Lenore Gunst

Lenore McDonald Gunst, Consultant and Non-Profit Volunteer Leader

Lenore retired in 2021 from a 30-year career in non-profit leadership and fundraising, primarily in higher education and healthcare for seniors, and she now consults and volunteers on nonprofit boards and commissions. She has lived and worked as a development professional in the Bay Area in Marin County, San Francisco, and since 2014 in Oakland. While living in San Francisco, she sold her car and relied on her bicycle for transportation. As a cycling commuter, she honed her passion for advocating for safe cycling for transportation.

Lenore served on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition from 2011-2014. Through their strategic planning and advocacy work, the Coalition served a critical role in establishing a network of dedicated bike lanes designed to increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians and for more convenient safe public transportation by bus, BART, bikeshare, rideshare and other means of transportation. Several of the group’s leaders are now engaged in Vision Zero, an international initiative to end pedestrian fatalities, and in Oakland’s Safe Streets program.

From 2011-2021, Lenore served as Director of Government Relations and Fund Development at Center for Elders’ Independence, headquartered in Downtown Oakland. In this role, she advocated for more and better high-quality services for seniors, bringing the voice of seniors forward to health and housing officials, civic and state leaders who are responsible for allocating resources equitably and effectively. Earlier in her career she served as Director of Annual Giving and Alumni services at Golden Gate University, and as Director of Auxiliary Services and Project Manager for Campus Development at Dominican University. Lenore holds a BS in Business Administration from Dominican University, is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive, and a Certified Project Management Professional.

In her volunteer roles, Lenore has served with a variety of organizations. She served on the Board of the Golden Gate Chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals from 2009 - 2014. In 2019 she was elected to the Board of the League of Women Voters of Oakland, where she served on the Fundraising Committee and on the Budget Committee and assisted in a successful initiative to increase voter participation in underserved communities in Oakland during the 2020 “Covid” election. Lenore is a founding director at Cardea Health, providing healthcare services to homeless, and she is the Chair of the City of Oakland Mayor’s Commission on Aging.

Lenore represents the League of Women Voters of Alameda County on the Alameda County Transportation Commission Independent Watchdog Committee (IWC). The IWC audits and provides oversight on expenditures and performance measurements funded with Measures B and BB sales tax revenues, for bicycle and pedestrian safety projects and programs, and for capital and roadway improvements by cities and public transportation agencies serving residents of Alameda County.

Lenore’s personal mission over the past 20 years has been to make cycling a safe, accessible means of transportation for people of all ages, and to help to oversee the proper and prudent use of funding for safe pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, both areas of keen interest and alignment, along with her commitment to having safe, convenient, and accessible public transportation; and to advocate for the safety, health and well-being of older adults.