Madhavi Athanikar has lived in the Grand Lake neighborhood for three years and recently left her job in fashion and retail management to look for her next adventure.
Category: Contributor
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Madhavi Athanikar
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Jerry Barclay
Jerry Barclay is a graduate in architecture from UC Berkeley. After a long career in construction and real estate development – which included the redevelopment of Old Oakland, construction of Stern Grove, and a management role for the Christ the Light Cathedra – he is now happily retired from Intuit where he oversaw the company’s expansion of its HQ and global workplaces. Jerry served as the Chair of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the Grand Lake Farmers Market for fourteen years. He and his wife Caryn have lived in the Grand Lake Neighborhood since 1983.
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Debra Chaplan
Debra Chaplan became the publisher of the Splashpad News in February 2024. She’s lived in the Grand Lake neighborhood for 30 years. With a career doing communications and educational programming for several unions, she’s pleased to use those skills for the neighborhood and city that she loves.
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Rechee Jozil
Rechee (pronounced Richie) Jozil has lived in Adam’s Point for the past three years. He moved to the Bay Area from Florida in 2018 and was born in New York to two immigrants from Haiti. He has worked in tech for almost a decade and while working at a well-known tech company during the pandemic, he became extremely burnt out. He picked up photography as a hobby to express himself during a tough time in his life. Rechee quickly fell in love with taking photos and now brings his camera with him everywhere, including when he travels. You may run into Rechee around Lake Merritt or at a local coffee shop. See more of his photos on his website.
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Ken Katz
Ken Katz founded the Splash Pad Neighborhood Forum in late 1999 and, in his role as Chair, coordinated the community efforts to lobby for a new park and subsequently served as a liaison to the City of Oakland and to Walter Hood’s office during the planning process. The first Splashpad Newsletters were emailed beginning circa 2006. He currently contributes to the monthly Splashpad News.
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Racheal Knight-Scott & Kelsey Heath
Kelsey Heath and Racheal Knight-Scott are with the Lakeshore Business Improvement District. They work together with the Business owners and Property owners to enhance and promote the Lakeshore shopping district.
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Sheila McCormick
Sheila McCormick is an Adjunct Professor Emerita in Cal’s Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Prior to her retirement in January 2016, she had a research lab at the USDA/ARS-UC Berkeley Plant Gene Expression Center in Albany, studying the molecular biology of plant reproduction. She also helps with editing and is a frequent contributor to the Splash Pad News, beginning with a series of seven neighborhood walks—posted between January and April 2017.
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Susi Vogler
Susi Vogler, photographer and co-interviewer, moved to the Grand Lake neighborhood in 2003, having spent most of her life in the East Bay. She recently earned the trail name “Snapchat” since she enjoys snapping photos of things that catch her eye, and her curiosity encourages chatting.