The Impact Bay Area Board of Directors is responsible for our fiscal health and programmatic quality.

Lisa Scheff, Executive Director

Like so many people, Lisa heard about Impact years before taking her first class. In 2010 after volunteering for a month with women in domestic violence situations in Nepal, she was spurred to sign up for Impact Basics to feel safer while traveling. She was amazed by the transformation she saw in herself and in others in the class. Lisa joined the Board of Directors in June 2011 as Fundraising Chair and served as Board Chair from January-April 2012. She became Executive Director in April 2012.

Lisa worked at a shelter for victims of domestic violence in her hometown of Tucson before moving to San Francisco in 1995 for law school. During and after school she volunteered for the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic, assisting women and transgender people obtain court orders to protect them from domestic abuse. She also served for two years on the LGBTQ Advisory Committee to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, where she helped draft gender identity nondiscrimination guidelines. From 2002-2012, she served as a research attorney to the Hon. Stuart Pollak at the California Court of Appeal.

Lisa has a lifelong passion for food and cooking which she shares with others in the form of meals and teaching private cooking classes. In 2010, she wrote a cookbook commemorating her mother’s 40 years in the food business. Lisa is thrilled to have married Theresa, her partner of 18 years, in 2008. Thus far, her travels have taken her to many parts of the US and Mexico, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Nepal. She and Theresa, an Impact Bay Area board member, can often be found foraging for wild mushrooms, creating new cocktails, and hosting pig roasts in their back yard. 

Ruby Reid, Board Chair

Ruby took her first Impact class when she was 19 years old. In the 13 years since then, the skills she learned saved her life several times. After taking the Basics Course, Ruby immediately began volunteering for Impact to give back to this amazing organization that had given her so much. Over the past 13 years, Ruby continued to volunteer in many different roles, including assisting classes, video-taping public celebrations, coordinating fundraisers, and stuffing lots of envelopes. She has served on Impact Bay Area's Board of Directors since 2009. She became Board Chair in April of 2012.

Ruby is a professional social worker. She is the National Online Training Organizer for Democracy for America, a people-powered grassroots political organization. Ruby and her husband live with two furry felines, Roscoe and Dexter. She enjoys reading, knitting, playing in the great outdoors, and fostering orphaned kittens.

Secretary:  Open Position

Treasurer:  Open Position

Nicole DeVito, Instructor Liaison

A cowgirl, skier, dancer, and lover of coconut frosted cupcakes, Nicole is delighted to be part of the Impact team as a certified whistle instructor.  In her own life, she relishes in the experiences of overcoming obstacles, doing things that she thought were impossible, and gently pushing herself out of her comfort zone.  Nicole is continuously inspired by the powerful and courageous Impact students who do these very things each and every class.  

Angie Lipe, At-Large Board Member

Angie is committed to Impact's mission to end violence by teaching self-defense and empowerment to as many people as possible. After taking Basics in February 2010, she volunteered to join the Board in May and became the Board Chair in July of the same year. During her tenure as Board Chair, she contributed significantly to Impact's organizational development, culminating with the completion of our 2012 Strategic Plan. She is an enthusiastic instructor assistant and has logged the second highest number of hours as an Impact Bay Area volunteer assistant. After serving as Board Chair for a year and a half, she moved out of state for work but didn't want to stop supporting Impact. She stepped down as Board Chair and became an at-large member in January 2012.

 Robert Oryall, At-Large Board Member

Robert has spent 30 years practicing various forms of martial arts. He taught hundreds of Self Defense courses to law enforcement, military personnel, bodyguards, as well as civilian men, women and children. He has instructed martial arts in the Bay Area since 1985, but it wasn’t until he witnessed his first Bay Area Impact class that he said, “this is how self-defense should be taught; scenario based, full impact, and with guidance to students throughout the process in real time.”  He took his first Bay Area Impact class in January 2011 with the intention to become a suited instructor.  Robert joined the Board in April 2012. 

Robert Graduated from Notre Dame de Namur University and majored in Clinical Counseling and Administration of Non-Profits. After spending 20-years working in the Information Technology industry, Robert went to work for an LA based Private Protection firm where he doubles as a Defensive Tactics instructor for body guards. He is married with two children whom he mentors in horseback-riding, martial arts and soccer.   He enjoys traveling, camping, hiking, and golfing.  He is studying Japanese as a hobby and one of his goals this year is to compete in his first Triathlon.   

Whitney Miller, At-Large Board Member

Whitney Miller took her first Impact Basics course in June 2012. She was so empowered by her new skills that she immediately knew she wanted to be a part of helping other women feel the same. She joined the Board of Directors in October 2012. 

Whitney lives in San Francisco with her husband and a struggling houseplant. She has an MBA from the Wharton School and works in Silicon Valley. She has a passion for travel and has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, ridden the Trans-siberian Railway from St. Petersburg to Beijing, and bicycled across Vietnam!

 Michele Wolpe, At-Large Board Member

Michele Wolpe has is a communications professional and has led employee communications as well as other roles at DHL Worldwide Express, Charles Schwab, Barclays Global Investors, Silicon Graphics and the Walt Disney Company.  Before moving to the corporate world she worked for five years leading language and literacy programs for a nonprofit educational organization, San Francisco School Volunteers.  She  has also worked as a consultant and executive coach. She currently is Director of Employee Communications for Autodesk, a Bay Area software company.  Michele holds a master’s degree in international management and a B.A. in French from UC Davis.  She is fluent in Spanish and French. In her spare time she loves to travel, dance, hike, swim and go to the theater.  She has two grown sons, Nick and Derek and a (mostly) loving cat, Vera.

Dani Villalobos, At-Large Board Member

Dani lives and works in the South Bay, and took her first Impact class in 2012. Inspired by the strength and community that the Impact curriculum creates, she became involved right away. She’s been an assistant, a greeter and videographer, and has started a charity running program (Running with Courage) the proceeds of which go directly towards Impact scholarships. Dani is a Stanford alum and a black belt in American Kenpo. When not pitching in at Impact, Dani can be found running, kickboxing, or walking her curmudgeon of a dog around the sights of the bay.

Lisa Mar, At-Large Board Member

Lisa took her first Women’s Basics Impact class in February 2013. Astonished by how empowering the whole experience was, she immediately began volunteering to help coordinate the 2013 Yes! Celebration. Lisa is very passionate about making such valuable self-defense courses available and accessible to all. Lisa lives in San Francisco and works on Workforce Strategy in Cupertino.  Outside of work, she enjoys eating with friends, hiking, traveling, and horseback riding whenever possible.

Board Committees

Committee members are active volunteers who contribute 5-20 hours per month to support Impact's mission in powerful and tangible ways. We welcome new members to Board Committees - we hope you will join us.

Publicity & Marketing Committee

• Share information about Impact's classes and conduct public outreach.
• Create materials to promote Impact's classes and mission.

Volunteer & Alumni Committee

• Engage graduates, supporters and volunteers to become more involved with Impact Bay Area.
• Organize alumni events to build community.

Fundraising & Development Committee

• Organize fundraising events and donation drives.
• Research and apply for grants and other funding sources.

Program Committee

• Work with Instructors to create new curriculum, including specialized courses for specific communities.
  
• Work with Instructors to evaluate and improve current curriculum.

Join Us!

We are always looking for qualified individuals to join Impact Bay Area's Board of Directors and our Committees. Please fill out the volunteer form and indicate that you're interested in joining the board. Then email a short statement of interest and/or your resume to info@impactbayarea.org.