SOMCAN's leadership is made up of three parts – a core leadership body, an advisory committee, and paid staff. The core leadership and governing body is the Coordinating Committee that consists of a combination of young and developing leaders, SoMa residents, and established community activists in the South of Market. The Coordinating Committee is responsible for clarifying organizational vision and priorities, committing to mentorship and individual support of staff, evaluating and managing staff, and assisting with fundraising. The CC meets monthly.

The Coordinating Committee developed under the guidance and advice of seasoned neighborhood activists. The advisors helped outline the guiding principles of the Network, train young leaders, and advise on the initiatives the Network would support or direct.

SOMCAN staff members are responsible for contributing to the organization's vision, developing programs in conjunction with the Coordinating Committee, implementing programs and overseeing the day-to-day operations. The Organizational Director is responsible for strengthening organizational capacity, guiding strategic planning, developing increased and diversified funding, overseeing administrative operations, positioning and representing SOMCAN, and helping to secure strategic community collaborations. In addition to the Organizational Director SOMCAN has a full-time Planning Director and a part-time Program Coordinator.

April Veneracion, Organizational Director
April Veneracion’s work experience includes designing, implementing and evaluating technical assistance and capacity building programs in the field of neighborhood and community development. Prior to becoming the Organizational Director at SOMCAN, she was a Program Manager at the National Community Development Institute (NCDI), a capacity building center for communities of color located in Oakland, CA. As a Program Manager at NCDI, she provided capacity building services to nonprofit organizations and government agencies across the nation in the areas of strategic planning, program planning, resource development and evaluation.  Some of her recent clients include Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Mayfair Improvement Initiative, One East Palo Alto and the Algebra Project. In 1996, she was an Academy Fellow at the Greenlining Institute and now serves on their Board of Directors. April has a B.S. in Sociology and Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside and a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an emphasis in Housing, Community and Economic Development.

Chris Durazo, Community Planning Program Director

Chris Durazo has been SOMCAN’s Community Planning Program Director for the past year. She was born in Fresno, CA, grew up in Salinas, CA and has spent the last 10 years living in San Francisco’s Mission District. She is biracial (Japanese and Mexican) with deep family roots in farming along the Central Valley. Chris has worked as a farm worker, security guard, affordable housing developer, artist, organizer and community planner. From 1998 – 2002 she helped to develop the Japantown Community Plan, preserving one of the last three remaining Japantowns in the nation. Before that, she also worked on Minna Street Family Apartments and developed Tutubi Children’s Park in SoMa. Chris is dedicated to empowering others as a means to build community, increase collective trust and fight for social justice.

Angelica Cabande, Resident Leadership and Organizing Program Coordinator
Angelica Cabande was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight.  As a young community organizer in the SoMa Pilipino community, she is currently working on the HR677 Full Equity Campaign for the Filipino/Filipina WWII Veterans and is part of PAWIS (People's Association of Workers & Immigrants).  As part of this effort, she’s worked to help build solidarity with other immigrant communities greatly impacted by social, cultural, and economic injustice. In addition, she's an emerging artist/poet. She read at the Commemoration of the I-Hotel and has exhibited her community Images at The Photo Center. She speaks passionately about justice, equality and civil liberty for all people and is also currently working on a documentary film about the fight of the Trinity Plaza Tenants to save their homes from demolition and the passage of the Housing Preservation Initiative in SF.