Meet our Board Members
Nigel Taverner
Board ChairNigel Taverner has been a member of the Sonrisas board since 2006 and Board Chair since 2011. A career management consultant, Chair Taverner co-leads many of the Sonrisas information presentations and strategy sessions and applies a business perspective to Sonrisas’ activities. Having retired from Tech Sales with IBM, his current interest, apart from Sonrisas, is UX Design.
Clyde Hinshelwood
Board SecretaryDirector Hinshelwood has been a board member of Sonrisas since 2014 and is the current Secretary of the Board. He has broad background in technology and services sales and marketing. Director Hinshelwood speaks three languages and brings an empathetic and multicultural understanding from living, working, and studying abroad.
Larry Cappel
Founder and current President and CEO of Pacific Health Alliance, Director Cappel joined the Sonrisas Board in 2017. He is also the Board Chair of the Peninsula Health Care District (PHCD) and member of the PHCD Long-Term Planning Committee. He is the Founder and current board member of the Strides for Life Colon Cancer Foundation and board member of the Colon Cancer Alliance. He is the Founder of the Peninsula Striders Track Club and Track Coach at St. Dunstan Catholic School and Assistant Track Coach at Mills High School.
Larissa Cutler
Larissa Cutler joined Sonrisas’ board in July 2021. She is the founder and owner of Vinoteca, a wine tasting room and shop on Main Street in Half Moon Bay. She has a passion for wine and also for travel. She is originally from Paraguay, where she met her husband while he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer there, and she has also lived in Brazil, Pakistan, and Washington, DC. Her passion for wine began after a trip to Paris and Bordeaux, France, and she is always looking forward to her next travel + wine adventure. She and her husband, Kit, have a 1-year old son, Phineas (“Finn” for short), who is their biggest adventure yet. https://www.vinotecahmb.com/
Dennis Kneeppel, RN, MPA, CPHQ, NEA-BC, FACHE
Dennis Kneeppel joined Sonrisas’ Board in March 2022. He is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nurse Executive at Kaiser Permanente (KP) Medical Center, in South San Francisco, CA. He has over 30 years of hospital and nursing leadership experience. In addition to 20 years of progressive clinical and leadership roles at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Dennis is past COO/CNO at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital (Dignity Health) in San Francisco. He has also held previous senior leadership positions at KP Santa Clara, KP San Rafael and KP Northern California Regional Offices in Oakland, CA. Professionally, Dennis has been associated with the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL) for over 20 years, where he has held several elected Board and Board Officer positions, including past Board Treasurer and President. Additionally, he served on the Board of the California Hospital Association and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Dennis served six years on the Board of Rotaplast International, including three years as Board Treasurer. He has volunteered on multiple international medical missions to developing countries in both medical and nonmedical roles. Dennis is also a past Board Member of the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club in San Mateo, CA where he chaired the Board Finance Committee. Dennis has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly 40 years and is a 20 plus year resident of San Mateo.
Rick Navarro
Rick Navarro joined the Sonrisas Board in 2017. He is a physician and member of the California Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Anesthesiologists, and International Anesthesia Research Society.
Dr. Henry Sánchez
Dr. Henry Sánchez is a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry since 1992 and Adjunct Clinical Professor in the College of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California since the fall of 2013. He attended and graduated from Keck University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine and received his master’s degree in experimental pathology in 1982 and his medical degree in 1985. He completed an internship in internal medicine and a year of anatomic pathology residency at the USC/LAC Medical Center, and he completed his anatomic pathology residency and post-doctoral training at UCSF. He has been on the UCSF Autopsy Service for the last thirty-one years. He is also a founding member of the UCSF Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators since 2001. He served for thirteen years as a trustee on the San Bruno Park School District Board from 2010 through 2022.
Steve Stielstra
Steve Stielstra joined Sonrisas’ board in September 2021. He has held senior leadership positions in the field of environmental management, with a focus on energy and other large infrastructure planning and development. His clients and employers include some of the nation’s largest energy and infrastructure companies and government agencies. His expertise includes strategy development, planning, negotiation and conflict resolution, contract oversight, and multi-party collaboration. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Redlands and a Master of Environmental Administration from the University of California, Riverside. His interests include music, photography, gardening, puttering around fixing things, travel, and hiking. He has an inherent love of natural history, particularly animal behavior.
Sheryl Young
Sheryl Young joined the Sonrisas Board in 2017. She currently is the San Mateo County Program Director for the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation (PVF). Prior to joining PVF, Director Young was the Chief Executive Officer of Community Gatepath and AbilityPath.org. She has over 25 years of managerial experience in operations, finance, and marketing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University and Master’s in Public Health from UC Berkeley.