Executive Team
Jane Fischberg
President and Executive Director
Jane has been with Rubicon Programs since 1997 in a number of leadership roles. Most immediately prior to Rubicon, Jane was at the City/County of San Francisco Department of Human Services, where she managed contracted supportive housing programs, developed agency collaboratives in that field, and established that County’s Shelter Plus Care program. Prior to serving at SFDHS, Jane had 12 years management experience at San Francisco based nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping people move out of poverty.
Jane received her BA degree from Williams College in Massachusetts, her MPA degree from San Francisco State University, and has received additional training at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, and at Harvard Business School. Jane has been named a Woman of Distinction by the East Bay Business Times, and has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by the SFSU MPA Department.
She serves on the City of Richmond Workforce Investment Board, and is the Chair of the Contra Costa County Human Services Alliance.
Phyllis Crakow
Director of Human Resources
Phyllis is responsible for Rubicon’s human resource programs and systems including recruiting, compensation and benefits, employee relations, performance management, personnel policies, risk mitigation and labor law compliance. Prior to joining Rubicon in December 2005, Phyllis held human resource management positions with Andersen Consulting, Sybase, two San Francisco Bay Area dot-coms, and managed a Peets Coffee store in Marin County. Phyllis received her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California at Davis, has received extensive training and experience in the areas of recruiting, performance management and employment law and is a long-standing member of the Society for Human Resources Management.
Kelly Dunn
General Counsel and Director of Legal Services
Kelly has been the Director of Rubicon's legal services division, previously known as the Hawkins Center of Rubicon Programs, since July 2003. Kelly was the Executive Director of the Hawkins Center from 1991 until its merger with Rubicon in the summer of 2003. In addition to serving as Director of Legal Services, Kelly is General Counsel for Rubicon. Kelly has been a practicing attorney since 1982, specializing since 1985 in the field of Social Security disability law. He has been a Co-Chair of the Contra Costa HIV/AIDS Consortium, and has served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Family Care Network in Alameda County. Kelly received his J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law. He received his B.S. degree in Physics from U.C. Irvine. In 2007 he was honored with the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award presented by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George on behalf of the Contra Costa Bar Association and The Bar Fund.
Rachel Lee Holstein
Director of Development
Rachel Lee leads fundraising and communications at Rubicon. With Rubicon since November, 2011, Rachel Lee has nearly a decade's worth of experience in public service and nonprofit fundraising. She has raised funds and organized events for diverse Bay Area nonprofit organizations including Fair Trade USA, Alameda County Community Food Bank, Precita Eyes Muralist Association, and Project Open Hand. A former elementary school teacher and advocate for at-risk youth, Rachel Lee is committed to the empowerment of families and the alleviation of inter-generational poverty. She received her Bachelor's Degree from Smith College and holds a California Teaching Credential.
Rob Hope
Chief Program Officer
Rob has led Rubicon Programs' Economic Empowerment division since March 2010, after originally joining Rubicon as Senior Workforce Analyst in August 2009, to enhance existing services and develop new programs in the areas of prisoner re-entry, green jobs, and financial literacy. Prior to Rubicon, Rob served as ReEntry Services Manager at Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota, where he designed, implemented and managed workforce development programs for formerly incarcerated people. He has also worked for 3 years in the research department of the Vera Institute of Justice in New York, and for 2 years as a Community Safety and Justice Fellow at Urban Strategies Council in Oakland. Rob has a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Vassar College and a Master's degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley.
Wes Reed
Director of Information Technology
Wes first joined Rubicon in 2005. He has over 15 years experience working with IT in for-profit, non-profit and higher education environments. Prior to joining Rubicon, Wes was a founder and principal of a Bay Area software firm specializing in web development and web-based data systems. In addition to working on a wide variety of database systems, Wes has managed the development of several applications for tracking social service delivery. Wes has a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
David Samuels
Chief Financial Officer
David joined Rubicon Programs in July 2006, and as CFO provides overall management and leadership of the company’s departments of Accounting, Contracts and Budgets, Facilities, Human Resources, and Information Technology. David came from the for-profit sector where he had been Consultant or CFO for more than twenty years for small to mid-sized private and public companies, both here in the United States and also abroad for seven years in France and for two years in Israel. David has been a leader in innovation, financial, risk, and treasury management, systems conversions and improvements, and company reorganizations. David has been consultant for the Israeli Institute of Agricultural Research and for Arthur Andersen, CFO of Bio-Rad Laboratories and Backroads Travel, and most recently was Finance Director of eBay. David earned his CPA in 1988, his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986, and his B.S. degree at California Polytechnic State University in 1981.
John Tammen
General Manager, Rubicon Landscape
John has overall responsibility for sales, business growth, operations and finances for Rubicon Landscape Services. He brings over 30 years of business and management experience to Rubicon. John began his career working for several engineering and construction firms, including Turner Construction. He has a strong understanding of construction and maintenance processes, including how projects are designed, bid, sold, built, and maintained after occupancy. John also worked in the software industry. He sold and managed consulting services for major software implementations, most recently with Oracle Corporation. John is a Licensed Contractor and a Registered Civil Engineer, and holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering, a B.A. in Architecture and an MBA, all from Stanford University. John joined Rubicon in November 2005.
Carolyn Valrey
Controller
Carolyn came to Rubicon 12 years ago and has held several positions in the Accounting Department beginning as an Accounting Supervisor and working her way up to Controller. As Controller, she is responsible for producing financial reports, handling audits, overseeing the cash flow, budgeting and forecasting, managing financial systems and tax compliance. Carolyn has over 20 years of accounting experience and brings a strong understanding of nonprofit accounting coupled with an expertise in financial analysis. Her level of insight and detail allows her to build a motivated and dedicated accounting team. She plays an integral part in developing and implementing the agency's own employee time tracking system as well as our new Accounting Finance System. Carolyn attended California State University Hayward.
Before coming to Rubicon, Carolyn worked for many years with Walden House, a nonprofit in San Francisco and in the for profit industry in varied accounting positions. She serves on the board of a community based cultural center in West Oakland where she's been an active volunteer for many years. She volunteers with a community based program, known as E-Soccer, which offers free recreational soccer to exceptional children. She champions causes that empower people to rise above their challenges.
Rick Wood
Director of Organizational Impact
Rick has worked for Rubicon in various management roles since 1994 and led Rubicon’s performance measurement efforts since 1998. In his role as Program Evaluator from 1998-2005, he coordinated development and implementation of CICERO, Rubicon’s comprehensive performance measurement system. As Director of Management Information Systems and Evaluation from 2005-2010, he continued his work on performance measurement and took on responsibility for the agency’s Information Technology infrastructure. In his current role, Rick works closely with program directors and quality assurance staff to update and enhance performance measurement systems and procedures, and translate performance measures into organizational impact measures. Rick has served on the Contra Costa County Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Policy Committee since 1999 and the Alameda County EveryOne Home Performance Management Committee since 2007. Rick received his BA degree from Dartmouth College and his MA in Slavic Languages/Linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley, where he taught classes in Polish and Russian prior to coming to Rubicon.