Staff & Board

Priscilla Parchia

Priscilla Parchia is a lifelong learner and educator, originally hailing from Georgia. She has worked in the education field since her very first job at a circus camp at 15 as a counselor, drama instructor, choreographer, music director, program director, and stage director.

After moving to the Bay in 2008, she started working with youth in Oakland Unified and currently works in the Expanded Learning Office supporting after school and summer programs. She recently completed the National Afterschool Matters Fellowship and California School-Age Consortium Leadership Development Institute.

Her major interest is educational reform based on youth development practices and hands-on learning. She is also an actress and singer with years of performing, coaching, and directing experience. Priscilla stands for equity, empowerment, and peace for herself and all others. She enjoys reading, solitude & fellowship in nature, all the arts & crafts, roller skating, and traveling across the globe as much as financially possible!

Jana Cain

Jana is an expert people connector and master problem solver. A graduate of Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon – Tepper School of Business, Jana has been a Relationship Manager in the Career Management Center at Stanford Graduate School of Business for over 12 years. In her role she assists the MBA and MSx students with finding careers in myriad industries – Climate, Consumer Retail, Food & Agriculture, Entertainment, and Social Impact (to name just a few). By night (and weekends), she is an IRS Enrolled Agent, providing bookkeeping and tax preparation services to real estate investors all over the country.

An avid equestrian, Jana serves on the advisory board of the Stanford Red Barn Equestrian Center (for which she is a former coach and competitor). She also lends her accounting expertise to the Board Treasurer role for WANDA, a financial literacy nonprofit based in San Mateo County.

In her spare time, Jana enjoys gardening (ask her about her seed collection!), cooking, exploring Bay Area hiking trails, and reading spy novels. And watching lots and lots of reality tv.

Emi Yoko-Young

At the young age of three, Emi (she/her) was introduced to the joys of growing food through her grandparents, who both worked as gardeners. Now, as an adult, the time she spends in her urban garden is a key source of grounding and reflection for her, despite the fact that her attempts to grow food do not always result in the most bountiful harvest. As an East Oakland resident, Emi is deeply invested in the health of her community. So she is excited to leverage her enthusiasm for cultivation to support the actualization of Acta Non-Verba’s vision, and to ensure that the organization has the resources that are needed to thrive.

Emi is committed to fighting for our collective liberation through multiracial solidarity, a regenerative economy, and organizing for the abolition of harmful institutions and a future of self-determination. Through her role as the Manager of Policy and Advocacy at Race Forward, Emi facilitates and supports grassroots collectives in centering racial justice in their organizing work and creating a community-centered policy process. This primarily involves nerding out over creating project management systems that are values-aligned and that leverage power for equitable decision-making. Emi holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington in the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice program.

Outside of work, Emi enjoys backpacking with her spouse to places where she can get lost reading sci-fi and speculative fiction, spending too much time trying to win the affection of their two cats, and building deep relationships with her family and friends (until her introversion forces her to hide). She owes her stubbornness and intentionality to the collective of Japanese women who raised her, including her mother, aunties, sister, and grandmother.

Nanyelis Diaz Chapman

Social justice and equity advocate, and a proud immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Nanyelis is a logistical maven, focused on project management across various programs and initiatives for the Office of Kat Taylor. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida, where she received dual degrees in Criminology and International Studies. She loves cooking and exploring new places.

Linda Leu

Linda Leu is a somewhat black-thumbed descendant of farmers and chefs; while growing food is a struggle for her, eating and cooking it are her primary hobbies. As a 1.5 generation immigrant, Linda believes food is a powerful connector of past, present, and future.

Linda currently serves as Executive Director and instructor at IMPACT Bay Area, an organization that empowers individuals to resist violence by teaching healthy boundary setting and full-force self-defense. She is passionate about nonprofit leadership and has worked in organizations focused on policy advocacy and health care, as well as in youth-serving organizations as a yoga instructor and counselor. She holds a BS from the University of Southern California, a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University, and a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification with additional training in Mindfulness and Trauma-Informed Yoga.

Diamond Allen

Diamond Allen was raised in Oakland, California. As a kid, Diamond moved around the bay a lot but found his roots and a home in Oakland. Diamond is the oldest of 5 siblings, who are all a part of our camp family.

Diamond worked his first job ever with Camp ANV when a friend of his thought it would be a great opportunity. Diamond found himself loving every aspect of camp and came back summer after summer for the next 5 years. While a part of ANV, he was able to work closely with the youth as well as gain not only work experience but leadership experience as well.

As a camp counselor, Diamond quickly bonded with the youth, and it was apparent that he also enjoyed it. He would sing camp songs and get the kids excited for the day, all while helping to ensure that camp ran smoothly. Growing up in Oakland himself, he was able to connect and relate to the youth, which helped foster a great camp community. This experience allowed Diamond to have a direct impact on his community at a young age, which only continued to grow and manifest himself in other ways as he grew older.

Diamond, along with his friend group and the help of his parents, started a nonprofit organization in honor of his friend who died from gun violence. They were also able to hold community events and honor the life of his late friend.

Diamond will be graduating from Holy Names University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business with an emphasis in management and marketing. He is currently working at DocuSign as a Solutions Engineer. Diamond likes to think of himself as a young entrepreneur who is working to gain all the experience he needs to one day become a venture capitalist for social impact. Diamond is excited to continue to have an impact on his community by doing his part on ANV’s board.

Ellyn Pickett

Ellyn Pickett is a finance and strategy leader with more than 15 years of experience guiding growth, resource planning, and operational excellence across the consumer packaged goods and technology sectors. Ellyn’s professional work centers on creating financial systems that empower mission-driven organizations to scale impact with integrity, clarity, and equity. She brings a data-informed yet deeply human approach to leadership—believing that sound financial stewardship is key to unlocking access, opportunity, and lasting change.

In addition to her role with ANV, Ellyn serves on her school district’s equity council and as a parent volunteer for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop. Ellyn is a proud member of Jack and Jill of America, where she fosters youth leadership and community service. Having volunteered in the ANV garden with her children, Ellyn is deeply inspired by the organization’s work to connect young people with the land, each other, and their own potential.

A graduate of Loyola University Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in Finance, Ellyn lives in the East Bay with her husband and three children. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, reading, and traveling—activities that reflect her curiosity, balance, and love of exploration.

Her philosophy is simple: when we cultivate and nourish youth, we cultivate a stronger, more just future for everyone.

Courtney Leader

Courtney Leader is a dedicated sustainability professional and philanthropist with a strong commitment to community impact. She has worked with numerous non-profits throughout the Bay Area with special focus on food justice, climate change, ocean health and women’s health care. She has served on the Charles Lamar Family Foundation (CLFF) Board since 2012. CLFF’s diverse interests span education, animal welfare, and social services, channeling the bulk of its resources into the Baton Rouge area, Courtney’s cherished hometown.

Her professional career began in environmental education at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, where she developed and managed learning programs. Most recently, she served as the Green Building Associate in the Office of Sustainability for the County of Alameda’s General Services Agency, leading efforts to integrate sustainable building strategies into County operations. With expertise in sustainability, community engagement, and philanthropy, Courtney brings valuable insight and leadership to the organizations that she serves.

Courtney holds a Master of Architectural Science from University College Dublin, specializing in Sustainable Building Design and Performance. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California. There she served as Director of Community Affairs for the Undergraduate Student Government and as a Helene, solidifying her love of service and bettering her community.

Ali Anderson

Ali is rooted in over a decade of experience in public health, birthwork, and food systems. She is the founder and Executive Director of Feed Black Futures, an organization with a mission to create a world where Black people have access to high-quality fresh food and the means and skills to produce it.

As a community organizer and facilitator with Black Youth Project 100, Ali led direct actions and community participatory research processes for communities facing carceral violence as well as food and environmental injustices in New York. She has been a keynote speaker on topics related to food sovereignty and food justice at Harvard School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, and Pitzer College.

Formerly the Director of Capacity Building with the New York City Health Department’s Center for Health Equity, Ali created policies to bring pay equity and social support to community health workers working in food, reproductive, and economic justice.

Ali is from Southern California and is the granddaughter of Jamaican immigrants. She holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University. In 2021, Ali was awarded the New Voices for Reproductive Justice Black Women Green Futures Award, and in 2022, was awarded the Echoing Green Social Innovation Challenge award. She sits on the steering committee for Black Farmers Rising, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, and FEAST.