President & Founding Principal, Treasure 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, Board Vice-Chair

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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Elisabeth Brinton, Board Member
Chief Business and Public Affairs Officer, SMUD
Elisabeth Brinton joined SMUD in 2008 and serves as Chief Business and Public Affairs Officer. She is a member of SMUD's executive team and is responsible for maintaining the customer-owned utility’s outstanding reputation and image locally, regionally and nationally. Recognized for her local leadership, she won Sacramento Business Journal honors in 2008 for Large Company Women Who Mean Business. In 2008, she was appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger to serve as co-chair of the California Department of General Services Small Business Council. She was elected as chair of the Sacramento Council of the American Electronics Association in 2005 and served on that trade group’s national board of directors.

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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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Alexander Gonzalez, Board Member

President, California State University, Sacramento
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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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

Consultant to Nolte Associates, Inc.
William is  now a consultant to his former firm and in that capacity is developing the role of Director of Marketing for Nolte.  Nolte is a 58-year-old civil engineering firm with more than 500 employees throughout the Western United States and Mexico. He’s currently responsible for coordinating the marketing efforts of the entire firm – including Colorado, Utah, and Mexico regions as well as California offices  Until October 2007 William was a senior vice president and principal of Nolte's Sacramento office. He served on Nolte's Executive Committee from 1990 through 2007 and was responsible for specific projects as well as serving as principal in charge for land development, redevelopment, infill, and infrastructure projects.  William is a registered engineer in both California and Kentucky and is on the Boards of the Tree Foundation and CADA, as well as the Executive Committee of the Urban Land Institute. He also served the City of Sacramento as a Planning Commissioner.

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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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Cassandra Jennings , Board Member
Assistant City Manager, City of Sacramento
Cassandra has served as Assistant City Manager for the City of Sacramento since May 2005.  She has been instrumental in several major initiatives and partnerships focused on key issues such as homelessness, youth development, art and education.  Prior to joining the City Manager’s team, she was the Deputy Executive Director of Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency where she spent over 19 years in housing, economic development, community development, and redevelopment activities.  Cassandra is a member of the Sacramento Chapter of The Links Incorporated and has served on numerous boards including the American Leadership Forum, Golden 1 Credit Union, Florin Road Foundation, Oak Park Outreach Program, Interagency Council to End Homelessness, Sacramento Region Community Foundation and the Norwood Avenue Housing Corporation.  Cassandra earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco. 

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Collette Johnson-Schulke, Board Member
Director of Government & Community Relations, Sutter Health
Sutter Health's physician organizations and not-for-profit hospitals serve more than 100 communities in Northern California, including many rural locales. The network has ranked among the nation's most integrated for four consecutive years and in 2006 spent $483 million in programs for the poor and underserved and on services for the broader community. Its Midtown Sacamento campus expansion project includes a new women's and children's center and a comprehensive renovation of Sutter General Hospital and the Sutter Cancer Center, as well as new infill residential units, neighborhood commercial and restaurant space and a new complex for the B Street Theatre. Collette also sits on Sutter's Sacramento community benefits board and Placer County community advisory committee. She previously served as late Rep. Robert Matsui's district director in Sacramento from 1991 to 1997.

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Linda Katehi , Board Member
Chancellor, Univeristy 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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Martha Clark Lofgren, Board Member
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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Roseanne M. Lopez, Board Member

President, Lopez Consulting Group LLC
Roseanne is a Certified Management Consultant and has close to 30 years experience working for, or providing specialized consulting to, a broad array of clients. Additionally, she is specialized at linking market trends with organizational alignment. Roseanne has led consulting practices for technology companies and was formerly a Partner with Deloitte & Touche, where she was responsible for leading the West Coast consulting practice. She serves on multiple community and national boards, is one of the Sacramento Festival de la Familia founders, and is a founding member of Madrinas: A Latina Leaders Network, the first national network for Latina Professionals in the corporate sector.  Roseanne has served as the Chair of Sponsorship and is the immediate past National President of Madrinas.  Roseanne graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Business Management and earned an MBA from Long Beach 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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Jan Schori, Board Member

General Manager, SMUD
Jan became general manager of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in February 1994 after working as an attorney and general counsel for the utility, where she joined in 1979. She is vice chair of the American Public Power Association and is chair of the Large Public Power Council. Former Governor Gray Davis appointed her as board member of the California Climate Action Registry, and she is a former president and a current board member of the National Business Council for Sustainable Energy and the California Municipal Utilities Association. A native Sacramentan, Jan earned her BA in political science from UC Berkeley and graduated from the UC Davis Martin Luther King School of Law specializing in environmental law.

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Dan Silva , Board Member

Farmer
Dan is a native son of Sutter County and a fourth generation farmer in the Tudor area.  His family has continuously farmed the original homestead for more than 110years, currently raising peaches, prunes, walnuts and stone fruits.  Dan recently retired from the Sutter County Board of Supervisors after eight years.  Prior to his role as county supervisor, Dan served as Governor Pete Wilson’s appointee to The State Reclamation Board, spent 10 years with National Can Corporation and 15 years with S&W Fine Foods.  Dan has served on numerous boards in the Yuba-Sutter area, as well as at the state level.  Dan holds a degree in botany and plant science from Chico State University and has been active in establishing numerous local certified farmers’ markets.  He is currently working on a project to educate children under the age of five and their parents about the nutritional benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. 

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Kathie Sowa, Board Member

Centralized Credit Delivery Executive in Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America. 
Kathie Sowa is responsible for leading credit approval teams nationally which provide credit underwriting and approval for small business and SBA loans. Kathie also serves as the market president for Bank of America and its 2,000 associates in Sacramento.  In this role, she champions the company’s corporate social responsibility and philanthropic efforts and leads business integration. In addition to serving on the Valley Vision board, she serves as a board member of the United Way California Capital Region and is a member of Women in Philanthropy. Kathie graduated with a BBA in Real Estate Finance from Eastern Michigan University in 1981 and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University in 1986

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Bruce Starkweather, Board Member

President, Lionakis Beaumont Design Group, Inc.
Bruce is the president of Lionakis Beaumont Design Group Inc., a 180-person architecture, structural engineering, interior design and planning firm in Sacramento and Modesto. His three decades of design experience make him acutely aware of the lasting impacts of the architectural building industry and helped make him the driving force behind Lionakis Beaumont’s commitment to sustainability. Bruce has launched a program to have all professional employees accredited by LEED – a voluntary, national standard system for sustainable buildings – and is vice chair of the City of Sacramento General Plan Advisory Committee. He’s also served on the City of Sacramento’s Development Oversight Commission and the boards of the Sacramento Metro Chamber, Sacramento Builders’ Exchange, American Institute of Architects Central Valley Chapter and Families First. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a BA in architecture.

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Scott Syphax , Board Member

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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Tina Thomas, Board Member

Tina is a founding partner at Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley, LLP, she 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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Max Villalobos , Board Member

Senior Vice President & Area Manager, Kaiser Permanente, South Sacramento
Max is the senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals in South Sacramento and Elk Grove, a position he has held since 2006.  Since joining Kaiser Permanente in 1996, Mr. Villalobos served as the chief operating officer for South Sacramento and oversaw support services for the greater Sacramento area. Under his leadership, the South Sacramento Medical Center became the first Kaiser Permanente hospital in the nation to fully implement KP HealthConnect, a new electronic medical record, in 2006.   Max is an affiliate of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a member of the board of directors of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Sacramento and a member of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.  He has served as a consultant in South America and Central America to the World Bank of Washington, D.C.  He earned a master’s degree in health services administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.

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James T. Williams, Board Chair

Principal, Williams + Paddon Architects and Planners, Inc.
Jim is a registered architect and a principal at Williams + Paddon, a full-service architectural and planning firm that has grown to be one of the largest in the Sacramento area since he formed it in collaboration with Jack Paddon in 1981. He served as a Placer County supervisor from 1997-2000. Jim believes his multidisciplinary background gives him a strong sense of the importance of the collaborative effort and notes that a common goal can help maximize the strengths and expertise of individuals. James earned his BA in architecture from the University of California and has a masters degree in city planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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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.