Nicole Agbayani is native to San Francisco and the Excelsior Neighborhood.  She graduated from UCLA with a degree in International Development, minoring in Environmental Systems and Society.  She has worked with multiple Bay Area small businesses on environmental business development, as well as construction contract management.  During her time in the construction industry, she achieved the LEED AP BD+C (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction) accreditation for her contributions to multiple LEED green building projects.  Before taking her current position as Corridor Manager with EAG, Nicole graduated from UC Berkeley's IN[CITY] Sustainable City Planning program in the Department of City and Regional Planning.  Nicole brings an enthusiasm for this community and sustainability to the job; she enjoys working hand in hand with individual merchants, as well as the community at large to foster a vibrant and active commercial corridor that is a cherished asset of the Excelsior.  Her dedication to the community where she grew up is at the heart of her efforts with the Excelsior Action Group.

John Carroll is a native to Santa Cruz, California. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Architecture and a minor in Global Poverty and Practice.  He first started working with EAG while in college when he approached the organization with a service project proposal. John is passionate about architecture and is interested in finding ways of marrying it to his passion for community building. He is constantly searching for areas to apply his interest--a hobby which has led him to several leadership roles in the past: first leading a team to design and build furniture for a local homeless shelter and then co-leading a team to design UC Berkeley's new generation of waste receptacles. John is excited about working at EAG because of the opportunity it affords him to interact with and help his local community. 

Grace D'Anca has been an Excelsior resident for 17 years, and is a long- time San Francisco resident. She is the parent of a daughter who attended San Francisco public schools. Grace studied the theatre, dance, art, creative writing, and journalism in college and graduate school. She worked for many years as a creative arts therapist with youth and adults with special needs. She is currently the volunteer services manager at St. Luke's Hospital. Grace serves on the Advisory Committee of the Excelsior Boys and Girls Club, Geneva Car Barn and Powerhouse Arts Program Board, FACE Steering Committee, and as the District 11 Democratic Club Secretary and a District 11 Council Delegate. Grace is a youth and arts advocate who says some of her most memorable neighborhood experiences are working on public art and beautification projects with community members of all ages.

Ellen Dumesnil has worked at the local, national and international level on issues of social justice; with a particular focus on refugees and immigrants.  Ms. Dumesnil has over 20 years experience in non profit management and leadership.   Previous positions include Division Director at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, INS Asylum Officer, and Director of the US Refugee Program in Saudi Arabia, as well as being a past Director of the Excelsior Action Group.  Ellen is currently the Executive Director of the International Institute of the Bay Area headquartered in downtown San Francisco. Ellen is proud to be a 5th generation San Franciscan.

Al Harris has shown a dedication to community organizing for over twenty years. In a past life, Al worked as a community organizer for Safety Network, a non-profit dedicated to public safety. Now days, Al continues in the field as a volunteer. He has been a board member of OMI-Neighbors in action and the OMI Safety Committee since 1992. Since 1999, Al has served as a District 11 Council delegate, a member of the District 11 Democratic Club, and a member of the Ocean View Park Advisory Committee. Al also currently serves as a board member for the OMI Community Action Organization, a steering committee member for the Neighborhood Parks Council, an advisory committee member for the Excelsior Boys and Girls Club, and a board member for the Western Neighborhood Project. As a steering committee member of the Excelsior Action Group, Al is able to bring all this experience and knowledge to our corridor.

Mary Harris is proud to be a native San Franciscan with a strong history of community action. She is currently involved with over  ten community organizations including: being a founding member and president of the District 11 Council, a founding member and Vice President of the District 11 Democratic Club, a steering committee member of the OAA Safety Committee, a member of Friends of the Ingleside Library, a member of the OMI Community Action Organization, a member of the Community Police Academy Alumni, a member of the Excelsior Youth Center Advisory Board, a member of the OMI/E Beacon Center Community Advisory Board, a member of the Ingleside NERT, a delegate to the Coalition of San Francisco Neighborhoods (CSFN), a member of the Taraval Community Advisory Boards (CAB), and a member of the Minnie & Lovie Ward Community Recreation Council. All this is in addition to her valued participation with the Excelsior Action Group as a Steering Committee Member. 

Kathryn Kathman, a San Francisco native who works with children who have special needs, lived in downtown SF, Bernal Heights and the Ingleside before moving to the Excelsior in 1994.  Her 1910 cottage has so much land around it that she refers to it as the "Little Ponderosa." Kathryn attended Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church, becoming an elder, trustee and treasurer. Ocean Avenue's co-pastor, The Rev. Lonna Lee and Kathryn were the first co-chairs of the EAG. When Rev. Lee left the city, Kathryn continued as chair of the group. She loves the ethnic and cultural diversity of the people and restaurants on the commercial corridor and eclectic architecture of the Excelsior.  Working for positive change is what drives her work with the Excelsior Action Group.

Tom Kirvin is a native of San Francisco and the Excelsior neighborhood, where he now lives with his wife and son. He attended Monroe Elementary School and went on to attend San Francisco State University, from which he earned a B.A. in broadcast production and writing, and Santa Clara University School of Law, from which he earned a Juris Doctor degree. He has practiced law in California, the District of Columbia, and Maryland for 30 years, concentrating on insurance, construction, and commercial litigation. Tom's community activities include coaching Little League baseball and hosting international visitors in San Francisco. He also enjoys writing fiction and playing jazz (flute and saxophone). Tom has volunteered his time for several EAG projects and is now honored to be a member of its Steering Committee. He is looking forward to working with EAG and the community to increase cleanliness along the Mission Street corridor and revitalize the businesses in our neighborhood.  

Deborah LeDet returned to the Excelsior district four years ago. She has an extended connection to the Excelsior, having spent most of her summers here in her childhood and youth.  Her family has lived within the district for eighty years.  Deborah holds a degree in Early Childhood Education. Before retiring to devote more time to her artistic endeavors, she worked extensively with disabled children and taught kindergarten.  She is an ordained non-denominational Elder.  She served as summer Program coordinator and Artist in residence for Sojourner Truth Multicultural Arts Development Center in Sacramento, CA. While with the Center, her design was selected for then Governor Schwarzenegger’s pre-inaugural mural.  She served as art and set director to assist in the production of Reaching Out, a weekly television program which focused on women’s issues in the Sacramento area.  She acted as the artistic director for the Women of Greatness Annual Conferences, sponsored by a local non-profit organization.  Deborah executed a number of public art works in northern California.  She currently serves as a Co-Chair on EAG’s Festival and Beautification Committee and believes EAG is making a positive change in the aesthetic and financial health of the Excelsior business corridor.

Linda Stark Litehiser has been a San Franciscan for over 40 years and a resident of District 11 since 1998. During these years she has been an advocate for community and neighborhood issues. While being involved in many volunteer projects. In the 1970's she helped found the Haight-Ashbury Co-Op Nursery School and served on the board of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC). In the following decades she worked with the San Francisco Street Artist Program (an Art Commission Program), negotiating selling spaces and building relationships with the merchant community. She has worked as a self-employed craftsperson, as manager and HR officer for a neighborhood clothing store and as a licensed tax preparer.  Her most recent employer was Carpenter Moore Insurance Services, a division of NASDAQ stock market, where she worked in the area of business liability insurance. She managed the accounting department and handled nationwide insurance taxation. 
She joined the EAG (as a festival volunteer) in 2002. Linda has been very active with the group and became part of the Steering Committee, a few years later.  In addition to working with EAG her other recent neighborhood activities include board positions or active membership with:  Friends and Advocates of Crocker Amazon & the Excelsior (FACE); McLaren Park Collaborative, Crocker Amazon Playground Advisory Committee, New Mission Terrace Improvement Association, Friends of Camp Mather and EDIA (Excelsior District Improvement Association). Linda is presently a full time volunteer, working on neighborhood and park issues. 

Angie Minkin and her husband, Dan Sneider, have lived in the Excelsior District for over 25 years.  Their children, Jake and Aly, now live in Los Angeles and Portland, OR, respectively, but are proud to call the Excelsior home.  Angie recently retired from the California Public Utilities Commission, where she served as an Administrative Law Judge for many years.  Angie is a member of the Excelsior District Improvement Association, has worked actively on the Light Up the Night campaign (a joint project of EAG and EDIA), and serves as co-chair of the Ingleside Police Station Community Police Advisory Board.  She is a trained mediator, volunteers with Community Boards, and is especially interested in peaceful and creative conflict resolution.  Angie’s focus has been trying to improve public safety in the neighborhood. She is also interested in neighborhood beautification and working together to improve our collective environment.  She has a master’s degree in special education from the University of Colorado. 

Eddie Zhu, owner of Henry's Hunan Restaurant at 4753 Mission Street, was born in Hunan China and came to the United States in 1982.  His first job in the restaurant business was as a dishwasher in Chinatown. In 2008, Eddie opened his first Henry’s Hunan on Church Street. In 2010, Eddie and his grandfather came to the Excelsior and opened the Mission Street Henry’s Hunan at the former Granada Café building. Eddie chose the Excelsior after researching the area and learning about the progress our community has made and the number of multigenerational families we contain. Eddie wants to help make the area cleaner and more attractive to the families living here and to encourage them to spend their time on the corridor. He believes that we should all do what we can to improve the neighborhood. With this thought in mind, Eddie joined the steering committee of the Excelsior Action Group and intends to support positive change in our community.  He says that it isn’t easy, but if we keep working our community will continue to get better and better.