Virginia Van Zandt Interim Executive Director Click here to send e-mail
Virginia Van Zandt, a longtime non-profit executive, joined DPF’s board in 1993. She has served as Administrative Director for Bay Area Video Coalition, Director of Development for the California College of Arts and Crafts and Youth Law Center, Executive Director for the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center and a development consultant to many non-profit organizations. She formerly served as a board member for San Francisco Camerawork and Humanitas International Human Rights Committee.
Chelsea Bond Program Director chelsea@deathpenalty.org Chelsea first became concerned about the death penalty in 3rd grade and is grateful to be working to create a better system of justice in California and the United States. Chelsea is a
graduate of Chapman University, where she studied Political Science and Peace
Studies, focusing on restorative justice in Latin America. She has worked for progressive political organizations, focusing on women's rights and prison reform. Chelsea has traveled
extensively, studying the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa,
researching sustainable development in Costa Rica, and helping provide legal assistance to domestic abuse
victims in Ecuador. She also contributed to the first LGBT Human Rights Journal
in Ecuador, focusing on violence against the LGBT community. Chelsea is an avid sports fan and enjoys taking full advantage of living in the Bay Area.
Yoko Otani-Spurlin Office Manager yoko@deathpenalty.org Yoko
was born and raised in Japan.She moved to the United States in December
2001. While she was in Japan,
she dedicated her spare time to the volunteer organization Soroptimist International America Japan Region Venture Club. She
served as a board member, vice chairperson and the chairperson for several
years. Yoko has worked with the elderly, the disabled, homeless people
and battered women. Through this work, she became aware that many serious
social issues were being overlooked by society. After immigrating to San Francisco, she earned a B.A. in Psychology from San Francisco State University.
In school, Yoko became increasingly concerned with the cruelty of the U.S. prison system and with racism in the U.S.
Before joining Death Penalty Focus as the Office Manager, she volunteered her
time helping vulnerable youth both in public and private school settings in San Francisco.In her private life, she loves hiking,
reading books and listening to music.
Elizabeth Zitrin Special Projects Director ezitrin@deathpenalty.org Elizabeth Zitrin is Special Projects Director and Director of International Outreach and Communications at Death Penalty Focus, the largest membership-based advocacy organization in the USA working exclusively for an end to the death penalty. She is a member of the Steering Committee and the Executive Board of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. A frequent speaker on the death penalty both in the US and internationally, Ms. Zitrin was chosen by her World Coalition colleagues to represent them at the opening session of the 4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty at the UN in Geneva in 2010. Her International Outreach work has focused on the building of bridges between the death penalty abolition movement in the US and the international abolition community, an undertaking that has had considerable success but requires consistent and careful nurturing. In addition, Ms. Zitrin manages DPF’s Justice Advocates and Law Enforcement Outreach projects, bringing the voices of exonerees and law enforcement professionals to the public debate, and has pioneered the presentation of international forums on the death penalty held in the US. She practiced criminal defense law in San Francisco, and has served many years on the Boards of the ACLU of Northern California and the Northern California Innocence Project. She holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.
Yoko
was born and raised in Japan.
Elizabeth Zitrin is Special Projects Director and Director of International Outreach and Communications at Death Penalty Focus, the largest membership-based advocacy organization in the USA working exclusively for an end to the death penalty. She is a member of the Steering Committee and the Executive Board of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. A frequent speaker on the death penalty both in the US and internationally, Ms. Zitrin was chosen by her World Coalition colleagues to represent them at the opening session of the 4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty at the UN in Geneva in 2010. Her International Outreach work has focused on the building of bridges between the death penalty abolition movement in the US and the international abolition community, an undertaking that has had considerable success but requires consistent and careful nurturing. In addition, Ms. Zitrin manages DPF’s Justice Advocates and Law Enforcement Outreach projects, bringing the voices of exonerees and law enforcement professionals to the public debate, and has pioneered the presentation of international forums on the death penalty held in the US. She practiced criminal defense law in San Francisco, and has served many years on the Boards of the ACLU of Northern California and the Northern California Innocence Project. She holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.
