REGGIE JOHNSON has been an active member and volunteer of Glide since 2001. Drawing inspiration from Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, he helped start the Gay/Bi Men’s Group and the Glide Pride Team to create a safe space for LGBTQ++ members. He led the creation of the Glide Lay Leaders Group and volunteered on numerous projects focused on the sustainability of the church and congregational life. In his professional life, he is a Human Resources Director of Service and Operations at Stanford University, and has an extensive background in HR operations, organizational and program management, communications, and customer advocacy.
KIANA MOORE has been an active member of Glide since 2016. She is a supporter of LGBTQ++ causes – She served as co-chair for the Glide Pride Team, and currently serves as treasurer on the board of directors of Frameline. In her professional life, Kiana is the VP of Production for all Branded Content within Vox Creative and is the Leader of Epic Digital, a rapidly growing and highly profitable brand studio division of Epic. She is responsible for oversight and strategic planning of both lines of business. She has over a decade of experience in unscripted programming— and has made a name for herself. She produced “Undercover Stings” with Langley Productions, “Music Moguls” on Black Entertainment Television (BET) and the feature film, “Happy on the Ground.” In 2016, she joined Epic to oversee operations, legal, finance and strategic growth, helping to grow the company from 8 to 25 staff, which led to the acquisition of Epic by Vox Media.
MARTIN SOTO has been an active Glide member since 2010, serving and leading various congregational life groups. Martin is a member of the Celebrate 50 Committee and currently serves as a Glide Lay Leader. In his professional life, Martin is an Administration & Operations Manager for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Jail Health Services Section. He has twenty years of management experience in local government, higher education and nonprofit entities with direct responsibility for departmental finance and administration, human resources, operations, research and grants management, and capital improvement projects and renovations. Martin holds a BS in Business with a concentration in Public Sector and is currently completing a Master’s in Public Administration.
LAURA THOMPSON is an entrepreneur, investor, and lifelong member of the Glide family. Laura was a product lead at Google X, where she drove product strategy for science fiction-sounding technologies including self-driving cars, smart contact lenses, and delivery drones. She previously spent several years in London spearheading Google’s first efforts in consumer electronics and has also been an investor at Google Ventures. She was an early co-founder of Runa, a tea and clean energy drink company that now employs several thousand indigenous Amazonian farmers and is sold in 7,000+ stores nationwide. Laura was a founding member and former co-chair of GLIDE's Legacy Committee, a group dedicated to engaging the next generation of social justice innovators. Laura received a BA from Brown University and is currently working on a new venture and serving as an avid mentor, investor and supporter of diverse founders and innovators.
For over 50 years, Reverend Cecil Williams has expanded the limits of spirituality, compassion and diversity as Co-Founder and Minister of Liberation of Glide Church in San Francisco. As minister, author, social activist, lecturer, community leader and spokesperson for the poor and marginalized, Reverend Williams is respected and recognized as a national leader on the forefront of change and in the struggle for civil and human rights. His ministry underscores his roots in liberation theology.
ANDREA M. HENSON is an attorney, admitted to practice in the Northern District of California. She has worked as a litigation attorney at the Eviction Defense Center, representing, defending, and counseling low- and moderate-income tenants with all aspects of their tenancy, including COVID-19 eviction moratoriums. As a Legal Volunteer at the East Bay Community Law Center, Andrea stopped evictions at homeless encampments. She is the organizer and founder of Where Do We Go Berkeley, where she organized and represented homeless individuals living in encampments along freeways and on the streets of Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland. Andrea participates faithfully in two Congregational Life Groups at Glide Church —Bible Study and Prayer Circle. She is a favorite prayer person in Sunday Celebrations, and she uses her life journey to inspire others at Glide Church.
NONI ALLWOOD has 25 years of experience as a corporate executive and consultant in the areas of business and sales operations, project management, and diversity and inclusion. Several of the positions she served in were senior roles with Fortune 500 companies. As an entrepreneur, Noni founded Noni Allwood and Associates which provides diversity and inclusion programs to organizations. Noni is a senior fellow and advisor to the Center for Talent Innovation where she leads research to advance women and multicultural talent, globally. She has served on several corporate and nonprofit boards. Among many honors, Noni was named one of 25 Bay Area women who are redefining success, and received the Inspirational Immigrant Award from Upwardly Global. Noni has been a committed and active member of GLIDE Church for 15 years. She has volunteered in several GLIDE programs and is a founding member of the GLIDE Community Church Board. Noni has a passion for and commitment to the beloved community at GLIDE Memorial Church – its health and growth, as well as its vision, mission, and values.
LINDA MANTEL has thirty years of experience in the corporate world of Organizational Development and Training. She has worked with large and small organizations in many industries to create large-scale OD interventions and leadership and team-building training programs. She spent seven years managing an international business unit of a Fortune 500 training and development company. Linda brings a familiarity with the needs of GLIDE’s clients. She has spent 16 years with GLIDE as a part-time Harm Reduction Associate, and is a board member of the Liberation Institute, which provides individual, family and group psycho-therapy and counseling to low-income and marginalized populations. Linda has been a committed and active member of the GLIDE Memorial Church for 31 years and brings an unwavering passion for and commitment to the church’s beloved community. She has been a GLIDE Ensemble member for twenty years, co-produced two GLIDE Ensemble CDs, co-led the GLIDE mentoring program, is Chair of the GLIDE Community Church Board, and is a member of several working groups. Linda also co-led a volunteer team that assisted with the creation of the Janice Mirikitani GLIDE Family, Youth and Childcare Center.
PAMALA NOLI has been a proud and active member of GLIDE for more than thirty years. She serves as a co-lead of the GLIDE Ushers and serves as a GLIDE Lay Leader. Pam is the co-owner of Noli-Porter Associates, a consultant group that supports urban schools and districts focused on standards, racial equity and improving achievement, curriculum, instruction and leadership coaching and development. She is a former teacher and holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning from the University of San Francisco. Pam also serves on the board of directors of Roses in Concrete Community School.
GEORGE BRIDGES is a proud and active member of GLIDE for more than twenty years. He was a founding co-chair of the GLIDE Gay/Bi Men’s Group. He currently serves as a Lay Leader and co-leads GLIDE Kids. In his professional life, George has extensive work experience in local government. He is currently a senior contract compliance specialist at the City and County of San Francisco.
PAULA FARMER is a native of Dallas, Texas and a two-time graduate of Florida A&M University, holding B.S. degrees in Photography and Graphic Arts Technology. She holds an MFA from Washington State University. Paula worked as a student and family advocate for over twenty years in both higher education and in primary and secondary education. She currently works at The Berkeley School as the Director of Community and Belonging. She previously worked with the San Francisco Art Institute and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With over twenty years of diversity and inclusion experience, Paula Farmer has worked with individuals, teams, and organizations to build equitable environments. Paula has lived in the Bay Area for 17 years and is active in many civic organizations, including GLIDE Memorial Church, where she currently serves as a GLIDE Lay Leader. She facilitates the GLIDE Racial Justice Group and GLIDE Reads Book Club and chaired the GLIDE Pride Team. Paula is also an active member of the Northern California HBCUC Alumni Coalition, and is a member of the Berkeley Bay Area Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In her leisure time, you'll most likely find her developing recipes and practicing gastronomy.
MARY GLIDE is the great-great-granddaughter of Lizzie Glide, who began GLIDE in 1929 as “a house of prayer for all peoples.” Mary has attended Sunday Celebrations regularly since 1999 and in 2010 started GLIDE Kids, a program that runs concurrent with Sunday Celebration, giving children an opportunity to be creative and experience community through storytelling. In her professional life, she is a founding member of Sequoia Capital’s Technology Services team—building systems that drive performance, specifically around data science, relationship intelligence, CRM, and company-building tools. Via the Ascent program, she provides up-and-coming women in technical roles with mentorship and resources to help advance their careers.
