Darlene Meza Project Associate

Impact Area Darlene joined Valley Vision in March 2023 as a Project Associate supporting the Community Economic Relief Fund (CERF). Professional Experience Darlene has experienced a blended life of growing up in Socal, Mexico, and the Central Valley. Prior to joining Valley Vision, Darlene worked in the retail industry and in the education field amounting […]

Angelina Olweny Project Coordinator

Angelina joined Valley Vision in 2021 as a Project Associate in the 21st Century Workforce Impact Area. She previously served as an AmeriCorps VISTA in the Sacramento Promise Zone, a Federal place-based initiative that seeks to address inequities in the most distressed areas in urban and rural areas across the nation. Professional Experience Angelina promoted […]

Alana Ramsay Communications Manager

Alana joined Valley Vision as a Project Associate in June of 2022 before promotion to Communications Manager in January 2024. Professional Experience Prior to joining Valley Vision, Alana worked with CivicWell, a Sacramento-based nonprofit supporting sustainable policies and the leaders and communities that implement them. She began in January 2021 as an Administrative & HR Coordinator […]

Adrian Rehn Senior Project Manager

Adrian joined Valley Vision in 2014 as an Intern, supporting projects to deploy broadband to the underserved, advance an equitable food system, and align workforce development and jobs programs. Today he manages Valley Vision’s ‘Clean Air & Climate’ portfolio, which includes the Cleaner Air Partnership, an initiative that has existed since 1986 to improve air […]

Kathy Saechou Project Coordinator

Kathy’s ethnicity is Mien-American, and her family’s history is deeply rooted in Northern Laos. She was born and raised here in Oak Park, Sacramento, and her family, background and community are the core reasons why she chose an educational and career path in planning. Community is a very important aspect in Kathy’s life and is […]

Evan Schmidt CEO

Evan Schmidt joined Valley Vision in 2014 and became CEO on July 1, 2020. Evan has a long record of success developing community inspired solutions across Valley Vision’s many initiatives – including leading Valley Vision’s research, such as regional polling and future of work; supporting Valley Vision’s impact areas advancing prosperity, equity, and sustainability; and […]

Laurel Smith Project Associate

Laurel joined Valley Vision in August 2022 as a Project Associate for the Listos California Emergency Preparedness Campaign. She has over 4.5 years of experience working in nonprofit settings dedicated to improving healthy communities in the Sacramento Region. Professional Experience Laurel, a local of the Sacramento region, began her career working in nonprofits following college […]

Hilary Tellesen Senior Project Manager

Impact Area For nearly a decade, Hilary’s career has been in workforce development, managing clean energy job training programs in the North Valley region. Through this work, she built strong partnerships with job training organizations, employers, and educational institutions. Hilary looks forward to focusing on new economic sectors and innovative career pathways to improve the livability of […]