Belinda Lyons-Newman (she/her) has more than twenty five years of experience in all aspects of nonprofit management, organizational development, fund development, group facilitation, and strategic planning. She brings her business expertise and strong commitment to equity and social, environmental, economic, and racial justice into her work. 

Belinda’s experience includes ten years as Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHA). At MHA Belinda launched nationally recognized programs and led the organization through a successful operational and financial turnaround, overseeing expansions in programs, budgets, and impact. She also led the San Francisco campaign and served on the statewide campaign for California Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act, which was passed by California voters in 2004. The Act mandated a transformation to a prevention-based consumer-centered behavioral health care system and continues to raise more than two billion dollars each year for behavioral health care across California.

Belinda also served as Commissioner and Chair of the City of Berkeley Homeless Commission, as a member of the Chinatown Community Development Center Board of Directors, and as a member of the San Francisco Mayor’s Behavioral Health Innovations Task Force. She currently serves as a member of the Research and Valuation Committee for the State of California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and she is an Advisory Board Member at the U.C. Berkeley Greater Good Science Center.

Belinda received the 2006 National Mental Health Association Innovation in Programming Award and a 2010 Public Health Hero Award from the City and County of San Francisco Department of Public Health.

A skilled group facilitator, Belinda brings a diverse set of tools and facilitation methods to her work with teams. She has completed training in facilitation and multi-stakeholder collaboration from Community at Work, the Center for Strategic Facilitation, the Interaction Institute for Social Change, studied Liberating Structures, and trained in Design Thinking methods and human-centered design from the U.C Berkeley Haas School of Business. Belinda is also trained as a coach and facilitator with the U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business Coaching Institute.

Belinda earned her MBA in Nonprofit Management at the U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business and her BA in Psychology and Women’s Studies at McGill University.

For more information, please contact Belinda to discuss your needs.

Erica Harrell (she/her) is a versatile strategic thinker with a growth mindset. Her background includes experience in quantitative and qualitative analysis, project management, and research. She is proud to have led initiatives centering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within and outside of the workplace and continues to make these efforts a top priority in her life.

Prior to Lyons-Newman Consulting, Erica worked at global strategy consulting firm Oliver Wyman, where she partnered with Fortune 500 clients to solve key strategic and operational issues.

Erica also previously supported operations at Consumer Directed Choices, a non-profit empowering seniors and people with disabilities to choose their own homecare.

Erica graduated from Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

Recent projects include: Legal Assistance to the Elderly, Glaucoma Research Foundation, Berkeley Student Cooperative, West Berkeley Fund, Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services (PEERS) and East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO).

Santiago (he/him/él) is an analytical thinker who approaches his work through a lens of cultural humility. Born and raised in the Bay Area, his background includes experience in qualitative analysis, primary and secondary research, and on the ground experience with a variety of nonprofits.

Prior to Lyons-Newman Consulting, Santiago worked at VIVA Social Impact Partners, a Bay Area based social impact consulting firm, and FSG, a global nonprofit consulting firm. While at those firms, Santiago partnered with nonprofit, government, and philanthropic organizations to support strategic planning and collective impact projects. 

Santiago has also supported a variety of communications projects for nonprofit organizations, ranging from social media management and content development to video storyboard development and website copy drafting, as well as bilingual communications in English and Spanish. 

Santiago graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Certificate in Latino Studies.

Sarah Illing (she/her) has over 10 years’ experience as a consultant, researcher, and project manager in the social sector. She began her consulting career in 2012 at Learning for Action, a San Francisco-based firm working at the intersection of evaluation, research, and strategy in service of equity and justice. During nearly 10 years with LFA, Sarah collaborated with a broad range of philanthropic, government, and nonprofit organizations, such as Unbound Philanthropy, Gender Health San Francisco, SF Office of Transgender Initiatives, First 5 Sonoma County, and The Kresge Foundation. As a consultant, Sarah strives to bring a thoughtful, flexible, and antiracist approach that honors the expertise and well-being of everyone impacted by her work. Sarah also engages deeply in her local community in various ways, such as direct mutual aid/solidarity, particularly with immigrant communities, mentoring, grassroots voter outreach and advocacy, and volunteering (e.g., SF County elections, Trans March, pen pal program supporting LGBTQ+ folks who are incarcerated, SF-Marin Food Bank, etc.).

Sarah is fluent in Spanish. From 2010-12, she lived in Manizales, Colombia, where she was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant.

Sarah has a Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience from Muhlenberg College.

Karla Guerrero (she/her) has expertise in non-profit strategy, online facilitation, and quantitative analysis. Karla is passionate about helping social impact organizations reach their maximum efficiency and impact. She has a deep commitment to equity and social justice, including ensuring an inclusive and collaborative online work environment for everyone.

Karla was previously a director for 180 degrees consulting, where she worked for various nonprofit organizations on issues ranging from renewable energy to education.

Karla earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Health as a Regent and Chancellor Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, and she received her Master of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley with a specialization in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Recent projects include: La Raza Community Resource Center, Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), and Community Solutions.

Jazmin (she/her/ella) is a first-generation Latina professional driven by the goal to improve historically disenfranchised communities through support of mission-driven organizations. She has experience conducting qualitative research, producing policy recommendations, and using her bilingual skills to create content for Spanish-speaking communities.

Jazmin holds a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in Linguistics, with a minor in Education, Inquiry, and Justice, and a Master’s degree in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Tori Fukumitsu (he/him) has expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis. Tori brings an analytical mindset and a deep commitment to the social sector to each engagement, and collaborates with clients in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors to support initiatives focused on sustainable and equitable impact.

Tori is also an Associate Director at global nonprofit consulting firm FSG, bringing experience working with nonprofit, foundation, and corporate clients in the areas of strategy, research, and evaluation.

Prior to Lyons-Newman Consulting, Tori served as a Resident in Social Enterprise (RISE) Fellow with New Sector Alliance, where he worked as a Project Manager at TechSoup. Tori completed his undergraduate studies at Hamilton College with a concentration in English Literature.

Kristin Barendsen (she/her) is an award-winning writer and editor who helps organizations craft messaging, update their brand voice, revamp website copy, create video scripts, and more. A former contributing editor for Yoga Journal and Yoga International magazines, she has published more than 100 stories in magazines and newspapers around the world. She is co-author of Photography: New Mexico and a book on Buddhism published by an imprint of MacMillan in 2018. She has also copyedited/proofread more than 150 nonfiction books. She is a recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and two Southwest Writers writing awards. She has lived in Thailand and the Czech Republic and has traveled to 35 countries on five continents. Kristin studied creative writing and studio art at Stanford University, graduating with distinction.