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.
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.
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.
ANDREA M. HENSON is an associate attorney at Mouzis Criminal Defense in Sacramento, California. She has attended Glide Memorial Church since March 2020. In addition to her criminal justice work and dedication to criminal justice reform, especially issues that disproportionately affect people of color, Andrea is an activist for all individuals who are under-resourced and forgotten. She is a longtime advocate and civil rights attorney for the homeless in Northern California covering the Bay Area to Sacramento. Together with homeless individuals living along the I-80 corridor in Berkeley, California she founded Where do we go? Berkeley which is now a 501(c)(3). This organization provides resource support and advocacy for encampments and homeless individuals living in the East Bay. Andrea has lived in encampments to make sure her clients were protected during various legal actions. She is a vocal and assertive advocate for social justice issues. Ms. Henson regularly speaks with local governments, officials, resource providers and others regarding the rights and needs of homeless individuals in California.
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.
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.
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.
