Board of Directors

Ellen Hathaway, Co-President
Ellen has been on the board of directors since she helped found San Francisco Rock Project in June 2010 and served as its President the first two years. She has worked in education-based nonprofit administration with preschools, colleges, study abroad programs and graduate schools throughout her career, and feels that Rock Project provides an ideal learning environment for students to be themselves, work with others, be mentored, and to develop as artists. She is the Director of Brightworks, a K-12 school in San Francisco, and her daughter Zada and son Isaac are in their third year of studying bass, drums, keyboards and vocals with the teachers at San Francisco Rock Project.

Martha Stabler, Co-President
Martha has been active in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years. She has worked in development for numerous local organizations, including United Cerebral Palsy Association, Insulin For Life, and The Democracy Center. She has served on numerous local boards and committees including Mobilization Against AIDS, Cathedral School for Boys, The Bayview Mission, and The Green Schools Alliance. She credits San Francisco Rock Project with turning her classically-trained and formerly practice-averse pianist son into a serious bass player who has to be reminded to stop practicing to eat, sleep, etc.

Peter Stabler, Treasurer
By day, Peter is a financial analyst covering the advertising and digital media industries for Wells Fargo Securities. Off-duty, he stands in near-constant awe of the talent, commitment, and enthusiasm of Rock Project kids and their appreciation for an enormously broad spectrum of past and present rock and roll. He enjoys attending Bay Area shows with his wife and kids and forever regrets that day he stood slack-jawed next to his favorite artist Tom Waits, unable to utter a single word of appreciation for the man’s world-changing work.

John Berliner, Member
John is Director of Technology at Live Oak School, a progressive K-8 school in San Francisco. John was a founding member of San Francisco Rock Project, where his son Cole and daughter Sasha were enrolled from 2010 to 2014. His kids’ musical education at Rock Project was instrumental in contributing to their success at Oakland School for the Arts. John’s all-time favorite band is probably Magma.

Eric Chang, Member
Eric Chang works as Director of Sales Engineering for Rubrik, Inc. a technology startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has lived in the Bay Area most of his life, and although he grew up in a classical music household, he found his musical calling after hearing Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin. Eric’s favorite guitar manufacturer is Gibson, owning both an Explorer and SG. His son now rocks out with him in the family living room turned rehearsal studio thanks to a very understanding wife/mom.

Marcella Gries, Member
Marcella loves music and teaching and has been involved with the San Francisco Rock Project since its founding. She has performed in Bay Area bands for more than 10 years. When not touring with her band or collaborating with artists to create sound and art for the Exploratorium’s Tactile Dome, she recruits bands to rock out with our kids. Marcella is inspired by helping generations of musicians come together, and sharing the thrill of making music an integral part of one’s life.

Alicia Hathorne, Member
Alicia Hathorne is a Bay Area native and alumnus of UC Santa Cruz (where they actually let her play with lasers while doing her thesis in geophysics). Her background has varied from bookkeeper to pastry chef with many things in between, but she particularly enjoys her role as Rocker Mom. Her two children, Nick and Natasha, are lucky enough to be musicians with SFRP, where they have learned not just guitar, keys, bass and vocals, but how to be part of a band and perform before an audience. Nick has also learned how to properly coil a guitar cable and load a van. She has seen firsthand how performing music has allowed kids like hers, who aren’t interested in team sports, to still have the experience of being a crucial member of a team. She is dedicated to helping Rock Project to grow and thrive so that many other kids can have this wonderful and unique experience.

Howard Mah, Member
Howard is the CFO and co-founder of United States Commodity Funds LLC and USCF Advisers LLC. The companies serve as the General Partner, Sponsor or Investment Adviser to 13 exchange-traded commodity and equity products that are listed and traded on the NYSE Arca. Howard’s son Timothy has been at Rock Project for three years, taking part in performance programs, summer camps and House Band. Howard attributes Timothy’s extensive participation in live performances at Rock Project over the years as a key instrumental factor in his admission into and ongoing success at Oakland School for the Arts and his development as a musician. Through the music of Rock Project, Howard is not only rediscovering the music of his youth but is also discovering a new vast lineup of bands and cool rock music. However, being totally inept at being able to play any musical instrument, Howard now serves as an intern roadie to his son and hopes that when his son makes it to the big time that he’ll be allowed to carry the clipboard and not lug around the heavy equipment in his advanced age.