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About Urban Solutions - Staff Bios
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Jenny McNulty, Executive Director
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 Jenny oversees all Urban Solutions' programs and initiatives. She joined Urban Solutions in early 2002 to provide loan packaging and technical assistance to small business owners and to work on the creation and implementation of the Six on Sixth economic revitalization program. After serving as a Small Business Development Specialist and then Deputy Director, she moved into the role of Executive Director in 2005. In 2009, she also became CEO of California Lending Partners, a new SBA certified development company affiliated with Urban Solutions.
Jenny has extensive financial experience in both the non-profit and private sectors. She worked for four years in micro-credit programs, including two years in West Africa, where she was part of the management team for a micro-credit program providing credit and health education to 12,000 women. She also spent a year in a nature reserve in the Ecuadorian Amazon teaching environmental education and promoting community health initiatives.
Jenny's family has been in San Francisco for five generations. Prior to working at Urban Solutions, Jenny worked as a financial manager at Providian Financial in San Francisco, doing financial planning and profitability analysis. Jenny holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Bristol, with a focus on Finance, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She is fluent in French, Spanish and Bambara.
| Helen
Branham, Director of Small Business Services
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 Helen
works with small businesses and entrepreneurs
and helps them obtain financing by packaging
SBA loans, assisting in developing strong business
plans, financial projections and marketing strategies.
Helen developed and manages the Urban Solutions
Fillmore office and splits her time between
the two neighborhoods of SOMA and the Western
Addition in the provision of services to small
businesses. She helped create and supervises
the Buzz on Biz Youth Entrepreneurship Training
program currently offered at the organization.
She organizes the technical assistance workshops
for business owners and is responsible for day-to-day
management of the small business services program
and staff supervision. She has a background
in business development, training, technical
assistance and loan packaging. She has worked
with micro-enterprise programs in the nonprofit
and private sectors, including five years as
Project Director at Women's Initiative for Self-Employment,
where she worked with over 2,000 women business
owners, and four years running her own small
business consulting company, The Saba Group,
which she still operates part time. She currently serves on the board of the Little Children's Development Center. Helen completed
graduate studies in Business and Industrial
Psychology at Tennessee State University and
holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration
from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
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Tracy Everwine, Project Director
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 Tracy
Everwine oversees Urban Solutions’ economic development
efforts in the South of Market Redevelopment Project
Area. Her ability to attract community-serving
businesses, provide business consulting services,
form coalitions and organize merchants has significantly
contributed to the revitalization of this community.
She has been involved in economic development
and urban revitalization for over ten years. A
graduate of the University of California, Berkeley,
she began her career in Philadelphia's historic
downtown district marketing a two-million square
foot shopping center for The Rouse Company. In
Philadelphia she also worked with community organizations,
the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City's
Redevelopment Authority on economic and business
development programs. Subsequently Tracy settled
in San Francisco, first doing business attraction
and retention in Richmond, then overseeing retail
facility operations and construction for large
retail clients throughout Northern California.
Tracy also leads contemporary art tours nationwide
and volunteers with senior citizen and at-risk
youth programs throughout San Francisco. She is
a member of CREW, SPUR and ULI, and a board member
of CATS.
| Michel Ottolia, Business Development Officer of California Lending Partners
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Michel L. Ottolia is Vice President and Business Development Officer of California Lending Partners. He has over 35 years of management experience in large corporations as well as small and medium size businesses. His expertise lies in SBA programs, real estate financing, strategic marketing, general management and corporate finance specializing in the banking, manufacturing, wholesale and retail distribution, hospitality and food, health care services and technology industries.
From 2007 to 2009, Michel served as Vice President of SBA Financing in the San Francisco Bay Area for Popular Small Business Capital (PSBC), the fourth largest SBA lender in the United States with an SBA loan portfolio over $1 billion. PSBC is a division of Banco Popular North America (BPNA), the number one Hispanic bank in the U.S. Prior to joining PSBC, Michel was Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending with RAF Investment Services in Berkeley, California. He received his education in France. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Lyon University and an undergraduate degree in Marketing/Distribution from Toulon Institute of Technology. Michel is fluent in English, French and Spanish, and holds a current California Real Estate License.
Janice Lee, Director of Development and Communications |
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 Janice is responsible for promoting Urban Solutions’ initiatives and programs with small businesses, generating community support, and working with the organization on its strategic plan. A second-generation native San Franciscan, she has more than 20 years of experience in media, public and community relations for organizations addressing issues of family homelessness, domestic violence, hate crimes, and community and economic development. She holds a Bachelor's degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and was most recently Deputy Executive Director at the national office of the Asian American Journalists Association. She is past president of the Board of Directors of the Asian Women’s Shelter and currently serves on the Board of Hyphen Magazine and as an adviser for the journalism project GoInspireGo.com.
| Helene Sautou, Project Manager
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 Helene manages property improvement projects associated with the Sixth Street economic revitalization program. A former commercial property manager and development coordinator for the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority in Seattle, Helene has much experience working with small, owner-operated businesses, including numerous retail or food specialty stores and restaurants. She also managed retail tenant improvements for Tarragon, a well-regarded Seattle area developer. She enjoys discovering unique, independent shops on her city walks and values the contribution that small businesses make to urban settings and communities. A native of France, where she studied product design, Helene completed certificate programs in Land Use Law and Commercial Real Estate at the University of Washington, as well as numerous other continuing education opportunities. An avid cook and baker, she took a sabbatical year to pursue a bread & pastry program, running a booth at her local Sunday farmer’s market while going to school. A resident of San Francisco since late 2009, she is proud to now be a part of the Urban Solutions team and participate in the South of Market Redevelopment Project Area.
Aaron
Burke, Project Manager / Managing Broker
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 Aaron
manages property improvement projects associated
with the Sixth Street economic revitalization
program. He also supports business and property
owners in commercial lease negotiations in an
effort to attract a complimentary mix of community
serving businesses and support local economic
development. Born and raised in San Francisco,
Aaron is a strong advocate for, and has built
his career serving, small business. He believes
that supporting small business in communities
creates measurable advantages that significantly
contribute to social change. With a degree in
Finance and International Business from Georgetown
University, Aaron has served as a consultant
for over ten years helping clients to build,
buy and finance small businesses. He is a Certified
Business Opportunity Appraiser and a licensed
Broker. Aaron’s enthusiasm for small business
has led him to owning several small restaurants
himself. He is proud to be a part of Urban Solution’s
team, and happy to have the opportunity to focus
his efforts in the South of Market Redevelopment
Project Area.
| Anthony
Tsai , Green Business Program
Manager
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 Anthony
oversees efforts to assist small businesses
with “saving costs while saving the
environment” by identifying conservation
opportunities in the areas of energy,
water, waste, toxics, and purchasing
efficiency. Prior to joining Urban
Solutions, he spent two years in management
consulting for Fortune 100 companies
where he developed and marketed new
client programs. He spent eight months
in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he provided
a startup company with business tools
to develop carbon credits to protect
rain forests in Borneo. Anthony has
a Masters of Business Administration
from the Ross School of Business at
the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s
degree in Computer Science from the
University of California, Berkeley.
He is bilingual in English and Mandarin.
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Serge Mokeyev, Green Business Auditor
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 Serge focuses on conducting audits of businesses participating in Urban Solutions' Green Business Program. A native of St. Petersburg, Russia, he is a former naval officer of a nuclear submarine in the Russian Navy. He moved to San Francisco in 1996. He has considerable experience managing sustainable building projects in the Bay Area. He spent two years in Moscow as a project manager for the construction of sustainable high-rise buildings with the company Hunter Douglas. He holds an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the Naval Engineering Institute in Russia, and trained in architectural project sales and management in Rotterdam, Holland; last year he graduated from the Green Jobs Academy in Palo Alto.
Jennifer Schweitzer, Business Development Associate
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 Jenn works on business development and performs sustainability consulting for Urban Solutions’ Green Business Program. A long time bay area resident, she studied political science at San Francisco State University. While in school Jenn participated in a semester-long study abroad program in which she traveled by boat around the world. Visiting such places as Cuba, Brazil, Africa, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Japan, the program offered educational opportunities in service and leadership and the study of such issues as poverty, international relations, and global sustainability. She spent the first part of her career in property management and as an account executive for large corporations. Since then, Jenn has decided to dedicate herself and her career to helping facilitate environmentally-friendly business practices in organizations in and around San Francisco.
Claudia Stillwell, Bookkeeper
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 Claudia
serves as a Financial Management Consultant to Urban
Solutions. She has worked in non-profit administration
for over fifteen years, the last seven in financial
management. Her current projects with nonprofits
include advising on accounting, budgeting, nonprofit
compliance and audit preparation. She has presented
workshops on financial management and project management
for local service organizations. Claudia holds an
MBA from Golden Gate University and a BA from Wesleyan
University.
| Michelle
Brady, Executive Assistant
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 Michelle
Brady manages daily office operations and assists
Executive Director Jenny McNulty. A native San
Franciscan, she graduated from UC Santa Barbara
with a degree in history. Prior to joining Urban
Solutions, Michelle was the Executive Assistant
at Co-op America in Washington, D.C.
| Janelle Block , Program and Data Assistant
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 Janelle Block manages client data, tracks outcomes, and supports various program staff. Prior to coming onboard with Urban Solutions, Janelle worked for ten years in the fashion industry. A native of San Francisco, Janelle is currently attending California Institute of Integral Studies where she will receive her BA in interdisciplinary studies in 2010. She also commits her time to educational programs that assist the youth of underserved communities.
| Tessa
Williams, Development Assistant
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Tessa focuses on fundraising and communications
at Urban Solutions. A graduate of Wesleyan University
with a degree in English, she is very excited
to be working with an organization committed
to helping create strong neighborhoods. Prior
to moving to beautiful San Francisco and joining
the staff, she was a used book trader at Changing
Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, her hometown.
| Ashley
Ortiz, Economic Development Consultant
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Ashley supports the neighborhood economic development
program staff and SOMBA, the South of Market Business
Association. She has been involved in economic
and real estate development for the past ten years
in Colorado. After graduating from the University
of Colorado, Ashley joined the Downtown Boulder
Business Improvement District to assist with economic
vitality and downtown events. While working in
Boulder, she also co-founded a nonprofit entity
to raise funds for the design and construction
of a LEED-certified recreation center in a new
urban city park, and a seasonal event company
to raise funds for the nonprofit’s operation.
Ashley’s commitment to sustainability subsequently
led her to work for a commercial real estate developer,
where she successfully managed a Silver-LEED certification
process for a $30M mixed-use project in the heart
of Downtown Boulder. Now, Ashley is excited to
be back in the Bay Area, where she was born, and
honored to be supporting Urban Solutions’ mission
while learning about the South of Market Redevelopment
Project Area, neighborhood businesses, and citywide
public policy.
| Patty Moore , Sustainability Consultant
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 Patty is a volunteer with the Green Business Program. She is currently enrolled in the Building Performance and Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) at Laney College. She is a LEED AP certified professional and a Certified Green Building Professional (CGBP).
Audrey Molina , Development and Communications Intern
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 Audrey is a volunteer for the development and communications department. She grew up in Danville, a bridge- and-tunnel east of San Francisco. Audrey earned a Journalism degree at George Washington University and worked in the sports department at the Washington Post. She also got a master’s degree in theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prior to joining Urban Solutions, Audrey was a youth program director in Berkeley, and also volunteered regularly in the Tenderloin at St. Anthony’s Dining Room. Somehow, Audrey keeps returning to the Bay Area – it must be the weather – and is excited to be working in San Francisco.
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