What Does Board Membership Look Like?
At Tahoe Youth & Family Services are looking for Board members who are passionate about our mission and have the time to be active participants. Board meetings are held monthly; one month in South Lake Tahoe, CA, and the next month in Gardnerville, NV. If you are interested in Board membership please contact the Board Secretary at [email protected].
Responsibilities of the Board
|
|
|
Ryan WagonerPresident
Chair - Executive Committee In 1995, I became a second-generation graduate of South Lake Tahoe High School. In 2000, I married my wife, Leanne, and we later relocated to Minden, Nevada, in 2016. We have three children who are very active in various sports. I worked in retail for Adidas America as a district manager for 8 years. In 2008, I joined the South Lake Tahoe Police Department as a Police Officer, where I specialized in K9 operations and SWAT assignments. From 2006-2010. I served as an elected Board Member for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District. After medically retiring from the Police Department in 2014, I assumed the role of Executive Director for the California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority ambulance service in South Lake Tahoe. My experience in public safety, coupled with my children's involvement in the community, has instilled in me a profound appreciation for the vital services Tahoe Youth & Family Services provides. I am honored to now be a part of this organization. |
|
Cristi CreeganVice President
Chair - Executive Committee Cristi Creegan took over the Chief Executive Officer position of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce in June 2024, and she’s excited to ensure that the Tahoe Chamber continues to be the voice of business and a champion for our community. Before coming to the Chamber, Cristi was a council member at the City of South Lake Tahoe, elected in 2020, and served as the mayor in 2023. Cristi has extensive experience in nonprofit management and organizational leadership, having served as staff at the California Rangeland Trust and the Sierra Nevada Alliance and on the board of Live Violence Free, the Tahoe Heritage Foundation, and Tahoe Parents Nursery School. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a BA in English and a JD with Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College. Cristi is a 28-year resident of South Lake Tahoe and, with her husband Bernard and their two daughters, loves to swim in the lake, read novels, and celebrate the connections that make the South Shore such a great place to live. |
|
Terry PriceTreasurer
Chair - Finance Committee In 1971 I helped establish Tahoe Youth and Family Services (then called Awakening Peace and later Tahoe Human Services) and served as its Executive Director for ten years. After leaving TYFS I ran my own campaign consulting firm, Price Campaign Solutions, and for 40 years I provided services to non-partisan candidates and initiative campaigns in Northern California. I also served as a District Director for a California State Assemblyman and Chief of Staff for a United States Congressman. I met my wife, Kerry Campbell-Price in Tahoe where both of our children were born. I’m currently retired and live with Kerry in Santa Rosa. I know from first-hand experience that TYFS saves lives. I served on the frontlines during the 1970s and 80s when overdoses and bad trips were all too common. I have a lifelong interest in the mental and physical health of young people that started with my education and work in South Lake Tahoe. I embrace the opportunity to share the experience and skills I have gained over the years with an organization that I helped establish so many years ago. This opportunity to give back to the families and youth in the community where my adult life started gives me purpose and joy. |
|
Cameron WiebeSecretary
Chair - Marketing Committee Born and raised in Sparks, NV, Cameron Wiebe moved to South Lake Tahoe in the summer of 2018, with the intention of hiking, camping, backpacking, and skiing as much as possible. However, after his lease ended in the Summer of 2019, he was told that he could not renew it. As a result, he found himself living with his partner out of a broken-down van. While riding the bus to do laundry one day, they saw a poster offering free laundry, food, a place to shower, and housing help. They decided to stop in for the laundry service and walked out with an application to the Transitional Living Program, which changed their lives.
In September 2019, they received housing, case management, and other assistance that made it possible for them to stabilize their lives and save for the future. While in the Transitional Living Program, he was asked to work as a youth advocate for clients in the Rapid Rehousing Program. He helped youth find and apply for housing. After graduating from the program in the Fall of 2021, he began having weekly meetings with Transitional Living Program clients where he would help them cook and shop, and provide general support. In January 2022, Cameron accepted a position at Visit Lake Tahoe as the Group Sales & Services Manager and stepped back from Tahoe Youth & Family Services. He is excited to bring his lived experience and a fresh mindset to the board. In his spare time, Cameron still enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking, and skiing as much as possible. |
|
Shannon WittBoard Member
Chair - Fundraising Committee Shannon Witt initially moved to Tahoe in 1998, anticipating a thrilling snowboard instructing season at Sierra at Tahoe. However, she quickly found herself enamored with South Lake Tahoe and opted to make it her permanent home. Following her tenure at Lake Tahoe Community College and attainment of her AA degree, she transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. There, she earned her BA in Psychology, specializing in child and family therapy, and minored in Gerontology. During her time in San Luis Obispo, Shannon fulfilled a one-year AmeriCorps assignment with the San Luis Obispo Probation Department and Intensive Community Diversion. Upon graduation, she returned to South Lake Tahoe, initially working with Elder Options before transitioning to the Auroura Pines Girls Facility in Gardnerville, where she spent three years. Subsequently, she seized an opportunity to work locally with the opening of the Juvenile Treatment Center in South Lake Tahoe, serving as a probation officer for just over a year. However, Shannon eventually found her true passion in real estate. Over the past 18 years, she has been actively engaged in the local real estate arena, serving as a managing broker for BHHS Drysdale Properties and as a board member of the South Tahoe Association of Realtors. In 2018, Shannon co-founded the non-profit Tahoe Home Connection alongside five other community members. This organization aimed to link workforce renters with second-home owners willing to offer below-market rents in exchange for reduced property management fees. Throughout Tahoe Home Connection's operation, 26 families were successfully placed in affordable housing. Now, Shannon looks forward to leveraging her expertise and abilities as she joins the board of Tahoe Youth and Family Services. |
|
Monica C. GustafsonBoard Member
My background is one of life experiences, spending my childhood in East Side Oakland with my mom and little brother, in a low-income neighborhood, where I saw gang violence, poverty and homelessness. It really opened my eyes to the world and helped me develop a strong work ethic and street smarts. I went to live with my dad in Novato in 1987 and graduated from high school in 1989. I moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1995 where I met my husband, Scott and in 2001, we bought our home in Gardnerville, Nevada. I graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2003 and our one and only son, Parker, was born in 2006. He is the light of our lives. I worked as a direct care counselor, group leader and staff trainer for Rite of Passage, with at-risk youth boys, from 1997 to 2002 and from 2002 to 2006, at Aurora Pines Girls Facility, focusing on at-risk youth girls. I helped kids struggling with grief, sexual assault, addiction, low self-esteem, anger control and abuse issues. For a brief time, I was a case manager, setting up after care programs and preparing them for their release. My focus was on the health, safety, and welfare of the youth residents I mentored. We taught the kids the importance of community service and volunteering, and guided them with realistic goals towards college or employment, a positive home environment and resource programs. Working with at-risk youth was challenging and extremely rewarding. In 2006, I began my work with the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners and eventually earned the title Senior Certified Medical Board Investigator. I have performed 18 years of thorough investigations of complaints, and allegations of violations of Chapters 629 and 630 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC). I am excited to be involved with Tahoe Youth and Family Services and look forward to putting all my training and skills to effective use. I absolutely love mentoring youth and young adults and understand the need for services and resources. For fun, I love singing karaoke, camping, boating, spending time with family and friends and having a good laugh. |
|
Chief RobersonBoard Member
Jeff became a deputy sheriff in 1996 and joined the South Lake Tahoe Police Department in 2003. As a patrol officer, he trained new officers and facilitated training on firearms and Tasers. He was a SWAT operator for 18 years and a detective for seven. He was promoted to sergeant and started his master’s program within six months of each other. In 2022, he was promoted to lieutenant and assumed the Support LT role, which included responsibility for the dispatch center, records division, community service division, investigations division, facilities, and evidence management. Jeff was promoted to Chief of Police in June 2025, following a nationwide recruitment. Significant from his time in detectives was the long-term victim impact of commercially sexually exploited children, recovered and again lost human trafficking victims, as well as children who were used for sexually exploitative material (an industry term for child pornography). Jeff believes it is important to bring a professional perspective from the investigative, prosecutorial, and victim advocacy roles. In the role TYFS plays, providing services that interdict and prevent further and future victimization of particularly vulnerable youth, Jeff found that their concerns align. |
|
Christopher LillyBoard Member - Youth Action Board Chair
My name is Christopher Lilly, but I go by Topher. I was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe. Brought up by a single Mother, I was taught to always question authority and never be afraid to stand up for what’s right. In high school, I founded the Student Advocacy Program (SAP) to advocate for my peers and ensure their rights were protected. Addressing numerous California Education Code violations and discriminatory actions based on race and gender, I learned to navigate a hostile administration with respect and dignity. Recognizing my efforts, Tahoe Youth and Family Services (TYFS) contacted me to establish and lead their Youth Action Board (YAB). Having received support from TYFS in the past, I eagerly accepted the opportunity to give back to an organization that had profoundly impacted my life. At 18, I was honored to be elected to the TYFS board of directors. In this role, I continue to stand for fairness and empowerment, striving to make a positive difference in the lives of those around me. |
|
Wade BeaversBoard Member
My name is Wade Beavers, I was born and raised in Minden, Nevada, and in a previous life I worked summers for the Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park at Spooner Lake and Cave Rock. I am a graduate of the University of Arizona and the law school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I am a licensed attorney and a partner with the Fennemore law firm in Reno, where I practice focuses on business and regulatory affairs. In my free time I enjoys spending time in the outdoors and with my family. |
|
Vera MaasBoard Member
Vera Maas began her journey serving this community with the organization formerly known as Live Violence Free, now Vista Rise Collective. She was a community volunteer while still working on corporate software implementation project management. Vera decided it was best for her to transition to Vista Rise full-time, starting as an advocate, then administrative specialist, and finance manager before stepping into her current role as Director of Organizational Support. In this leadership position, she oversees grants, financial systems and administrative processes, while also remaining deeply engaged in frontline, trauma-informed services for individuals impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. Vera is particularly passionate about the intersectionality of needs shared by clients served by both Vista Rise and Tahoe Youth & Family Services, especially around early prevention, housing stability, and progressive client empowerment. She believes in the power of collaborative, wraparound services to break cycles of trauma and build lasting pathways to healing. A long-time resident and advocate, Vera remains deeply committed to advancing social welfare and opportunity in the South Lake community she calls home. In her free time you will find her enjoying the outdoors with her husband and Alaskan Malamute. |