IOLERO Appoints Community Advisory Council

The Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review & Outreach (IOLERO) announced that it has appointed a diverse group of eleven community members to its new Community Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC is intended to assist IOLERO in functioning as a bridge between the many communities of Sonoma County and law enforcement, especially the Sheriff’s Office. One key function of the CAC will be to hold public meetings and to make recommendations on Sheriff’s Office policies, including, but not limited to, use of deadly force, community orientated policing, and other significant policies.

“We are thrilled to announce that our CAC has been appointed and will soon begin its important work. Through the CAC, the County will hear from our community members about how they think police-community relationships can be improved, and how the policies of the Sheriff’s Office might be changed to better serve those same communities” said Jerry Threet, Director of IOLERO.

The IOLERO was very fortunate to receive almost 30 applications from very well qualified individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, skills and interests. IOLERO carefully reviewed those applications to gather together a group of community members that are representative of the full diversity of Sonoma County – whether geographically, demographically, or ideologically.

The eleven member CAC will be composed of the following initial members:

• Rick Brown
• Emilia Carbajal
• Evelyn Cheatham
• Elizabeth Cozine
• Jim Duffy
• Kirstyne Lange
• Maria Pacheco 
• Alicia Roman 
• Joe Romano 
• Danielle Ronshausen 
• Ben Terry 

The inaugural CAC, comprised of seven women and four men, includes four members of Latino/Hispanic heritage, and three African-Americans, from across the County. Four of the members are bilingual in Spanish/English                                

CAC Member Biographical Statements

Rick Brown, PhD

Dr. Brown is the President of TerraVerde Renewable Partners, an energy and solar advisory firm he formed in 2009. TerraVerde has implemented energy cost reduction projects at 120 public agency sites with a total cost savings estimated at more than $225 million over the first 25 years of the systems’ operations, and has an additional 40 project sites under development. Previously, Brown successfully helped start-up, build and eventually sell MMA Renewable Ventures (“MMARV”) to an international solar company. Brown previously was Managing Partner of The Results Group, consulting on organizational strategy and leadership to numerous public, private and non-profit organizations, including: California School Employees Association (CSEA), California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), California State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), Kaiser-Permanente, Agilent Technologies, Association of Bay Area Governments and EarthJustice. He also served as a Board Trustee at Twin Hills Unified School District for six years and on the Board of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding for ten years. He is married and the father of two daughters and resides in Petaluma.

Emilia Carbajal

Ms. Carbajal has been a resident of Sonoma County since 2010, residing in Santa Rosa. Ms. Carbajal works as a Program Coordinator for Latino Service Providers of Sonoma County. Emilia grew up in the city of Bell, CA, where she attended Bell High School. She graduated from UCLA in 2005, then went on to Empire College of Law, graduating in 2013. With a natural interest in Sociology and Latin American history, Ms. Carbajal hopes to help bridge the gaps between law enforcement and the Sonoma County Latino Community.

Evelyn Cheatham

Evelyn Cheatham is the founder and Executive Director of Worth Our Weight LTD, a culinary apprentice program that serves at risk youth. Cheatham has worked in the culinary industry for 40 years and has had great success in training and placing underserved young people in jobs in the industry. Cheatham has served on the Commission for Human Rights and the Community and Local Law Enforcement task force that was formed after Andy Lopez was killed.

Elizabeth Cozine

Ms. Cozine is a thirty year resident of Sonoma County, the mother of four, a preschool teacher, and owner of "A Child's Farm Preschool" in Northwest Santa Rosa. She has been active in police reform issues since 2013.

Jim Duffy

Mr. Duffy is the father of two teenagers and 17 year resident of Sonoma County, residing in Rohnert Park. He was an active Civilian Participant in the Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force and its Law Enforcement Accountability Sub-Committee.

Kirstyne Lange

Ms. Lange has a deep-rooted passion for community and working with youth. A native of San Diego, she dedicated hours to help create safe space for youth and family events in San Diego’s 4th District. Over the course of his terms, former council member Tony Young sponsored the Youth Advisory Board to help eager teens like Kirstyne work with peers and the San Diego Police department in creating safe spaces for events and activities in the height of gang invested parks and neighborhoods. Ms. Lange went on to earn a Bachelor of the Arts in Public Policy from Mills College and completed a Master of Public Administration from Sonoma State in 2015. Although a transplant to Sonoma County, her four years here have given Ms. Lange an opportunity to gain a sense of the cultures, communities and the need to increase the role of young people. Kirstyne’s dedication to working with and engaging youth has developed her work in high school education.  As a new board member, she is looking forward to using her community connections to help bridge the gaps between community and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

Maria Pacheco

Ms. Pacheco is a 35 years resident of Sonoma County, living in Sebastopol. She was born in Lima, Peru. Ms. Pacheco is employed as a public health nurse, working through home visits with first-time moms from pregnancy until their baby is 2 years old. She has worked in health education and medicine with low income families since 1987. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing from UCSF, an Associate Degree in Nursing from SRJC, a B.S. in Social Welfare from Chico State University, and an Associate Degree in Criminology from the College of San Mateo.

Alicia Roman

Alicia Roman was born and raised in Santa Rosa.  She is an attorney in Santa Rosa focusing on tenant rights, civil rights, and personal injury matters. Ms. Roman graduated from Piner High School in 1996, then obtained a Law Enforcement, A.A. and A.S. degree from Santa Rosa Junior College. Ms. Roman also obtained her B.A. from CSU Sacramento and a Juris Doctorate degree from Empire College. Ms. Roman serves on the Board of KBBF Bilingual Radio Station. She volunteers her time doing educational Know Your Rights training for people dealing with law enforcement, and has acted as an observer of police activity on the streets and at protests, as a deterrent to police misconduct and violations of the constitutional rights of protestors.  Ms. Roman also currently represents clients suing Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Rosa Police Department, and Sebastopol Police Department concerning the seizure of vehicles.

Joe Romano

Mr. Romano (also known as “Generator Joe”) has been a resident of Sonoma County for 48 years, living in Santa Rosa. He is a local businessman, owning multiple successful enterprises. He also is a Vietnam veteran honored with a Purple Heart, and a former Deputy with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office (1968-1979). Mr. Romano also served as the General Manager of Santa Rosa Water and Waste Water Utility during the early 80s. He holds an A.A in Criminal Justice from Santa Rosa Junior College, and a Juris Doctorate from Empire College of Law. Mr. Romano currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Sonoma Alliance, and as an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Association of Retired Employees (SCARE).

Danielle Ronshausen

Ms. Ronshausen was born and raised in Santa Rosa and currently lives here with her fiancé and their four children. Danielle graduated from Elsie Allen High School in 1999 and went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies and a Minor in Women’s Health from Sonoma State University in 2007. She earned her Master’s in Public Health from Walden University in 2012 and completed her graduate preceptorship with the California Department of Public Health, Violence Prevention and Injury Surveillance Branch. In addition to her education, Danielle has coordinated various public health and community engagement programs for the past nine years throughout Sonoma County. She has also worked with several community coalitions in the County on a variety of different issues, including childhood obesity prevention and underage drinking prevention.

Ben Terry

Mr. Terry is retired and has been a resident of Sonoma County for over 30 years, living in Santa Rosa. He served as President of the Sonoma County Chapter of the NAACP for five and a half years and has a long history of working on issues of social and racial justice and equity in Sonoma County. Mr. Terry has previously served on the Sonoma County Grand Jury, as well as the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Commission. He was the Vice-President of Sonoma County People for Economic Opportunity for four years, and is the President of the Ben E. Terry Youth Foundation. Mr. Terry has served as an advocate for students in Sonoma County’s school districts, as well as for youth in the Juvenile Court System.