Commissioners
First 5 Yolo Commissioners
Yolo County Children’s and Families Commission (First 5 Yolo) has identified, funded and supported programs with demonstrable positive impacts on children’s health, safety, and school readiness. Our strong strategic partnerships have allowed us to leverage collective resources to better meet the challenges associated with keeping children healthy and ready to learn.
Lucas Frerichs – Chair, Board of Supervisors
Lucas Frerichs has been a member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors since January 2023 and represents the cities of Davis and Winters, the campus of the University of California at Davis, and the rural land of southwestern Yolo County. Lucas earlier served as Mayor and City Council Member for the City of Davis from 2012-22. As a Yolo County Supervisor, Lucas Frerichs is committed to advancing policy that promotes the ability of families, in all their forms, to have their basic needs met in safe, connected communities where there is opportunity for personal fulfillment, and access to protected natural resources. Lucas’ work in public service began as a longtime staffer in the California State Assembly- working for four separate Assemblymembers. With fifteen years of experience working in the State Capitol, Lucas most recently worked as Associate Director of State Policy for The Nature Conservancy, where he was responsible for advocating on behalf of the environment before the California State Legislature and numerous state agencies. He received a B.A. in government from California State University, Sacramento, and earned a certificate in land use and environmental planning from UC Davis. He also earned his Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He lives in Davis with his wife, Stacie, and their frisky pup, Berryessa.
Sheila Allen – Alternate Chair, Board of Supervisors
Sheila Allen, RN, PhD, has served on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors since January 2025 and represents Davis, El Macero, Willowbank, the Yolo Wildlife Area, and the Davis Migrant Center. As a nurse, and a mom, Sheila has a passion for providing services to children and resources to families to ensure healthy and prosperous childhoods. She also has a deep personal connection to First 5 Yolo, as she served as a founding Commissioner, serving for the commission’s first 10 years and has been a longtime champion of children’s issues. Immediately prior to her election as Supervisor, Sheila served as District 4 Deputy Supervisor and before that she was the Executive Director of the Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance, a nonprofit she founded to ensure everyone in Yolo County can have the resources and support they need to have a healthy aging experience. Sheila also served two terms on the Davis School Board and has served on countless city and county commissions and advisory boards. Sheila was born and raised in rural Wisconsin and graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned her PhD in Nursing at the University of San Francisco, where she met her husband Mitch, and moved to Davis in the 1990s. Sheila raised her 3 kids in Davis and is now a proud grandma to 2 young boys. Her career in public health and her experiences as a parent have taught her that the first five years of a child’s life play an essential role in setting kids up for their best chance for a healthy and productive life.
Anna Domek – District 1 Community Representative
Anna Domek has served as an adjunct professor of Work Experience and a counselor with the Los Rios Community College District for the last fifteen years. In addition, she provides professional development for college faculty across the country in best practices in collegiate instruction through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). She has a Master of Science in Counseling with an emphasis in Career Counseling from Sacramento State University and Bachelor of Arts in History and Psychology from UC Davis. She holds a credential in Equity and Culturally Responsive Teaching for faculty and a credential in Effective Teaching Practices for faculty, the latter earned by completing 25 modules on evidence-based teaching approaches. Professionally she also helped implement grants through the New World of Work and MDRC to help refine lesson plans for California Community Colleges on 21st Century skills, including communication, collaboration, diversity awareness, resilience and digital fluency.
In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering and advocating in her community in a variety of leadership roles, encouraging and supporting her two children in their interests and extracurricular pursuits, and spending time with friends and family. She is a resident of West Sacramento, where she lives with her husband, kids, a dog and two cats.
Sally Brown – District 2 Community Representative
Sally Brown has been a Senior Research Associate with Philliber Research & Evaluation since 1995. While Philliber is based in New York, Sally works from her home office in Winters. She has both an MSW and Ph.D. from the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. Sally has thirty years of experience as a program evaluator both in University and private sector settings. Sally primarily evaluates social service programs in community-based agencies, health care settings, and schools. She has been involved in evaluation efforts of First 5 since nearly its inception. Sally worked as a subcontractor to SRI, International for the First 5 Statewide Evaluation for five years (2002-2007). Since then, she and her team have been awarded contracts, conducted outcomes evaluations, and provided evaluation technical assistance for many First 5 agencies (including Alameda, Sacramento, as well as the 11 rural counties in the Northeast Region), working closely with First 5 commissioners, executive directors, staff, and grantee agencies. Sally is very active with organizations in Winters and Yolo County. She is the fundraising chair for the Winters Friends of the Library and has been the coordinator of their annual Big Day of Giving Campaigns. She also serves on the newly forming Yolo County Library Foundation and is the Chair of the Yolo County Probation Juvenile Review Board. Sally and her husband Jeff have lived in Winters for the past 21 years.
Jenn Rexroad – District 3 Community Representative
Jennifer Rexroad worked and volunteered with at risk youth in Los Angeles, where she was a classroom teacher, before moving to the Sacramento region. She was the Technology Coordinator for Natomas Charter School and a member of the Junior League of Sacramento where she volunteered in programs targeting women and youth. Rexroad holds a degree in Art History from UCLA and a MA in Educational Technology from Pepperdine. She is a founder of Davis Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS). She became an advocate for victims of human trafficking and eventually an advocate for children in foster care. After becoming a foster parent, she founded California Alliance of Caregivers in 2016 to represent the voices of foster & kinship parents to promote the well-being of children in foster care. She and her husband are licensed Yolo County Foster Parents and are currently raising their 2 children in Woodland.
Barbara Boehler – District 4 Community Representative
Barb Boehler has served Yolo County families as a Certified Nurse Midwife since 1982. After graduating from UCSF as a Certified Nurse Midwife, she worked at CommuniCare Health Centers, where she also served as Director of Perinatal Services. Over the course of her career, she provided care and support to thousands of families, with a focus on equitable access to maternal and child health services.
Boehler has also been active in community initiatives supporting public health and family well-being.
She has collaborated with local organizations, health professionals, and community leaders to expand services for women and children throughout the county. She remains committed to the idea that the first years of a child’s life are fundamental to a healthy and productive future.
She and her husband, John Douthitt, live in Yolo County and enjoy spending time with their five grandchildren. She loves traveling with her children and grandchildren, reading, and knitting. At home, she takes great joy in watching her dog, Amos, play soccer.
Melissa Roberts – District 5 Community Representative
More information to come.
Garth Lewis – Yolo County Office of Education Superintendent
Garth Lewis serves as the Yolo County Superintendent of Schools. He was elected to this position in 2018. Over the course of his 23 year career in K-12 education, Superintendent Lewis has served as a para-educator, teacher, site and district administrator, and Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services and Equity at the Yolo County Office of Education. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the California Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (CASCD).
As County Superintendent, Mr. Lewis supports and provides leadership to approximately 300 employees, which he is certain are the agency’s most valuable resources. Additionally, his collaborative work supports each of the five school districts and other key agencies that serve children, youth, and families throughout Yolo County. He believes access to a high quality public education is a significant factor in improving life-outcomes for all children, particularly those experiencing poverty.
Mr. Lewis earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from California State University, Sacramento. He holds a Multiple-subjects Teaching Credential and a K-12 Administrative Services Credential.
His wife, Maria, is a public school teacher in Yolo County and both of their children attend public schools in Yolo County.
Dr. Aimee Sisson – County of Yolo Health Officer
Dr. Sisson enjoys playing soccer, running and walking with her dog, Lucy, and spending time with her fiancé, Vanessa. She is a proud aunt to six nieces and nephews.
Nichole Arnold – Children with Special Needs Representative
Nichole understands from personal experience the importance of family support programs funded by First 5 Yolo and the challenges faced by parents of special needs children. She grew up in a home struggling with financial survival and is the mother of a child who receives speech therapy, has a paraeducator at his side, and an individualized education plan (IEP) at his elementary school. Following high school Nichole attended Woodland Community College, then left to care for her ailing mother while holding down two jobs to make ends meet. After her mother’s death, Nichole became guardian for her younger sister. Nichole faced even more challenges as a young child when she was seriously burned in an accident and received treatment at the UC Davis Burn Center. Later, when she was 9 years old the Fire Fighters Burn Institute offered her a chance to attend its Kids Camp. She attended every year until she was 18 years old; became a “counselor in training” until she was 21; and then became a camp counselor for the next five years. Now Nichole volunteers with the Fire Fighters Burn Institute in Sacramento. Nichole is honored to serve as a First 5 Yolo commissioner because she is passionate about helping low-income at risk children and families get the services they need to survive and thrive; with no judgment about why they need help. Nichole resides in Davis with her husband and three children.