Community Council Members

Kavoos Ghane Bassiri, LMFT, CGP

President & CEO

, Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc (RAMS)

Michael Baxter, MSW

Director of Community Health Programs for Youth

San Francisco Department of Public Health

Michael Baxter, MSW, has worked in the field of adolescent health for thepast 25 years. He is currently employed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) as director of Community Health Programs for Youth, a consortium of DPH-funded clinics providing services to youths 12 to 24 years of age. Michael has implemented health education programs for incarcerated youths, was instrumental in ensuring a continuum of HIV services for young people that is ongoing, and has worked to increase school-based health services in San Francisco.

Lariza Dugan-Cuadra

Executive Director, Central American Resource Center

As Senior Community Development Specialist with the Mayor’s Office,Lariza is responsible for the administration of public service grants and community building initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life for low-income families and individuals in San Francisco.

Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Lariza managed PBS Ready to Learn media outreach initiatives for KQED’s Education Division. Other experience includes working to reunify children in San Francisco's Foster Care System, facilitating writing workshops at the Youth Guidance Center (YGC) and consulting on projects with SFSU's Marian Wright Edelman Institute, Children's Book Press, the Latino Community Foundation, ACTIVE VOICE, and other San Francisco based organizations dedicated to educating and advancing the lives childrent, families and immigant communities.  

She has a degree in humanities and is certified in Early Childhood Education.  

Michael Huff, PhD

Director, African American Health Disparities Project

Dr. Michael Huff is the director of the African American Health Disparity Project. The focus of his work in disparities is to help reduce the disparities in African American health and to improve health outcomes for African Americans in San Francisco. A major component of this work is to build partnerships that efficiently and effectively bring together individuals, organizations, and institutions to address African American health concerns. Currently, his work in health disparities focuses on the social determinants of health that play a key role in health outcomes.

Dr. Huff is a research sociologist trained at Northwestern University. For 20 years he has worked in a variety of health care contexts. Dr. Huff also has worked extensively in substance abuse recovery health education and the management of chronic illnesses, i.e hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

M. F. Chester Palesoo, MA

Leadership Development Consultant, API Consulting Network

Mr. Palesoo was born and raised in American Samoa, a territory of the United States of America.  He has been in the human services field for over 25 years with a master’s degree and certified human services counseling background skills.  He began his career in human services as advocate and counselor with Job Train/OICW for 19 years, and currently with API Consulting Network.  He was an elected official on the Ravenswood City School District Board of Education for 12 years.  An effective Pacific Islander leader, Mr. Palesoo was awarded the Unsung Hero Award for Pacific Islander leadership for two consecutive years and has received recognition by local, state, and federal government for outstanding community services.  He completed his military service with honorable discharge by the U.S. Army including honorable medals for successful military service.  Affiliations and membership of the following: PICC Board of Directors, EPA Measure-C Advisory, APALI Fellows Advisory, California API Americans Public Affairs, California API Legislative Advisory Committee.

Delia Reid

Vice President, Programs, Metta Fund

Delia Reid has been Vice President of Programs at Metta Fund since 2007. She is responsible for structuring and managing the foundation’s grantmaking as well as overseeing foundation communications and providing strategic direction. Previously, Ms. Reid served as Program Advisor at Grantmakers In Health providing technical assistance, facilitation and educational programming to foundation staff and leadership from around the country on issues of governance, finance and investments, grantmaking strategies, evaluation and communications.  Ms. Reid has worked in philanthropy for nearly 20 years. She has assisted numerous health conversion and start-up foundations and helped establish the Consumer Health Foundation and the Arlington Health Foundation. She administered grant funds for the National Endowment for the Arts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and has assisted The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, Washington Grantmakers, and the Association of Small Foundations. Her communications work has been awarded a gold Wilmer Shields Award for Excellence in Communications from the Council on Foundations, and a Standard of Excellence Web Award from the Web Marketing Association.

Joaquín Torres

Deputy Director, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Joaquín Torres is the current Deputy Director at the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development where he leads Mayor Lee's Invest In Neighborhoods Initiative leveraging city resources across city departments to maximize positive economic and social impact in our neighborhoods. Prior to his recent appointment, Joaquin served as Director of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services (MONS) under Mayor Edwin M. Lee. Under former Mayor Gavin Newsom, Joaquín served as the Liaison to the Latino and American Indian communities and to districts nine and eleven. Joaquín is a graduate of Stanford University and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Bernal Heights.

Kevin Truitt

Associate Superintendent, Student, Family and Community Support Department, San Francisco Unified School District

Kevin Truitt currently serves as the Associate Superintendent of the Student, Family & Community Support Department where he directs and supervises the offices of School Health Programs, Pupil Services, Middle and High School Counseling, Post-Secondary Success, City and CBO Partnerships, Family and Community Engagement, Afterschool Programs and Athletics. Kevin gained his expertise in school leadership as a Principal in San Francisco Unified at the elementary, middle and high school levels spanning eleven years. Kevin began his career in education as a middle school mathematics teacher in South Central Los Angeles for twelve years. Kevin credits his teaching experience in L.A. as the driving force behind his passion for achieving equity in education and ensuring that ALL children are provided with the opportunities and support they need to realize their full potential and achieve success.