Meet Our Board
OFficers
Rev. Rhina Ramos (she, her, hers) is an ordained United Church of Christ doing work of LGBTQI inclusion in faith communities. Locally, she leads a Spanish speaking congregation she co-founded in December 2011. Ministerio Latino is home to LGBTQ Latine immigrants and a place where they are welcomed and affirmed. Nationally she coordinates a program called Encuentros Latinx at the UCC national office to help churches understand the importance of opening doors to the LGBTQ community. Pastor Rhina is also a former attorney who practiced labor law in NY during the ‘90s on behalf of immigrant workers. Originally from El Salvador, Pastor Rhina understands the pains of being an immigrant and starting life in a new country. Oasis is close to her heart because the stories of our clients are her story. In her free time, she can be found taking long walks listening to sappy romantic music in Spanish.
Rhina Ramos
Chair | Director
Jena is a CPA serving public charities, private foundations, membership associations and other not-for-profit organizations at BPM LLP. She has worked at regional and national firms, as well as within various Bay Area non-profit organizations. She has a Masters of Taxation from Golden Gate University and is a proud alumna of Mills College.
When not at work, you can find Jena walking her pit-mix in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of SF, trying new restaurants or reading the New Yorker - even though she is a Bay Area native.
Jena Lee
Treasurer | Director
Kathy (she/her/hers) was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has never left. She is a Registered Nurse (Retired) educated in Santa Rosa California and worked in the Emergency Room and ICU in Oakland and Hayward for many years. Kathy obtained her Master’s Degree in Informatics at University of California San Francisco in 2000. She finished her nursing career at Kaiser in the Information Technology Division and was the manager of a team that helped develop and implement an enterprise-wide electronic medical record. Kathy has been involved in volunteering most of her adult life at her church, and in her community. Kathy happened to sit next to Caroline at a luncheon one day, and as a result, began volunteering at Oasis. Since 2017, Kathy has been delighted to help out with various projects at Oasis.
Kathy Schwarz
Secretary
Directors
Raquel Aldana joined UC Davis in 2017 to serve as the inaugural Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity with a law faculty appointment. She returned to full time teaching in 2020. Aldana is a graduate of Arizona State University and Harvard Law School. From 2006 to 2007, Aldana was a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala. Aldana’s research has focused on transitional justice, criminal justice reforms and sustainable development in Latin America, and immigrant rights. She teaches in the areas of immigration law, asylum and refugee law, human rights, and criminal justice. Since starting at UC Davis, Aldana has received numerous awards including the American Bar Association Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, the UC Davis Chancellor’s Achievement Award for Diversity and Community and the UC Davis Office of Research and Policy for Equity Ubuntu Award for Inspiring Social Change. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI), widely considered the nation's preeminent law reform organization. She was recently elected as Chair of Latin American and Caribbean Council of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) and as a member of the ROLI board and is a Fellow of the American Bar Association. Aldana is also a proud immigrant from El Salvador and Guatemala.
Raquel Aldana
Director
Allan Manzanares arrived in the Bay Area in 2016. He was born and raised in Honduras. Allan has a business management and action learning educational background to a graduate level and has a long experience working in the corporate sector and in education. He currently works for the National Housing Law Project, as the People and Business Operations Specialist.
Allan has served in leadership positions at The Episcopal Church of Saint John the Evangelist in San Francisco, CA, which has a long history in the defense of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the rights of immigrants, people of color, and our unhoused siblings, among other vulnerable groups. Allan also works closely with the Ministerio Latino - a faith-based organization helping Latino LGBTQ+ individuals and households, connecting with all sorts of resources. Allan is based in San Francisco, CA.
Allan Manzanares
Director
Daniel Brotsky was VP and Chief Architect for Business Infrastructure at Adobe before retiring in March of 2022. He now runs a small consulting company, ClickOneTwo LLC, that builds supportive technology for individuals and community groups. He is also an active contributor in the open-source software community.
Dan initially joined the Oasis community as a tech consultant when the organization opened its doors in 2017. He is proud to step into this Director role to continue supporting Oasis and its work.
Daniel Brotsky
Director
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, to Salvadoran immigrants, Lilian developed a passion for environmental science and the fight for environmental justice. With a decade of experience in the field, she has dedicated her career to protecting and preserving our planet and has worked for regional air agencies to achieve that goal as a Quality Assurance Officer in Air Monitoring. In addition to her background in environmental science, Lilian has a strong interest in public health and is eager to impact the community positively.
With her diverse background and commitment to making a difference, Lilian is excited to bring her skills and passion to the community to support Oasis's mission.
Lilian Turcios
Director
Jack trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India and Burma and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology, is a father, husband and activist, and author of 15 books.
Jack Kornfield
Director
Korab is Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Purpose Communications and ESG at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he oversees the execution of the company’s communications and ESG strategy. Prior to immigrating to the U.S., Korab spent five years working for the United Nations/OSCE in Kosovo, where he supported several projects focused on promoting education for underserved youth. While at the United Nations/OSCE, Korab also founded and served as president of the Center for Social Emancipation (QESh), the first organization in Kosovo focused on LGBTQ+ rights.
Korab Zuka
Director