Controller, Woodside Homes
Jim's Roseville-based company has several urban infill and energy efficient local development projects to its credit. Among them are Natomas’ Fallen Leaf project – a SMUD Platinum Advantage Zero Energy Home community – and Midtown Sacramento’s Tapestri Square, which features 20 brownstone-style units per acre. Jim also served 18 years in executive management positions for several privately and publicly held development companies in northern California, and eight years in financial and engineering positions in the electronics and aerospace industries. Jim is a member of the California Energy Commission’s New Solar Homes Program committee, a board member of the California Building Industry Foundation, a former Chairman of the North State Building Industry Association and was a founding director of Home Aid, a local charity that provides shelter for the transitionally homeless. He earned his BS in industrial management from Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA from UC Berkeley. 

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James Beckwith, Treasurer

President and CEO, Five Star Bank
James is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Five Star Bank and Five Star Bancorp, its holding company. The bank was founded in 1999 to provide local banking with an emphasis on business and has locations in Placer, Sacramento and Shasta counties. Five Star earned Bauer Financial's highest rating, is rated "Super Premier" by The Findley Report and recently received a financial safety rating of "A" or "Excellent" from TheStreet.com.  James came to Five Star in 2003 with over twenty years of banking experience. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for National Bank of the Redwoods, in Santa Rosa, California.

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Veronica Blake , Board Member
Chief Executive Officer , Placer Community Foundation
Veronica joined Placer Community Foundation in 2004 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. As the Founding CEO, she worked with a volunteer board of directors to establish the Foundation's role as a philanthropic leader in Placer County. Her work to grow the Community Foundation has been cited in numerous published materials, which are used as models for growth by foundations nationwide. Veronica is a champion of community philanthropy, and of community foundation leadership. She is a senior fellow of American Leadership Forum Mountain Valley Chapter and serves on the Economic Development Board for Placer County. She has over 20 years executive level management experience, 17 of which has been in the non-profit sector. Prior to joining the Placer Community Foundation, she served as the Executive Director for both the Placer SPCA and the Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital Foundation.

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Elisabeth Brinton, Board Member
Chief Customer Officer , SMUD
Elisabeth Brinton joined SMUD in 2008 as the member of its executive team responsible for maintaining the customer-owned utility's outstanding reputation locally, regionally and nationally and advancing strategic government, business and community partnerships. In January 2012, her role expanded to include the functions of the retail electric business, including operations and customer payments. Recognized for her local leadership, she won Sacramento Business Journal honors in 2008 for Large Company Women Who Mean Business, a year which also saw her appointment by Gov. Schwarzenegger to co-chair the California Department of General Services Small Business Council. She serves on the boards of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, National Energy Executives Marketing and Energy Committee, the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative, and the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

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Martha Clark Lofgren, Board Chair
Partner, Brewer Lofgren LLP
Martha Clark Lofgren is a partner in Brewer Lofgren LLP, a land use and government relations law firm based in Sacramento.  Martha’s practice emphasizes public policy matters and land use, including land development and related environmental issues, transportation funding, public-private partnerships and negotiations with local, state and federal regulatory agencies.  From 1994 to 2000, Martha served the City of Folsom, first as City Attorney and later as City Manager.   During her tenure, she led successful efforts to fund and construct the new public library in the City of Folsom, as well as the construction of a new bridge by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to replace the roadway closed over Folsom Dam following 9-11.  Martha serves on many boards in the community including the Folsom Lake College Board of Trustees, the Metro Chamber of Commerce, B Street Theatre and previously Powerhouse Ministries, which provides homeless services in Folsom.  Martha received her Bachelor’s Degree from Wellesley College, and her J.D. from the University of California, Davis.

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Linda Cutler, Board Member
Deputy Director, Commercial Strategies, Sacramento County Airports
Linda Beech Cutler is the new Deputy Director, Commercial Strategies for the Sacramento County Airports. She was the fomer president and chief executive officer at Mercy Foundation. Linda's past experience was that of vice president, Corporate Responsibility for GenCorp, parent company of Aerojet and Easton Development Company. She also served as president of the GenCorp Foundation and chairman of the Aerojet and GenCorp PAC, the Company’s political action committee. Ms. Cutler joined GenCorp in March 2002 from DST Output in El Dorado Hills, a subsidiary of DST Systems, where she held senior marketing roles, including vice president, Marketing and Corporate Communications. A graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Ms. Cutler holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, and completed professional development course work at the University of California at Berkeley, Hass School of Business. Active in the community, Ms. Cutler is the immediate past chair of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. In addition to Valley Vision, has also served on the boards of the California Capital Air Show; the Folsom Chamber and the Folsom Economic Development Corporation and Department of Tourism, and the Sacramento Area Trade and Commerce Organization (SACTO) as an ex-officio representative.  She was also recently named as a member of the Drexel University Advisory Committee. Ms. Cutler is a graduate of the American Leadership Forum.

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Cheryl Dell, Board Member
Publisher & President, The Sacramento Bee
Cheryl was named publisher of The Sacramento Bee in April 2008.  Throughout her career she has held a variety of newspaper management positions in California, Texas and Washington, including publisher of the Tacoma News Tribune and the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Wash., vice-president of sales and marketing at The Fresno Bee, and as advertising director of The Modesto Bee.  In 1999, Presstime magazine included Cheryl on its annual list of "20 under 40" newspaper people to watch nationwide.  Her work has been recognized throughout her career, including the Communications Woman of the Year award from the Business and Professional Women of San Angelo, Texas, and a Distinguished Leader Award from the National Association for Community Leadership.  Cheryl serves on the Inland Press Association Board, is a native of Modesto, Calif., and earned her communications degree from California State University, Sacramento.

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Charlie Downs, Board Member
Senior Principal, ANOVA Nexus Architects
Charlie Downs is a native of North Dakota but moved to Los Angeles with his parents after the Korean War. He entered the profession in Los Angeles working summers in the early '70's and moved to San Diego in 1974 from Eugene, Oregon, where he began working on K-12 educational work along with assorted public type work. He moved to Placerville in 1978 and commuted to Sacramento while working for George Lionakis. He established his own business as a sole proprietor in 1981 and created Murray & Downs AIA in 1985 with Ed Murray. In 2007 Murray & Downs merged with Oshima and Yee Architects to form ANOVA Architects, Inc., with a staff reaching over 80 employees. Charlie holds an AA degree from Pasadena City College and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon. Charlie and his wife Nancy live in Camino with their dogs where they love to garden and enjoy the recreational opportunities that living on the western slope of the Sierra provides. Charlie and Nancy have two sons, Bobby and Eric Downs.

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William Duncan, Board Member

President, Sierra College
William Duncan (known as Willy to all who have met him) is a native of California. Born and raised in Bakersfield, he attended California State University, Bakersfield where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Communications and a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. Willy is currently President at Sierra College Foundation. Willy's career in education began as a student while at CSU, Bakersfield. He held jobs in several campus departments and upon graduation was hired as the university's budget analyst. Willy has been a Rotarian for 14 years and has served as President of his Rotary Club. He is a board member of the Taft Chamber of Commerce and the Taft College Foundation. Willy is a participant in many civic and community organizations including the American Cancer Society where he served for several years on the Kern County Advisory Board. He is serving the Association of California Community College Administrators and the Community College Consortium on Autism and Intellectual Disabilities. Willy is married to Melody and together, they have two sons and a daughter: Joseph 21, Nicholas 19 and Natalie 13.

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Margaret Fortune, Board Member
CEO, Fortune School of Education
Margaret broke new ground in 2003 when she turned around Sacramento High, changing the 1,600 student campus into a charter school.  In the same year, Margaret opened PS7, a K-8 campus named a California  Distinguished School in 2010 that serves mostly low-income African American students.  Fortune is currently proposing a ten-school, Pre K - 12 charter system to serve 5,000 students in Sacramento County, to help close the African American achievement gap.Fortune is a Trustee of the California State University system. With 450,000 students, the 23 campus system is the largest four-year, public university in the United States. Margaret has been an education advisor for two California governors – most recently as Senior Advisor to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Fortune was Assistant Education Secretary under Governor Gray Davis, and served under State Education Secretary Gary Hart during the development of the state’s Academic Performance Index – the index used today to measure public school outcomes. Margaret holds a baccalaureate degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was the first African American woman to be elected student body president. She earned her masters in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

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Edward Glavis, Board Member
Senior Vice President and Area Mangager, Kaiser Permanente
Edward Glavis has responsibility for all local health plan and hospital services and, partnering with physician leaders, is responsible for the health care of nearly 458,000 Kaiser Permanente members.1987 through 1994, Glavis served as the assistant administrator of Kaiser Permanente’s Redwood City Medical Center, associate administrator of the San Francisco Medical Center, and administrator of the Walnut Creek Medical Center. In 1994, he was instrumental in opening Kaiser Permanente’s Fresno Medical Center. In 1999, he was named senior vice president for South Sacramento, Sacramento and Roseville.He also served in 2006 as Kaiser Permanente’s vice president of Health Plan Service and Administration, leading the not-for-profit health care organization’s Claims Administration and Member Services departments. Additionally, Glavis had a leadership role in the implementation of KP HealthConnect, Kaiser Permanente’s high-tech electronic medical record system.He earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, San Diego.

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Alexander Gonzalez, Board Member
President, Sacramento State University
Alex has served more than three decades as a professor and education leader, including the last six years as the 11th president of California State University, Sacramento, one of the largest universities in the California State University 23-campus system. A native Californian and the first person in his family to graduate from college, he has devoted his career to ensuring greater opportunities for students.  Following his belief that universities and communities must work together to improve lives and opportunities, Alex actively serves on many Boards including the Sutter Health Board of Directors, the Pomona College Board of Trustees, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Policy and Global Affairs Division’s (PGA) Oversight Committee of the National Research Council’s Governing Board, and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).   Alex holds a doctorate and master's degree in psychology from UC Santa Cruz, and a bachelor's degree in history from Pomona College. He also attended Harvard Law School and served in the United States Air Force.

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Brice Harris, Board Member
Chancellor, Los Rios Community College District
Brice has served as chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District since 1996 and is nationally regarded as a leader in higher education. He was previously the president of Fresno City College in Fresno, California and a faculty member and administrator in the Kansas City, Missouri community college system.  Brice is a past Chair of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board and current chair of the Northern California World Trade Center Board. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Comstock’s Magazine, the Board of Linking Education and Economic Development Sacramento (LEED), the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO), and recently chaired the successful campaign to extend the half-cent sales tax for transportation in Sacramento County.  Brice did post doctoral study at the Harvard University Institute of Educational Management, received his Doctorate in Education at Nova Southeastern University, his Master's in Communication from the University of Arkansas, and his Bachelor's in Communication from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

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Shawn Harrison, Board Member
Executive Director, Soil Born Farms
Shawn Harrison is the co-founder and director of Soil Born Farms, an urban organic farming and education center located in Sacramento, CA. Through its urban farms and associated programs, Soil Born Farms works to create a more sustainable and equitable food system for the Sacramento region. Shawn has been directly involved in the development of sustainable food systems and healthier communities since 1993 and holds an M.S. degree in International Agriculture Development from U.C. Davis. Shawn is also the recent recipient of Valley Vision’s Regional Environmental Legacy Award.

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Jose Hermocillo, Board Member
Senior VP & Managing Director, APCO Worldwide
Jose is Senior Vice President and Managing Director of APCO Worldwide's Sacramento office, which is one of California's leading communication and public affairs strategists. For more than three decades, Mr. Hermocillo has advised and managed projects for corporations, labor unions, coalitions, nonprofit organizations, and public agencies on a wide range of issues. Prior to joining APCO in 1996, Jose was a principal in an independently owned political consulting and public affairs firm. Jose earned his Bachelor of Arts from Pomona College, where he was recognized with distinction in the government department. He went on to obtain a Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, where he was named one of two outstanding student advocates of his class in moot court competition. He was admitted to the State Bar of California and received a certificate in trial and appellate advocacy from Hastings College of Law, University of California.

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Chet Hewitt , Board Member

President and CEO, Sierra Health Foundation
Chet has been involved in policy development, advocacy, and human service innovation for over twenty years. Before joining Sierra Health in August 2007, Chet was the director of the Alameda County Social Services Agency, with five departments, 2200 staff, and an operating budget of $600 million. He served as an associate director with the Rockefeller Foundation where he managed the employment and national policy center investments and later RF’s partnership with The California Endowment.  The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) awarded Chet with a National Children and Family Leaders Fellowship for his work on family and community issues.  Chet also served as a program director with the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco, where he authored policy briefs on racial disparities within California and San Francisco’s criminal and juvenile justice systems, and founded a nationally recognized alternative to detention programs. Chet has served on many boards and commissions, including Alameda’s First Five Commission, United Way of the Bay Area, The Mentoring Center, and Youth UpRising.

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William Ishmael, Board Member
Artist
William is an artist, engineer, and is committed to civic engagement.  In addition to being the President of the Sacramento Tree Foundation, and a Senior Fellow with and member of the American Leadership Forum’s Board of Directors, he is an active exhibiting artist showing at the Art Foundry gallery and other venues in Sacramento and Lexington, Kentucky. He is also a consultant to his former firm, Nolte Associates, a civil engineering and planning firm. Former positions he has held include Managing Principal of Nolte’s Sacramento Office and member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Vice Chair of the Capital Area Development Authority, Executive Committee of the Urban Land Institute, and a Sacramento City Planning Commissioner.  William is a LEED Accredited Professional and has a BS in Civil Engineering from Duke University, and a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan.

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Michael Jacobson, Board Member
Director, Corporate Responsibility Officer, Intel Corporation
Michael Jacobson is director of Intel’s Corporate Responsibility Office.  In this role, he is responsible for leading Intel’s corporate responsibility strategy with stakeholders across the company. He has an experienced team of experts in corporate social responsibility, strategic alliances, marketing and communications, stakeholder management and reporting who are committed to building upon Intel’s performance as a leading corporate citizen. He is actively engaged in national and local community based organizations. He currently serves on the board of the Business for Civic Leadership Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Folsom Economic Development Corporation. He has served on numerous boards and held leadership positions including being the Chair of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce board in 2008.  He has also served on the boards of the Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce, KVIE Public Television, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, and United Way of the Capitol Region to name a few.Jacobson received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Baylor University in 1984.  He resides in Folsom, CA with Kristen, his wife, and Jonathan, their 18 year old son who will soon be departing for Arizona State University.

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Tim Johnson, Board Member
President & CEO, California Rice Commission
As founding President & CEO of the California Rice Commission (CRC), Tim Johnson leads one of the state's most highly regarded agricultural organizations. The Sacramento-based CRC represents all growers and handlers that comprise the state's rice industry, which annually contributes more than $1.8 billion to the California economy. Tim is actively engaged in national farm policy and regulatory issues. His travels have taken him to the industry's major export markets in Asia, to develop effective promotion campaigns that introduce new consumers to California rice. Prior to heading the CRC, Tim gained more than a decade of food industry experience with companies including Frito-Lay, Producers Dairy and the California Rice Promotion Board. He holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from San Jose State University. Tim and his wife Ann are also partners in a family vineyard. Their Sierra Foothills vines are known for producing award-winning Zinfandels.

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Linda Katehi, Board Member
Chancellor, University of California, Davis
Linda Katehi became the sixth chancellor of the University of California, Davis, on August 17, 2009. As chief executive officer, she oversees all aspects of the university’s teaching, research and public service mission. Chancellor Katehi also holds UC Davis faculty appointments in electrical and computer engineering and in women and gender studies. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, she chairs the President’s Committee for the National Medal of Science and is chair of the Secretary of Commerce’s committee for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. She is a fellow and board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of many other national boards and committees.

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Garry Maisel, Board Member

President and Chief Executive Officer, Western Health Advantage
Garry Maisel has held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer at Western Health Advantage (WHA) since 1998, providing leadership to WHA from its start-up to current annual revenues of $350 million and a membership of 80,000 lives.  During start-up, Maisel developed WHA’s organizational structure and implemented its financial, business and information systems.  He was a major architect of WHA’s innovative health benefit programs and he assisted with defining WHA’s unique approach to clinical care management and member access to care, which have clearly differentiated WHA from the competition.  With over 20 years of experience in healthcare and 10 years in the banking and finance industry, including time as the Chief Financial Officer for a community bank, Maisel is perfectly suited to lead an organization committed to providing quality health care coverage to businesses in the Sacramento region. Maisel sits on the boards of various community and professional organizations, including the California Association of Health Plans, which is the statewide health plan trade association representing virtually all of the health plans that provide health coverage to more than 21 million Californians. He holds a degree in finance and economics from Sacramento State University.

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Stephen Meyer,Board Member
Managing Partner, Downey Brand Attorneys LLP
Steve is managing partner at the law firm Downey Brand, which he joined in 1978. He graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Economics and earned his law degree and masters in urban planning from the University of Michigan in 1975. His interest in Valley Vision rose from his participation in the Blueprint project, and said the experience reinforced his concern that the parochial, political approach to planning that has characterized the region's development to date has begun to undermine and erode its viability as a good place to do business and to live and raise family.

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Elizabeth Parker, Board Member

Dean, Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Elizabeth joined Pacific McGeorge School of Law as its eighth dean in 2002, after serving as general counsel for the 26-campus University of Wisconsin System.  Her fields of expertise include national security and terrorism, international relations, public policy and trade, technology development and transfer, commerce, and civil rights and liberties litigation. A member of the American Bar Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations, a former Chair, and currently Counselor of the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security, Dean Parker is a frequent speaker and lecturer on national security topics.  She holds a Presidential appointment to the Public Interest Declassification Board, is a member of the Director of National Intelligence’s Security Advisory Group and a frequent participant on committees of the National Academy of Sciences.  She has taught national security law at Case Western Reserve Law School, Cleveland State School of Law as well as Pacific McGeorge.  Currently Dean Parker is a Member of the Board and Executive Committee of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation; a member of the California International Relations Foundation and Chair of the Steering Committee of the World Affairs Council (Sacramento Chapter).  She and her husband Bob Parker, Director of the Pacific McGeorge Field Placement Program, live on the McGeorge campus.  The Parkers have a daughter and son respectively and two grandsons.

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Tim Ray, Board Member

Executive Director, AT&T External Affairs
Tim is an executive director for AT&T External Affairs in Northern California. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Executive Director for the AT&T’s Sales Operations, Procurement and Corporate Real Estate organizations. Tim began his career in telecommunications in 1992 with Pacific Bell as an Account Executive for Pacific Bell Mobil Services (now Cingular) and has held positions working on Central Office Design and Construction throughout the AT&T footprint in Sacramento, San Ramon, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas and San Antonio. Tim earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Civil Engineering from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School of Business.

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Randall Sater, Board Member

Senior Vice President, Teichert Land Co.
Randy is senior vice president of Teichert Land Co. and has 20 years of progressive experience in real estate, land-use planning and entitlement processing. In addition to his role at Teichert Land Co., Randy is president of Stonebridge Properties, LLC. Randy chaired the Urban Land Institute Sacramento; is a founding member and past president of the Cache Creek Conservancy; a board and executive committee member for the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and a member of the California State University, Sacramento Advisory Board.

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Scott Syphax, Vice Chair
President and CEO, Nehemiah Corporation of America
Scott is the President and CEO of The Nehemiah Companies, a Sacramento, CA based social enterprise and development corporation.  Prior to joining Nehemiah in 2001, Scott held executive leadership roles in public policy, governmental affairs, and communications with Eli Lilly & Company, the California Medical Association, and the California State Board of Behavioral Sciences over a 20 year career.  Scott serves on a number of California Boards including the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, the Financial Solvency Standards Board of California, HomeAid America, and Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region Board of Trustees. He is also the Chairman of the Coro Foundation National Board of Governors of New York and Vice Chairman of the Corporate Fund Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  Scott earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business with an emphasis on Real Estate Development and Land Use Planning from the California State University, Sacramento.  He was also an Executive Fellow with the Coro Foundation and a Fellow with the American Leadership Forum.

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Keri Thomas, Board Member

Director, Community & Gov Relations , Sutter Health
Keri Thomas serves as the Director, Community and Government Relations for the Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region. She is responsible for working with elected and community leaders and not-for-profit agencies on sustainable programs that enhance community health in Amador, Nevada, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties in California. Keri earned her Master's in Public Policy and Administration from California State University, Sacramento and her Bachelor's of Science degree in Exercise and Sports Science from Oregon State University. Keri currently serves on the Golden 1 Credit Union Board of Directors, is past Chair of the Leaderships Sacramento Program (2009), and was honored by the Sacramento Business Journal as one of the top up and coming leaders of the region - 40 Under 40 (2010) and the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce as Volunteer of the Year (2010). Keri lives in Sacramento with her husband and son.

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Tina Thomas, Board Member
Founding Partner, Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley, LLP
Tina served as the managing partner for 28 years and is currently of counsel to the firm. She and late law partner Michael Remy founded the practice in 1982. She was named Sacramento County Bar Association’s “Distinguished Attorney” in 2005 and, with her partners, was a co-author of the 2006 “Guide to the California Environmental Quality Act.” Tina’s clients include governmental agencies, developers and environmental organizations, and she focuses on environmental and entitlement process in both administrative and judicial forums. She has served on a number of nonprofit boards – including Sacramento Food Bank Services, La Raza Galeria Posada and Conservancy International – and provided bro-bono representation to social-service organizations such as  Francis House, Works in New Directions (WIND Center for Homeless Teens), Loaves & Fishes, WEAVE, Union Gospel Mission and The Moral Values Program. Tina received her BA from Missouri’s Stephens College and her law degree from the University of San Diego.

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Joanna Wessman, Board Member

Publisher,Sacramento Business Journal
Joanna is the Publisher at the Sacramento Business Journal. She joined the Sacramento Business Journal in September 1995. Prior to becoming the Publisher, she was their Advertising Director from March 1996. Prior to the Sacramento Business Journal she joined the Target Stores in 1987 and became the Store Manager from 1991-1995. She currently serves on the board for St. John's Shelter for Women and Children and is a graduate of Class XII of the American Leadership Forum. Joanna and her husband currently reside in Sacramento. The Wessmans have two children, John and Kristina and four beautiful grandchildren. Joanna enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and grandbabies.

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Founding Emeritus

Len McCandliss, Founding Emeritus

President and CEO, Sierra Health Foundation
Len is the past president and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation, a private, independent foundation which awards grants in support of health and health-related activities in Northern California. Len oversees investment programs and charitable activities that include an endowment of $170 million dollars and more than $7 million in annual health-related grants and awards for a variety of programs, ranging from community development to research. Len is a lifelong resident of northern California and also serves on the advisory board of California State University, Chico, and on the boards of the Rotary Club of Sacramento, the Lassen Park Foundation and the American Leadership Forum. Len graduated from California State University, Chico, with a BS in accounting.

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James McClatchy, Founding Emeritus

Publisher, McClatchy Newspapers
Jim was publisher of McClatchy Newspapers, having been elected to that position in 1987. He served as chairman of the board of directors from 1989 to 1995 and from 1980 to 1987. Jim was a director from 1943 through 1965, was again elected a Director in 1976 and has served in that capacity since. He is a former owner and publisher of several weekly newspapers in California and Nevada and a board member and past president of the Inter-American Press Association, past president and director of the French American International School, and a director and president of The Central Valley Foundation. Jim passed away May 26, 2006.

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Gordon Schaber, Founding Emeritus

Dean, McGeorge School of Law, University of Pacific
Gordon was dean of the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law for 34 years and the driving force behind its transformation from a small, unaccredited night school into an internationally recognized leader in legal education. When Gordon became the youngest law school dean in the country in 1957 at the age of 29, McGeorge classes were taught in a downtown Sacramento building that housed a radio store. Over the next three decades he directed the school's expansion to a 22-acre campus and drew numerous accolades from the American Bar Association, which bestowed on him its highest honor for service in legal education in 1991. Gordon was also presiding judge of the Superior Court from 1965 to 1970 and served on dozens of commissions, committees and charity boards. In 1962, he was named "Young Man of the Year" by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and also named "Man of the Year" three decades later. Gordon passed away in 1997.