See Deborah Haase’s slide deck used in this presentation.
See Terri Thomas’s slide deck used in this presentation.
See Mimi Willard’s slide deck used in this presentation.
Program Description
Marin County has many civic organizations whose purpose is to help educate our residents and its government agencies. These groups aim to bring about positive change by mobilizing individuals, leveraging resources, and advocating for issues that matter to our community.
Marin Coalition is pleased to present a panel represent four key groups in this sphere: The League of Women Voters of Marin County, Marin County Civil Grand Jurors Association, Marin Conservation League, and Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers (C$T).
Come and hear about the history, goals and impact of these organizations and the current issues they are working on. We will have a panel discussion about the importance of civil organizations in influencing how we live. As always, a Q & A period will follow.
Our featured panel will include:
Ann Wakeley, Immediate Past President, The League of Women Voters of Marin County
Deborah Haase, Immediate Past Foreperson, Marin County Civil Grand Jury
Terri Thomas, President, Marin Conservation League
Mini Willard, President, Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers
Speaker Bios

Ann Wakeley is immediate past president of the League of Women Voters of Marin County (LWVMC) and currently serves as board secretary. She is deeply involved in many aspects of the League’s work on voter education and advocacy. Ann co-chairs the Education/Libraries Committee, and co-leads the Voter Service Candidate Forums Team, and serves with other League members on the collaborative support team for the Marin County Student Elections Ambassador Program. In her professional life, Ann was an academic researcher and educator. She holds a BA and MA in Developmental Psychology and a PhD in Early Childhood Special Education from the UC Berkeley/San Francisco State University Joint Doctoral Program.

Deborah Haas was Foreperson of the 2021-2022 Marin Civil Grand Jury and a member of the 2019-2020 Jury. Deborah is an attorney with experience in civil rights, immigration and child advocacy issues. She was a permanent clerk for the Eastern District of the U.S. Federal Court in California and has served as an adjunct law professor in Appellate Advocacy. Prior to practicing law, Deborah worked for several years in Investment Banking. In addition to the Grand Jury, Deborah has volunteered with Marin CASA, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and several local schools. Deborah has lived in Mill Valley for 20 years and loves to hike, bike and horseback ride on Mt. Tam.

Terri Thomas is the current President of Marin Conservation League (MCL) and Chair of the MCL Parks and Open Space Committee. She is a natural resources manager, ecologist, and planner. She worked in Crater Lake, Yosemite, and Everglades national parks and was Chief of Natural Resources Management and Science at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, followed by the Director of Conservation, Science and Research at the Presidio Trust. Terri has a BS in Forestry and an MS in Forest Ecology. She has served as a board member of Fire Safe Marin and the Director of Natural Resources and Climate Resiliency for Conservation Corps North Bay.

Mimi Willard is the founder and current president of the Coalition of Sensible Taypayers (COST). A Chartered Financial Analyst, Mimi contributes financial and budgetary expertise accumulated over twenty years as a nationally top-ranked financial analyst at major investment banks including Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. Mimi graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Reed College with a B.A. in biology. She pursued graduate studies in cellular physiology as a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge (England), and as a graduate fellow at the Rockefeller University and Woods Hole Biological Laboratory. Ms. Willard later received from Yale University a MPhil in American History focusing on the political press in the Early American Republic and history of epidemics.

