Our Staff

Y. Armando Nieto, Executive Director

Armando is a seasoned executive and development professional, with experience in management and organizational development, membership development, annual giving, foundation prospecting and grantwriting, and special events. Successful capital campaigns include the Environmental Defense Center Cordero Adobe Campaign and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center. He has been Associate Producer of the Kenny Loggins Christmas Unity Telethon since 1999, and prior to joining the CFJC, Armando served as C.E.O. of Redefining Progress, Managing Director with the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, and Executive Director at Eagle Eye Institute in Somerville, Massachusetts, Earth Share of California and the Environmental Defense Center.

In 2005 Armando set up the Communications and Community Engagement Department at the Coalition for Clean Air and since 2005 he has served as organizing member of Summit 2007: Diverse Partners for Environmental Progress, and facilitator and report co-author for the related Western Regional Roundtable in Oakland and Southwest Regional Roundtable in Albuquerque, NM. Professional affiliations include Hispanics in Philanthropy, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, North American Association for Environmental Education, and Golden State Environmental Education Consortium. He is president of the Tulare County Community Water Center and has served on the Advisory Boards of Just Communities, the PG&E ClimateSmart External Advisory Group, and the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy.

Shereen D’Souza, Director

Shereen joined CFJC in January 2009 and has over ten years of experience as a food justice advocate.  Prior to her work with CFJC, Shereen was the Youth Program Coordinator at Oakland Based Urban Gardens, where she developed a food justice and job skills training program for West Oakland youth. Shereen was a founding board member of Oakland Food Connection, a non-profit organization that uses nutrition education and local food access to support the quality of life of Oakland’s low-income residents. She is also the Co-Director of Sustaining Ourselves Locally, a community organization focused on sustainable urban living and food justice issues. Shereen began her career as a food and farming activist while working as an agroforestry and protected areas management volunteer with the Peace Corps in Honduras.

Sara Brannin-Mooser, Communications Officer 

Sara has been working with CFJC since May 2009 as a communications officer, right after graduating with a master’s degree in communications from the University of Southern California. She worked with numerous non-profits mostly related to food and health while a student. Prior to her communications career, Sara was a teacher of English as a Second Language, or English Language Development, at the high school and middle school levels for many years. She has first-hand experience with school lunches and has seen how school gardens can transform a student body’s understanding of the food system.