Leadership

John Ehrbar brings more than two decades of nonprofit leadership experience to the YMCA of Silicon Valley. Prior to his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer, Ehrbar served for six years as President and CEO of YMCA Buffalo Niagara, where he led strategic initiatives focused on community engagement, program growth, and long-term organizational impact across Western New York.

Throughout his career within the YMCA movement, Ehrbar has advanced the organization’s mission through a strong commitment to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. His leadership experience includes senior roles supporting organizational strategy, operational excellence, and community partnerships. Ehrbar holds advanced degrees in education and strategic leadership and is deeply committed to strengthening communities through inclusive, mission-driven service.

Rachel (she/her) is the Chief Operating Officer for the YMCA of Silicon Valley, where she leads strategic initiatives that strengthen community health by providing places, programs, and people to improve the lives of children, adults, and families.

With over 25 years of YMCA leadership experience, Rachel has supported YMCAs in the Bay Area, excelling as a bridge-builder and strategist. Her expertise in connecting teams, driving operational efficiency, and fostering collaboration has been instrumental in delivering high-quality services that align with the Y’s mission. Rachel’s passion for the YMCA’s impact is inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, and dedication of its staff.

Outside of work, she enjoys home improvement projects, cooking, gardening, and exploring the Bay Area with her wife and two daughters, reflecting her commitment to family, community, and well-being.

Karla joined the YMCA of Silicon Valley’s Human Resources team in 2016 following 13 years at YMCA of the Triangle in Raleigh, North Carolina. With 20+ years of human resources and management experience, that spans for-profit to nonprofit, her extensive experience leading HR initiatives supports the vision of YMCA of Silicon Valley. Karla’s expertise includes policy design, compensation, performance management, recruiting, compliance reporting, HRIS implementations, HR workflow development, and benefits administration.

Patty brings to the YMCA decades of experience in leadership roles with corporate, community, sports, and service organizations. Most recently, she served as the Chief Development Officer for JobTrain, a long-standing workforce development organization, where she more than doubled the fund development budget, launched and led a $45M capital campaign, and helped the organization grow tremendously.

Patty is native to the Bay Area, has raised her family here, and has been committed to serving the lives of individuals and families to make our community better. Patty earned her BA in Political Economics from UC Berkeley, and her MA in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco.

Doug has held senior corporate finance positions at several dynamic Silicon Valley companies, including Bill.com, Verifone Systems and BEA Systems – providing leadership for Treasury, Investor Relations, and other finance functions.

Doug earned his Masters in Business Administration at Stanford University and his undergraduate degree in Economics at Princeton University.

Outside the office, Doug enjoys exercising and playing pickleball at the Y, and performing on amateur night at a local comedy club.

With a career in advocacy and government relations spanning several decades, Jim began as a staffer with the Minnesota State Senate Finance Committee. He drew from that experience as a volunteer parent advocate before transitioning into professional roles, including as the State Advocacy Director for the American Diabetes Association, Executive Director of the Minnesota Alliance of YMCAs, and State Advocacy Director for the YMCA of the Y-USA.

Jim has earned numerous awards recognizing his advocacy in key areas such as health insurance reimbursement, access to diabetes education, nutritional counseling, school care improvement, and ending discrimination against children with Type 1 diabetes in schools, and adults with diabetes in their workplaces.

In 2023, Jim brought his experience to the YMCA of Silicon Valley. Here, he continues to support our community by advocating for the Y’s programs, services, and initiatives to public officials. He seeks Federal, State, and local opportunities for funding, and is instrumental in building our advocacy capacity to proactively influence public policy in the areas of Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.