VERONICA GILRANE
PRESIDENT-Elect

EMAIL

Veronica grew up in Atlanta, attended college in Georgia, and spent 6 years in the DC area for grad school in organizational psychology before moving to San Francisco to work in the Tech Industry. She and her family have lived in Marin for the past 3.5 years. Veronica has been a volunteer with SMMC for the past two years, serving previously as the Director of Advertising and Corte Madera Community Town Leader. She’s excited to return to the Board as the President-Elect. SMMC has provided a wonderful opportunity to build community with other moms through the many stages of parenting. Veronica lives in Larkspur with her husband, Bob, their daughter, Sofia (almost 3 years) and a baby boy due in April. Veronica and her family love to spend time outdoors and explore different cultures and cuisines through cooking and traveling.

Rachel Griswold
Treasurer

EMAIL

After graduating from the University of Tennessee and spending most of her 20s in Austin, TX, Rachel moved to the Bay Area for a job, thinking it would be a fun adventure for a few years. Then she met her future husband, a born and raised Californian, and quickly knew she’d be staying here for good.

Rachel left city life in 2018 to move to Marin with her husband and her stepson. They soon welcomed little brother in February 2022, and little sister in August 2023. They love spending weekends at the beach or hiking with their three year old labradoodle.

Rachel joined SMMC when she was pregnant with her son after another member tipped her off to the goldmine that is the Classifieds forum. She came for the deals, but stayed for the friendships she made with other moms in her playgroup (shout-out Q1 2022!). She also appreciates the sub groups SMMC offers, like Blended Families and Working Moms. She’s excited to serve as Treasurer and give back to the community that has supported her in so much of her journey into motherhood.

Natasha Quel-Vronsky 
Secretary

Email

Natasha grew up in Orange County and moved to San Francisco in 2007. In 2017, she and her husband moved to Mill Valley to enjoy the warmer weather, hiking and wine tasting on weekends. In February 2020, they welcomed their 1st daughter Anastasia. In November 2022, their 2nd daughter Penelope was born. Joining SMMC was recommended by one of her husband’s friends who talked of lifelong friendships for parents and kids alike. It has been an amazing group, helping to navigate the ins and outs of motherhood in Marin. Natasha worked at Gap Inc for 14 years before deciding to be a stay at home mom. She enjoys cooking, doing Pilates and volunteering.

Sejal Iyer
Director of DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

EMAIL

Sejal moved to San Francisco in 2018, and Marin in 2020. She was born in Chicago, grew up in Houston, went to college in Philadelphia (go Quakers!) and lived in New York City for 11 years prior to moving out to the west coast.

She is very excited to continue being involved with SMMC in a newly created and important role focusing on DEI initiatives in Southern Marin. She previously served as Secretary and Director of Community Partnerships.

While Sejal is currently taking a career sabbatical to prioritize time with her daughter, she has extensive experience working in ecommerce, most recently as Head Ecommerce for Quince. Prior to that, she led digital strategy at Old Navy and helped to launch H&M’s ecommerce businesses in the US and Canada. Sejal started her career working in the tech VC industry when she made frequent trips out to the west coast visiting start-ups. Little did she know that several years later, she'd be calling it home!

She lives in Tiburon with her husband Vivek, and their daughter Raina. When she’s not busy chasing her energetic toddler, Sejal enjoys binge watching HGTV shows (and dabbling in interior design).

Beth Pierce
Director of Advertising & Community Partnerships

EMAIL

Beth grew up in Marin and after spending about 10 years on the East Coast (DC and NY) for college and grad school, she made her way back to the Bay Area in the late 2000s and hasn't looked back since. She lives in San Rafael with her husband, Jeff, daughter Kali (March 2022), and dog Buddy. Beth is a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice working with individuals and couples in their 20s and 30s to address life transitions, navigate relationships, adapt to new parenthood, and manage anxiety.

After becoming a mom later in life, Beth found connection and community with her SMMC playgroup. This group was there at any hour of the day to provide support, resources, and laughs through the early days of motherhood. And, when Beth was diagnosed with and battled breast cancer in 2023, this group showed up with more love, kindness, and food than the Pierce family ever could have dreamed of. Beth is excited to dive deeper into the SMMC world as Director of Advertising and Community Partnerships and to give back to an organization that has already given her so much.

KIMBERLY KADESH
Director of Membership

EMAIL

A native to the Bay Area, Kimberly grew up on the Peninsula before heading to LA for college where she earned both a BA & MBA from UCLA. She eventually decided to return to the Bay Area to be closer to her family and currently lives in Greenbrae with her husband, 2.5 year old daughter Victoria, 6 month old daughter Isabelle and energetic dog Cooper.

Prior to becoming a mother, Kimberly held various finance and commercial real estate positions at Deutsche Bank and Starwood Capital Group. Once her first little daughter was born, she decided to make a career switch and is now a local realtor in Marin helping families find their perfect homes and allowing her more flexibility for her family.

Kimberly joined SMMC when she was pregnant with her first daughter and became the playgroup leader for her age group. She credits SMMC with making many lifelong mom friendships in Marin. Kimberly’s hobbies include traveling the world and hiking the many trails of Marin.

Sarah Dobrovolny
Director of Philanthropy

EMAIL

Sarah lives in San Anselmo with her husband Spencer and their 2-year-old daughter Sadie. Sarah is from upstate New York and first ventured to California in 2009 as a Conservation Corps volunteer. She has called Marin home ever since. After working in social services, renewable energy, and local government for over a decade, Sarah is now a stay-at-home mom. Sarah joined SMMC shortly after her daughter was born and is grateful for the people, resources, and community she has found in the club. In addition to caring for Sadie, Sarah enjoys gardening, taking walks, singing, reading, crafting, and volunteering.

Sarah stepped in as Director of Philanthropy mid-term 2023/24 and has enjoyed bringing SMMC families together to give back to the community. She is excited to serve a full term in 2024/25, helping to connect the incredible SMMC community with families in need in Marin County. Sarah also volunteers as co-leader of the Fairfax/San Anselmo town group and is on the SMMC Events team.

Shannon Kaiser
Director of Communications/
Editor of The Crier

EMAIL

Shannon is a long time SMMC volunteer. She has served as the 2021/22 SMMC President, Director of Play & Special Interest Groups, Director of Membership Services, a member of the General Council and has been a member for over ten years. She is now looking forward to serving as the Director of Communications/Editor of The Crier.

Shannon lives in Tiburon with her husband, Rolf; four kids, Will (11), Isla (9),  Luke (7) and Dylan (1); and a crazy dog, Teddy. When Shannon is not busy volunteering or chauffeuring her kids around, she enjoys getting out on the water sailing, reading (the same page over and over again), cooking (food that no one eats) and enjoying the beauty of life in Marin. 

Caity
Director of Age-Based Groups

EMAIL

Caity is a Bay Area native who grew up on the Peninsula and now loves living in Marin! She moved to New Orleans to study marketing at Tulane University, where she met her husband, Sean. Ultimately, Caity followed her passion and became an elementary school teacher and taught in Austin and then San Mateo. In 2019, the family moved back to California with their two dogs, Sable and Finn.

Shortly after settling in Marin, Caity and Sean welcomed their daughter and joined SMMC, which has added so much friendship and community to their new lives as parents. Caity is so thankful to be a part of SMMC and enjoys her role supporting the playgroups and playgroup leaders.

Caity is an experienced elementary school teacher with a masters degree in literacy and now tutors part time so she can spend her days caring for her daughter. She enjoys baking, singing, exploring Marin, and making new friends in her community!

Maura MacNeil
Director of Events

EMAIL

Maura lives in San Anselmo with her husband and their two daughters, Caitlin (3.5) and Lauren (1.5). She grew up in the Bay Area and attended college in Northern California but her love of travel found her studying Spanish in Madrid, teaching English in Beijing and solo-backpacking through India and Southeast Asia before eventually moving to New Zealand, where she met her now husband.

Maura worked as an Attorney Recruiter for many years at law firms in Silicon Valley and San Francisco before deciding to become a stay-at-home mom. In addition to volunteering with SMMC and attending various playgroups and town meet-ups, Maura enjoys learning about interior design, attending any kind of live music event and daydreams about all of the places her family can travel to, once they're through the diaper/stroller/nap stage of life.

Volunteer with SMMC!

It takes a huge team of volunteers to keep SMMC running to serve our community. Join the team and make lifelong friends in the process! For more information about the opportunities to get involved check out the list HERE >> or email president@southernmarinmoms.com.