WLAC Board Members

2007 Elected Officers and Board of Directors

ELECTED OFFICERS

President ~ Margaret Gannon has devoted her practice for 25 years to the representation of women in family law matters in Alameda County.

Vice-President ~ Nancy E. O’Malley is the Chief Assistant District Attorney for Alameda County. Previously, Ms. O’Malley was head of the Sexual Assault Unit. She serves as the Technical Advisor for the Sexual Assault Training through the California District Attorney’s Association (CDAA) and produced the first statewide Symposium on Violence Against Women. She is also the visionary for the development of the newly opened Alameda County Family Justice Center.

Secretary ~ Jennifer Addams is a senior associate at the public law firm of Meyers/Nave. She is in the litigation department and defends her City clients in cases ranging from general torts to civil rights actions. Ms. Addams is a member of the Alameda County Bar Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco and has spent a year as a judge pro tem for Small Claims and Traffic Courts in Alameda County. This is Ms. Addams' second year on the WLAC board.

Treasurer ~ Gillian Thackray is a partner at the intellectual property law firm of Isbester & Thackray, LLP. She represents clients in litigation and counsels clients regarding patent protection, licensing negotiations, trademark registration and trade secret protection. Ms. Thackray and her firm recently won a verdict for $94 million on behalf of their client in a patent infringement lawsuit.

Judicial Liaison ~ The Honorable Gail Bereola was appointed to the Alameda Municipal Court in 1992 and elevated to the Superior Court in 1998. She is currently the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court and has served in a wide range of judicial roles including Presiding Judge of the Municipal Court (1998), Supervising Judge of the Superior Court (1998, 1999) and has presided in various judicial departments including Civil law and Motion, Unlawful Detainer and Civil Trials, Criminal Trials, Drug Court and Welfare Fraud Court. Before taking the bench, she served as a prosecutor with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and as a partner in private practice. She is a graduate of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, and the University of San Francisco.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Erlinda Castro started her legal career as a legal secretary, developing skills as a paralegal and private investigator. As an attorney she has practiced in the areas of criminal defense (trial and appellate), police misconduct and civil litigation. Currently she limits her practice to juvenile dependency and the representation of children in family law custody matters. She was also the executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland for three years and is the chair of the ACBA Civil Court-Appointed Attorney Program Advisory Group.

Yogeeta N. Gamper is a sole practitioner in Oakland. Her practice involves family law and criminal law cases. She graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law and became a member of the State Bar of California in 2001. She actively volunteers her time in the legal community.

Candace Goldman is the managing attorney for the Family Law Facilitator office of the Alameda County Superior Court. She was in private practice in San Francisco and Oakland for several years, focusing on family law and personal injury litigation. She has also served as a managing attorney with the Alameda County Bar Association and Legal Assistance for Seniors. In her spare time, she works with a number of non-profit and volunteer organizations, including Attorneys for Children and Chaparral House. She is an FCC-licensed dj and a firm believer in supporting the arts and caring for the environment.

Joyce M. Hicks is the Executive Director of the City of Oakland Citizens’ Police Review Board, a position she has held since March 2003. Ms. Hicks also served the City of Oakland as one of two Chief Assistant City Attorneys from 1987 to 2000. She began her career with the City of Oakland in the City Attorney’s Office in 1977. She is Immediate Past Co-Chairperson of the California State Bar Council of State Bar Sections, Vice Chairperson of the Lawrence Hall of Science Advisory Council, an International House at U.C. Berkeley board member and a Women Lawyers of Alameda County board member.

Toni Yvette Mims is in private practice representing tenants in landlord and tenant litigation as well as representing parents or children in juvenile dependency matters. Ms. Mims previously worked for The Eviction Defense Center, helped supervise East Bay Community Law Center’s Landlord Tenant Clinic, and has been working as a tenant advocate for 6 years. She is a member of Charles Houston Bar Association, and serves on the Alameda County Bar Associations Judicial Appointments Evaluation Committee.

Carole Raimondi is the Program Director for Self-Help Services for the Superior Court, County of Alameda. Prior to her work with the Court she was in a private practice that focused on all aspects of family law as well as disability law.

Margaret Richardson is the Director of the Clean Slate Practice of the East Bay Community Law Center, which represents individuals seeking criminal records remedies and supports policy innovations that promote the effective reentry of formerly incarcerated people.

Anne Ronan is currently a Legal Research Attorney for the Superior Court of Alameda County. Her previous work in private practice focused on litigation of consumer class actions, primarily dealing with financial institutions and insurers. She has been involved in women’s bar organizations since joining the bar in 1982, and is a life member of California Women Lawyers.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSITANT TO THE BOARD

Patricia Delgado first began working with WLAC as the Event Coordinator for its 2001 Annual Dinner. The following year, she took on the Administrative Assistant duties. Ms. Delgado has experience as a legal secretary and as an events coordinator.