who we are
Mission & Vision
Mission
Sonoma Valley Health and Recreation Association, known as Sonoma Splash, partners with SVUSD to provide a financially sustainable state-of-the-art aquatic facility that creates a vibrant community hub where all Sonoma Valley residents can safely learn to swim, participate in aquatic activities, and have fun in the water.
Vision & Goals
Sonoma Splash is dedicated to providing aquatics education and safety, water fitness, and water sports and recreation for all members of the Sonoma Valley community.
- We emphasize accessibility for all residents of Sonoma Valley, and strive to offer a wide variety of aquatic programming to suit our diverse community’s needs.
- We emphasize affordability, through generous scholarship programs and partnerships with other nonprofits and local governments to ensure cost is not a barrier to participation in water safety classes and aquatic activities.
- We hire and train people who are passionate about water safety and aquatic activities, and offer them a great team working environment with growth opportunities and competitive compensation.
- We create a robust financial model that allows safe, high-quality programming while producing net revenues that contribute to the long-term sustainability of the aquatic facility.
a STATE-OF-THE-ART, MULTI-USE FACILITy
Sonoma Splash’s partnership with the Sonoma Valley Unified School District has created a new high school aquatic center, modeled after the country’s premier aquatic and recreation facilities. The aquatic center provides Sonoma Valley’s students and residents with a multi-use facility that incorporates a 25-yard pool with 16 lanes and a smaller warmer-water instructional pool.
The aquatic center will meet student needs while providing a dynamic programming package offering a wide variety of aquatic education, safety and fitness programs. Maximizing use is the key to success for any community pool – this facility will be designed to accommodate physical education for students, competitive swim programs and events, learn-to-swim programs, lap swimming, aquatic recreation, water safety, physical therapy and much more.
The high school aquatic center provides meaningful access to the water for Sonoma Valley residents of all ages while creating a diverse revenue stream to ensure long-term sustainability.
staff
Jane Hansen
Aquatics Director
Jane began her swimming career in 1976 on Ann Curtis swim team in Marin County, CA at the age of 5. She was taught to swim by Olympic Gold medalist, Ann Curtis Cuneo. Growing up in Marin and in the Houston, Texas area she swam for the Woodlands swim team, Indian Valley Aquatic Club, Terra Linda Orcas and SwimMarin. In high school Jane swam for her Terra Linda Trojans and began playing water polo in her sophomore year (the first girls team). In her Senior year she was the first girl ever to be on the boy’s Varsity team. She attended UC San Diego. earning a BA in Communication and winning 2 National Championships as captain of the water polo team. She was also a member of the Junior National water polo team and was chosen to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
After college Jane traveled to Germany to work for a computer company for 2 years and returned to start her teaching credential. She was a teacher at St. Francis Solano School from 1998-2010, teaching both first grade and PE.
In the spring of 2010, Jane took over ownership of Sonoma Aquatic Club and ran the business for 12 years. She built a strong aquatics community during that time, including swim lessons, aqua classes, masters swimming and swim team. Jane actively participates as a USA masters swimmer and water polo player and coach.
She is very excited that Sonoma will be getting a community pool and looks forward to creating a place where all ages can enjoy the water.
Hannah martin
Assistant Aquatics Director
Hannah Martin grew up in Sonoma, learning how to swim in the high school pool through the Boys and Girls Clubs swim lessons programs and the Sonoma Sea Dragons guppies program. She joined the Sonoma Sea Dragons at age 11, swam 4 years on the Sonoma Valley High School varsity swim team (where over 20 years later she still holds team records), and accepted a full athletic scholarship for swimming to San Diego State University where she studied kinesiology.
In 2019 Hannah returned to the pool with the coaching staff for the Sonoma Sea Dragons. Since then she has coached swimmers who have qualified for the Junior Olympics, Far Westerns, Sectionals, and Futures meets.
“It really struck a chord with me when I learned of the mission here at Sonoma Splash. The goal to have every child in Sonoma water safe by the third grade; that is the start of my swimming and aquatics story. When I was in the third grade, I wanted to go to my friends’ swimming parties and I couldn’t because I didn’t know how to swim. I wasn’t water safe. Swimming isn’t just a sport or an exercise you can do for your whole life, it’s a life skill… a lifesaving skill.”
board of directors
Paul FAVARO
Board President
MARY FAVARO
Board Director
Mary brings business, education and non-profit experience to the Sonoma Splash Board, as well as great enthusiasm for bringing a community pool to Sonoma Valley. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation before handing over the reins in 2021 to focus her efforts on nonprofit board work. Prior to her work at the Ed Foundation, Mary was a Middle School STEM teacher at The Presentation School in Sonoma, and a business consultant in locations throughout the US, UK, South America and Australia. She received her Masters in Teaching from National Louis University, and earned her MBA from Stanford University. Mary and her husband Paul have four children, and have lived in Sonoma since 2007.
Kelsey Minigan
Board Director
Kelsey Minigan, a Sonoma native, swam competitively for 11 years, prior to attending UC Santa Barbara where she graduated with a BA in Environmental studies. Her love of the water led her to scuba diving in college, and has explored the depths of the ocean along the coast of California and the Caribbean, where she lived and did environmental research in college. After UCSB, Kelsey worked in Sales for both The San Francisco Giants and Yelp. Kelsey has spent the last 7 years with Sonoma Brands Capital, a Consumer focused Private Equity Firm, where she currently holds the role of Chief of Staff.
Bruce Abbott
Board Director
Bruce retired from his position as Associate Superintendent at Sonoma Valley Unified School district in 2022. Prior to Sonoma Valley Bruce held similar positions in Lagunitas and Shoreline School districts in Marin. Prior to his work in education, Bruce was principal consultant at Price Waterhouse and a senior executive at Bank of America Corporation. Bruce served on the Miller Creek School board in Marin and had also served on the boards of the Buck institute of Education, Marin School of Environmental Leadership and still on the board of Vivo music program in Sonoma Valley.
“My first job in high school was a lifeguard and swim instructor. I have been a swimmer and diver my whole life. It is a pleasure to work with the SPLASH team. “
Rich Hodges
Board Director
Rich has been a resident of Sonoma since 1996. His previous non-profit Board experience was 6 years with the San Francisco Food Bank, and was Board Treasurer during a fundraising period that built the new Food Bank building. More recently he was a board member for Sailing Education Adventures (SEA) in Marin, and Board President for 4 years. He was also actively involved in the Cows Not Casino initiative in Sonoma.
Currently he is a Global Vice President of Customer Success with Genesys Inc., a leader in Customer Experience software solutions. His other business experience includes Head of IT at Airbnb for 2 years, and owning his own technology consulting businesses, GreenIT and Optimisers for over 20 years. He earned a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA
Robin pitts
Board Director
Robin Pitts has lived in Sonoma Valley for over 40 years. She and her husband have raised their 2 children here. Both of whom were involved in swimming with the Sonoma Sea Dragons and swam for Sonoma Valley High School. Over the years she has served on several committees with Sonoma Valley Unified School District and also is a volunteer with Friends in Sonoma Helping.
Robin was co-owner of a women’s boutique in Sonoma for 35 years, retiring in 2022. During those years she made many friends and contacts in the community. Robin was a member of the Sonoma Chamber of Commerce and Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau.
“I am so excited that the goal of Sonoma Splash is to have a facility that will work with the whole Sonoma Valley Community.”
selena sanchez
Board Director
