Senior Management Team
Sherilyn Adams, LCSW
Executive Director
Sherilyn came to Larkin Street in 2003, pursuing a lifelong passion to serve children and teens. As a new member of the Larkin team, she supervised the agency’s licensed residential programs, HIV/AIDS-related services and outreach programs. Her strong dedication and ability to inspire and lead Larkin Street’s teams and her skill in establishing and maintaining relationships with public and private funders and partners earned her a promotion to Chief of Programs. In August of 2005, she became the Agency’s Executive Director.
Sherilyn has developed and managed a wide range of programs for children, youth, families and single adults during the course of her twenty-year career in service to others. Her proficiencies encompass the areas of substance use and/or abuse, mental health, HIV/AIDS, child abuse and family violence issues. She has been an active member of many non-profit boards and community task forces including: the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center of Yolo County (past); the Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Center of Yolo County (past); Dimensions Youth Clinic for Queer Youth; the California Coalition for Youth and the AIDS Alliance for Children Youth and Families; Mayor’s Transitional Youth Task Force; San Francisco HIV Health Planning Work Group; the National Alliance to End Homelessness, LGBTQ Advisory Board and Co-Chairs the San Francisco Human Services Network.
Sherilyn received the Lewis Hine Award from the National Child Labor Committee for outstanding service to children and youth and two San Francisco Business Times Awards for Most Influential Women in Business Award and Bay Area’s Most Admired CEO Award.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters Degree in Social Work, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Ray Fort
Chief Operating Officer
Ray originally joined Larkin Street as Controller in October 2007 and was promoted to CFO in July 2008 and COO in 2010 . He has over 15 years experience in Corporate, Governmental and Non-Profit finance and management. Before joining Larkin Street, Ray lived in New Zealand where he served as Financial Controller for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Prior to living abroad, Ray worked in San Francisco at the Every Child Can Learn Foundation, (now the San Francisco Schools Alliance), the non-profit arm of the San Francisco Unified School District, serving as the Director of Finance and most recently, the Interim Executive Director. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Indiana University.
Kathie Lowry
Chief Development Officer
Kathie joined Larkin Street as the Chief Development Office in 2007, bringing with her a strong background in both the corporate and non-profit environments. In 2000, Kathie concluded a successful career at AT&T where she held a number of positions including: Director External Affairs, Human Resources Manager, and Business Office Director, among others. After leaving AT&T Kathie worked as a fund-raiser and event manager for the non-profit reproductive rights organization; NARAL Pro-Choice America. Her most recent position just prior to coming to Larkin Street was as Vice President of Advancement with San Francisco Art Institute. Kathie received a Masters of Arts degree with a concentration in Education from San Francisco State University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree with a major in English Literature and Education from the University of Colorado.
Dina Wilderson, PhD
Chief of Research and Evaluation
Dina has over fifteen years of experience in the social services field in both direct service and administration. She has worked with at-risk youth in various settings including residential, counseling, and psycho-educational programs. She has been part of the Bay Area homeless youth service provider community since 1998, and has been with Larkin Street since 2002. Dina oversees agency information gathering and reporting systems, evaluation of program services, and outcomes measurement. In addition she coordinates the agency’s knowledge leadership activities that extend Larkin Street’s impact through dissemination of best practices and technical assistance. Dina received her PhD in Child and Family Studies from Syracuse University.
Ruth Nunez
Director of Residential Programs
Ruth is currently the Director of Residential Programs, overseeing Larkin Street’s residential programs including The LOFT, the Lark-Inn for Youth, Avenues to Independence, G House, and Diamond Youth Shelter, in addition to the flagship Drop-In Center. Her responsibilities include overseeing daily operations, staff supervision and development, facility maintenance, and budget monitoring, as well as the development and implementation of program services. Ruth previously served two years as Director of Education and Employment Services and has been with Larkin Street for nine years, rising from counselor to program manager to director, and serving at almost all of Larkin’s programs. Ruth has volunteered her time to numerous boards, including the Mayor’s Office on Disability, Local Homeless Coordinating Board, and Dolores Street Community Services, as well as traveling to South America annually to address disability issues among youth.
Lara Tannenbaum, MSW
Director of Health Services
Lara Tannenbaum presently manages and supervises Assisted Care/After Care and the HIV prevention services at Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco. Her responsibilities include overseeing daily operations, staff supervision, facility maintenance and budget monitoring, as well as the development and implementation of health services. Prior to this position Lara was the Director of Residential Services and oversaw Larkin Street’s residential programs. She has more than fifteen years experience working in social services with various homeless populations and over ten years experience managing programs. Ms. Tannenbaum has a Masters Degree in Social Work from U.C. Berkeley. She has been with the Larkin Street Youth Services since December 2001.
Holly Tedford-Hayes, MNA
Director of Development, Grants
Holly joined Larkin Street in September 2007 as the Director of Development, Grants. She has over 12 years of experience in the nonprofit field, working mostly as a development officer in health and human services organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, Inc., and Mills-Peninsula Hospital Foundation. She also spent time as an independent consultant focusing on grantwriting, planning, and evaluation. Holly’s role at Larkin Street is to administer public contracts and supervise fundraising from private foundations and civic and religious groups. She holds a Masters Degree in Nonprofit Administration (MNA) from the University of San Francisco.