After the Fire Staff
Jennfer Gray Thompson, CEO
Jennifer Gray Thompson
Jennifer Gray Thompson is a lifelong resident of Sonoma Valley in Northern California. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College and graduated from Dominican University in 2001 with degrees in English and History. After teaching high school for 10 years, Jennifer went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Administration from University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Postgraduate school, Jennifer worked for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. After the devastating fires in the North Bay of San Francisco in October 2017, she accepted a position as Executive Director of the newly formed 501c3 nonprofit Rebuild NorthBay Foundation (RNBF), an organization dedicated to helping the region rebuild better, greener, safer, and faster. In summer of 2021, RNBF created After the Fire USA in response to the prevalence of massive megafires in response to climate change and wildland imbalances. Our tagline remains “Recover. Rebuild. Reimagine.”
As CEO of this evolutionary organization, Jennifer expanded her commitment to help communities navigate the aftermath of wildfires not only for the short term, but also for the longterm slog that is rebuilding post-disaster. Jennifer and her team are committed to equitable and resilient recoveries for every community, regardless of their ability to pay. ATF USA does not charge communities for their services and primarily acts as a support for locally led and designed recoveries. ATF USA has a thriving resiliency program called “Before the Fire” that is the lead agency for nearly $10M is state and federal grants for wildlands fuel mitigation programs. The mission of After the Fire USA is to help communities across the American West navigate wildfire disasters and build resiliency before the fire. Jennifer is nationally recognized as a leader in the space of wildfire and has presented at several national conferences on the issue by invitation of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, HAC, Fannie Mae, Brownsfield, Smart Cities, FEMA, and many more. She is cofounder of CANVAS, an association of professional leaders in disaster working together to “listen locally, act regionally, reform nationally.” Jennifer is the creator and host of the “How to Disaster” podcast, which highlights proven and effective leaders with great ideas in the space of disaster. She is on the board of directors of La Luz Center, a nonprofit serving primarily the Latino community in Sonoma Valley.
Jennifer Gray Thompson
Chief Executive Officer
Contact Jennifer
Molly Curley O'Brien, Director of Grants and Government Programs
Molly is committed to bringing technology, engagement, advocacy, and public policy together to make sure we are building more resilient communities. She has specific experience in local and state government policy analysis and implementation, having worked for then – Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, County of Alameda, and the City of Emeryville. In addition, she brings community relations, strategic partnership building, and project management skills to her role, acquired from 6+ years in external facing roles within non-profits. Molly holds an AA from Santa Rosa Junior College, a BA from University of California at Berkeley, and a MPP/MBA from Mills College. She is from El Verano, CA and recently moved from Berkeley back to Santa Rosa, CA with her husband and young daughter.
Pamela Van Halsema, Director of Community and Digital Programs
Pamela brings years of professional experience in public education and libraries, project management and community leadership to help organizations define and reach strategic goals, engage with stakeholders, and make an impact in the community. Having lost her home in Coffey Park in October 2017 in the Tubbs Fire, she immediately sprang to action as a community organizer and advocate for wildfire recovery, and has continued to serve as a director of Coffey Strong, where she developed communications strategy for the recovery. She serves on the City of Santa Rosa Community Services Advisory Board, the Sonoma County Library Advisory Board, and the Sonoma Community Resilience Collaborative steering committee addressing mental and physical health after trauma, and is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute for Just and Resilient Communities. She graduated from Calvin College with a BA in Art and Art History, holds a culinary degree from Kendall College in Chicago (working in food and wine is what brought her to Sonoma County originally), and earned a Master of Information Sciences degree with a concentration in emerging technology from San Jose State University.
Melissa Stone, Executive Assistant to CEO & COO, Business Operations Manager
Melissa lives in Sonoma and had first-hand experience with the fires in October 2017, finding a safe space for her wife, her mother and 3 dogs, to wait out the smoke and ash. She brings many years of experience with small business operations, start-ups and working with non-profit organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design & Photography from the California College of Art (Oakland) and a Master of Fine Arts in Media Design Practices from Art Center College of Art & Design (Pasadena). She taught on the college level for 20 years in Minnesota. She is also a digital fine artist and her artwork has been featured in national exhibitions. Currently, her COVID-19 related artwork is included in the “Art in the Time of Corona” show in the DabArt online show.
Rosa Brandt, Program Associate
Rosa Brandt grew up in West Sonoma County and is passionate about conservation, climate resiliency, intersectional environmentalism, and cultivating community. In 2018, Rosa received a BS from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, majoring in both Natural Sciences (emphasis in Biology) and Environmental Policy and Decision Making. Since graduating, Rosa has lived in five different states and worked in environmental education, nature preserve visitor management, endangered bird field surveys, invasive plant removal, and restoration projects. During her years out of state, wildfire and its impact was something that moved to the forefront of her mind, and thus she is excited to come home and join the team at After The Fire. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, watching birds, and knitting.
Kyle Burnett, Research Intern and Podcast Executive Producer
Kyle Burnett is the executive producer of the “How to Disaster - Podcast Recover. Rebuild. Reimagine.” For After the Fire ™. He has worked in various sectors in his career before ATF such as an English teacher in Toulon, France, and a Center for Blue Economy Fellow as a data analyst in Galway, Ireland. Most recently, after receiving a MA in International Environmental Policy in 2019 (Middlebury Institute of International Studies) he relocated to Santa Rosa, California to focus on wildfire recovery, vegetation management, and conservation efforts in Sonoma County. Kyle is bi-lingual in English and French, is a published recording artist, skilled musician with multiple instruments, and enjoys listening to stand-up comedy. Kyle was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and lived there for many years, earning his BA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 2010.