Board of Directors

Alegría de la Cruz

Board President

The Board of Supervisors appointed Alegría de la Cruz as the Director of the Office of Equity in August 2020. Prior to this appointment, Alegría served as a Chief Deputy in the County Counsel's Office.

Before joining the County of Sonoma, Alegría worked in public service and public interest for the State of California, the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, and at California Rural Legal Assistance.

Alegría identifies as Chicana and recognizes, embraces, and celebrates her responsibility to contribute meaningfully to public service, social justice, and equity. Alegría lives in Santa Rosa with her husband and two children, their chickens, and their dog. Alegría finds joy on early morning trail runs at the beach with her family, and around a campfire in Sonoma County’s beautiful wild spaces.

Bruce Goldstein

Board Treasurer / Secretary

Bruce Goldstein recently retired after serving 23 years in the Sonoma County Counsel’s Office. In 2010 he was appointed the County Counsel by the Board of Supervisors to manage the 30 lawyer office.

In 2020 he received the “Unsung Legal Hero” award by the Sonoma County Bar Association. This was in recognition of his and the Office’s efforts in supporting the Public Health Officer in her work fighting the pandemic, his successful negotiation of a $185 million settlement against PG&E for damages caused by the 2017 Complex Fires, and pivotal role in founding the Secure Families Collaborative. He continues to serve as a trustee of the Secure Families Fund at the Community Foundation Sonoma County in support of the Collaborative.

While at County Counsel Bruce successfully negotiated model inter-governmental agreements with Sonoma County tribes regarding mitigation of casino impacts and trust property land use. In 2016 the County Counsel’s Office received awards from the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and National Association of Counties (NACo) for its Unaccompanied Child Deportation Defense Project where County staff and County Counsel attorneys assisted “Unaccompanied Children” who were residing in Sonoma County with their immigration cases. Bruce also represented the County for eight years in child welfare cases where he successfully advocated for all undocumented juvenile court dependents to receive independent immigration counsel.

Prior to coming to County Counsel Bruce was an attorney with the San Francisco law firm of Farella, Braun & Martel where he practiced complex business litigation and handled several pro bono asylum cases. He received his law degree at Stanford Law School and bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Sonoma Valley with his wife Vicki who is a land use planner, and his son Griffin is studying for his master’s degree in marine biology at the University of the Arctic in Tromso Norway.

Lisa Carreño

Board Member

Lisa Carreño, 55, of Forestville, brings more than two decades of nonprofit and community leadership experience to the Santa Rosa nonprofit, which seeks to improve the education, financial stability and health of residents in a five-county region of Northern California stretching north to the Oregon border.

Her social advocacy and community work is expansive. She chairs the board for Forget Me Not Farm Children’s Services. She was the only Latina to chair the Sonoma County Fair board of directors in its 82-year history.

She has served on the board of Los Cien Sonoma County and Rebuild North Bay Foundation. And she has served on the Sonoma County LGBTQI Giving Circle Steering Committee, the Community Health Initiative for the Petaluma Area, the Sonoma County Secure Families Steering Committee, the Community Benefit Committee for St. Joseph Health Sonoma, Rep. Mike Thompson’s immigration advisor group, and more.

Lisa was drawn to social justice work at a young age. She grew up in Tampa, Florida, descended from Cuban and Sicilian immigrants. She graduated with her law degree from Catholic University of America in 1988.

Stephanie Ahmad

Board Member

Stephanie Ahmad was elected to the Windsor School Board in November 2018 and is currently the President of the board.

Her philosophy is open and straightforward communication, anticipating problems and addressing them at early stages, and being accessible and building relationships.

A licensed attorney, Stephanie works in private practice for Greenberg Traurig LLP, and regularly advises Fortune 100 companies on employee benefits matters.

Stephanie grew up in Windsor and attended Windsor Schools from K-12th grade, back when she was Stephanie Diaz. She graduated from Windsor High School as co-valedictorian in 2002 and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and in 2006 and her law degree from Stanford Law School in 2011. Her husband is a high school teacher and she has two middle school aged children.

Karen Alves Fies

Board Member

Karen Fies retired in October 2020 as the director of the Sonoma County Human Services Department, overseeing a budget of $350 million and over 900 employees.

Karen worked for 35 years in the department, starting as an eligibility worker and social worker, followed by managing contracts, grants, employment and training programs, youth programs, and human resources, to name a few.

She has a degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, and received her Masters of Public Administration from Sonoma State University. Karen has been active with Girl Scouts of Northern California for over 25 years and currently sits on the boards of the United Way of the Wine Country, the Mark West Citizens’ Advisory Council, and the Sonoma County Family Justice Center.

She lives in the Larkfield area with her husband Brian, a writer and cartoonist. They are the proud parents of grown twin daughters.

Monica López

Board Member

Monica López is a proud mother to 5-year-old twins and the CEO of Aldina Vineyards and Bacchus Landing Cellars in Healdsburg, a 52,000-square-foot project that opened in spring 2021 and includes tasting room spaces for Aldina and other wineries and indoor and outdoor event spaces.

The brand is best known for its cabernet sauvignon and is produced in the Fountaingrove District in northeast Santa Rosa.

“It feels like a man’s world in the wine industry, but there is definitely a place for women in it,” she said. “We have a priority of involving Latina women in our business. Our winemaker, Belén Ceja, makes our wines at Heirs of My Dream, a custom-crush winery she owns, with her sister, Ellie.”

Gymmel Trembly

Board Member

Gymmel Monserrat Trembly is an associate at Hanson Bridgett LLP where she helps private and public employers find solutions to employment-related matters.

Apart from Gymmel's legal practice, she is committed to social justice and community work. As a formerly undocumented person, Gymmel intimately understands some of the challenges faced by immigrant families in Sonoma County.

Gymmel received her B.A. from University of California, Berkeley, and her J.D. from the University of California, Davis, School of Law. Gymmel and her family currently live in Cotati.