manager

Catt Olazabal

Catt Olazabal joined LIFETIME in October 2007; prior to starting with us she had worked for one of the world’s largest specialized staffing agencies. Her past work experience gave her essential business knowledge in administration, auditing and compliance, finance, technology, human resources, and recruiting which she has been able to utilize in her current role. Catt has also been a GIS contractor since 1995, and currently works in this role part-time, giving her additional experience in marketing, sales analysis, and database management. Her heart, however, goes out to LIFETIME as she truly believes in the work that LIFETIME does and is excited to be part of the organization. She’s enthusiastic about the contributions she’ll be able to make to LIFETIME as we continue to grow and service the community!

PEER Program Coordinator

Sayoko Watson

Sayoko Watson is a proud native of Oakland, CA, who is dedicated to the empowerment of low-income families in general, and women and girls specifically. Her professional experiences and interests are in community and youth services within the fields of health, counseling, education, and juvenile/family justice. Raised by a single mother on welfare and later a student-parent herself relying on government assistance, the purpose and mission of LIFETIME are dear and personal. In 2006 she graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Social Science, making her the first woman in a family of women to earn a college degree. She believes she stands on the shoulders of her ancestors in all endeavors to be a shining example of their excellence and sacrifice.

PEER Advocate

Dawn Love

Dawn Love is a single mother formerly on welfare and currently raising one child. She is a part-time student, with a learning disability, attending Chabot College in Hayward, California. In 2002 she received her Administrative Assistant certificate; but decided to pursue a career that would help others in the community as well as lead to self-sufficiency for her family. So, she is currently pursing an AS degree in Psychology-Counseling Human Services and plans to graduate in fall 2008. Her goal is continue to pursue her education with a BA in Human Service. Dawn is currently a PEER Advocate with LIFETIME, and has been with organization since 2002. She’s heavily involved with community organizations in social justice work, and has been since 2001. Concurrently Dawn is also on the Leadership Council with PLAN (Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network) in Oakland. Additionally, she is a member of the MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Coalition) and has been a representative for low-income families in Alameda County since 2004.

PEER Advocate

Camisha Nettles

Camisha Nettles is a 21-year old single parent of two beautiful daughters. In 2005 she graduated from Cal-SAFE and the Independent Living Skills Program. She is currently attending Chabot College where she is actively pursuing her Associates degree, with the intention of transferring to a 4-year college. Camisha’s goal is to earn a B.A. in Criminal Justice or Social Work, so that she can continue to support and advocate on behalf of foster youth and low income parents. Camisha started as a work-study PEER Intern for LIFETIME in August 2007, and works diligently to support the families that come to LIFETIME! .

Bookkeeper

Cassandra Haynes

Cassandra Haynes is a single mother on CalWorks and recently taken on the role of Bookkeeper at LIFETIME. Tired of dead end jobs that seemed to be going nowhere she decided to return to school to earn a degree in Nursing. Currently Cassandra is a full-time student at Chabot Community College in Hayward, Ca and has been attending Chabot since 2005. Though at times she has struggled, she is proud to know that she will earn her Associate Degree in Liberal Studies this spring! She also plans to enter the Nursing Program with a projected graduation date of 2010!

Administrative Assistant

Damon Jones

Damon Jones, a proud and committed father of 2 boys started with LIFETIME in November 2008. He came to us from two previous non-profits working with the disabled & supporting struggling teens with drug abuse. He has always loved and supported the community of non-profits and continues his dedication to the dedicated in all areas of social injustice. He brings an empowered spirit of solidifying a foundation of hope to all fathers who struggle to gain a stable and productive life. Leading by example he continues to exemplify his all-around office experience defining what a great team player is through his role with LIFETIME. Currently a student attending Cal State East Bay and Chabot College since 2003, he without a doubt never forgets the understanding that he is a student of life first and draws on his experiences as stepping stones towards greater powers of perseverance and self-awareness.

Lead Organizer

Kaysi Holman

Joining LIFETIME in May of 2008 as our Lead Organizer, Kaysi Holman brings with her both experience and dedication to social justice advocacy and organizing. Previously, she worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona as both a field and program coordinator. Her primary responsibilities included community outreach, membership development, supporting student and community groups, as well as building coalitions with a variety of organizations. While working, Kaysi simultaneously completed her master’s coursework in Justice and Social Inquiry and received a JD from Arizona State University College of Law. Her focus, whether academic or professional, has always been advocating for social justice and human rights!    

Southern California Organizer

Angelica Ceballos

Angelica Ceballos first became involved with LIFETIME in 2003 as a parent leader, progressing in her volunteer work LIFETIME asked Angelica if she take on their part-time Southern California Organizer role, which she accepted, in August 2007. Angelica is a single mother of three children, and cares for one disabled child with congenital heart disease. She is currently a student at California State University Long Beach in the multiple subjects, bilingual, and special education credential program. Additionally Angelica also works when needed at CBS/Paramount Studios as a Production Coordinator. In the summer Angelica also teaches English to children in Sonora, Mexico. She is very passionate and heavily involved with the education of immigrant children and preserving their native language.

Board Members

Sylvia Cabrales (Board Chair)

Sylvia Cabrales is employed as a Bilingual Case Manager for Oakland Unified School District, where she helps parents enroll their children in the school district. Sylvia graduated from Mills College in 2000 with a double BA in Sociology and Anthropology while receiving CalWORKs assistance. Sylvia has been an active volunteer in the Oakland community over 10 years and is a member of the Oakland chapter of LULAC, League of United Latin American Citizens. A single mother of four, Sylvia has been a member of the LIFETIME board since 2001, and began serving as Chairperson of the Board in 2004.

Leilani Luia (Vice Chair)

Leilani Luia graduated from Cal State Hayward with a BA in Sociology/Social Services in 2001 after earning four associate's degrees from Peralta Community Colleges while raising her family on welfare. Leilani was appointed to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Advisory Council and served on the board for SAFER, a grassroots organization of communities of color working to end environmental racism in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2001, Leilani was awarded the Management Center Board Award for Leadership for her work on the LIFETIME board. A mother of three, Leilani served as Chairperson of the LIFETIME Board of Directors from 2000-2003.

Brenda Rogers (Secretary)

Brenda Rogers is a mother who raised her son while a student receiving welfare and has gone from a high school drop out to a PhD candidate. As the parent of a special education student who had behavioral problems and learning disabilities, Brenda became an advocate for her son by applying her law and society educational background to the special education process and beat special education administrators at their own game. Today, Brenda's son is a successful teenager because of her advocacy and in 2004, Brenda founded the California non-profit Access Center for Education (ACE). ACE provides sliding scale and free special education advocacy to parents of disabled children in public schools.

Mark Toney (Treasurer)

Mark Toney is Executive Director, and Founder of Reentry Solutions, a grassroots initiative to promote and enable the reintegration of former prisoners into their communities. His organization helps ex-prisoners re-enter the economic, political and social life of their neighborhoods through community education, leadership development and policy reform. He was awarded a 2004–2006 Echoing Green Fellowship for social entrepreneurs to start up Reentry Solutions. Mark is formerly Executive Director of the Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO), which provided technical assistance that helped LIFETIME become a statewide membership organization.  Mark is also a PhD candidate in sociology at UC Berkeley, and National Science Foundation recipient, whose dissertation topic focuses on the emerging social movement to restore the civil and human rights of formerly incarcerated people in the U.S. Furthermore, Mark was a founding board member of both the National Organizers Alliance (NOA), and the NOA Social Justice Pension Plan, and currently serves as board co-chair for Change makers Foundation based in San Francisco, and serves on the board of Africa Action, and the National Whistleblower Center, both based in Washington, DC.

Diana Spatz (Executive Director/Board Member)

Diana Spatz is the founder of LIFETIME, Low-Income Families’ Empowerment through Education, a grassroots organization created by student mothers at the University of California Berkeley who completed college degrees while raising their families on welfare, and who are committed to helping other low-income parents do the same. A former welfare recipient, Ms. Spatz founded LIFETIME in 1996 upon graduating with honors from the University of California Berkeley with a BA in Political Economies of Industrialized Societies, and being awarded an echoing green Public Service Fellowship. An award- winning author and advocate for low-income families, Ms. Spatz won the 1996 I.F. Stone Award for Journalism by The Nation magazine for “ Welfare Reform Skips School,” an article on the role of higher education in welfare reform. Ms. Spatz, currently chairs the Education and Training Task Force for the statewide advocacy group, Californians for Family Economic Self-Sufficiency, and is a member of the California State Legislature Joint Committee to End Poverty in California (EPIC).