Board Member, Shaina Kerrigan, founder of Molly J., a CBD-infused, small-batch confection company based in Sausalito, California, was recently interviewed by Heidi James, Vice President of Development. Shaina joined the board in 2021 and has been an invaluable and engaged board member from the start.
Q. What is your background overall and how did you first come to Bread & Roses?
A. I was born and raised in San Diego and moved up to San Francisco after college. At the time, I was obsessed with event planning so I worked in the conference and event industry for three years until the recession hit. In 2009, I started to explore the tech space and began working at a little startup called Yelp, where I was an early hire for the company. When I left nine years later, it had gone public and had over 5000 employees so it was an incredible journey. I climbed the ladder from sales to operations and to running my own org, but, by the end, I burned out having focused so hard on my career above all else. I knew I needed to take stock and redesign my life, so I became curious about wellness. Nutrition, exercise, sleep, and everything in between. Eventually, I found CBD — the ultimate tool that helps keep me balanced. I started Molly J., to “spread the chill” while educating the public, especially women and mothers, about the benefits of CBD confections.
At the same time that I was trying to find more balance in my life, I also started looking for ways to be part of the community and get more involved. My husband and I had set aside money to support local nonprofits, we just didn’t know where to go with it. So, to find a nonprofit I could connect with, I went to the one place I knew best – Yelp. I found Bread & Roses right away and loved the mission so I got involved with the organization as a donor. As I became more interested and had the opportunity to meet with staff, I was asked to join the board.
Q. What makes you passionate about our mission?
A. My dad is really into music and, as a kid, I remember waking up on weekend mornings to music playing all throughout the house. That nostalgia has stuck with me ever since, but it was more recent when I realized how much it can provide therapy and healing. Like Molly J. “spreading the chill,” music can also be a stress reliever and help to take the edge off after a long day.
After becoming part of Bread & Roses, I now realize that listening to live music is a privilege and that everyone deserves access to the healing and joy that music brings. Bread & Roses’s mission to provide live performances to those that wouldn’t necessarily have access – adults in recovery, seniors in convalescent programs and low-income youth in daycare, for example—is why I’m proud to be a part of this organization.
Q. Can you talk about other contributions you have made as a board member?
A. I do whatever I can to help raise awareness for Bread & Roses and have enjoyed introducing many of my family members and friends to the organization. The team at Bread & Roses is incredible at what they do and my goal as a board member is to help to move the organization forward, raising more money and awareness. I also think that there’s an opportunity to reach out to a younger demographic that wasn’t around when Bread & Roses first started in 1974. I know a lot of people who retired early from the tech industry (possibly a little burned out like myself) who could benefit from the hope and joy that music brings!
We are grateful to Shaina for sharing her time and talent with us. She is an exemplary board member.
Executive Director, Dave Perron said this: “Shaina has been a wonderful addition to the board. From the moment we had a chance to interact there was a special quality that defined her personality … connecting with people on many different levels and bringing her zestful heart to make each day distinctive and every individual interaction unique. Bread & Roses has benefited from the new folks she has brought to the organization, while having the gift of Shania being the steady, positive influence on many things B & R related"
Shaina Kerrigan and husband Mark Jones at the Bread & Roses Fall Benefit at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, 2019. Photo by Peter Merts.
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