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Hey, I'm Les
Les Pappas
Les Pappas established Better World Advertising in 1996 and has been creating social marketing campaigns for over 25 years. As President and Creative Director, he has his hands in every aspect of the social marketing process, from developing messages with client to overseeing the implementation of a campaign. Les believes that social marketing is a limitless force for helping people and creating a stronger, healthier society.
Prior to founding BWA, Les served as the Director of Prevention Campaigns for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation for ten years. His campaigns were featured in numerous national and international media outlets including CNN and Time Magazine. He has volunteered on numerous boards and committees, including the San Francisco HIV Prevention Planning Council, Health Initiatives for Youth, and was a founding member and chairperson of both TARC (now Tenderloin Health) and 18th Street Services (now merged with New Leaf).
Originally from Massachusetts, Les received a BA from Clark University and an MPA from the University of San Francisco. He is passionate about automobile design and has a penchant for photography.
President & Creative Director
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Hey, I'm Sheldon!
Sheldon DeSouza
Sheldon DeSouza is a native of Trinidad, WI which accounts for his easygoing demeanor, but don’t let his “don’t worry be happy” attitude fool you. He is a passionate activist for many causes dear to his heart including youth, the arts, gay rights and HIV/AIDS research. Sheldon is co-founder and vice-chair of The Black Gay Men’s Network; a national brotherhood of professional black gay men committed to improving lives, health and building community in order to make social change.
Sheldon attended Rider University in New Jersey where he majored in Computer Science. He went on to earn a master’s from Steven’s Institute of Technology and continued his studies towards Project Management Professional certification. Sheldon has a broad background in IT/Project Management and has managed highly complex initiatives for Fortune 100 companies, including Time Warner as Director of Quality Assurance – Interactive Media.
Sheldon’s role at BWA is the culmination of his training and passion. He is responsible for managing HIV Stops With Me, a multifaceted national social marketing campaign preventing the spread of HIV and reducing stigma associated with the disease. He is also managing a new national HIV testing campaign for the CDC targeting Black and Latino MSM.
In his free time, Sheldon can be found in the gym, on the beach with a good book or blasting his favorite house music.
Project Manager
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Hi, I'm Yan
Yan Wu
A San Francisco native, Yan Wu leads the implementation of all online campaign components at Better World. As the team’s resident web designer Yan design and develops wireframes and user interfaces for multi-tiered websites. She manages social networking components, builds databases and contributes to the design of identity systems, print, outdoor and outreach media.
Since joining the agency Yan has worked on a number of health, harm reduction and youth-related campaigns including the “Me Not Meth” campaign, which aimed to reduce meth addiction among gay men. She also worked on the “Foster Kids Are Our Kids”, a campaign that helps reduce stigma around foster care in Illinois. Her websites have won awards and shown measured success in the issues they address.
Prior to working at Better World, Yan served as a compliance analyzer at Charles Schwab and graphic designer at Novogradac & Company, LLP. She has also worked with a number of API organizations including the Center for Asian American Media and Kearny Street Workshop. She continuously strives to use her skills to improve and make a difference in people’s lives. Yan graduated with a Bachelor of Art’s degree in Industrial Arts from San Francisco State University and spends her free time hiking the multitude of scenic trails in the Bay Area.
Senior Interactive Designer
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Hi, I’m Cynthia!
Cynthia Lyon
Cynthia has a wide range of interests. Her passion for organization has been a central theme, spanning the fields of the environment, golf and antiques. She has also worked in multiple accounting environments, giving her a wide perspective in different accounting practices. Central to that diversity is her ability to keep things in balance.
Cynthia has been a lifelong collector of antiques and can be found rummaging around auctions, estate sales and yard sales on the weekends. Her interest has been transformed into a fledgling business. Many people are unmoved by accounting, but Cynthia’s irreverent sense of humor livens up BWA’s entire finance department (which would actually just be Cynthia).
With over 20 years business experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors, her finance-savvy background is welcome in BWA’s world of social marketing. Cynthia has a B.S. in Conservation from the University of California, Berkeley.
Finance Manager
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Hi, I'm Emily
Emily Foran
Originally from Maine, Emily Foran moved to San Francisco the day after she graduated college to pursue a design career in hopes of addressing social issues through her work. As art director at Better World, Emily leads the Design Team to produce campaign components including branding, print collateral, web graphics and TV commercials for national and local organizations. She also orchestrates communication between project managers and designers, manages the workflow and edits copy.
Emily has designed several award-winning projects at Better World in issue areas ranging from HIV prevention to youth suicide. She art directed and designed the “Don’t Be Silent About Smoking” campaign, which is an ongoing tobacco cessation effort targeting doctors in NY state. Emily also developed the four phases for the “Adoption SF” campaign, which promotes the adoption of foster kids by LGBT parents. She has been contributing to the “HIV Stops With Me” campaign for over eight years.
Prior to working at Better World, Emily designed brand identify systems, packaging and in-store signage for large retail chains. She has also designed collateral for several nonprofit organizations, including Habitat For Humanity, Teenage Pregnancy and Planning of San Francisco and the Angel Island Association. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Communications Design from Syracuse University. She loves spending time with her husband and their willful terrier, Gryffin.
Art Director
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Yo! I’m JT!
John Tangco
Born in sunny San Diego, John trekked to the fog city to join the ranks of Better World Advertising in San Francisco. As interactive designer, he implements advancing technologies and techniques into campaign websites and other online media. While closely following web trends, he prioritizes the end-user’s experience by prioritizing clean interfaces.
At Better World, John spearheaded the “HIV Stops With Me” website’s transition into a more manageable content management system. Since then, the site has become easier for the campaign’s HIV positive spokesmodels to share their experiences in their own words. Aside from “HIV Stops With Me,” John makes significant contributions to several campaigns whether it be in the form of html code or conceptual design.
Before joining the team, John redesigned websites for San Francisco-based nonprofits including The St. Anthony Foundation, an organization providing several services to the poor, and Protect and Defend, a community recognizing LGBT peace officers and service members. Outside of work, he balances his life by using his massage certification to relax others and trains in his system of kung fu. One day, he hopes to become just as proficient at healing muscle as he is at bruising it.
Interactive Designer
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Hi, I'm Joseph
Joseph Bucciarelli
Born and mostly raised in New Jersey, Joseph Bucciarelli spent a few years attending college and hugging trees in the mountains of Vermont. There he studied everything from ceramics to Chinese poetry, and hopped on the pre-web Internet in 1993. Joseph eventually made his way to California to pursue his passion for technology, and its capability to empower and improve people’s lives. After a few years at Wired magazine and on through the dot-com boom, Joseph is thrilled to play his part of the team at Better World.
Operations Manager
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Hi, I’m Meredith!!!
Meredith Bratton
A native New Yorker, Meredith Bratton attended Philadelphia’s Temple University where she earned a BA in Advertising from the School of Communications and Theater. As a student, Meredith served as Account Manager for Temple’s student-run ad agency, Diamond Edge Communications. Soon after graduating, she returned home to New York City where she sparked her interest in social marketing by volunteering at Heart Gallery. A nonprofit agency, Heart Gallery aims to establish permanent homes for NYC’s unplaced children by combating stigma associated with foster care.
After finding a voice through advocacy, Meredith pursued social marketing by interning at Better World Advertising. As an intern, she contributed to various campaigns such as “Where’s My PE?,” “Faith Fights Diabetes,” and “Half the Care.” In her role as intern, she assisted in market research, media planning, and media buying.
Meredith is eager to begin her career alongside BWA’s dedicated team of professionals. Stepping into her new role as Project Coordinator, she hopes that her skills and passions provide meaningful insight into social marketing campaigns. Meredith spends her free time reading, wandering the streets of New York City and laughing with close friends and family.
Project Coordinator
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Hello, I’m Brett!
Brett Mendenhall
Brett Mendenhall was raised on Bainbridge Island, Washington, across the Puget Sound to Seattle. After attending school and working in Los Angeles for almost a decade, he is thrilled to be in San Francisco, a city that so closely aligns with his passion for public health and other social causes. Brett first found his calling in public health when he participated in AIDS/LifeCycle as a freshman in college. This 545-mile fundraiser bike ride from not only sparked an interest in HIV and LGBT causes, but also a realization that improving the world can be deeply rewarding.
Brett previously served as executive director for the UCLA Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services (CHIPTS), where he managed domestic research projects, facilitated grant development, convened community leaders to give input on at-risk populations, and developed a website and social media for the center. He has a broad background in project management, ranging from HIV research initiatives to music production. Brett graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master of Public Health degree with a focus on health communication, and a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Studies.
He believes in the power of new media to affect social change and is looking forward to contributing to Better World’s campaigns. While not working, Brett can be found exploring his passion for electronic and indie music, both attending shows and producing them. He has a love affair with his bike and looks forward to training for the annual AIDS/LifeCycle ride in the beautiful Bay Area landscape.
Project Manager
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Hey, I'm Heather
Heather Holt
Heather Holt recently joined the BWA team with five years of experience as an advertising account manager. In her previous position, Heather managed all aspects of complex, integrated advertising campaigns for key client accounts in a tight deadline-driven environment. These campaigns include everything from traditional print and digital advertising to email marketing, text messaging, social media, event sponsorships and more.
She came to BWA with a strong desire to apply her knowledge and expertise in the advertising industry to a career that would feel more meaningful and allow her to contribute to making the world a better, more socially just place.
As a Project Manager at BWA she manages, researches, tests, plans, develops and implements social marketing campaigns. Most recently she has worked on the Immunity campaign to educate and motivate the public to get immunized. She is also working on a multi-pronged tobacco prevention campaign in Santa Clara County.
Heather is originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She earned her B.A. in Women’s Studies at Colorado College. She has lived in San Francisco for ten years and is proud to call such a vibrant and beautiful city home. In her spare time she enjoys seeing live music, traveling, spending time with her friends and hanging out with her husband and their dog.
Project Manager
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Oh hey! I'm Jaweer!
Jaweer
A native of Denver, Jaweer Brown’s wanderlust has carried her to live in Atlanta, San Diego and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before landing in New York. Jaweer came to BWA from a unique trajectory – from the conceptualization, design and management of sexual and reproductive health prevention programs. She has over a decade of experience, primarily in the non-profit sector from global foundations, USAID funded bilaterals and large advocacy oriented non-profits in over a dozen countries across Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. She credits her year of living in Ethiopia with her love of tea and coffee.
Prior to joining BWA, Jaweer was the Technical Advisor for Family Planning with the RESPOND Project at EngenderHealth where she developed a Contraceptive Security tool that applied GIS technology to map contraceptive methods, human resources and medical equipment available at clinics at the district level in Tanzania. Jaweer earned her Masters in Public Health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and a certificate in International Healthcare Management from Yale University.
A naturally gregarious person, she enjoys fostering not just strategic, but genuine relationships and partnerships that add to the richness and strength of new social movements. She is excited to apply her passion for gender, sexuality and health, to the team at BWA. Outside of work, Jaweer enjoys surfing, eating the best fish tacos and finding the city’s best brewed lattes (not in that order).
Vice President
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Hello, I’m David!
David Contois
A recent San Francisco transplant, David Contois has over 20 years entrepreneurial experience and has been passionate about social marketing for the majority of that time. With a background in design, marketing and communications, he has worked with countless nonprofits over the years on social media, marketing strategy, and designing print and online collateral.
David founded KnowCrystal.org, providing “information without judgment” for gay and bisexual men who use crystal meth. He has lead other community efforts like the establishment of Balboa Park Trails, with over 65 miles of running and walking trails in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
David has served as a volunteer on nonprofit boards at the San Diego Foundation, San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative, Mama’s Kitchen and the San Diego Ad Club. He is currently serving as a pro-bono consultant with the Taproot Foundation.
Prior to joining Better World, David established BluSkye Group, a strategic marketing and design studio, and worked as the Communications Director for the San Diego Repertory Theatre. He holds a B.A. in History from San Diego State University and a Masters in Business from National University. David enjoys painting, fitness, philanthropy, reading just about anything and spending time with his partner, daughter and dog (a boxer.)
Vice President
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Hey, I'm Dusty
Dustin York
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dustin York joined BWA in effort to use his graphic design skills to make some change in the world. While in Canada, he was the art director at The Coast, an alternative weekly newspaper. Dusty also served as a designer for several marketing firms in the US and Canada, developing print and outdoor media, online advertising and e-learning materials. He has an honors Bachelor of Design degree from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University.
Dusty has contributed to several award-winning campaigns at Better World. He helped to conceive, art direct and design the brand identity system for I.R.M.A., the International Rectal Microbicides Association. He worked with I.N.P.U.D. to create a campaign for the W.H.O. in Vienna. Most recently, Dusty designed the “Pursuit of Family” campaign for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which included print ads, posters, billboards and bus shelters throughout the U.S.
Dusty is a musician and photographer whose muse is his Mexican street dog, Lupe.
Graphic Designer
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Hi, I’m Rolando!
Rolando Sandor
Rolando Sandor has nearly six years of professional project management experience in business and nonprofit settings. As a Project Manager at BWA, he handles the development of a national AIDS awareness campaign for the Centers for Disease Control and is contributing to the CPPW – INSPIRE tobacco prevention intuitive for Santa Clara County. He holds a BA in Literature from UC Berkeley and is responsible for guiding the development, research and implementation of social marketing campaigns.
After nearly 4 years managing production, distribution and logistics with firms doing business with Asian countries, he shifted gears and became part of the nonprofit sector, working in the fields of education and emotional development. He spearheaded the development and implementation of a social-emotional learning curriculum seeking to standardize the teaching of emotional skills to prevent depression and teen suicide. He also created and fostered a global network of community activists to promote collaboration and dialogue by celebrating cultural differences.
As a recent father to a healthy and mischievous baby boy he has been reintroduced to the simple joys of rediscovering the world. He loves the Bay Area and finds its dynamic energy and fearless approach to change welcoming. A native of Mexico and raised by a single father; his personal experiences imbue his goals and aspirations with compassion and patience.
Project Manager
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Hey, I’m Camilla!
Camilla
Born and raised in sunny Australia, Camilla spent four years studying Marketing and Communications in her hometown of Melbourne. During that time, she studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, exploring many a snowy fjord and tropical vast land in between. As a student she dabbled in the fashion industry and served as an intern for an entertainment company, jumping at the chance to see as much live music as she could along the way.
Camilla previously worked as the marketing coordinator for a small Australian hotel group, but with little interest in the hotel industry, an obsession with New York City, and a greater spark for making a positive change in the world, she waved goodbye to her homeland in pursuit of bigger things. Now that she’s here, she is excited to get involved and contribute to marketing social causes while learning all that she can from the team at Better World.
Intern
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