Ryan is a Sacramento native and as a child was fortunate enough
to be exposed to many of the cultural events the Bay Area has to
offer. Art, music and the power of a strong community became a
clear passion of his at a young age. After graduating high
school, he set off for the Central Coast to attend Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo. There he was studied Urban Planning, Real
Estate Development, and Environmental Design.
Mara was born and raised in San Diego, California. She completed
her Bachelors degree at the University of California Davis and
since then has traveled and worked around the world. She began
her career in San Francisco working to help low income
Californians gain access to legal aid. In 2011 she moved to
Cambodia to work with the United Nations and a local non-profit
called Legal Support for Children and Women on policy relating to
labor migration and human trafficking.
Margaret Karl was born and raised in the Bay Area and she began
her professional career with San Francisco Ballet when she was
just 16 years old. While at SFB, she worked with many
world-renowned choreographers such as Mark Morris, William
Forsythe, Wayne Macgregor, and Christopher Wheeldon, and she
received an Isadora Duncan Award in 2006. In 2010 Margaret
retired from professional dance and graduated with honors from
St. Mary’s College. After leaving the stage, Margaret continued
to work with professional dancers pursuing higher education at
St.
Born and raised in the East Bay, Matthew’s first exposure to
charitable giving was when he came into the city with his family
to see musicals or go to the symphony—his parents would give him
$5 to either buy candy or give to someone in need. It was a
poignant lesson and he always gave the full $5 to the first
person he saw, begging his parents for more cash at every
encounter along the way.
As a Deputy Public Defender who protects and defends the rights
of SF’s most vulnerable residents through effective, vigorous,
compassionate, and creative legal advocacy, Brian is no stranger
to serving his community. He brings this same passion to the
Reason to Party team, which he joined in 2011. As Treasurer of
Reason to Party, Brian is responsible for all financial
operations of the company, including financing, reporting, and
accounting, and for making sure that we don’t waste any money and
thereby donate as much as possible to our beneficiaries.
Brandon is originally from Hanford, California where he grew up
on his family’s farming operation. He graduated from Cal Poly,
San Luis Obispo in 2008 with a degree in agriculture business and
a minor in agricultural communications.
