Our Founding Story
The Bowens in Yosemite
When asked if she wanted to have kids, my friend said, “I just don’t want to be limited.” Exhausted, challenged, and usually covered in dirt and dinner? Definitely. But limited? No, at least not in the ways you’d expect.
I still travel, still spend weekends exploring, and still try to pursue my passions. Of course, I have to be flexible with where and how I do these things, but I can still do it all. I just do it with my munchkins. Where I find myself constrained is with child-care, pursuing a career, and engaging in service. I want to be the best mother to my kids. I want to do meaningful work. I want to create positive change in my community. But very real institutional and social obstacles obstruct me. Should I lean in or lean out? Will I face the motherhood penalty at work or face judgment for leaving my children during a critical time in their lives? As a woman, can I have it all or is it an ideal that can’t be obtained?
After two kids and experiencing the joys and struggles as both a stay-at-home mom and a working mom, I decided it doesn’t have to be either/or. We can and should be able to be the parents, professionals, and people we want to be. But we can’t do it unless we transform the way families engage in parenting, work, and in service. The Community Impact LAB is my effort to empower parents, especially mothers to live, give, and grow to their fullest potential. We thrive on family-friendly practices and design our projects to engage everyone, young and old. We include children where we can (they help cook meals for a women’s shelter) or provide childcare (co-parents help watch kids so other parents can participate in workshops and talks), we plan events around naps and bedtime schedules, and we have inclusive conversations about parenting, health, and careers over a spread of goldfish, juice boxes, wine, and coffee (all essential for fueling parents and kids).
All of this matters. We’ve been able to collect and give over $750,000 in goods to help families in need, facilitate women-led workshops on everything from physical therapy and mental health to cooking and addressing imposter syndrome, and build a village of families that supports one another, ALL while caring for children. My hope is that the Community Impact LAB helps mothers seize the agency to pursue it all, have it all. We’re all capable and called to be the difference and I believe the more support we provide each other, the bigger the impact. Together, we can remove the constraints that limit us, and we can improve our communities.
--Xouhoa Bowen, Founder & CEO
I still travel, still spend weekends exploring, and still try to pursue my passions. Of course, I have to be flexible with where and how I do these things, but I can still do it all. I just do it with my munchkins. Where I find myself constrained is with child-care, pursuing a career, and engaging in service. I want to be the best mother to my kids. I want to do meaningful work. I want to create positive change in my community. But very real institutional and social obstacles obstruct me. Should I lean in or lean out? Will I face the motherhood penalty at work or face judgment for leaving my children during a critical time in their lives? As a woman, can I have it all or is it an ideal that can’t be obtained?
After two kids and experiencing the joys and struggles as both a stay-at-home mom and a working mom, I decided it doesn’t have to be either/or. We can and should be able to be the parents, professionals, and people we want to be. But we can’t do it unless we transform the way families engage in parenting, work, and in service. The Community Impact LAB is my effort to empower parents, especially mothers to live, give, and grow to their fullest potential. We thrive on family-friendly practices and design our projects to engage everyone, young and old. We include children where we can (they help cook meals for a women’s shelter) or provide childcare (co-parents help watch kids so other parents can participate in workshops and talks), we plan events around naps and bedtime schedules, and we have inclusive conversations about parenting, health, and careers over a spread of goldfish, juice boxes, wine, and coffee (all essential for fueling parents and kids).
All of this matters. We’ve been able to collect and give over $750,000 in goods to help families in need, facilitate women-led workshops on everything from physical therapy and mental health to cooking and addressing imposter syndrome, and build a village of families that supports one another, ALL while caring for children. My hope is that the Community Impact LAB helps mothers seize the agency to pursue it all, have it all. We’re all capable and called to be the difference and I believe the more support we provide each other, the bigger the impact. Together, we can remove the constraints that limit us, and we can improve our communities.
--Xouhoa Bowen, Founder & CEO
Our Team of Changemakers
Xouhoa Bowen
Founder & CEO, Board President
Tom, Roxana, Pax, Xouhoa & Hux
Before founding Community Impact Lab, Xouhoa served in the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan focusing on education and gender equality, taught refugees in inner-city Milwaukee, worked as a teacher, faculty manager, and curriculum designer in South Korea. As a refugee from Laos, Xouhoa is acutely aware of the power of having access to opportunities has on a person’s ability to succeed. She’s a passionate advocate for gender equality and educational equity and hopes to drive increased access to opportunity. She’s mama bear to three clever and energetic kids and credits them for inspiring her to redefine the way we see parents and creating a landscape were parents can thrive. Xouhoa co-founded San Leandro Women Entrepreneurs, has served on the San Leandro Education Foundation Board, the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee, and the San Leandro Community Equity Committee, and was awarded the 2017 San Leandro Mayor's Award of Excellence for her commitment to the community. Xouhoa has a B.A. in Psychology and International Affairs from Marquette University, an MBA from Norwich University, and a Certificate in Social Sector Leadership from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Excels at: Turning obstacles into opportunities and nudging people to act. She also gave up on sleep after the kids were born and has fully embraced coffee and wine to do more than she has time and energy for.
Favorite Parent Perk: Being able to help her amazing, little humans explore, grow, and laugh.
Loves about CIL: The dynamic and generous families that support one another, the many way our projects improve lives, and our approach to integrating family, work, and community life.
Favorite Parent Perk: Being able to help her amazing, little humans explore, grow, and laugh.
Loves about CIL: The dynamic and generous families that support one another, the many way our projects improve lives, and our approach to integrating family, work, and community life.
Amanda El-Dakhakhni
Board Director
Amanda, Emily, and Muhamed
Amanda is a lawyer and public policy strategist. She has spent her career facilitating meaningful conversations across aisles, from advising emerging technology startups on how they can grow responsibly and partner with policymakers to advance common social goals, to her time in the U.S. Senate and Obama-Biden White House supporting diplomatic efforts across the Middle East. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School and B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Born and raised in Hawai’i, Amanda currently lives in Oakland, CA with her husband Mohamed and their three-year-old daughter, Emily, whose curiosity inspires her every day.
Excels at: Asking the right questions to uncover the “why” or the core of a problem. Helping people (adults and kids!) find common ground through empathy.
Favorite parent perk: My daughter helps me see the world through fresh eyes and her persistent questions keep me on my toes!
Loves about CIL: CIL is a safe space where you don’t have to compartmentalize your identities to fit in: you can show up with your whole self to learn, grow, and give with others.
Motherhood has brought out my intuitive superpower. From making business decisions to knowing my daughter is up to something when the house goes quiet!
Born and raised in Hawai’i, Amanda currently lives in Oakland, CA with her husband Mohamed and their three-year-old daughter, Emily, whose curiosity inspires her every day.
Excels at: Asking the right questions to uncover the “why” or the core of a problem. Helping people (adults and kids!) find common ground through empathy.
Favorite parent perk: My daughter helps me see the world through fresh eyes and her persistent questions keep me on my toes!
Loves about CIL: CIL is a safe space where you don’t have to compartmentalize your identities to fit in: you can show up with your whole self to learn, grow, and give with others.
Motherhood has brought out my intuitive superpower. From making business decisions to knowing my daughter is up to something when the house goes quiet!
Amber Ennis
Board Director
Amber grew up in Antioch and moved to Castro Valley when she went to college at CSUEB. She met her husband in CV and after a trying time, found herself blessed with two beautiful daughters. Amber is a true nerd, through and through. If you ever need a recommendation for a good comic book, sci fi show, or movie-this is your person. Majoring in History, she loves going to museums, reading nonfiction, and researching. She was teaching fourth grade before having kids but is hoping to enter the workforce again but in the middle or high school levels to teach History. She loves to bake and craft in her free time with her kids or alone. Even though she struggles with a chronic pain condition, she persists and does what she can to help when her
pain is not flaring up.
Excels at: Being transparent with struggles and past trials so that others can seek help when
needed, either from her or someone else. Also excels at informing and motivating others to be
involved in local causes.
Favorite Parent Perk: Teaching her children math and Spanish in a fun and natural
environment. She also loves that their laughs can just make her world better.
Loves about CIL: She loves that nearly every volunteer event can have children included. It is
so hard to volunteer once you have kids and this is not an issue here! I also love that we look to
help encourage women who need a little lift me up.
pain is not flaring up.
Excels at: Being transparent with struggles and past trials so that others can seek help when
needed, either from her or someone else. Also excels at informing and motivating others to be
involved in local causes.
Favorite Parent Perk: Teaching her children math and Spanish in a fun and natural
environment. She also loves that their laughs can just make her world better.
Loves about CIL: She loves that nearly every volunteer event can have children included. It is
so hard to volunteer once you have kids and this is not an issue here! I also love that we look to
help encourage women who need a little lift me up.
Carolynn Marie Gray Langsdale
Learning LAB Project Director, Systems & Impact Manager, Board President
Chris, Wesley & Carolynn
Carolynn is a licensed Child and Family Psychologist (PSY26218), with more than a decade of experience partnering with and working for nonprofit organizations. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology in 2012, and has specialized in working with children and families, and helping them navigate a wide variety of difficulties that arise both in the normal course of parenting and in extreme circumstances. Her growing-too-fast 15-month old son has helped her to clarify her life's goals and reaffirm the importance of family (of which she has an abundance).
Excels At: Helping projects reach completion, developing systems, tracking numbers, and providing support to others as they work to reach their goals. She's good at clarifying what needs to be done and finding a path to success.
Favorite Parenting Perk: How it highlights the importance of mindfulness and cherishing exactly what is happening in the moment, from the soaking up the feeling of sleepy baby to remembering to put away the phone when interacting with others.
Loves about CIL: The focus on filling a known need in our own backyards while enriching both the recipients and givers of the LAB's good deeds. Creating and capitalizing on a wish that others have to do more and be a greater part of their community is incredibly powerful and inspiring.
Excels At: Helping projects reach completion, developing systems, tracking numbers, and providing support to others as they work to reach their goals. She's good at clarifying what needs to be done and finding a path to success.
Favorite Parenting Perk: How it highlights the importance of mindfulness and cherishing exactly what is happening in the moment, from the soaking up the feeling of sleepy baby to remembering to put away the phone when interacting with others.
Loves about CIL: The focus on filling a known need in our own backyards while enriching both the recipients and givers of the LAB's good deeds. Creating and capitalizing on a wish that others have to do more and be a greater part of their community is incredibly powerful and inspiring.
Christina Means
Social Good LAB Project Director, Board Secretary
Archer, Christina, Justin & Gryphon
Christina is from Virginia but is happy to have called Oakland home for the past 9 years. She’s a parent to two great little boys, co-owner of a small retail and design business with her husband, and a proud Savannah College of Art and Design graduate.
Excels at: Multitasking and prioritizing, whether it be in a corporate office dealing with vendors and sales reps around the world or at home juggling dinner, a barking pup and a two year old’s train track design while nursing her newborn.
Favorite Parent Perk: Discovering the world from a brand new perspective.
Loves About CIL: Families are challenged to go slightly out of their comfort zone and in return they get to help others, meet new people, and teach their children that you are never to old to learn and give.
Favorite Parent Perk: Discovering the world from a brand new perspective.
Loves About CIL: Families are challenged to go slightly out of their comfort zone and in return they get to help others, meet new people, and teach their children that you are never to old to learn and give.
Jessica van Soest
Learning LAB Project Director, Board Director
Derek, Brooklyn, Rylie, & Jessica
Jessica was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and moved to the Bay Area with her husband, daughter, and dog over a year ago. She’s a physical therapist, outdoor enthusiast, and animal lover.
Excels at: Taking on new projects, completing tasks like a champ, and making people feel welcomed.
Favorite Parent Perk: Seeing her daughter’s eyes light up when she discovers something new or accomplishes a task she was not able to previously achieve.
Loves about CIL: It allows me to meet incredible like-minded individuals, to share our ideas and work together to do amazing things.
Favorite Parent Perk: Seeing her daughter’s eyes light up when she discovers something new or accomplishes a task she was not able to previously achieve.
Loves about CIL: It allows me to meet incredible like-minded individuals, to share our ideas and work together to do amazing things.