Staff

Founder and Executive Director

A world champion Ultimate Frisbee player, Rocky Beach has a background in entrepreneurship, youth development, nonprofit management, and coaching. He spent nine years at United Way of the Bay Area, where he built the corporate volunteer program and managed the organization’s largest portfolio as a Director of Development. Rocky also served as the Director of Partnerships and Development for CODE2040, where he grew annual fundraising from $2M to $7.2M by securing partnerships with Apple, Google, and more. In 2016, Rocky left his leadership role at CODE2040 to launch Ultimate Impact. He has a BA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, graduating magna cum laude.

Chief Operating Officer

Lawrence Li provides strategic operations leadership to small, rapidly evolving nonprofits, most recently at SPUR. With a 30-year career in systems design, business analytics, and tactical execution, he brings a broad skill set that covers financial, HR, facility, and IT leadership. Dedicated to equitable, sustainable, and prosperous communities, Lawrence has served on boards including San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Yerba Buena Partnership, and Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy. When he’s not supporting the Ultimate Impact team with strategic insights, you can find Lawrence on the streets enjoying coffee, biking around, or running.

Senior Manager of Leadership and Training

Jahlil “JJ” James has worked in youth development since 2013, when he partnered with Golden Valley Health Centers to design and build a youth program. JJ later served as a Playworks coach in the Bayview and Mission neighborhoods of San Francisco before joining Ultimate Impact in 2019. As Senior Manager of Leadership and Training, JJ manages the Developing Leaders program and supervises the Coaching and Leadership program for transitional-aged youth. He excels at working with kids from all types of backgrounds and life circumstances, and you can usually find him starting the dance breaks at our summer camps and tournaments.

Program Manager

Nicole Canning manages Ultimate Impact’s Girls and Company program and supervises our Oakland programming. She began working with youth in 2011, guiding students on educational sails along the coast of California aboard a historic tall sailing ship. She received her BA from Northeastern University and worked on the global product marketing team for Reebok before shifting back to youth development. At Big Sister, she led the recruitment team, enrolling girls and women in gender-intentional mentoring programs. Her experiences in Ultimate have ranged from captaining and coaching to playing at the highest levels, including with the semi-professional Bay Area Falcons.

Manager of Data Evaluation and Competitive Play

Sarafina Angstadt-Leto discovered her passion for mentorship while working with youth through Reading Partners in Oakland. Sarafina grew up in Alameda, earned a BA in psychology from the University of Oregon, and is a decorated Ultimate player who has won gold medals at the youth, club, and college levels. With her extensive experience coaching Ultimate in both developmental and competitive settings, Sarafina enjoys the challenge of balancing different skill levels and creating an environment where all players are welcome. Sarafina runs Ultimate Impact’s Dragons program, which provides weekly competitive practices for middle and high school youth, and also manages program data and surveys for the organization.

Program Coordinator

Robin Vickers Batzdorf oversees our volunteers and our Oakland competitive play program. He is also responsible for keeping the team supplied with discs, cones, and jerseys. Robin grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and started playing Ultimate the summer before high school. A semi-professional Ultimate Frisbee player with the Oakland Spiders, Robin discovered Ultimate Impact during a “Play with the Pros” day at MLK Elementary School. He also plays with San Francisco Revolver and competed with Team USA U24 National Team at the World U24 Championships in Spain. Off the field, Robin loves cooking for friends and making culinary tools from scratch in his workshop.

Manager of Operations and Revenue

Jashan Shetty handles all day-to-day operations for Ultimate Impact, including staff and volunteer onboarding, contracting, accounting, and social media. As an undergraduate, he studied computer science engineering and captained the Indian team at the World U24 Ultimate Championships. After working for several years as a software engineer, Jashan made a career pivot to become Head of Development and Coaching at the Surat Ultimate Frisbee Association. He later joined Yuwa, a nonprofit that uses sports and education as tools to build character, confidence, and courage — specifically with girls from impoverished families in rural Jharkhand, India. He is currently pursuing his MBA at UC Berkeley.

Coaching and Leadership Program Manager

Kenneth Justin Lim graduated from Carleton College with a degree in computer science and spent seven years as a bioinformatician in medical research labs at UC Davis and UCSF. In 2024, he switched careers and joined the Ultimate Impact team because of his passion for coaching and connecting with the community. At Ultimate Impact, Justin manages the Coaching and Leadership (CaL) program, a workforce development opportunity where 18- to 24-year-olds work as paid coaches. Justin has spent time as a semi-professional Ultimate Frisbee player for the San Francisco Flamethrowers and the Oakland Spiders, and he is a national and world champion with San Francisco Revolver.

Donor Engagement Coordinator

At Ultimate Impact, Sara Wheeler helps expand access to our programs and build lasting community partnerships. Originally from the East Bay, Sara has lived and worked all over the world, from Berkeley to Brooklyn to Berlin and many places in between. She played team sports growing up (but not Ultimate!) and is psyched to bring the lessons learned on the field to kids all over the Bay. Sara graduated with honors from UC Berkeley, where she worked as a caseworker for students experiencing financial difficulties. Outside of working hours, you can find her at the farmers market, in the ocean, or on a trail.