CEO

Carlos was born and raised in Spain and moved to the States to pursue his passion for photography, a passion that led him to a successful career in the developing and growing of a high tech engineering and manufacturing company in the Midwest. After fourteen years he decided to make a change in his life and follow a path more focused in social responsibility, joining our Foundation in May of 2017. He lived four years in Hawaii and he now enjoys beautiful Alameda in company of his wife and his dog. They love exploring all the amazing opportunities the Bay Area brings them culturally.

Programs Manager

Miriam grew up in Minnesota and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the University of Minnesota. She is finishing her Master’s Degree in Sport and Performance Psychology. Miriam’s background involves working with those who have intellectual and developmental disabilities in both the school settings and private homes. She was also given the opportunity in 2014 to spend three weeks in Thailand with the Deaf Community. During her undergraduate degree she worked closely with an individual with epilepsy, and wanted to do more. The focus for her thesis was driven by her passion for those with epilepsy. She then completed her first triathlon to raise awareness and inclusion for those with epilepsy, and ever since then wanted to be involved in future events. In 2017, Miriam moved to California to work in the school districts, private practice, and an Adult Day Center as a Speech-Language-Pathologist Assistant. Miriam was looking for a shift in her career and was given the opportunity to focus more directly with the Epilepsy Community. Miriam enjoys endurance sports and participates in Ironman distance triathlons. During training season she is able to explore more of Northern California and climb through the mountains.

Programs Ambassador

Kimberly Bari, who grew up in CT, has a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from Elon University along with a Master’s Degree in education from Loyola University Maryland. She taught elementary school up in Spokane, WA before moving to China to teach English. In returning to the states, she came to San Francisco to complete the TESOL program at UC Berkeley Extension. With a love for teaching and traveling, she also enjoys spending time with family and friends, practicing yoga, and exploring the city. Kimberly’s interest in epilepsy relates to her personal experience. She has joined our group with the interest of providing support and assistance within the community. If you would like to learn more about her journey in living with epilepsy and receiving treatment through UCSF, you can watch her TV episode called “Rebooting Kimberly’s Brain”.

Volunteer Coordinator

Natalia grew up in New York City, earned her BA in Ancient Greek and Latin at Swarthmore College, and now is back in school at UC Berkeley and City College of San Francisco as a post-baccalaureate to apply to become a doctor specializing in epilepsy and computational neuroscience. She worked as the director of the foreign language school ABC Languages until she was diagnosed with epilepsy. Now she acts as a research assistant at UCSF’s Kleen Lab conducting epilepsy research, volunteers with Epilepsy Foundation as the facilitator for support groups, therapy skills groups, and seizure first aid training. She also teaches Latin, math, science, history, and language and enjoys painting, playing guitar and piano, writing, and reading.