For many, Berkeley’s 136 paths and stairways are a local resource and historical treasure that seem to be maintained and improved by an invisible hand. Overgrown paths are magically weeded overnight. Decaying steps replaced after decades of wear. Much-needed handrails appear out of nowhere. Group walks are organized.
In fact, all these benefits are planned and executed by a hardworking team of BPWA board members working quietly behind the scenes. We meet monthly, either in person or over Zoom, to review and discuss BPWA activities, financials, and our collaboration with the City of Berkeley. In case you ever wondered about the folks who make BPWA a vital organization, here’s a brief rundown on who we are and what we do. And if you’re ever tempted to join our efforts, we’re always looking for new board members!
(For an overview of BPWA’s achievements, check out our new slideshow on our home page.
Patty Callahan, Secretary. Callahan records the minutes from monthly board meetings and circulates them for review and editing. She composes thank-you letters to donors, sending personal hand-written notes to those making gifts over $250. And she helps with sales and events as needed.
“I’ve always liked taking notes, and I like walking,” she says. “Being secretary seemed like a way I could contribute to an organization that takes care of the paths where I’ve had many wonderful walks.” Patty most enjoys “creating a record of the many tangible efforts BPWA makes toward the preservation of one of Berkeley’s glories,” she says. “Maybe it’ll come in handy when someone is writing a piece for BPWA’s 50th anniversary!”
Nancy Graham, Treasurer. Nancy handles receipts and reimbursements for board members and vendors, makes deposits, reconciles monthly financial reports and reports income information to the board.
Nancy’s been a fan of the Berkeley paths since moving to the area 43 years ago, and a BPWA member/donor for about 25 years. Upon her retirement, she’d been looking for organizations to support and so, as a former CPA, she responded to our call for a treasurer last year. “I enjoy making sure the books are balanced and ensuring that the organization can keep providing path-building and maintenance for everyone in the community,” she says.
Stephanie Bodoff, Online Services Administrator. Stephanie is our webmaster, adding newsletter stories, blog posts, and upcoming events to the BPWA website. She also manages all our service accounts, handles our website integration with third-party vendors, and responds to all the various emails that come into the info@berkeleypaths.org address.
Stephanie answered an ad in the BPWA newsletter looking for a website administrator because she’d just retired from a profession that involved a lot of web work and was looking for a way to re-apply her skills. She often uses the paths near her home and felt she should help the group that supports the paths, making her neighborhood a safer and more pleasant environment.
“I enjoy having a visibility into the services used by both the board and the wider community,” she says. “Since web services are constantly evolving, I can help BPWA make use of new features—such as migrating the newsletter to a service that's integrated with the website.”
Tamara Gurin and Jen English, Walks Coordinators. Our walks coordinators schedule at least two walks per month, recruiting leaders and assisting them in planning and describing their walks for the website and newsletter.
Jen joined the board because she wanted to support and raise awareness of the paths and stairs that she’s enjoyed over the 20-plus years she’s lived in Berkeley. She most loves “working with all our amazing walk leaders to help people discover and enjoy the paths. And we’re always looking for new leaders!”
Bob Gomez, Path Building Liaison. Bob attends meetings with the City of Berkeley Public Works every four to six weeks to discuss the need for new paths. He requests funds for path-building tools and materials and provides the board with monthly updates. And he oversees our volunteer construction crews on actual path-building.
Bob had been a longtime path-builder on many BPWA projects when the board’s past president urged him to join the board. He most enjoys working with other board members and promoting new projects on the paths.
Emma Morris, Events Coordinator. As our events maven, Emma handles everything from coordinating BPWA involvement with the city, recruiting and organizing volunteers, overseeing setup and take-down, refreshments, and merchandise sales. Our regular events include the Solano Stroll, the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association Tour, and the BPWA annual meeting and “Path-a-thon.”
Born and raised in Berkeley, Emma first joined the board in 1999, later served as president, and has since returned to the board in this new role. Her favorite event? “The BPWA booth at the Solano Stroll! We get two types of visitors: the dedicated walker who’s been walking the paths for years and loves BPWA. They want to tell you their stories, buy a map to give as a gift, or replace their worn-out one. Then there are those folks who had no idea there was a whole network of paths, let alone a map and a group like BPWA. About half of the visitors to our booth are just discovering the paths in Berkeley.”
Bob Johnson, Donations Coordinator. Bob is the guy handling all those much-appreciated donations from our members. He writes and distributes our annual appeal letter as well as entering online wholesale orders from retailers selling our merchandise like maps, T-shirts, and bandanas. He’s also the one maintaining the spreadsheet of all our donors, as well as listing them on our website.
Bob had been a longtime walk leader when he decided to step down from another board after 30 years and join the BPWA board at the invitation of former BPWA board president Janet Byron. “Aside from continuing to lead walks, as donations coordinator the most enjoyable thing about my job is seeing the generosity of local citizens who support our nonprofit organization,” he says.
Lori Kohlstaedt, Merchandise Sales Coordinator. Lori works with sales associates to recruit and supply local retailers with maps and bandanas. When we run low, Lori orders new inventory from our vendors. This is Lori’s fourth position on the board over the past 20 years. She loves volunteering for BPWA “because it gives immediate results!” she says.
Angus Dunstan, Online Fulfillment Coordinator. Angus is the guy who orders and restocks our merchandise inventory, processes and fulfills online orders, and supervises sales at our in-person events.
He joined the board because he’d heard that volunteers were needed and “it seemed like a good group to join,” he says. This role is perfect for him because “I enjoy doing something practical and uncomplicated!”
Handrail Planner. We have a new board member in this role! Diana Daisey will be reviewing the monthly path condition reports, proposing locations for new handrails, soliciting bids, and coordinating the installation of handrails with our Path Building Liaison.
Kirsten Mickelwait, Newsletter Editor. Each month, Kirsten conceives and writes the stories that appear in our blog and monthly newsletter. During a year of the COVID lockdown, she used her BPWA map to independently walk every single path. Then, after retiring from her fulltime job as a writer for the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley, she read a newsletter announcement about the need for a new writer/editor—which combined her passion for writing with her love of the paths.
“Creating the newsletter every month keeps me plugged into an organization I love,” she says. “It also gives me a reason to research the history of Berkeley’s neighborhoods and past residents, which I’m always curious about.”
Eileen Chen, Newsletter Producer. Once Kirsten has written the monthly newsletter, Eileen lays it out on the Squarespace platform. She sends a test to the board for review and suggestions, then distributes it to our full membership list.
“I discovered BPWA and its call for a newsletter board member while researching the Berkeley community when I first moved here for graduate school,” Eileen says. “As an aficionado of stairways in Los Angeles, where I previously lived, and a former journalist, I thought joining the board would be a perfect way to get to know the community and contribute to it with my skills.”
As the youngest member of the board, Eileen says she’s constantly learning from her colleagues, from planning path infrastructure maintenance to coordinating the city-community partnership. “I’m inspired by how the newsletter connects people and paths through histories and stories,” she says.
Interested in joining our path-loving team? Contact us at info@berkeleypaths.org!