President

Portia Lewis

Casa Zimbabwe 2018-20, Rochdale 2020-21, Hillegass and Parker – HiP 2021

Portia first moved into Casa Zimbabwe (CZ or Die) in 2018 after transferring to UC Berkeley following four fantastic years at community college (CC). While at CC she earned two AS degrees in Natural Science and in Social and Behavioral Science, as well as, an AA in Anthropology. At Cal she double majored in Anthropology, BA and Conservation and Resource Studies, BS. It would be an understatement to say living in the Berkeley Student Cooperative changed her life. Portia had the opportunity to be the Non-Perishables Coordinator at CFS, and work as a Herstorian, Workshift Manager, and House President while living at CZ. She then moved to Rochdale and then Hillegass and Parker (HiP – formerly Le Chateau), while at HiP she was the Kitchen Manager and Community Builder. Not to mention she made memories and the friends of a lifetime. She graduated in 2021 and continued to remain heavily involved with the BSC. She was one of the lead organizers of the Save Rochdale Coalition and is currently involved with the ongoing lease negotiations. She is grateful for the opportunity to be on the BSCAA Board, and she plans to use the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the BSCAA and BSC, fundraise for the Rochdale remodel, and to plan for the future of the BSC/BSCAA.

Vice President

Rory Fearon

Stebbins 2015, CZ 2014-2016, Hip 2022-2024

Rory Fearon (he/him) lived in Stebbins and CZ during undergrad from 2014-2016 and at Hip from 2022-2024. Rory has been working mostly in philosophy academia since finishing undergrad at U.C. Berkeley. And is currently applying to law schools and hopes to work in food law and policy. One of Rory’s main philosophical views is that it is important to foster many different kinds of “experiments in living” (i.e. non-customary ways of living) as a way of creating new ideas and social customs to prevent the stagnation of society. The BSC to is a great experiment on living that has stimulated many new ideas and ways of living for him. CZ or Die!

Treasurer

Afsheen Lebastchi

Cloyne 1996-98, Rochdale 1998

Afsheen has worked at Google for the past fifteen years in various leadership roles. Prior to that, he worked at Intel. He also received a graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University. He is a Bay Area native, lived in Berkeley as a child (on Hopkins Street) and now lives in San Francisco. He’s been active with BSC fundraising and is on the Political Economy Advisory Board at UC Berkeley. He loves to travel.

Jim Ausman

Chateau House 1990-93

Jim served on the Board of Directors of the USCA for two years, mostly as the VP of Finance. He was the Board President one summer, the summer they decided to foreclose on Barrington and get it back from the man they had sold it to. Other accomplishments were to raise rent slightly to tackle the backlog of deferred maintenance and to allow any students from any college to join the USCA, not just Berkeley. There was a vacancy problem in this era. Jim would like to add more structure to the Board’s projects and goals and his experience as a Project Manager proves useful therein.

Nancy Brigham Blattel

Barrington 1973-75, Rochdale 1975-76, Northside Apartments 1976-80

Nancy is currently Data Management Lead supporting UC’s database for fundraising and engagement needs. In 1996, she founded the BSC alumni association with a group of dedicated alumni who valued their experience, wanted to give back, and knew other alumni would want to as well. At the BSC, Nancy served on the student board and was vice president for three semesters. She graduated in 1977 with a degree in Social Welfare and then worked at the BSC Central Office in the housing department. She has had a long career of leadership with the Better Business Bureau and the Cal Alumni Association.

Gillian Brown

Chateau 1991-’92, Kingman ’92-’94

It has been said that all we need to know we learn in kindergarten. However I needed to live in the co-ops to learn how much more I needed to know. Inspired by the example of my housemates contributing to our community and my semester stint on AdCom in the early 1990s, I was motivated in my years after Berkeley to serve on the board of directors of non-profit organizations, including the Boalt Hall (now Berkeley Law) Alumni Association and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. I also was a member of the Advisory Board of the Western Center on Law & Poverty. Increasing the BSC’s visibility, particularly to low-income incoming students, is an issue I would like to explore with the Board. Because of my work as a lawyer during the past 24 years, I hope to bring to the Board my disparate skills in identifying legal risks, revising governance documents, and planning social events.

Mika Cook

CZ 2010

In 2010, CZ gave me my first taste of a successful cooperative system and was the beginning of my obsession with studying, designing and building more sustainable systems. As a Conservation Resources Studies graduate, I jumped into the legal Cannabis industry, seeing the opportunity provided by the newly regulated commodity for the creation of more equitable and sustainable agricultural systems. In addition to starting a Cannabis compliance consulting and grant writing business (2019), in 2022 I co-founded the Cooperative Agriculture Network, a cooperative development, research and policy advocacy organization serving small-scale Cannabis farmers in rural Northern California. Giving back to the organization that was foundational in driving my educational and career path would be an honor. As a BSCAA board member, I will utilize my grant writing, facilitation, project management and/or other professional skills cultivated since my time at Cal to progress the BSCAA mission, providing the vital resource of affordable and cooperative housing for students in our increasingly inequitable society.

John Ehrlich

Barrington Hall 1974-77

BS Business Administration. John had many elected positions at Barrington Hall leading to being the House Manager. at Barrington. He was on the USCA Board when we bought Lothlorien, Kingman & Chateau & sold Oxford. and, in 1977, was elected President of the USCA. After 32 years of service in the San Francisco PD, John retired as a Captain. For many years his family & he enjoyed the Lair of the Bear 5th week Gold. John has served on the BSCAA Board since 2012. He lives in Berkeley with his new wife, Sandy whom he met when house manager at Barrington Hall.

Justin Erickson

Cloyne 1990-’92, ’97-’99, NSC ’99-2001

Justin was a member of the BSC throughout his time at Cal and held leadership positions at the house, board and central levels, including; Cloyne House President, Cloyne House Manager, Board Member, USCA President, Assistant Housing Supervisor, BSCAA Board Member and BSCAA President. He currently works in Construction Project Management on large capital projects for public agencies, typically in the range of $150M – $900M. He brings a longstanding love of the organization and deep resonance of the mission – providing affordable housing to students who might not otherwise be able to afford college, as well as the spirit of cooperation and a desire to give back to the community that gave so much to him.

Mojdeh Tarighat Feller

Mojdeh Tarighat Feller graduated from Berkeley in 2015 as a Stebbins resident. After joining the University of Virginia as a PhD candidate in Mathematics, she has since moved back to her hometown of Los Angeles to join a small liberal arts college as a teaching professor. She credits the BSC with encouraging her to question, wonder, and dream. Since graduating from Berkeley, these values have led her to develop equity-focused teaching practices, create advocacy programs for broadening participation in STEM, and serve as Artist-in-Residence at a foundation in Virginia.

Mojdeh is interested in serving the BSCAA by managing a social media account on Instagram that features alumni stories, cooperative history, and event announcements. In the future, she is also interested in hosting alumni events in LA.

Margie Guillory

Hoyt Hall 1970-73, Northside Co-op 1974-78

Margie graduated from Berkeley with a degree in mathematics, two teaching credentials, and a certificate in accounting. She was involved with the BSC as the BSC’s first woman Maintenance Manager (1970-1972), first woman on Summer Maintenance Crew (1972), Decentralization & Inventory Control Clerk (1972-1975), A/P Bookkeeper (1975-1988) with a 6-month break to convert all houses to the Home Cooking Program in 1980, and BSC’s Accountant (1988-2012). She was inducted into the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) Hall of Fame in 1990 as an Educator. She is now in a recovery program as the Treasurer of the BSCAA.

Jennifer Heller

Cloyne 2000-01, Rochdale 2001, Kingman 2002-04

Jen (she/her) was destined to go to and love living in Berkeley. From a young age, her parents brought her to Cal; she has been frequenting Lama Beans (formerly Jimmy Beans) since 1990! She worked for CO first as Receptionist, then Communications Coordinator and then acting Development Director between 2001 and 2009. Some of her key accomplishments were two complete website overhauls, the development of the online application, and the 75th Anniversary Gala. While at Kingman, she served as Social Manager for two years. Following her time as a staff member at CO, she served on the BSCAA Board until August 2012. In 2010 Jen founded Artsy Geek, a design and marketing agency. In the past decade, she has continued to work with various non-profits and small businesses on branding and marketing. She looks forward to bringing this experience to the BSCAA Board. She will be forever grateful to the BSC not only for the professional experience but for introducing her to her best friends and husband. All of the people she is closest to in the world she met through the BSC. She currently lives in San Leandro with her husband (Lothlorien, Castro, Casa Zimbabwe, Rochdale) and three-year-old son. She enjoys baking, gardening and reorganizing closets.

Grayson Johnston

Cloyne 2009-11

Grayson lived at Cloyne Court from 2009-2011, while pursuing his B.A.s in English and Anthropology. While living at Cloyne he usually pursued normal work shifts, but did also serve on the social crew, as well as one semester as editor of the Cloyne Crier. His experience living in the co-ops was without a doubt the most formative and influential aspect of his experience as a student at Cal. Many of his closest friends, and even his wife, he first met while living at Cloyne. Currently, he has worked in the UCB departments of Rhetoric and Film & Media for the past 4 years, serving as the Undergraduate Major Advisor for the last 3. While he loves working with all of his students, he finds it especially gratifying to advise current co-opers. He loves gardening, travel, and his two cats and dog.

Jon Lampman

Barrington 1967-68, Cloyne 1968-69

Jon lived at Barrington and Cloyne when he was a student at Berkeley. After retirement Jon joined the Coop Alumni Board. He actively helped organize a number of events including a Cloyne history night, a happy hour for younger alumni, and several Strawberry Creek tours and optional work parties. For the past 5 years Jon actively participated in Special Give and helped the Coops through donations.

Katrina McLaughlin

Hoyt, Kidd, Wolf, Kingman 2011-14

Katrina McLaughlin lived in the co-ops from 2011-2014, during which time she served on the board of directors and washed many many dishes. She’s motivated to join the BSCAA board to give back to the co-ops which provides vital affordable housing, community, and growth opportunities to students. She currently lives in D.C. and works on energy and climate policy at a nonprofit. She hopes to use her time on the BSCAA board helping to organize alumni events and mentorship opportunities connecting recent grads to alums.

Marcella Murphy

Stebbins, Oxford, Sherman, Cloyne, Northside, Rochdale

Marcella thoroughly enjoyed her nine years of co-op living. She lived in Stebbins, Oxford, Sherman, Cloyne, Northside, and Rochdale. She held several positions and did a wide variety of workshifts. She loved welcoming new members and she confesses to having cried more than once when the house emptied out at the end of the year. She believes now more than ever co-op principles hold many of the keys to solving the economic problems we face today, and she is determined that the BSC should thrive during this pandemic and beyond. 

Wick Smith

Barrington 1974-75. Ridge Project (now Casa Zimbabwe) 1974-77

B.A. Psychology ’77 M.S.W. ’80 UC Berkeley. Most memorable workshifts: Cooking Sunday Brunch for 125 people, House Photographer, and Switchboard. Career in local government including Alameda County Administrator’s Office, Contra Costa County Schools and Contra Costa County.  IT Manager Contra Costa County for 28 years and senior consultant in a firm that specialized in IT for non-profits and local governments. BSA adult volunteer for the last 25 years. Ham Radio operator and CERT volunteer. Wick’s interest in public service and working cooperatively for others all started with the Coops! He loves continuing that with the co-op students and alums.

Secretary

Analise Electra Smith-Hinkley

Cloyne 2008, Oscar Wilde 2009-10

Analise joined the board in 2010 and has served consistently for the past twelve years. As a co-oper she served as a board rep and special events coordinator for CO and really loved working with alumni and students together, so joining the board immediately upon graduation was a natural choice. Her priorities as BSCAA President in the coming years are to prioritize diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity (starting with the Board itself!); to strengthen the BSCAA’s internal infrastructure in order to better empower the members to do more; and to facilitate the most harmonious and productive collaboration between the BSC and BSCAA yet. In her paid life Analise is a realtor with Generation Real Estate serving Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco; prior to that she worked in marketing communications at UC Berkeley’s Cal Alumni Association and in e-commerce in Los Angeles. She just finished writing her first novel, and she married a fellow Clone–so needless to say she’s never escaping the co-ops.

Alfred Twu

Afro House 2003

Alfred has been a co-oper since 2003, starting out at Afro House and now around Lothlorien and Wilde. In addition to holding various house and central level positions, Alfred worked at CO for a couple years in the early 2010s and has been on the Alumni Board since, focusing on events like reunions and happy hours that connect current members to alumni.

Kyle Diarmit

Hoyt Hall 2021 – 2022

Kyle (she/her) transferred to UC Berkeley in the middle of the pandemic and lived at Hoyt Hall from 2021 to 2022. While at the co-ops, she contributed to the community by cleaning bathrooms and working in the central office as a Development Associate. Kyle’s decision to join the BSCAA Board is driven by her passion for recruiting and connecting with the next generation of BSC alumni. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and works as a Development Associate for a local nonprofit.

Mary Gillespie

Ridge Project 1976-1977 Chateau 1977-1979 Rochdale 1979-1980

Mary Gillespie (she/her) lived in the Coops 1976-1981 (Ridge Project, Chateau, and Rochdale).  Mary served as the Chateau Workshift Manager. Mary recently retired (environmental attorney and real estate for the government) and now has more time to engage in community service. Mary happens to live near Berkeley and looks forward to assisting the Coops, especially with the goal of making the Coops accessible to all students. Mary also loves planning fun activities.

Jackie Howells

Hoyt 2012-2013

Jackie Howells (she/her) lived in Hoyt Hall in the 2012-2013 school year and became co-Social Manager in the spring. Jackie just finished their PhD in pathobiology at Brown and is currently pursuing positions in writing and communications across disciplines in disease research to reduce human suffering as an ultimate goal. Jackie wants to participate as Board member as someone saved by the co-op system, from learning how to clean, to developing introspective diverse relationships, to seeing first hand how group organization can both have leaders without power being higher than a member who worked to dishwasher compared to a manager. Jackie wants to contribute their perspective, network, skillsets, as someone who didn’t grow up in a safe home, understanding the factors that can spread the altruistic and beneficial spirit of cooperation is key to the lives of students like themself.

Kelly Yun

Rochdale Village 2009-2011

Kelly Yun (she/her) lived in Rochdale from 2009-2011 and worked at the Central Office as Development Coordinator during those years. She brings extensive experience working with the BSCAA, having served as a past Board Member, President, and VP of External Affairs. After taking a brief hiatus to pursue a full-time graduate degree program, Kelly is now settled back in the Bay Area and eager to reinvest her skills and knowledge. Professionally, she brings a wealth of experience from her time in university development and alumni relations at UC Berkeley, alongside expertise in public administration, behavioral economics, impact evaluation, and strategic planning from Harvard University. Kelly also served as Chair of the Berkeley Human Welfare Community Action Commission, addressing critical issues in affordable housing and basic needs. Kelly is looking forward to rolling up her sleeves and devoting her skills and network to advance the BSCAA’s mission.

V. Nedeltchev

V (they/he) is a committed coop-er and exciting friend. They lived & worked in the coops from 2016-2022 and have stayed around as a full-time staff member. When they aren’t excited about collaborations with the alum association, they play Quadball (formerly known as Quidditch) and work with harm reduction in substances and non-normative relationships.

Sean Sowell

Lothlorien boarder 1984, Kingman 1984-89, Northside 1989-92

Sean (he/him) was born in Boston and grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts. He earned a BA in Psychology in 1992 and credits the USCA for making it possible to work his way through school at Cal. He served as Kingman’s Board member in 84, House President and Workshift Manager in 85, House Manager 86-88, as Board President in the Summer & Fall of 88, and as Kingman’s and Northside’s House President in 89 (concurrently). He led membership referenda 1 (84), 2 (86) and 3 (88) that eventually closed and sold Barrington in 1989. His twin sons are Matt and Nick. He served as Zephyr Teachout’s volunteer deputy texting director in her 2018 run for New York State Attorney General, leading a team of 275 volunteers nationwide who contacted 1.01 million registered Democrats in New York with a cell phone. He misses Warren Zevon, Harry Chapin, and Johnny Cash, and regrets never seeing Warren in concert. He drives for GrubHub, used to work for Open Heart Kitchen in Pleasanton, and still delivers meals to folks who are hungry. He welcomes the chance to return his service to the BSC. USCA President Emeritus.