Meet the people who are working hard every day to create a dynamic new community, with good-paying jobs and middle-class homes in safe, walkable neighborhoods.
Ananda grew up in Suisun City and has most recently spent time studying psychology. She joined the team because as a native to the area, she has seen the struggles people here in Solano face. She wants to be a part of the solution and has a unique understanding of how to bring them to life.
She is excited to be a part of a team stepping up to the plate to tackle some of the county’s largest problems.
Anders Engnell
Director of Community Partnerships
Anders’s community development journey started in southeastern Michigan. For 5 years, he led a nonprofit called Leaders of the Future that built parks, orchards, and community hubs. There, Anders experienced firsthand how impactful collaboration can be in a community.
For the last five years prior to joining California Forever, Anders led the planning and construction of Culdesac Tempe in Arizona. The completed first phase empowers over 200 residents to live in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with an onsite grocery store and next door light rail station.
Ann Simmons
Outreach Team
Ann grew up in Berkeley, but is a current resident of Rio Vista and a long-time lover of the Delta community. Ann is a passionate advocate for communities, bridging gaps and building connections. Ann dedicated her career to empowering individuals, improving housing opportunities, and spearheading transformative projects. Ann can be found exploring the intersection of civic engagement and community development.
Ann is a big supporter of innovation and entrepreneurship, and excited to be part of such a great project.
Anthony Barski
Field Director
Anthony moved to California from Ohio in order to advocate for causes he cares about, including helping local communities and expanding housing supply. He's especially excited to work on a community powered by sustainable energies.
Formerly, he has worked in the spaces of climate justice, criminal justice reform and local elections. Anthony is eager to bring his experience to Solano County in the hopes of creating change for its residents.
Anyé Spivey
Director of Development Planning
Anyé Spivey is a Bay Area native with 20 years of experience directing large mixed-use urban master-planned communities, standalone high-density urban infill housing, and tax-exempt infrastructure financing. Over the course of his career, he has worked on several of the largest developments in the Bay Area including the Hunter’s Point Shipyard, Candlestick Point, and the Oakland A’s Howard Terminal project.
Anyé has served on a number of boards over the years and has chosen to focus primarily on education and affordable housing. He currently serves on UCSF’s Campus Facilities Improvement Association board and is a member of ULI’s Urban Development Mixed Use Council and Lambda Alpha International.
B.H. Bronson Johnson
Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability
B.H. Bronson Johnson is a licensed engineer who sees a more sustainable future through infrastructure. In leadership roles at Next Infrastructure, Sidewalk Labs, Forest City, and Lennar Urban, he has leveraged his technical know-how to direct the planning and delivery of many transformative projects. Bronson holds advanced degrees in engineering and geosciences from Cornell University.
As a long time renter in the Bay Area now with three children, he believes our best hope is to build our way out of both the housing and climate crises. He looks forward to working with the people of Solano County to build the most sustainable city in the world, bringing the mojo back to California, and showing the world a better way forward.
Caleb Allen
Outreach Team
Caleb is a lifelong California resident who has witnessed many community and home developments expand the boundaries of towns and create distance between job opportunities. Seeing these expansions and the creation of suburbias that sell excessively priced homes has made him fearful of the future of the housing and job market due to outsourcing and overpopulated towns. For multiple years, he has worked with a non-profit organization that supports low-income, justice-system-affected individuals who have seen the same struggles he worries about.
With this initiative, he looks forward to the development of renewable energy in our communities, the future of our job security, and the possibility that lies within expanding Solano County without creating more urban sprawl.
Gabriel Metcalf
Head of Planning
Gabriel Metcalf is a city planner who has dedicated his career to helping cities become more livable, sustainable, and inclusive. For many years, he served as the President and CEO of SPUR, an urban policy think tank for the San Francisco Bay Area. Most recently, he was the CEO of the Committee for Sydney, a research and advocacy organization that provides vision, strategy, and advocacy for Australia’s largest city.
Gabriel’s work has focused on housing policy, climate change, economic development, transportation, and government effectiveness. He has been interested in new communities as a growth management strategy since first learning about the British new town movement in his introduction to planning history at UC Berkeley, where he earned a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning.
Harleen Dabb
Vallejo Office Assistant
Harleen Dabb has been a resident of Solano County for over a decade. Currently enrolled at Napa Valley College, Harleen is dedicatedly pursuing a degree in accounting. Her commitment transcends personal and academic endeavors, reflecting a strong desire to make substantive contributions to the advancement of Solano County.
Harleen's objective is to actively engage in initiatives, with a vision for fostering a thriving and vibrant Solano County.
Jan Sramek
Founder & CEO
Jan grew up in a small village in the Czech Republic until a scholarship he found by chance on the early internet landed him in England, where he studied Mathematics and Economics at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. He started his career in finance, but left after 20 months and founded Better, an education company that helped workers acquire new skills.
Seeing the impact that living in different places had on his own life, Jan is passionate about cities and their ability to foster community, creativity, and economic mobility. After a lifetime moving West searching for home, he has found it in Solano County, where he now lives with his wife Naytri, two young children, and golden retriever Bruce. Jan is excited to help build something wonderful here with our new friends and neighbors. He also can't wait to move into the first house in the new community.
Jay Primus
Director of Transportation
Jay Primus is an urbanist and transportation planner focused on reducing emissions, improving economic vitality, and helping transportation – and cities – be more delightful. For seven years, Jay managed parking in San Francisco, including a groundbreaking demonstration of how better pricing and information can make parking work better. SFpark remains a rare example of how cities can use data to make better decisions, improve operations, manage contracts, reduce costs, and deliver social benefits. In an earlier role, Jay led the design of San Francisco’s first bus rapid transit project.
Jay was inspired by early experience in Curitiba, Brazil and Bogata, Colombia, cities that met urgent and overwhelming social problems with creativity, clarity, courage, and respect for people’s dignity.
Jennifer Chaides
Executive Assistant
Jennifer Chaides is a Solano County native who spent the last 11 years working for some of the largest local healthcare organizations. Most recently, Jennifer was the Executive Assistant to CEO and CFO at Canopy Health. Jennifer graduated with a BA in Business Administration and Healthcare Management and MBA from Western Governors University.
As a lifelong Vacaville resident, Jennifer has witnessed the transformation of Vacaville from a small town to the thriving community it is today. Together with her husband Roberto, they purchased their first home in Vacaville to stay close to family while they raise their own. Jennifer is excited to be part of a team that’s building a better future for Solano County.
Julia Blystone
Head of Communications
Julia Blystone has been working in Communications in the Bay Area for 25 years. She has developed and executed successful PR campaigns for companies ranging from fast-growth start-ups to Fortune 500s. Most recently, she was at Slack, where she was the first in-house PR person, and helped build and lead the Comms team through the company's Direct Public Listing and eventual acquisition by Salesforce.
Julia was born in Saigon, raised in London, and went to college in Vermont, but she has found her spiritual home in the astonishing natural beauty of California.
Juliana Valencia
Outreach Team
Juliana grew up in Vallejo and is working towards her bachelors in Public Health. As a native to Vallejo, she is excited to see what this project has in store for Solano and continues to pursue her studies while dedicating her free time to causes she cares about.
Julie Daigle
Outreach Team
Julie is a Master Teacher, Healer, Pioneer and Visionary who has dedicated her life to being of higher service to humanity. Julie received a Bachelor's degree in education from the University of Maine.
Julie became a team member of CA Forever with a clear intention to help build a new, higher consciousness educational system for the children and parents of Solano county.
Justin Kramer
Press Secretary
Justin Kramer is a Californian through and through. Having lived most of his life in Southern California, he is excited to now be living in Northern California. Following college at San Diego State, he spent nearly five years in Washington working on a wide range of issues as a Senate staffer.
After experiencing life without a car in a walkable city, he wants to see similar places to live on the West Coast. When he’s not working, you can find him glued to a TV watching soccer, hockey, basketball or any other live sport.
Keyonna Thomas
Rio Vista Office Assistant
Keyonna currently lives in Sacramento but has strong connections to Solano County through family. She enjoys volunteering with various nonprofits about causes she’s passionate about. She appreciates that California Forever is working to make this a project about togetherness, combining her experience in customer service and advocacy.
Kikuye Fujii
Outreach Team
Kiku recently returned to Fairfield after spending time in Chico attending Chico State. She has been dancing hula from a young age and continues to do so! She is looking forward to seeing a diverse and affordable community that keeps sustainability in mind.
Manuel Fierro
Outreach Team
Manuel moved to Davis, for African American and Chicano studies from Southern CA. He has a passion for education and has worked in the field for 7 years. Now in his last year he is excited to work with California Forever to help keep residents informed.
Mason Hall
Regional Field Director, Vacaville
Mason Hall is a Solano County native who has strong roots in serving for a better community. Currently in College for Political Science, Mason is excited to dive into this initiative. From volunteering, to working as a city employee and serving in programs such as AmeriCorps NCCC and with the American Legion, Mason has over 7 years of practiced leadership experience.
Having had multiple life-long friends move out of Solano to different states to escape the cost of living and the commute to the bay, Mason sees it as native residents being pushed out and that something needs to change. With current housing developments contributing to urban sprawl, while void of restaurants, stores, and lacking job opportunities, vital amenities and community benefits, Mason is committed to help lead his community to a better future with this Initiative.
Michael Fortney
Head of Partnerships
As a native to Solano County with over 30 years of experience in real estate and community service, Michael Fortney's excited to join California Forever.
As the Director of Partnerships, he’ll work with private and public stakeholders to create a dynamic new community with walkable neighborhoods and good paying jobs for future generations. He's driven by a strong sense of purpose and commitment to strengthen communities and improving lives. He's always eager to learn, collaborate, and innovate with others who share the same vision and love for Solano County.
Pan Evers
Outreach Team
Pan grew up in Cordelia, living in the same house since she was 2 years old. She enjoys creative writing and working with other creators. She is looking forward to more access to public transportation.
Quintin Price
Outreach Team
Quintin has lived in Fairfield all of his life. When not engaging in outreach, he enjoys retro video games. Quintin is excited to see Solano County change for the better, bringing the whole county up!
Rich Lynn
Regional Field Director, Rio Vista
Rich grew up in Berkeley and went to college in Oakland. Since flying over the Delta, he knew Rio Vista would be his home. Solano and bordering counties have been home for Rich since 1972. Before retiring as a member of the IBEW, Rich worked to bring innovation and technology to actualization on many projects throughout the Bay Area. In the field as an installer, project engineer, and in the office as press secretary and safety chairman, his focus of safe, smart progressive development was and remains a high priority.
Rich is passionately committed to inclusive communities and looks forward to facilitating understanding between Solano residents and California Forever. When not working diligently to enhance quality of life for others, Rich is an avid pickleball player.
Sam Nickelson
Senior Community Organizer
Sam grew up on a small farm in Northern Solano County where her family grew walnuts. She studied history at UCLA and then received her Masters in Public Policy and Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University.
Living in a variety of cities and towns she was exposed to many issues that no one seemed to be able to solve. While working in advocacy, she saw firsthand the need to include people when making decisions for the community. She is excited to put these skills to good use as part of the California Forever team.
Trinity Bell
Outreach Team
Trinity is a Solano County native who's observed a lack of significant changes in her community over the years. As a devoted mother of two, she eagerly embraces projects that promise positive opportunities for her children's future. In the last 3 years as a caregiver, Trinity has encountered various individuals who, like her, have longed for meaningful change in their communities to foster unity and growth. Despite this collective desire, she expresses disappointment in the absence of tangible progress. Trinity is thrilled to be part of a team dedicated to advocating for positive changes that will benefit future generations.
Andreas Liber
General Manager, Special Projects
Andreas Lieber began his career in London leading product management teams at T-Mobile, before relocating to sunny California in 2005. His journey continued at Yahoo, Groupon, and Pinterest, where he led teams focusing on their mobile technologies, international business growth, and global partnerships. Andreas held SVP / C-level roles at Postmates and Uber and most recently was Chief Operating Officer at Shippo where he focused on operations and revenue. Having made California his home for two decades, Andreas is excited to leverage his extensive expertise for the betterment of the community at California Forever.
Andrew Chen
Outreach Team
Andrew is a born and raised bay area native, he is deeply passionate about accessible education. He is particularly invested in California Forever’s plans for scholarships and new schools. Andrew is excited to be part of this transformative initiative.
Brendale Carter
Outreach Team
Brendale was born and raised in the vibrant community of Vallejo. After completing her education at Vallejo High School, she furthered her studies while actively participating in various sports. After graduating college Brendale returned to Solano County, where she coaches children sports.
Devin Cheatham
Outreach Team
Devin was born at Travis AFB and is a life long Californian resident. He's a retired military veteran, devoted father, husband, and a faith-based leader in his community. He loves the community and is looking forward to its expansion in a more innovative and exciting environment for Solano County.
Dolores Caponera
Outreach Team
Dolores has been a long-time resident of California, having grown up in Monterey, later living and working in the inner Bay Area, and more recently, as a resident of the Trilogy community in Rio Vista for the past 8 and a half years.
Dolores is more excited about the California Forever project than she has been about anything else in Solano County. She looks forward to all the quality of life benefits the CF project will bring to Rio Vista, all of Solano County, and beyond!
Kabria Smallwood
Outreach Team
Kabria is a Solano native that grew up in Vallejo. Her sole purpose on why she supports California Forever is because she believes it's a great cause which targets solutions for the county’s most challenging issues by creating good paying jobs and making housing more affordable for families. She feels like this project will not only help her family but her community as well and she will definitely vote yes on the ballot.
Krystal Simpson
Outreach Team
Krystal returned to Solano County after living in Los Angeles for the past decade. She's excited to see a new community that can provide more jobs and funding to support the existing areas of Solano County.
Rachel Ahn
Outreach Team
Rachel grew up living in various communities around the world and has seen firsthand how walkable old-fashioned towns can nurture organic communities. Currently, Rachel lives in Fairfield and is excited to be taking part in this historic project to build a new walkable community in Solano County.
Rin Clark
Outreach Team
Rin is originally from Southern California and relocated to Northern California for college. She has a passion for rock climbing, crafting, reading, writing, and practicing yoga. Rin is excited about the prospect of new, affordable housing options and an increase in local businesses.