Meet the Board of Directors

Fruc Menchavez III - (he/him) - President

Fruc is an emerging OD practitioner and Leadership Coach who combines his experiences from different fields to help develop individuals; to create effective and efficient teams and to foster sustainable transformations within organizations.

He currently works as an internal OD specialist at a local nonprofit organization and is the principal coachsultant at Menchavez Coachsulting and holds a master’s degree in Organization Development from University of San Francisco.

Tapping into his nonprofit roots and knowledge, Fruc enjoys building, organizing and partaking in different communities around things he is passionate about and as such he co-chairs the Professional Development committee of the OD Network and actively participates in other community-based organizations.

Fruc's personal vision in having an intentional space for OD practitioners to share resources, knowledge and their respective experience and has been instrumental in revitalizing the Bay Area Organization Development Network.

In his spare time Fruc loves to "watch the world go by", spend quality time with his loved ones and travel.

 Maheen Shafiabady - (she/her) - Vice President 

Maheen is a Consultant and Coach who recently moved from being an internal Organization Development practitioner to launching her independent practice. A People Manager for 15+ years across multiple sectors, Maheen's personal and professional journey is a rich mosaic of life experiences that reflects her unwavering commitment to fostering an environment of inclusivity and understanding by bridging the gap between different cultures and individuals.

In the South Bay for 14+ years, Maheen hails from rural Illinois where she attained her BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After 4.5 years in Guatemala, she then landed in the Bay Area, earning her MS in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco.

Maheen coaches organizations to boost team effectiveness and build structure that supports connecting people with resources to enhance collaboration and foster individual, team, and organizational health. Creating community and designing experiences that are human-centered and empowering are central to Maheen’s philosophy.

Also central to her existence is a love of multi-day hikes in the mountains of California with her partner and (willing) friends as well as snuggling her cat, Sombrita, and planning her next travel adventure. Maheen resides in Santa Clara, CA.

Nan Cowardin-Lee - (she/her) -Director of Education and Programs

Dr. Nan Cowardin-Lee, Ph.D. is an independent Coach and Consultant as well as Interim Program Director of Organizational Behavior & Psychology at Alliant International University and has twenty years of experience in supporting organizational leaders to develop civil and respectful work environments of inclusion where everyone can function effectively.

She earned her BA, Cum Laude at San Francisco State University in French and psychology; and a Ph.D. in organizational psychology at Alliant International University, California School of Professional Psychology. She is also a certified Intercultural Practitioner through Portland State University.

Dr. Nan has been coaching graduate students, job seekers, and targets of workplace abuse for twenty years. She is trauma-informed and uses a transformative approach in her coaching practice to focus on developing a growth mindset, establishing mindfulness, and encouraging deep learning and association between motivation, self-efficacy and action to achieve goals.

Nan has been practicing mindfulness meditation and transformational learning following Buddhist philosophies for over 45 years. She lives in Berkeley with her husband, tends her garden and plays with an adopted rescue cat named Mooch.

Em Bowen - (they/them) - Treasurer

Emily (Em) Bowen is a Holistic Leadership Consultant, Curriculum Designer, Facilitator and Educator with a wide background in psychotherapy, leadership and organizational development, Racial Equity for Adaptive Leadership, and courageous conversations, and specializes in helping people learn healthy ways to address conflict.

They are a founding member of the Peace Innovation Network - a collaboration between Stanford’s Peace Innovation Lab and The Hague. Emily holds a master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science from Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington.

Emily has a blended past of advocating for people with disabilities, leading non-profits, working in health care, technology, the film industry, education, the arts community, and celebrating and collaborating with unusual and unorthodox organizations. Emily supports people improving their whole system health with compassion for the obstacles they face.

Emily and their dog, Mr. Peabody, live in Oakland, CA.

Taylor Thompson - (she/hers) - Director of Operations

Taylor Thompson (she/her) is a talent acquisition professional with experience managing recruitment processes within the nonprofit and tech sectors. After surviving two layoffs, Taylor decided to take autonomy of her career by launching a consulting practice that services clients with career coaching and organizational development needs. Taylor is passionate about improving the employee experience to define a workplace culture where each individual can represent their authentic self.

Taylor is a graduate of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine's M.S. in Organizational Development & Leadership program, where she recently co-facilitated an Emotional Intelligence for Leaders course. An east coast native, Taylor currently resides in Oakland, California where she spends her free time walking dogs, practicing yoga, and enjoying oysters by the half shell.