Open Letter from Mr. Tom Bieri

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

After 15 years with Social Advocates for Youth, I am resigning as the Executive Director. I am grateful for the partnerships and community that I have enjoyed over the years in helping to provide support, opportunities, and hope to children and youth in our community.

Matt Martin has been appointed by SAY’s Board of Directors to be the Interim Executive Director. I have great faith in Matt’s ability to lead, and encourage you to reach out to him in a collaborative spirit when thinking of our community’s children, youth, and families.

Thank you for working with me over the years to enrich the lives of children, youth, and families. I look back with great satisfaction at how the community has come together to help those that might have otherwise fallen through the cracks.

My new e-mail address is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Matt can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Warm regards,
Tom Bieri

For Immediate Release

Social Advocates for Youth Executive Director Resigns

Santa Rosa, California, August 26, 2010

After 15 years of service, Tom Bieri has resigned as the Executive Director of Social Advocates for Youth (SAY).  Matt Martin, SAY’s Director of Community Resource Development, has been named Interim Executive Director, effective immediately. 

Board President, Robert Casanova, commented that under Mr. Martin’s tenure as Director of Community Resource Development, SAY has increased its fundraising capacity to record heights.  Mr. Martin, formerly Director of Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of Petaluma, brings a wide range of expertise in staff development, program evaluation, and community partnerships.  Mr. Martin stated that “Tom Bieri brought SAY to a new level of effectiveness and impact.  I pledge to continue and expand upon the organization’s good work.  I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead SAY during this exciting transition.”

The Board thanked Mr. Bieri for his long-time service and heartfelt dedication to SAY.  Mr. Bieri began as a counselor with the agency in 1995 and became Executive Director in 2006.

Contact: Matt Martin, 707-544-3299, ext. 226

Tom Bieri, SAY’s Executive Director, played a part this weekend in helping the Santa Rosa Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force put on a boxing event that was aimed at raising awareness of the gang prevention efforts being done in our community.  Held at the Santa Rosa Plaza, Double Punches Boxing Club put on an incredible show of well trained humble young fighters. There was also a Celebrity Boxing Match between Sonoma County Board of Supervisor Efren Carrillo and Double Punches Coach and Golden Glove boxer Enrique Gutierrez.  Enrique was once ranked first in the U.S., and he put on an impressive show.  Efren showed incredible heart out there in the ring with the master.

John Meislahn, an SAY Board Member, was one of the Masters of Ceremonies for the event.  SAY’s Matt Martin was seen mingling with the crowd.

The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force has given money SAY to run our Youth Employment Center (YEC) as well as the Santa Rosa Clean Slate Tattoo Removal Program. The Clean Slate Tattoo Removal Program is a partnership with the Santa Rosa Community Health Center and Kaiser Permanente.

This summer, our YEC staff was folded into the Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps to employ 100 at-risk youth in the Santa Rosa region. The Youth Ecology Corps is a a collaborative effort that involved the Workforce Investment Board, the Sonoma County Water Agency, New Ways to Work, the Sonoma County Department of Education, and the Human Services Department.

As part of a contingent of community representatives that received a Golden Resolution in recognition of Gang Prevention Awareness Week, Tom Bieri and two young men employed by SAY in the Sonoma County Youth Ecology Corps spoke before the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning. On Tuesday afternoon, they helped receive a resolution from the Santa Rosa City Council honoring Gang Prevention Awareness Week. Recently, these two young men were each offered jobs by the City of Santa Rosa to continue their work in the parks after the Youth Ecology Corps ends at the end of this week.

Many thanks to a community that is coming together to support offering all of our youth the unique kind of hope and sense of personal significance that comes with having a promising job.  This is an important part of our gang prevention efforts.

You can view a gallery of images from the event here on photographer Melissa Agoc’s website.

SAY celebrated the Grand Opening of the Sunflower Community Garden with a BBQ party last Thursday, July 29th. Our partners from the City of Santa Rosa Recreation, Parks & Communities Department, as well as members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce were on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony led by SAY’s Executive Director Tom Bieri, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Juan Hernandez and Vice President Macros Suarez. Video of the ribbon cutting ceremony is below:

After a month and a half of solid work in in the Sunflower Community Garden, the SAY Youth Employment Center crew has accomplished an enormous feat–they have transformed the once overgrown garden into an organized, and bountiful, vegetable garden. As you can see in our before photos, the garden needed a thorough overhaul, and our 4 crew members outdid themselves in their efforts to clean up the space. Caitlin Childs, SAY’s resident photographer, revisited the garden on July 14th to get some after photos, which you can see below:

SAY celebrated the Grand Opening of the Sunflower Community Garden with a BBQ party last Thursday, July 29th. Our partners from the City of Santa Rosa Recreation, Parks & Communities Department, as well as members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce were on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony led by SAY’s Executive Director Tom Bieri. Photos from the Grand Opening Part are below:

SAY Director of Community Resource Development was interviewed last week on KSRO 1350AM radio.

Listen to the interview on KSRO’s website here.