About
History
Bridge to the Future – Rites of Passage (ROP), formerly known as Rites of Passage, was founded in 2000 under the leadership of the late Rev. James E. Coffee, Pastor of the Community Baptist Church along with Ms. Shirley Gordon, then a church member and a State Farm executive in Santa Rosa. The vision of the program was to provide a multicultural experience for youth ages 14-18 in Sonoma County. It was designed to engage trusted and venerable community leaders (elders) to serve as role models, passing on the principles of self-awareness, purpose, and responsibility. Since the organization’s inception over 20 years ago, more than 325 students have completed the program.
ROP has delivered a consistent, yet contemporary curriculum that includes lifestyle skills, career awareness, cultural awareness, team building, self-esteem, mental and physical wellbeing, and communication. The Rites of Passage program is not faith-based, but a multicultural program open to all local youth.
![Rev. James Coffee](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/james-coffee.jpg)
![Shirley Gordon](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/shirley-brown.jpg)
Board of Directors
![Shirley Gordon](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/shirley-brown.jpg)
Shirley Gordon
Past President / Co-Founder
![Shirley Gordon](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/shirley-brown.jpg)
Shirley Gordon
Past President / Co-Founder
![Bobbie Denmon](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0012_Bobbie_Denmon.jpg)
Bobbie Denmon
President
![Bobbie Denmon](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0012_Bobbie_Denmon.jpg)
Bobbie Denmon
President
![Chris Smith](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0010_Chris-Smith.jpg)
Chris Smith
Secretary
![Chris Smith](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0010_Chris-Smith.jpg)
Chris Smith
Secretary
![Tony Maestri](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0003_Tony-Maestri.jpg)
Tony Maestri
Treasurer
![Tony Maestri](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0003_Tony-Maestri.jpg)
Tony Maestri
Treasurer
![Janice Hendricks](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Janice-Hendricks-Headshot.jpg)
Janice Hendricks
Member
![Janice Hendricks](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Janice-Hendricks-Headshot.jpg)
Janice Hendricks
Member
![Vivian Coffee](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0001_Vivian-Coffee-2.jpg)
Vivian Coffee
Member
![Vivian Coffee](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0001_Vivian-Coffee-2.jpg)
Vivian Coffee
Member
![Pauline Woodard](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0007_Pauline-Woodard.jpg)
Pauline Woodard
Member
![Pauline Woodard](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0007_Pauline-Woodard.jpg)
Pauline Woodard
Member
![Chantal Jenkins](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0011_Chantal-Jenkins.jpg)
Chantal Jenkins
Member
![Chantal Jenkins](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0011_Chantal-Jenkins.jpg)
Chantal Jenkins
Member
![](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/lynn-silvia.jpg)
Lynn Silva
Member
![](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/lynn-silvia.jpg)
Lynn Silva
Member
![Shawntel Reece](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0005_Shawntel-Reece.jpg)
Shawntel Reece
Member
![Shawntel Reece](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0005_Shawntel-Reece.jpg)
Shawntel Reece
Member
![Harriet T. Gray](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0009_Harriet-Gray.jpeg.jpg)
Harriet Gray
Member
![Harriet T. Gray](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0009_Harriet-Gray.jpeg.jpg)
Harriet Gray
Member
![Lisa Orloff](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/lisa-orloff.jpg)
Lisa Orloff
Member
![Lisa Orloff](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/lisa-orloff.jpg)
Lisa Orloff
Member
Steering Committee
![Vivian Coffee](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0001_Vivian-Coffee-2.jpg)
Vivian Coffee
Co-Chair
![Harriet T. Gray](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/rop-board_0009_Harriet-Gray.jpeg.jpg)
Harriet Gray
Co-Chair
![Roxanne Phillips Bradley](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Roxanne-Phillips-Bradley.jpg)
Roxanne Bradley
![](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/lynn-silvia.jpg)
Lynn Silva
![Honor Jackson](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Honor-Jackson.jpg)
Honor Jackson
![Marie Grimes](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Marie-Grimes.jpg)
Marie Grimes
![Susan Saludes](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Susan-Saludes.jpg)
Susan Saludes
![Trina Stanford](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Trina-Stanford.jpg)
Trina Stanford
Advisory Committee
- Carolyn Lee
![Janay Gomez](http://bridgetothefuturerop.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/janay_gomez.jpg)
I am a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner for Seneca, a Bay Area-based non-profit providing care for pediatric populations in CA and WA. I am the Assistant Director of Nursing and I’m on the COVID-19 Response Team, leading nurses and nurse practitioners in an agency of over 1500 employees through the current pandemic. I have also served as a board member for the Bay Area Black Nurses Association, a local chapter of the esteemed National Black Nurses Association. I earned a Masters of Science in Nursing from Holy Names University, a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Samuel Merritt University, and a Bachelors of Science in Human Development from UC Davis. I am a true public health nurse at heart, a mom of three (2 y.o., 4 y.o., and a 6 y.o.), and a proud graduate of the Bridge to the Future Rites of Passage Class of 2002.