People

Staff

Savlan Hauser

Executive Director

savlan@jacklondonoakland.org

Savlan brings over a decade of experience in urban design and development in Mexico City and the San Francisco Bay Area to her role as Executive Director of the Jack London Improvement District—Oakland’s geographically largest business improvement district. Prior to her role in Jack London, Savlan worked on multifaceted revitalization efforts through two major Area Specific Plans as consultant to the City of Oakland. Savlan holds a degree in Architecture from UC Berkeley, is a LEED AP, and Urban Land Institute's Chamberlin Public Sector Leader Fellow 2017-2019. By the age of 6, Savlan was in love with vibrant, urban environments as a busker, playing her fiddle on the streets of great West Coast Cities while on family vacations. Savlan also serves as chair of the Oakland BID Alliance. Representing over 3,000 businesses and property owners, the BID Alliance communicates best practices, ideas, and resources, connects with key City and agency representatives, and advocates on behalf of its members to further the goals of growing and maintaining Oakland’s vital commercial districts.

RACHEL GREGORY

Program Manager

rachel@jacklondonoakland.org

After years of working in the neighborhood, Rachel joined the JLID Team in late 2022. With her experience in marketing, social media, charitable fundraising, and event production, Rachel brings a diverse set of skills to the non-profit. Prior to this, she worked as the Head of Marketing & Events for Jack London-based, award-winning brewery, Original Pattern Brewing Co. The past two years, she has organized the first and second annual Jack London Brewing District Block Party, featuring six of the neighborhood’s breweries, local food vendors, music, & more. The event, proudly sponsored by JLID, has been a massive success and will no doubt return next summer.

In her free time, you can find her onstage singing her heart out, indulging in Oakland’s vegan cuisine, organizing benefit parties for charitable causes, or camping at a music festival. She's grateful for the opportunity to give back to this awesome community and the hardworking folks that make this neighborhood thrive!

JOSHUA MARATEA

Operations Manager, Ambassador Team

jmaratea@smsholdings.com

Josh bridges the gap between our nationwide partners, Block By Block, and our local neighborhood. By overseeing our Ambassadors, Josh ensures that our team in the field upholds our high standards for cleanliness, hospitality, and safety. Joshua’s experience encompasses many industries including engineering, youth services, and other non-profit work. Previously, he worked as a Project Manager for Double AA Corporation in San Francisco, where he supervised all construction, renovations, and development, while simultaneously managing the company’s service department of 40 gas stations across the Bay Area.

Ambassadors

Jack London Improvement District partners with the organization Block by Block to provide a hardworking team of several full-time ambassadors to keep our streets inviting, clean, and safe. You can find our Ambassadors cleaning up our public streets and sidewalks, removing graffiti from our district’s façades, assisting visitors with directions, and providing safety escorts when requested.

AMBASSADOR HOTLINE

510.363.0989

AMBASSADOR OPERATING HOURS

Monday 7:00am - 3:40pm

Tuesday - Thursday 7:00am - 9:10pm

Friday 9:00am - 9:10pm

Saturday 9:00am-11:10pm

Sunday 12:00pm - 3:40pm

Board of Directors

Contact: info@jacklondonoakland.org

Kim Cole

Property Owner and Business Owner, Kim Cole Real Estate

President of the Board

As a Jack London Business owner, resident, and investor, Kim continues to be bullish on the future of our community from both a business perspective, and as an involved resident. After raising her two sons in the East Bay suburbs, and a brief stint in San Francisco, Kim quickly embraced the evolving urban neighborhood of Jack London Square as her home and the home of her new business. Kim opened Kim Cole Real Estate Inc. in 2015, a boutique brokerage that focuses on high-density luxury and modern condominiums. Taking her 30 years of residential real estate sales, marketing, and development expertise, Kim and her talented team have been awarded as an area leader in the Oakland condominium market. Kim hopes to share her passion for thoughtful living, respectful awareness, and smart growth to support the JLDA and all those impacted by the activities and decisions within the District. 

Jenn Nettles

General Manager, VP Onsite Property Management CIM

Secretary of the Board

Jen brings leadership experience in large scale commercial property management in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the US, including Bay Street in Emeryville, in a diversity of urban contexts and working with a diversity of tenant types. In addition to extensive private sector real estate experience, Jen brings the unique perspective of managing publicly owned properties, as Portfolio Manager of the City of Alexandria, VA. Jen has created and managed marketing programs that include numerous non-profit collaborative events, concert series, farmers markets, tours, and festivals. Jen has served on numerous non-profit and community boards and committees including the Silver Spring Advisory Board, City of Emeryville Commercial Economic Development Committee, and the Birch Run Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Jonathan Fong

CUESA, Former Operator, Jack London Square Farmers Market

Treasurer of the Board

Jonathan served as the Market Manager and Community Liaison at the weekly CUESA Jack London Square Farmers Market from 2016 to 2020, where he was dedicated to local economic development through the market by providing pathways for new and emerging entrepreneurs, showcasing the impactful work of local non-profits and community organizations, and cultivating relationships with East Bay food, environment, social justice and activism communities, including working closely with the Jack London Improvement District. Currently, Jonathan is a community weaver at the Berrett-Koehler Foundation, a freelance photographer and video producer, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the OCA Asian American Advocates: East Bay Chapter. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Peter Gertler

Property Owner 

Peter has lived and raised his family in Oakland for over 30 years, and has been an owner and resident in the Jack London District for over 5 years. He has been a Board member of JLID for 3 years, and has served on the Executive Committee as Secretary and led the Train Quiet Zone Initiative during his tenure. Peter has over 30 years of experience in the development, design and program management of transportation infrastructure and rail projects. He has held various leadership positions in major US based engineering consulting firms, global technology firms and with the Bay Area Transit District (BART). Currently he is a Senior Vice President for strategic sales and advisory services at HNTB, and previously was a Director of their High Speed, and Rail and Transit Practice. Peter leads strategic program business development and practice building in the transportation infrastructure market and serves as a subject matter expert on rail programs. HNTB is a national leader in transportation and rail projects and is currently leading major sections on the California High Speed Rail Program and other projects and program in the US.

Chris Pastena

Property Owner & Business Owner of Chop Bar and Calavera Restaurants

Chris Pastena has been in the restaurant industry for 28 plus years . Over the many years of living and working in Oakland, Chris and his wife, Jana Pastena, have developed deep ties in the East Bay's hospitality community. A central tenet of their work is to actively support local growers and artisans of all types. Coupled with Chris’ passion for a wide variety of restaurant projects, this unwavering focus has resulted in Chris creating vibrant and welcoming restaurants that offer thoughtful menus highlighting the best ingredients the Bay Area has to offer. In 2009, Chris opened Chop Bar restaurant in Oakland, which quickly became wildly popular, receiving national acclaim for its food, cocktails, wine program, and décor. Lungomare opened in February 2013 with coastal Italian-inspired fare and a prime waterfront location in Oakland's Jack London Square . In 2015, Chris opened Calavera, a beautiful and stylish restaurant serving regional Mexican - inspired fare and the Bay Area’s largest selection of tequilas and mezcals. Chris and his wife, Jana, continue to actively give back to the community through special events and support of a variety of local organizations.

Greg Pasquali

Director of Development, Carmel Partners

Greg has a degree in Architecture from Yale University and is currently Director of Development with Carmel Partners, leading entitlement and execution of multiple large-scale multifamily projects in the East Bay. In the entitlement and development of 4th Street East, Greg and his team worked with staff to engage the community. In Jack London he has worked closely with the Improvement District to advocate for over $300K of impact fees allocated towards façade improvement funds and the Waterfront Warehouse District Signage program. Greg also is working to address the condition of the I-880 underpass gateways to the District, having advocated for the change of a council ordinance to allow the project’s 1% for Art funds to be implemented for an installation at the Madison Street Underpass. Greg also advocates for better access to the District through attendance at the Oakland Alameda Access Project and Downtown Specific Plan project meetings.

Keith Stephenson

Property and Business Owner, Purple Heart

Keith is the CEO and founder of Purple Heart Patient Center in Oakland, and is the first African American in the United States to run a medical cannabis dispensary. He started the dispensary 11 years ago and now serves 10,000 patients a month. He was appointed to the California Cannabis Commission Advisory Panel, where he advises the state on regulations protecting consumer health and safety.

Michael Carilli

Property and Business Owner, The Port Workspaces

Michael co-founded The Port Workspaces in 2012 to reinvent beautiful old spaces and bring new flexibility, resources & community to today’s pioneers. The Port currently has two locations in the District at Broadway and Washington. Michael is also the Principal at Carilli Development that combines decades of achievement in architecture, urban planning, construction, project management, investment management and commercial and residential building development which seeks to cultivate dynamic, self-reinforcing business hubs, often by investing in multiple properties and businesses in closely contiguous areas. Michael previously served on the JLID Board of Directors from 2014 to 2017.

Ener Chiu

Executive Vice President, Community Building, EBALDC

Ener Chiu has been with EBALDC since 2004. The majority of his time has been in the Real Estate Development, where he was most recently the Department Director, overseeing a team of 10 staff, a pipeline of more than 550 affordable homes, and several large- scale joint venture public-private partnerships. Since 2008, Ener has been deeply involved in community planning and development projects within Downtown Oakland and Chinatown. As a Steering Committee member of the Oakland Chinatown Coalition, he organizes nonprofits, residents, and business owners and employees to advocate for planning policies and development projects that would directly benefit the people who currently live and work in Oakland, while making space for the new residents and businesses that are moving to this city. Ener has helped to start community benefit organizations, a Mandarin immersion charter school, a public park Friends committee, and served on the boards of housing advocacy and community safety organizations. Ener holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley, and lives in Oakland with his wife, two daughters, and pit-terrier.

join our board

Are you interested in serving on the Jack London Improvement District Board of Directors? We are seeking enthusiastic partners who will work to drive our projects and improvements forward.

An applicant may be a property owner within the boundaries of the district, a representative of a property owner (such as a property manager), or an Oakland Business licensee within the boundaries of the district. Applications accepted continuously. The Board of Directors meets on the second Monday of each month. A board member can expect to dedicate 50 hours annually, in addition to special projects and events of interest.

All eligible candidates will be brought as nominees before the Board of Directors for election of new directors at the annual meeting in November. Candidates will be considered based on their participation in Jack London Improvement District's programs and projects, and relevant expertise to the Board and organization. 

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