​David Gomez,  Chief of Staff
David Gomez is a native of San Diego, CA. He has been a District 1 resident for the past 34 years and is the proud parent of a Cupertino School District student.

He has been a neighborhood leader in the Murdock neighborhood for over 20 years, serving as a Board member of the Murdock Neighborhood Association. David is also a member of the District 1 Leadership Group working with D1 leaders to make an impact city-wide. David enjoys connecting with and advocating for residents and causes.

​During his free time, he enjoys working on classic cars, breeding rare poison dart frogs, and traveling to the many great beaches along the California coast.
Raania Mohsen, Deputy Chief of Staff
Raania Mohsen has worked for over 18 years as a public policy and government relations professional in local and state agencies throughout the Bay Area, including the California State Senate and the City of Santa Clara. As former Executive Director of the Cities Association of Santa Clara County, she was instrumental in fostering collaboration across the region’s 15 cities and advancing regional policies addressing affordable housing, healthy communities, sustainability, transportation, and economic development.

As Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, Raania advises Vice Mayor Jones on public policy and supports regional initiatives addressing transportation, affordable housing, economic development, and intergovernmental relations. She facilitates District 1’s San José Small Business Advisory Task Force and enjoys contributing to improving the quality of life for constituents and residents across the City.

​Raania is a native of the Bay Area and earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and MBA Degrees from Santa Clara University. She has a passion for volunteering and serving as a Board Member with local schools and community organizations. Outside of work and volunteering, Raania enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, cycling, pilates, and baking cookies.
Cassidy Kohl, Policy and Legislative Director
Cassidy graduated from San José State University in 2015, earning a Bachelors in Communication Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies. During her time there, she interned with the City of Sunnyvale ‘s Environmental Services Department and got hooked on public policy. Cassidy then moved up to Oregon where she attended Lewis and Clark Law School and received her Masters focusing on Environmental Law and Policy.

During her time in Portland, Oregon, she worked with environmental and land use non-profits, and for State Representative Paul Holvey as a Legislative Assistant. She has varied experience working on political campaigns for progressive candidates and ballot measures, and volunteering with local environmental groups. Cassidy looks forward to using her past work experiences and passion for good policy to help make District 1 an even better place to live and work.

​Cassidy also enjoys spending time hiking and exploring with her family. She and her husband welcomed their little boy to the world in May 2018.
Annale Damabeh, ​Policy and Legislative Advisor
Annale was born and raised in West San José and currently lives in District 1. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Urban Studies and Planning. Her policy areas include homelessness, code enforcement, local transportation, parks & recreation, and environmental issues. She also works on the District 1 Newsletter and website. 

Prior to serving District 1, Annale interned for the Office of Supervisor Jane Kim in San Francisco. There she spoke with constituents about city-wide issues and researched legislative topics ranging from protected bike lanes to affordable housing. She also interned at Bay Area Legal Aid, working with pro-bono lawyers to serve low income residents of San Jose. Annale is in the process of obtaining her Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from San Jose State University. 
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​In her free time, Annale likes cooking, hiking, antiquing, and reading.
Grace Kobylinski, Policy and Legislative Aide
Grace is the first generation in her family to be born in San José (and the USA), after her parents emigrated from Poland in 1986. She grew up in San Jose, spending much of her childhood in the Cambrian Park area where her mother started a small, but successful, eatery called Heartbeat Café. She holds very dear to her heart memories of working at the café and helping turn the family business into a gathering place for members of the community. Grace attended Sonoma State University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology/Criminal Justice Studies in May 2012. Following graduation, she went to work at FireEye, a network security company in the Silicon Valley. While working full time, she went back to school for her Master’s Degree in Justice Studies and graduated in May of 2017.

​In her spare time, Grace enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband, Adam, and their dog Henry. Grace is passionate about pit bulls and animal rescue, spending her free time advocating for the breed.
Ngan Nguyen, Council Aide
Ngan received her undergraduate degree in Furniture Design from San Diego State University and spent time as an interior designer, before making a career change into Urban Planning. She is currently finishing her Master's degree in Urban Planning at San Jose State University. Ngan holds a background in community development and engagement. Her focus and passion lies in social and environmental justice, and racial equity. 

Ngan is a San José native who spends her free time reading comic books, taking spontaneous trips to the beach, and spending quality time with her friends and her cat. You might even catch her riding her bike in downtown San José, where she currently resides. ​
Michael Saunders, FUSE Executive Fellow
Michael was born and raised in Queens, New York and has been a resident of San Jose for over 30 years. He has worked in a variety of roles in systems engineering, marketing, competitive analysis and business development with IBM and Reuters. He’s performed organizational change consulting with Price Waterhouse Coopers and Towers Perrin. He also served as an Encore Fellow in the San Jose Mayor's Office.

Michael served as Executive Officer for HandsNet, a nonprofit information clearinghouse providing technology services and to human services organizations across the country. He serves on the board of TechSoup Global, a nonprofit providing technology to NGO's in the U.S. and over 236 countries around the world.

Michael has a degree in Engineering and Applied Science from Harvard College and an MBA for the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Finance and Strategic Management. He lives with his wife Leslie, and enjoys long walks with their puppy Moses.