Meet the OA Board

The Orinda Association (OA) has been around for 75 years, but what exactly does the non-profit do?

A short list of signature activities suggesting the OA’s wide-range of influential programs contributing to the life of Orinda would include planning and organizing the following: The July 4 parade and celebrations; public and political forums; The Volunteer Center; The Seniors Around Town transportation program; Volunteer Emergency Support Program (VESP): Cars2ndChance; a partnership with the Orinda Library to deliver books to seniors, and The Orinda News.
The Orinda Association is run by an all-volunteer board. The Board is always looking for enthusiastic new members who want to better their community and have fun while doing it. Anyone interested, should email oa@orindaassociation.org.

Meet the current officers and board members:

Chris Laszcz-Davis, Co-President
A 33-year resident of Orinda, Laszcz-Davis and her husband Steve raised two children, Lauren and Grant, and actively supported both schools and sports in which their offspring participated. An OA Board member for 10 years, she co-chaired Orinda’s July 4 Celebration for four years straight, co-led the recent Frontline Workers/Restaurant Initiative, is an SAT volunteer driver and is championing OA’s Cars2ndChance effort.
Laszcz-Davis initially worked for the Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, DC after graduate school. She subsequently spent 22 years as a corporate VP for the global Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation and is currently president of The Environmental Quality Organization. She is a Governor-appointed Management Board member of the California State Standards Board, chairs the tri-community Lamorinda Presents Forum and is a member and past-president of Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club.
She also finds time to be part of the AAUW-OML Branch Leadership Team which hosts the annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Conference at Saint Mary’s College for middle school girls.

Kelly Sopak, Co-President
Longtime Orinda resident Sopak hails from Washington State and is a graduate of the University of Nevada (Reno). For the past 28 years, he has been a State Farm Insurance Agent with his office in Orinda.
A sports enthusiast, Sopak has head coach responsibilities for the girls’ basketball team at Carondelet High School in Concord. Prior to Carondelet, he performed the same duties at Miramonte High for 11 years. During that time, he led the Miramonte girl’s team to the most wins in school history.

Cindy Powell, Treasurer
Long-time Orinda resident and OA board member since 2004, Powell served as treasurer, secretar,y and president and is currently back serving as treasurer. She has been a Fourth of July organizer for several years and is currently working for Seniors Around Town and the Volunteer Center several mornings a week in the OA office.
Powell has been a member of Orinda Junior Women’s Club since 1990. She is the past executive director for the Orinda Chamber of Commerce. She is an amateur bartender contestant for Lamorinda Arts Council, model and costume helper for Orinda Woman’s Club’s Festival of Trees. Hobbies include making jams, chutneys and playing tennis.

Eloise Sotelo, Secretary
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Sotelo received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and a graduate degree in the same subject from Chapman University. She also volunteered at the Woman’s Opportunity Center at UC Irvine. Following graduation, she moved to the Bay Area where she worked for Contra Costa County Social Services in Children and Family Services, Aging and Adult Services.
Now retired, Sotelo has expanded her volunteerism to include the Orinda Association as well as Orinda Juniors Women Club.

Carlos Baltodano, Board Member
A 28-year resident of Orinda, Baltodano is past president of The Orinda Association and serves on the board of the Orinda Community Foundation (OCF). He was on the City’s Planning Commission for six years and served as chair. During his 10-year tenure as director of Contra Costa County’s Building Department, Baltodano initiated the expansion of services to the Lamorinda area. He served on the Board of Trustees and as chair for three years on the East Oakland Youth Development Center ( EOYDC ), an organization that serves the under-resourced youth in East Oakland.

Barbara Brawner, Board Member
Barb Brawner grew up in Orinda and attended Miramonte High School before heading south to attend UCLA and Loyola Law Schools, where she earned her BA and JD. Brawner had a successful 20-plus year career as a litigator in Newport Beach and San Francisco.
In 2014, Brawner followed her passion for architecture, design and real estate, joining Pacific Union Real Estate. She is currently with Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty in Lafayette, CA.
Brawner cares deeply for her community and has donated to and helped raise funds for numerous Lamorinda non-profits. She is active as a member of several community-based organizations, currently and formerly including OIS Kennel Club, Miramonte Parents and Booster Clubs, Orinda Jrs., Orinda Jr. Garden Club, Acalanes NCL, SF Jr. League, CA BAR Assoc., and The Orinda Association. She loves volunteering as a driver for Seniors Around Town in Orinda. Barb and her husband have two young adult daughters.

Jacalyn Buettner, Board Member
A 30-year resident of Orinda, “Dr. Jackie” raised sons AJ and Dan, both Miramonte grads and Troop 57 Eagle Scouts. An award-winning chiropractor and entrepreneur, she has practiced at 450 Sutter in San Francisco since 1989. Passionate about chiropractic, posture and health, she enjoys creating awareness and sharing her wealth of wisdom.
She has volunteered for numerous causes over the years, her favorite being “Flying Doctors of America,” where she provided chiropractic care to refugees and underserved communities in a variety of countries around the world.

Grace Paik, Board Member
Originally from Chicago, Paik has lived all over the U.S. and abroad due to her husband’s active-duty post in the Air Force. The couple moved to the Bay Area four years ago and are happily settled in Orinda.
Paik founded Jaq Jaq Bird a children’s brand focusing on sustainable art products. What began as a way to engage her own children while dining in restaurants turned into a thriving small business with world-wide customers.

Bill Waterman, Board Member
An Orinda native who attended Sleepy Hollow, Pine Grove and Miramonte High, Waterman enjoyed sports, hiking and Boy Scouts as a youth and later motorcycle racing. He ventured north to the University of Oregon, earning BS and JD degrees before working as a high school teacher and then a civil trial attorney in the East Bay for over 30 years. Waterman works in the field of mediation and enjoys teaching law.
An OA Board member since 2000, he served as president from 2013-2016 as well as 2021 and co-chaired the Fourth of July for four years. He is currently co-chair of the Classic Car Show. His wife, Marie, has been the OA office manager for more than 10 years. He said, “It’s been an honor to be associated with so many wonderful OA supporters and to serve the community.”

Kate Wiley, Board Member
An Orinda resident for 38 years, Wiley left a career in sales and training to devote more time to family and community. Before joining the OA in 2002, she volunteered in Orinda schools, parent clubs and a local service organization.
She opened the Orinda Volunteer Center, chaired programs and events including the Fourth of July Parade and served as president and secretary on the OA board. Wiley co-created, with the City of Orinda, the Seniors Around Town Program, now in its 18th year of continuous operation. She was selected as the Orinda Citizen of the Year in 2009 and received the Jefferson Award for Public service in 2020. She said, “Orinda is a community comprised of so many amazing, creative, devoted residents. The people I’ve met and worked with, and the friends I’ve made, have been the most rewarding.”

Lisa Burlini, Board Member

A 34-year resident of Orinda, Lisa has enjoyed working with the Orinda Association as a consultant for many years, assisting the Orinda Association in technology and marketing. More recently, Lisa has been impressed by the large group of devoted, dedicated volunteers who show up year after year to donate their talents to help make Orinda the special place it is. Lisa looks forward to serving on the Board of the Orinda Association and helping in any way she can