YES! Board and Advisors

Board of Directors

Cate Coslor is Co-Founder and Co-Director of Kindle Project. Kindle Project aims to foster a nexus of creative ideas and cultivators by supporting new and existing projects through the means of grant-making and hands on work. Cate Co-Founded Seeds of Justice, served on the Be Present Capacity Team, and has been trained in facilitation and basic trauma relief. Cate is a musician, songwriter, and earned her degree from Expressions: Center for New Media in Music Production and Sound Engineering.

Manuel Herrera is a Program Executive with the National Conference for Community & Justice, a Trustee for the East Side Union High School District in San Jose, California, an Adjunct Professor with San Jose State University, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Manuel has a BA Degree in Social Sciences and an MA Degree in Urban Studies, from the University of the Pacific and Occidental College.

John Robbins has been on YES!’s Board of Directors since the organization’s inception, and is currently Board Chair Emeritus.  He is the author of numerous best-sellers, including Diet For A New America, The Food Revolution, and Healthy at 100, and is the founder of EarthSave International. 

Michele Bissonnette Robbins arrived bright eyed at her first YES! Camp 15 years ago at the age of 18, had her life transformed and has been living and breathing YES! ever since.  She helped the organization incorporate as its own non-profit organization, served as Executive Director, and then President for nearly 10 years.  Her primary focus now is homeschooling/unschooling her 8 year old twins, growing her family’s garden, singing/songwriting, and supporting healing and transformation for friends and loved ones.

Aqeela Sherrills is currently the Founder and Principal of the Reverence Project which seeks to bring spiritual principles and reverence for human life into the public square.  He was the Founder and President of Community Self-Determination Institute which creates innovative, cost effective ways of solving individual and community problems. In 1992, Aqeela led a "Gang Truce" with his brother that catalyzed numerous other peace treaties across the country.  Three years after the peace treaty, gang homicides were down 47%, and 15 new businesses had entered Watts.  He speaks widely at conferences and events, and is a board member of the Turning Tide Coalition.

Rev. angel Kyodo williams is a maverick spiritual teacher, activist, artist and founder of urbanPEACE and the Center for Transformative Change.   She is author of Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace and is known for her ability to make ancient wisdom relevant to everyday life.  She serves as spiritual director of New Dharma Meditation Center for Urban Peace in Oakland CA.  She was founding chairperson of Third Wave, and founded Kokobar, the worlds’ first black-owned cybercafe.

Austin Willacy is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter who has toured extensively throughout the U.S and Europe as a solo artist and is also a part of The House Jacks, a multi-award winning a cappella rock band.  Austin is the director of Youth in Arts’ ‘Til Dawn, a teen a cappella group and has facilitated over 30 youth retreats.  Austin has co-facilitated three of YES!’s Leveraging Privilege for Social Change Jams and has been on the board of Rainforest Action Network and the Freight & Salvage for three years.  He donates his musical talent to a wide range of educational, social and environmental organizations.

In Memoriam:

Cesar Chavez (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993), founder of United Farm Workers and a leading voice for the rights of farm workers in the United States and the rights of migrant workers worldwide, learned of YES!'s vision in 1990 and was inspired enough by our vision to lend his name on our board of advisors and to offer his love and blessing.  His life and legacy are a source of profound inspiration to YES!, and we are deeply grateful to honor his memory through our work.

David Brower  (July 1, 1912 – November 5, 2000), founder of Earth Island Institute, Friends of the Earth, League of Conversation Voters, and The Sierra Club Foundation, led the campaign to save the Grand Canyon and helped to establish the national wilderness preservation system.  He was a supporter of YES! from our beginnings in 1990, participating in multiple board meetings, and speaking at our five YES! events and press conferences.  At the 1996 World Youth Leadership Jam, guest presenter David Brower was asked what gave him hope for our planet’s future, and he responded: “This Jam and the young leaders here are what give me hope for our future.  To overcome the challenges facing our world today, young people must take the future into their own hands.  What inspires me most about this camp is that these young people are not working with false idealism.  They are organized and practical in implementing positive programs that are really making a difference.  And as of this Jam, they are working together.”

River Phoenix  (August 23, 1970 — October 31, 1993), an Oscar award-winning actor whose performances touched hearts and inspired imaginations, River also had a deep commitment to animal rights and sustainability.  Indeed, he looked at his career as having value insofar as he could leverage it to make a difference in the world.  His family was among the first major financial supporters of YES!'s work, and his siblings and mother have continued to support YES! in the years since his passing.  River's life and work were among the many inspirations for YES!'s Leveraging Privilege for Social Change program.