The Board
About President Carolyn Rebuffel Flannery: Carolyn founded Make It Home in 2020 during the pandemic after being an interior designer in the Bay Area for about 25 years. Interior Design was her way of helping others make a house into a home and helping others share some beautiful things about home. As an interior designer, she saw a LOT of waste. Vendors told her to “just donate” slightly damaged pieces rather than return them. Clients were having her replace perfectly usable furniture. At the same time, she was also doing volunteer work with foster kids and was learning that when they age out, they often get housing assistance but almost nothing else. She finally realized we can solve one problem with the other; the problem of furniture waste can solve the problem of furniture poverty. She started collecting furniture in her garage and giving it to foster kids and foster families needing resources. This soon blossomed into Make It Home, opening business doors in October 2020.
About Vice President Susan Brennan: Susan has spent the last three and a half decades working at Levi Strauss & Co. across various disciplines, including merchandising, marketing, operations, business development, and strategy. Before her retirement, Susan was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Levi Strauss's mass-market business. Susan has worked in the US for most of her career, spending a few years overseas in Asia. Since retirement, Susan has spent most of her time volunteering and sitting on nonprofit boards.
About Secretary Bitsa Freeman: Fourth-generation Marin native Elizabeth “Bitsa” Freeman is a pillar of knowledge, confidence, and integrity. She serves the community she loves through her distinctive real estate services. Bitsa, the founder of Boulevard Real Estate, a Marin-certified Green business, is continually sought out by repeat clients, new referrals, and friends alike for her expert real estate advice and genuine, upfront honesty. Her well-respected reputation and deep community connections have made her a top-producing luxury agent throughout Marin County. With service at the core of her being, Bitsa is dedicated to giving back through numerous avenues. A past president of Kent Woodlands Property Owners Association and former trustee of the award-winning Kentfield School District, Bitsa currently serves as Chair of Kentfield Planning and Advisory Board and Vice President and Fire Committee chair of Kent Woodand’s Property Owners Association. She’s also passionate about the planet and serves on the board of Cool the Earth, a local nonprofit that inspires people to take action against climate change.
About Treasurer Jim Eichenberger: Jim retired in 2015 after a 36-year finance and corporate management career. He practiced as a CPA with a regional public accounting firm for four years and accepted a controllership position with one of his audit clients. Jim spent the next 32 years in various accounting, treasury, and management positions with several large agricultural cooperatives. Since retiring, Jim has volunteered as an adult ESL instructor. He continues to work during income tax season in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, providing free tax preparation for individuals through Canal Alliance in San Rafael. Jim and his wife, Leslie Eichenberger, live in San Rafael.
About Ellin Purdom: A Bay Area native, Ellin attended UC Berkeley, receiving her degree in Social Welfare. Ellin retired in 2015 from a 30+ year career as the Director of Client Services at Ashfield Capital Partners in San Francisco. It is there that Ellin honed her problem-solving skills and her love of connecting people. Ellin’s longstanding love of travel now takes her to Spain regularly to visit her older son’s family, including her first grandchild, who lives in Mallorca. Ellin earns the title of Volunteer Extraordinaire with us at Make it Home, always lending a helping hand and ensuring our clients always have what they need. Always welcoming and sharing her enthusiasm in our warehouse, Ellin brings a generous spirit to everything she does.
About Hilary Sessions: Hilary Sessions is a San Francisco Bay Area-based marketing professional with over a decade of experience in interior design, PR, and business management. She served as Vice President of Client Services for Coupar Consulting and was a founding team member of Chairish.com, an online marketplace. Prior to entering the world of design, Hilary was an Account Executive for Carlson Marketing Group, where she planned and executed events for tech clients on a global scale. She brings her passion for PR, marketing, events, tech, and business innovation to Quarry Hill Consulting. Hilary recognized her passion for design while studying Decorative Arts & Architecture at Parsons School of Design in Paris, as well as Design and Illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Art History and French from Georgetown University.
About Kendall Galli: Kendall has been a classroom teacher for 32 years, the last 26 spent in Marin County. Classrooms and kids at White Hill Middle School, Marin's Community School and Archie Williams High School have brought her joy and enthusiasm and inspiration for decades. An equity advocate, active community member of Ross Valley and Marin County and a risk taking DIY'er, she combines her love for teaching and fresh starts in an elective course for Marin's Community School students at Make it Home. Reimagining and repurposing gently loved home goods keeps the furnishings out of landfills, provides a fun and creative outlet for kids, allows for hands on learning and lifelong skill building that illicit a "can-do" spirit in the students.
About Nel Ellwein: Originally from New York City, Nel is a graduate of Brown University and received her MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. She worked as a management consultant with Bain & Company with a focus on serving clients in the areas of private equity and consumer products until changing her focus to raise her two daughters. Nel has volunteered extensively and served on the Bay Area Regional Board of Teach for America, the Legacy and Endowment Board of St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church and most recently as the Board Chair at the Katherine Delmar Burke School.
About Nureed Saeed: As the award-winning founder of Nu Interiors, a bi-coastal holistic design practice specializing in modern, unexpected interiors that invite a rich mix of materials, ideas and global inspiration, she is committed to expanding design equity beyond the luxury market. Nureed is an ardent believer that a love- and purpose-filled home is meant for everyone. Recently named the 2023 KBB Person of the Year, a 2023 ASID Ones to Watch Winner and a 2022 Innovator by Kitchen & Bath Design News for her work in inclusion and equity, Nureed also holds a Certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from Cornell University’s ILR School and is a leader and passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the design industry. Nureed currently serves as the President of the National Kitchen and Bath Association, Northern California Chapter.
About Vicki Masseria: Vicki began her career in non-profit in early 2015 when she joined St. Vincent de Paul Society as Director of Finance & Operations. SVDP is a non-profit organization based in San Rafael with programs working to end hunger, poverty and homelessness in Marin. Prior to SVDP, Vicki spent 20+ years in Executive Management roles in healthcare media, worked hand-in-hand with private equity and served as an M&A consultant in the science/healthcare markets. Vicki holds a BS in Education from Ohio University and is a graduate of Executive Management Programs at both Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. Her belief in giving back to the community continues as she serves on the boards of St. Vincent de Paul and the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as Treasurer of the Marin Chapter of UNICO, the nation’s largest Italian American service organization, and as a volunteer at Bloom, a San Rafael non-profit that provides free clothing to low-income individuals, assisting them in getting back to the workplace.