Moira Bowman, EMERJ Movement Building Director

Moira Bowman lives in Portland, Oregon – ACRJ’s first remote staff member! She joined ACRJ in November 2007 playing a vital role in advancing our work as a member of the EMERJ Strategy Team. Moira has been active in the social justice movement for the last 20 years on issues of economic and racial justice, LGBTQ rights and gender justice. She brings extensive experience in movement building, organizing, political education, and technical assistance. As the Director of the Gender Justice Program at Western States Center, Moira worked to build regional capacity (Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming) to counter the Right's agenda and to build progressive power for low-income families, communities of color and LGBTQ folks. Moira has a B.A. from Reed College.

Dana Ginn Paredes, Organizing Director

Dana is China Latina originally from Tucson, Arizona and raised in Hawai'i/the Bay Area. She has worked for social justice organizations for over 12 years as a trainer, national program director and organizer. Dana's previous work to promote racial equity and healthy families within welfare policy led her to develop a strong interest in reproductive justice issues for women and communities of color. She is a fellow with the Women's Policy Institute and serves on the advisory committee for Spirit in Motion and Asian Community Training. Dana joined ACRJ in February 2003 and holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Maria Nakae, Alliance Building Coordinator

Maria is a first generation Japanese American who joined ACRJ in June 2006 as a New Voices Fellow. She has worked in community-based research, outreach, and program development on a wide range of issues including reproductive health, domestic violence prevention, parenting and child development, and mental health. Maria developed a strong interest in reproductive justice while working with community- and school-based programs to increase access to reproductive health services for youth in low-income immigrant communities and communities of color. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from New York University and a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley.

Trang was born in Vietnam and lived in an Indonesian refugee camp before moving to Oakland, CA. Trang, who arrived at ACRJ in August 2006, organizes with VietUnity and has worked as Executive Director for a refugee/ community development organization. She believes that reproductive justice is important to the self-awareness of women and girls of all backgrounds. These beliefs stem from her experience of having all family members working in the nail salon industry. Trang holds a B.A. in International Development Studies from UC Berkeley and is currently obtaining an MBA in Nonprofit Management.

Chris Lymbertos, Finance and Operations Director

Chris Lymbertos immigrated to the U.S. in 1976. Over the past 18 years she has worked as a Managing Editor, Collaborative Director, Associate Director and Executive Director in non-profit social justice based organizations in the Bay Area. During the past 5 years, she has worked as a transformative leadership coach to individuals and an organizational development consultant to various nonprofit organizations and foundations, and is dedicated to building the leadership of youth, LGBTQ, women, and immigrants. She was a Human Rights Ordinance Task Force Member for WILD for Human Rights, Committee Member for the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, and on the board of Lyon-Martin Women's Health Center, Generation Five, and the Women of Color Resource Center. Chris received her B.A. in Industrial Arts/Cultural Geography and a Minor in Women's Studies at San Francisco State University.

Aparna Shah, MHS, Director of Special Projects

Aparna is an Indian/Pinay immigrant who has worked in youth development, youth organizing and direct service with young people and families from immigrant communities and communities of color for over 15 years. She started at ACRJ in August 2003 and believes that reproductive justice is central to the self-determination of women, girls and communities of color. She is a 2002 Fellow of the Asian Pacific American Women's Leadership Institute Discovery Leadership Program and serves on the Board of Youth Together as well as chairs the Leadership Council of the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition. Aparna holds a Master's degree in mental health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Eveline Shen, MPH, Executive Director

Eveline is a first generation Chinese American and has been with ACRJ for eight years. Over the last 16 years, she has organized extensively with low-income communities of color around issues of social and environmental justice. She has served as the director of multiple countywide projects developing strategies of community organizing, popular education, community-based participatory research, and policy/advocacy. In the last eight years, Eveline has focused her work in the Asian Pacific Islander communities and has written articles, manuals and training curriculum on popular education and community organizing. She holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley in Community Health Education.

Board of Directors
Monica Plazola, Chair
Bouapha Toommaly, Treasurer
Diana Ip, Secretary
Luna Yasui
Eveline Shen, MPH, Executive Director


National Advisory Board
Kimberly Aceves, Executive Director, Youth Together
Toni Bond, President, African American Women Evolving
Grace Chang, PhD, Assistant Professor, UCSB Women’s Studies
Sumru Erkut, PhD, Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist, Wellesley Centers for Women
Marlene Gerber Fried, PhD, Director, Hampshire College Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program
Mimi Ho, Program Director, Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Edward Lee, Administrative Director, Californians for Justice
Beckie Masaki, Executive Director, Asian Women's Shelter
Kelvin P. Quan, JD MPH, Managed Care Executive, Attorney and Community Advocate
Tivo Rojas-Cheatham, MPH, Community Participation and Education Section Chief, Environmental Health Investigations Branch
Loretta Ross, National Coordinator, SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective
Maria Somma, International Organizing Coordinator, United Steelworkers Health Care Workers Council
Robert Stark, Executive Director, New Mexico Community Foundation