Board Of Directors
The Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District is governed by five unpaid board members elected into office by the community to serve staggered four-year terms. Board meetings are held once monthly, on the second Thursday of the month. Each December, the Board elects one of its members to serve as Board President and one to serve as Board Vice President for the next calendar year. The President of the Board assigns each member to serve as Chairperson for the various committees serving the Board.
David Spath, Board President
David Spath has spent four decades working on public and environmental health issues at the national, state, and local levels. For 33 years, he worked at the State Department of Public Health, the last 10 of which were in a Career Executive Assignment (CEA) position overseeing the Division of Drinking Water and Environmental Management. As a CEA, he also served as a Skelly Hearing Officer responsible for hearing appeals to employee disciplinary actions. He presently works as a retired annuitant with the State Water Resources Control Board, involved in special projects related to drinking water.
At the national level, David served as the chair of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Drinking Water Advisory Council, a diverse body that provides the Agency with advice on matters affecting the quality of drinking water nationwide. In addition, he has served on National Research Council committee’s dealing with the safety of the nation’s drinking water supplies. He also has a broader public health interest and, for many years, was a board member of the Northern California Public Health Association while serving as the President in 2010 and 2011.
David has lived in Kensington for 40 years and believes in the importance of public service and volunteerism for the betterment of the community. He chaired the KPPCSD’s Ad Hoc Committee on Governance and Operations Structure and served as a member of the KFPD’s Emergency Preparedness Committee. David also served on the board of the Kensington Property Owners Association, including two years as president. He now looks forward to working with his fellow board members on the provision of services important to the community.
David holds a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Tufts University.
David enjoys hiking in the East Bay Regional Park and cycling when the weather is warm and the roads are dry.
Alexandra Aquino-Fike, Vice-President
Alexandra Aquino-Fike is a leader in philanthropy, resource development and program management. She assists private and community philanthropic organizations in social equity program development and investments. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Development at the East Bay Community Foundation, where she oversaw the stewardship of individual and institutional donors. Alexandra led the development of a donor engagement program that organized donors to invest in equity development for marginalized communities.
Previously, Alexandra served as the Vice President of Development at Hispanics in Philanthropy, a national and transnational network of funders dedicated to investing in Latinx communities, and as an associate attorney with the international law firm, Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Alexandra was raised in Kensington by parents and neighbors committed to this community. She witnessed their successful effort to create Kensington Park and her father’s service on the KPPCSD in the 1990s. Their dedication to these and other policy issues as well as her commitment to local community development influenced her decision to serve Kensington in this new capacity.
Alexandra holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College. She is a member of the State Bar of New York. She serves on the board of directors of the SHARE El Salvador Foundation and is the chairwoman of the board of directors of the Mauricio Aquino Chacón Foundation, nonprofit organizations based in the East Bay.
Cassandra Duggan, Director
Cassandra “Cass” Duggan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a bilingual private therapy practice serving children, families, elders, and the disabled. Her previous social work career included work in hospitals, a geriatric clinic, an adult day health center and a dialysis center. Prior to that, her work experience truly ran the gamut: teaching, office management, gardening, switchboard operation, summer camp management, factory work and chambermaiding. She lived in Europe as an Army brat from 1970 to 1980. She has traveled and/or worked in 27 countries and speaks 4 languages.
Cass has two degrees from UC Berkeley: a Master’s degree in Social Welfare and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with high honors.
Cass & family have lived in Kensington for 27 years. Her two children attended local schools, including Hilltop Elementary School and El Cerrito High School. Her daughter, Cordelia, has a disability. This has given Cass an insider’s perspective on resources for children and families, augmenting her familiarity with these systems as a social worker. She’s an expert on the local mental health, medical, insurance, social service and social security systems.
In her free time, Cass enjoys hiking, reading, and hanging out with her kids and their fabulous cat Griffy.
Sarah Gough, Director
Sarah has worked as a non-profit consultant and advisor and is a non-practicing California attorney with a J.D. and Public Interest Concentration from UC Hastings College of the Law. Sarah and her husband have owned their home in Kensington since 2008, but spent the majority of the last several years living in Hong Kong. Sarah views her time in Asia as a gift and absolutely transformative for her family of 5 humans (the 3 dogs came later!). While there, Sarah spent her time advocating for marginalized communities including foreign domestic workers, the ultra poor, and survivors of human trafficking. In addition to her work with various NGOs, Sarah eventually co-founded two others and continues to mentor women locally and abroad.
Sarah previously served as Vice-President of the Kensington Improvement Club, where she led the initiative to create the small park, now named Elsie Neilson Park. She is a passionate believer in Kensington's potential and looks forward to doing all that she can to see it realized. In her free time, Sarah loves spending time with her family, hiking in our hills, and enjoying delicious food prepared by anyone but her.
Sylvia Hacaj, Director
Ms. Hacaj has lived in Kensington since 2008. She has served on the Boards of the Kensington Property Owners Association and Kensington Education Foundation.
In a career spanning twenty-five years, Ms. Hacaj has been leading advocacy efforts and developing strategic priorities for nonprofits, foundations and progressive businesses. She has also served on a variety of national and local boards.
Her career began in Washington, DC as a legislative analyst for the U.S. Congress where she helped establish the AmeriCorps national service program. She was later appointed Deputy Director of Government Relations for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
In subsequent senior management roles at a public affairs firm and international nonprofit Save the Children, she improved advocacy efforts of organizations dedicated to the environment, public health, consumer protection and education; secured funding for children’s literacy and health programs; and worked to establish the National Commission on Children and Disasters.
She continued to work for Save the Children after moving to the San Francisco Bay area and then joined the World Affairs Council of Northern CA as a Vice President, spending 4 years co-curating and producing its annual Global Philanthropy Forum.
In 2014, Ms. Hacaj established a consultancy and coaching practice assisting organizations and individuals to identify and leverage core strengths, sharpen leadership and other professional skills, and achieve enterprise or personal goals.
Ms. Hacaj has a BA from The American University and certificates from Indiana University and San Francisco State University.