Becca has spent more than 25 years in communications across a range of industries, including online, telecommunications, children’s health and education, land use and the energy sector. Becca founded Vox Populi, a full-service public relations/public affairs firm, in 2001. She serves as strategic advisor to non-profit organizations, start-ups and corporations. Her firm has managed community engagement, media relations, corporate communications, special events, crisis management and direct marketing for clients, including the Oakland Zoo, Calpine Corporation, BayWest Development, Steelwave, Bishop O'Dowd High School, Catellus Corporation, and SaveMart/Lucky Stores. Becca also has served as strategic advisor to the Gap, Inc. and eBay.
Previously, Becca was vice president of corporate communications for Women.com, a top 50 online media company owned by Hearst Media. She also held internal communications positions with SBC/Pacific Bell, Beyond.com and Sun Microsystems. Becca has worked as media relations director for political campaigns and served as a communications consultant, fundraiser and writer for statewide ballot measures and initiatives. Early in her career, Becca managed both consumer products and technology accounts at Porter-Novelli and Hill and Knowlton and worked in production at KNBR radio in San Francisco.
Becca received a B.A. in Communications from the University of San Francisco and was named among the top communications professionals by PRWeek. She lives in the East Bay, where she is a member of the Jobs and Housing Coalition in Oakland; honorary board member of Alameda Meals on Wheels; and on the community advisory board for Rhythmix Cultural Works.
Deb joined the FAAS Board of Directors in 2013 and served as president from 2016 to 2017. She has always had a passion for animals and a soft spot for "those who just can’t get a permanent family the first time around." Deb both lives and works in Alameda as a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments. Highly active in the community, she also serves as president of the Alameda Rotary Endowment Foundation and secretary of the Downtown Alameda Business Association. Deb previously served board terms with Girls Inc. of the Island City, Rotary Club of Alameda, and Alameda Food Bank. Deb and her wife, Susan, share their lives with an Australian shepherd.
Joe Ernst is a founder of srmErnst and has more than 20 years of real estate experience in development, investment, asset management and finance. Joe joined SRM Associates in 1999 and was the principal in charge of all new development since 2005.
Prior to SRM, Joe was a vice president in structured finance at Norwest Bank Minneapolis (prior to acquisition of Wells Fargo). He was also a vice president with Cargill Financial Services focused on developing a conduit for acquisition and securitization of subprime residential mortgages, and a vice president with Piper Jaffray as a structured finance analyst involved in the acquisition, restructuring and fund management of a $1 billion portfolio of distressed residential loans and under-performing CMBS deals.
Joe graduated magna cum laude from the University of Saint Thomas receiving his B.A. in finance and computer science. He is a portfolio advisor with Inner City Advisors, an Oakland-based non-profit small business and jobs advocacy group.
John L. Lipp is a nationally recognized leader in the nonprofit sector with comprehensive experience in fundraising, leadership, governance, and community engagement. He has worked with a variety of organizations over his career and has served as a trainer and keynote speaker for local, national, and international audiences. John’s book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Recruiting and Managing Volunteers, was published in 2009 by Alpha/Penguin. In 2015, he was a featured contributor to the anthology Volunteer Engagement 2.0: Ideas and Insights Changing the World from Jossey-Bass. John served on the board of Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) from 2011 to 2017 before joining the staff as Executive Director/CEO from 2017 to 2025. In recognition of his lifelong commitment to a more humane world for people and animals, he was the recipient of the San Francisco Shanti Project’s 2019 “Dede Wilsey Champion of the Human-Animal Bond Award.” As an advocate for people living and thriving with Parkinson’s disease, John is an active volunteer for the Michael J. Fox Foundation and serves on the City of Alameda’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities.
Nancy helped found Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) and served as president of its board of directors almost continuously since 2009. Nancy started volunteering at the shelter 2008, when it was still operated by the City of Alameda. In 2009, she and handful of other volunteers formed the all-volunteer not-for-profit Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS). Its mission: to help the City care for its shelter animals by raising extra money for medical and other needs. In 2011, when the City announced it was considering closing the animal shelter due to budget constraints, Nancy spearheaded a successful "Save Our Shelter (SOS)" campaign. In 2012, she helped FAAS assume control of shelter operations from the City and hire its own paid staff. Nancy first served as board president from 2009 to 2015. She rejoined the board in 2018 and resumed the role as president in July 2019. She also has served on the board of her homeowners association. She has been an Alameda real estate agent since 1989 and currently works for Compass. She adpted all of her dogs –Toby, Buddy and Gizmo – from FAAS.
District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley has served as the chief law enforcement officer of Alameda County since 2009. She is the first woman elected to hold the office, which boasts a national reputation for excellence dating back to former District Attorney and United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.
DA O’Malley is a nationally recognized expert regarding violence against women and people with disabilities, and interpersonal violence including sexual assault, domestic violence, elder abuse, child abuse, stalking, and human exploitation and trafficking. She is known for her innovation and vision, including her Restitution Program for victims of crime, her Alameda Family Justice Center, and her Human Exploitation and Trafficking Watch Program.
She is also a fierce advocate for animals, creating Alameda County’s first Animal Cruelty Task Force to focus on the link between animal abuse and human violence. This groundbreaking task force has resulted in increased awareness of the prevalence of animal abuse in our own back yard, tools for law enforcement to investigate and help bring the perpetrators to justice, and increased penalties for those who are convicted of these heinous crimes.
DA O’Malley has received more 36 awards during her distinguished career, including the 2019 FAAS Noah Award from Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter.
Richard Lee brings a passion for animal rescue and a professional background of legal expertise to FAAS. He has been an attorney since 1975, representing nonprofit organizations, businesses and independent filmmakers. His practice includes estate planning and probate work. His office is in Oakland near Jack London Square. Richard helped organize a Jack Russell terrier rescue organization in Northern California and has volunteered with other nonprofits, including the Legal Services Section of the State Bar and the Alameda County Bar Association. He lives in Alameda with his spouse and Chopper, who loves to cuddle and sleep.