North Bay Leadership Council

Mark Wood is the Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, with global responsibility for human resources, public relations, corporate communications, and facilities planning. 

His experience before joining BioMarin in 2004 includes a sole proprietorship delivering HR consulting services; Vice President of Human Resources and Administration at AG Consulting; Manager of Compensation and Quantitative Analysis at Genentech; and various HR positions at Wells Fargo Bank. 

He has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Management from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a Master of Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. 

7-7-526-8575Brad Bollinger is the editor in chief and associate publisher of the North Bay Business Journal overseeing the weekly's coverage of business in the North Bay counties of Sonoma, Napa and Marin.

Before joining the Journal after its purchase by the New York Times Co. in 2005, he was the business editor and a columnist for The Press Democrat since 1990. While he was editor, the Press Democrat business section won several national, state and regional awards for its coverage, including six "Best In Business" citations from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. It has won the top award from the society in 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999 and 1996 and won for spot news coverage in 2000. Bollinger was a leading editor and creator of the Press Democrat's extensive four-day series in September of 2004 on the local impacts of economic globalization, "Global Shift." The series won the prestigious Polk Award as well as the New York Times company-wide Punch award. The newspaper's 2002 series on the wine industry, "Vine to Wine," received the highest award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Bollinger serves on the advisory board for the annual Sonoma State University Economic Outlook Conference and has made dozens of presentations to community organizations and groups of executives on the economy, including the 2006 commencement address for Empire College business school in Santa Rosa. He is a member of the boards of directors of and executive committees of United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake, the North Bay Leadership Council, is a member of the Santa Rosa Junior College President's Circle, a member of the board of directors for the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and is a trustee on the Ernest L. and Ruth W. Finley Foundation in Santa Rosa.

Bollinger has a journalism degree from San Jose State University and master's in communication from CSU, Chico. His 1983 master's thesis on newspaper ombudsmen was the subject of articles in Columbia Journalism Review and Editor & Publisher. In 1990, he was among the attendees at the inaugural Summer Institute for Economics for Journalists created by the Foundation for American Communications.

Bollinger, 55, is native of Santa Rosa. He and his wife, Corine, have one son who recently received his Ph.D candidate in neuroscience at University of California, San Francisco and currently is a post-doc at the UCSF Mission Bay campus.

Patricia "Patty" Garbarino is President of Marin Sanitary Service, Marin Recycling Center and Marin Resource Recovery Center and has been since 2000. Patty began her career at Marin Sanitary Service in 1987, in Company Development and Human Resources, a combination that facilitated her learning both the operations and administration of the business.

Her background in the education field has been a major benefit to Marin Sanitary Service's Public Education Program. In fact, Patty worked closely with her father, Joseph in establishing the company's Environmental Classroom and its ongoing outreach to environmental organizations and public and private schools in Marin County.

Today Patty is responsible for policy development and implementation and the overall management and oversight of the operations of the company. In addition to her administrative and management responsibilities, Patty remains directly involved in all aspects of the company's governmental and community relations as well as the Public Education Program.  Patty has spoken at several national conferences regarding waste and recycling issues and has been a member to Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin's California Waste Reduction, Refuse and Recycling Advisory Committee. She was inducted into the Marin Women's Hall of Fame in 1999 and has been chair and co-chair to 6 different local bond measures and planning commissions.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Sciences degree, both from Dominican College.Marin Sanitary Service, Marin Recycling Center and Marin Resource Recovery Center have been lauded by the California Integrated Waste Management Board as having the highest recycling rate in California since 2002 and the Marin County Board of Supervisors rated Marin Sanitary Service, business of the year in 2006.

Gary T. Giacomini has incomparable experience on and appearances and presentations before local, state and regional governmental boards and commissions. Gary recently retired from the Marin County Board of Supervisors after serving for 24 years in that capacity and as a member of some 25 other state and regional boards and commissions. Upon his retirement, he was the longest serving County Supervisor in California.

He was a 20-year member and President of the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and was a California State Coastal Commissioner for 10 years. Gary also served on the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Northwest Pacific Railroad Authority, Association of Bay Area Governments Board and the Local Agency Formation Commission. He is a member of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Marconi Conference Center Board, Marin Community Foundation Board of Trustees and North Bay Council Board of Directors.

Gary received his A.B. from St. Mary's College of California and his LL.B., J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Gary is licensed to practice law in the State of California.

Pat Kendall has worked primarily in the health care arena in San Francisco, Hawaii, Marin and Sonoma Counties. Pat's areas of clinical expertise are Emergency Department, Labor, Delivery and Intensive Care Nursery. She is presently employed at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael as the Medical Group Administrator.

Active in the community, Ms. Kendall chairs the Healthy Marin Partnership, serves on North Bay Leadership Council's Executive Committee, as well as on the Boards of the Marin Economic Forum, Lifehouse Agency, Marin County Emergency Medical Care Committee, Marin County School to Career Partnership, Friends of San Rafael and Marin Center of Sustainable Agriculture.

Pat Kendall is a graduate of St. Joseph's College of Nursing. She also earned a business degree from St. Mary's College and Master in Human Resources and Organizational Development with an Emphasis on Change from USF. She has completed post graduate work in business and leadership at both UC Berkeley and Stanford University.

Mary was the founding Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of the Buck Institute for Age Research, where she gained extensive experience in corporate finance and development, construction, policy development, strategic planning, community organizing and electoral politics.

After stepping down as CEO, Mary joined Hanson Bridgett where her practice focused primarily on land use and nonprofit law. Using the skills acquired at the Buck, she assisted clients in developing collaborative approaches to reaching their land use goals. Mary is also experienced in both alternate dispute resolution and litigation. She successfully represented the executor of Mrs. Buck's estate as part of a multi-firm defense team representing various (and sometimes competing) interests during the Buck Trust litigation, a trial which became known as the "Superbowl of Probate."

Mary currently acts as CAO and General Counsel for the Buck Institute of Age Research.  Mary received her B.A., cum laude, from Marquette University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Partner in Charge of North Bay Offices and Assurance Services Practice. Carol brings more than 20 years of experience delivering services to a wide spectrum of industries, including wine and vineyard land, manufacturing, financial services and real estate. She leads the firm's Winery, Vineyard and Agricultural Land Industry Group.

Prior to joining BPM, Carol spent 18 years, seven as a partner, with KPMG in San Francisco and London. Her responsibilities included overseeing services to the fourth largest U.S. Bank. She serves as a Board Member of the Santa Rosa Symphony and North Bay Leadership Council.

Steve Page was named president of what was then Sears Point Raceway in the fall of 1991. He has overall management responsibility for the racing facility and industrial park as well as directing the promotion and sales of the raceway's major spectator events. Those events include NASCAR Nextel Cup, NHRA Nationals and a variety of other professional and amateur racing series.

Under Page's direction, the raceway is nearing completion of a $65 million modernization project transforming Infineon Raceway into one of the premier motorsports and entertainment venues in the country. In 2002, the raceway assumed a new name as part of a 10-year $35 million partnership he negotiated with Infineon Technologies.

Prior to arriving at Infineon Raceway, Page spent 11 years with the marketing operation of baseball's Oakland Athletics where in 1987 he served as coordinator for the Major League Baseball All Star Game. He also worked on Capital Hill in the late 1970's as a press secretary to U.S. Congressman Leon Panetta.

Page is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. He currently resides in Sonoma with his wife Judy and their son Kevin.

Business and community organizations: Past Chair, Sonoma County Tourism Council; Vice Chair, North Bay Alliance; Co-chair, Save Our Hospital committee, Sonoma Valley; Trustee, Speedway Children's Charities; Member, Valley of the Moon Boys & Girls Club President's Council

Craig S. Nelson leads the staffing divisions of the Nelson Family of Companies. This includes overseeing the traditional staffing businesses of Nelson Staffing, Nelson Technology and Nelson & Associates. In addition, Craig is responsible for recruiting and retaining top talent through Northern California's premier job board, NelsonJobs.com.

Craig joined the Nelson Family of Companies in 2001 as General Counsel with responsibility for legal, administration, safety & risk, and human resources. Eventually, three professional staffing units-Nelson Technology, Nelson & Associates and Nelson Staffing-were added to his list of responsibilities. In 2006, Craig relinquished his corporate duties to take charge of both Nelsonjobs.com and the Recruiting & Retention team while continuing to lead the staffing units.

Craig is also highly involved in the community and participates on several boards. He is on the board of the Marin Economic Forum; he sits on the Executive Leadership Committee of the 2010 North Bay Heart Walk and he is the current Chairman of the Marin County Workforce Investment Board.

Prior to joining Nelson, Craig spent seven years with the Criminal Division of the California Department of Justice and before that, three years as a litigator with the Law Offices of Bowles and Verna.

Craig has a Masters of Law from University of San Diego, his Juris Doctor from Hastings College of Law and degrees in Business Administration and Economics from California State University, Chico. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1990.

Don Chigazola is the Director of Santa Rosa Operations for Medtronic CardioVascular. Don has worked in manufacturing settings for over 20 years in a variety of industries including aerospace, electric utilities, electronic manufacturing, and medical device manufacturing. He has been with Medtronic CardioVascular for 6 years.

Don holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis and a master's degree from the University of Southern California. Don and his family have lived in Sonoma County for 22 years.

Guy joined the Hewlett-Packard Company in 1976. He served as sales manager and marketing manager for HP organizations in France, and also as a worldwide global account manager. In 1991, he moved to the Netherlands to become European marketing manager. He later became region sales and marketing manager covering France, Belgium, Holland, Spain and Portugal. He also served as president of SIMTEC, a French non-profit association to promote and develop the electronic test and measurement market.

When HP spun off Agilent Technologies in 1999, Guy was promoted to vice president and general manager of Agilent's Asian Field Operations in Singapore. In 2003, he was named vice president of the Signal Sources Division and moved to Santa Rosa, Calif. He took onadditional responsibility as vice president of marketing for Agilent's Wireless Business Unit in 2005, and the following year became vice president and general manager of the Signal Analysis Division. In 2009, he was named vice president and general manager of the Microwave and Communications Division, the world leader in signal analyzers, signal sources and wireless communications test sets. He became vice president and general manager of Agilent's Santa Rosa-headquartered Electronic Measurement Group in 2011.  

Guy holds a diploma in electronic engineering, an MBA from the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises in Paris, France, and an Executive MBA from the University of Michigan Business School. 

Professional Background

Dr. Ruben Armñana became the sixth president of Sonoma State University in July, 1992. He is also professor of Political Science and teaches periodically. Armiñana is the former president of the Western College Association and also serves on several CSU system-wide committees.

Education

• Ph.D., Political Science (Public Administration, International Relations, and Comparative
• Politics), University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1983. Dissertation: Job Satisfaction in Municipal Government: The Incentives Model, 1983.
• M.A., Latin American Economics and Political Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, 1970. Thesis: Agricultural Policies and Production in Cuba, (1966-1969), 1970.
• B.A., Economics, Political Science, and Spanish, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, 1968.
• A.A., Economics and Political Science, Hill Junior College (now Hill College), Hillsboro, Texas, 1966.

Influence and Impact

During Arminana’s tenure as President of Sonoma State University, he has been successful in furthering the academic and instructional programs of the University, leading to Sonoma State University being one of the most popular campuses in the California State University. Currently 12,000-15,000 students apply for approximately 1,800 spaces each year. Under his leadership, the University has experienced a steady increase in private donor investment and has entered into numerous partnership programs with businesses and public institutions in the North Bay region.

He created the Educational Mentoring Team program, was one of the first in the nation to institute an "assured access program" (requiring 24-hour access to personal computing for all students), and supported the founding of the master's degree program in Electrical Engineering Science Department  in conjunction with the North Bay technology community and an Executive MBA program in conjunction with the business community. 

Through his vision, the University is nearing a grand opening of the Donald and Maureen Green Music Center slated for Fall 2012. This acoustically-perfect concert hall will bring audiences and performers to experience, what is already being dubbed, one of the greatest halls in the world.

The Lifelong Learning Institute, a program for students over the age of 50, is extremely successfu and continues to expand. He has renewed the campus' commitment to diversity through the creation of the President’s Diversity Council.

Arminana also has overseen the development of the campus with the opening of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center and the Environmental Technology Center, the renovation of Salazar Hall (to offer a central location for all student services, along with modern classrooms and laboratories), and the doubling of the size of residential housing to accommodate 3,100 of the campus' 8,200 students. The building of the Recreation Center supports the co-curricular life of students, and the renovation of Darwin Hall enhances the University’s 21st science programs.

Previous to Sonoma State University, Armiñana served as Vice President for Finance and Development at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona from 1988-1992. Previously he served at Tulane University as Vice President/Assistant to the President. In addition, Dr. Armiñana held faculty appointments at both institutions, in Political Science at Pomona and in International Business and Political Science at Tulane. 

Alice Cameron is Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications for Fireman’s Fund
Insurance Company. In her position, Cameron is responsible for overseeing marketing and
communications for the company and both its commercial and personal lines. She has over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry.
 

Prior to joining Fireman’s Fund, Cameron served as managing director of Marsh Private Client Services where she was responsible for operations. At Safeco Insurance, Cameron held leadership positions in marketing and underwriting.
 

Cameron holds a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University and a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation. She lives with her family in Novato.

 
 

Michael J. Cohill is Sutter Health West Bay Regional President and CEO Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation.  In addition, Mr. Cohill provides executive leadership to Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City.

Previously, he held responsibility over Supply Chain Services, Facilities, Planning and Development of Sutter Health. Sonoma County Operations including Sutter Medical Center Santa Rosa and Sutter Medical Foundation North Bay, whose physician services are provided by Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods.

Mr. Cohill held multiple senior leadership positions in Sutter Health’s Central Valley Service Area. Prior to his Sonoma County assignment he served as CEO of the Central Valley Service Area, with responsibility for the administration, integration and growth of Sutter affiliates in the San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced Counties. His Central Valley experience also includes tenures as Chief Operating Officer and later chief Executive Officer of Sutter Gould Medical Foundation in Modesto, CA.

Mr. Cohill, a member of Sutter Health’s leadership team for more than 30 years possesses experience in a hospital and physician organization management and integration, as well as a thorough knowledge of Northern California’s unique and challenging health care environment.

Mr. Cohill began his career with Sutter Health in 1980 as an Associate Administrator at Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento. Four years later he became Administrator of Monticello Medical Center in Longview, WA, which was one of Sutter Health’s earliest affiliates. From 1986 to 1993 he held the position of Administrator of Sutter Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Cohill holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from St. Louis University. He is actively involved in the Sonoma Health Alliance, serves on the Board of the redwood Empire Chapter of the American Red Cross. 

As the head of Autodesk's government affairs, David Crane works with policy makers on issues that are important to the company and its customers, including intellectual property rights, trade and market access, data protection and privacy, infrastructure development, and sustainability and energy efficiency, among other issues. He chairs the Policy Council of the Business Software Alliance and sits on policy committees of the Information Technology Industry Council and TechAmerica. Before starting Autodesk's government affairs practice, Mr. Crane was an attorney with Mayer, Brown & Platt (currently, Mayer, Brown) in Washington, D.C. He served as a Vice President for a civil liberties advocacy organization, and was chief of staff to a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He began his work in Washington as an intern in the Carter/Mondale White House and then on the 1980 re-election campaign. He holds a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center.

In 1981, Nancy Dobbs was chosen to serve as general manager for the Rural California Broadcasting Corporation (KRCB's parent company), secured multiple FCC licenses and located a transmitter and building site. She organized the raising of funds and the construction of a building to house the station. Finally, after developing a staff, the station began broadcasting in 1984. KRCB FM was signed on in 1994. Nancy continues to lead the organization as President and CEO.

Nancy was an honoree at Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's tenth annual "A League of Their Own" luncheon celebrating women "breaking the glass ceiling" and is a Distinguished Alum of Sonoma State University. A tireless proponent of public broadcasting, Dobbs also serves on the board of directors of United Way of Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, Headlands Institute, GreenTreks, Inc., and Palm Drive Hospital in Sebastopol.

Prior to her work in public broadcasting, Nancy worked in the area of health care policy. Included was staff to the California State Legislature Assembly Health Committee, Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and as a gubernatorial appointee to the Statewide Health Planning Council. She also served as an appointee of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to the Board of Trustees of Community Hospital where she chaired the Finance Committee.

Richard "Dick" Ghilotti is the President and Owner of Ghilotti Construction Company "GCC". Currently managed by Dick and nephew, Brian Ongaro, Senior Vice President of Operations, GCC has been headquartered in Santa Rosa since 1992. In the last 15 years, GCC has grown from $12.5 million in annual revenue to a company with revenue in excess of $110 million.

Born into the well-respected, multi-generational Ghilotti family, Dick got his start in the family business at the age of 13 by washing trucks and doing other odd jobs. Dick graduated from Marin Catholic High School in 1964 and continued his education at Santa Clara University, earning his degree in Finance in 1968. After college, Dick joined his Father at Ghilotti Brothers, Inc., and worked his way from an Equipment Operator to Manager of Operations. Following the death of his Father, Dick and his uncle divided the company, and during the economic recession in the early 1990's went on to create Ghilotti Construction Company, with his cousin Jim Ghilotti, and Brian Ongaro.

In recognition of Dick's commitment and dedication to community service, and in acknowledgment of the excellence of his professional achievements in the public for-profit, and non-profit, sectors of the community, in 2004 Dick was awarded the Marin Builders Association Construction Industry Man-Of-The-Year designation.

As the Area Vice President for the North-East Bay, Paul Gibson brings to Comcast over 30 years of experience in the cable industry.  His role as AVP includes supporting a team of over 1000 diverse employees who enthusiastically work to grow the business with solid customer service and sales skills, public relations, efficient work flow, technical competence, product reliability, diligent recordkeeping and a strong emphasis on growth-oriented financial planning and marketing.

The footprint of North-East Bay encompasses Alameda, Solano, Contra Costa County, North Bay and Mendocino County- one of our biggest service areas in California. 

Before becoming the AVP of East Bay, Paul served as North Bay AVP. Paul joined the Comcast team in 2003 as the Vice President of High Speed Internet and Telephony for California.  Prior to Comcast, he worked as an Independent Consultant, a VP of Affiliate Relations and Operations for DIVA Systems, and a VP of Engineering for Media One.  He also worked for Optus Communications in Australia, a Joint venture with Continental Cablevision, as the Director of Engineering where he was responsible for the design and construction of a combined cable, HSI and HFC telephone network covering 2 million homes in the first 20 months of operation.  At the time it was the largest commercial HFC telephone deployment in the world.  Prior to his adventures in Australia, Paul worked for Continental Cablevision of California in variety of Operational, Engineering and Finance roles dating back to his first cable job in 1978.

Paul lives in Santa Rosa with his wife Patricia and two children, Emma and Zachary.  He is also a licensed pilot, enjoys the outdoors and photography. 

Kent M. Harvey is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for PG&E Corporation. Harvey, 49, oversees the company's enterprise-wide risk management, internal audit, compliance and corporate security functions. Harvey began his career at PG&E as an engineer in 1982. He also served as Corporate Secretary, Director of Financial Analysis, Director of Investor Relations, and Vice President and Treasurer, before becoming Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. He assumed his current position in October 2005.

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in engineering - economic systems, both from Stanford University. Harvey serves as treasurer and trustee of the American Conservatory Theater and board member of the North Bay Leadership Council.

Jim Kimball is a Senior Vice President for Wells Fargo, North Coast Commercial Banking Services, in Santa Rosa. Kimball is responsible for a team of 17 Commercial Banking managers who serve middle-market companies in a territory that stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. Key sectors served include the wine industry, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, importers, and services companies.

Kimball is a 25-year financial services veteran whose career has been focused on commercial banking in Northern California and the Western U.S. Most recently, he served as a regional sales manager for Wells Fargo Commercial Banking, overseeing business development in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, and part of Central California. Before that, Kimball led Wachovia's wholesale banking expansion into Northern California and Nevada.

Earlier, he worked 24 years for Bank of America in commercial banking and business development leadership positions, chiefly in Northern California and the West.

A lifetime resident of Sonoma County, Kimball has been an active community leader in Northern California and is past president of the North Bay World Trade Association and vice president of the Petaluma Educational Foundation. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance and an M.B.A from California State University, Sacramento. He and his wife, Sharon, and their son, Sean, and daughter, Kayla, live in Petaluma, where Kimball was born and raised.

evin A. Klockengawasappointed in February 2009 as President and CEO of St. Joseph Health System-Sonoma County. Klockenga joined the Health System's Sonoma County branch on September 2, 2008, as its Chief Operating Officer, and shortly thereafter (on September 15, 2008) was named Interim President and CEO.

Klockenga brings 22 years of experience in health-care management and administration to his role as the top executive overseeing the largest private, non-profit employer in Sonoma County. During his tenure with St. Joseph Health System, he has successfully led Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals through some of the most challenging economic times to confront California's health care industry. While surmounting financial challenges,

Klockenga also has maintained Memorial and Petaluma Valley's standards of high-quality, compassionate patient care. Under his watch in 2009, Memorial Hospital's preeminent Heart & Vascular services achieved the # 1 ranking among 949 U.S. hospitals for rapid, life-saving heart attack intervention as tracked by an American College of Cardiology Foundation data registry. In 2010, Memorial was recognized as the winner of the 2010/2011 Consumer Choice award for the 14th year out of 15 years this distinction has been awarded. During this same year, Memorial received recognition from Avatar for Exceeding Patient Expectations. In 2009, Petaluma Valley Hospital won its 6th Avatar award - one of several consecutive annual Avatar awards for Exceeding Patient Expectations - along with industry-wide recognition from McKesson for operating room efficiency.

Klockenga came to St. Joseph Health System after serving as chief operating officer for the Catholic Healthcare West system at its two Mercy hospitals in Bakersfield, California. Klockenga also formerly served as assistant vice president of operations at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, as vice president of operations at the University of Chicago's Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and in administrative roles at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

He earned his bachelor's degree at Illinois Wesleyan University and his master's degree at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Klockenga lives in Santa Rosa with his wife, Millie, and step-daughter Ashley, who attends Santa Rosa Junior College.

Bruce Kyse is Publisher of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a 84,000-circulation newspaper owned by the New York Times Company. Kyse, who was Executive Editor of the Press Democrat for nine years prior to leaving in 1999, returned to the newspaper in his new role in January 2006.

As publisher of the Press Democrat, Kyse also oversees Petaluma Argus-Courier, the North Bay Business Journal, and Savor and Santa Rosa magazines. Before taking his new post at The Press Democrat, Kyse was Vice President for News and New Media for the 14-paper New York Times Regional Newspaper Group. In his news role, Kyse had oversight of the group's news operations and newsroom development, including the Times Regional Group wire service, a Washington, D.C. bureau, training and editorial strategic planning. For new media, Kyse directed strategic development and implementation of the group's online efforts. Prior to joining the Regional Newspaper Group in 2000, Kyse was General Manager and Editor-in-Chief of WineToday.com, a New York Times Digital web site.

From 1990 until joining WineToday.com fulltime in 1999, Kyse was Executive Editor of The Press Democrat. He has served twice as a jurist on the Pulitzer Prize selection committee and during his tenure as editor, in 1996, The Press Democrat won the Pulitzer Prize for Best News Photo. Kyse was Managing Editor of The Press Democrat from 1988 until 1990. He also worked at the Marin Independent-Journal and San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, both in California.

He holds a journalism degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Kyse and his wife, Robin, reside in Santa Rosa with their daughter Taylor, 10. He also has two "20-something" children.

Dr. Mary B. Marcy joined Dominican University of California in July 2011 from Bard College. She served as Provost of Bard College at Simon's Rock and Vice President at Bard College since 2004. As the chief operating officer of Simon's Rock, she was responsible for all aspects of the academic and financial health of the college, as well as the college's relationship with its Board of Overseers. Under her leadership, Bard College at Simon's Rock focused on a set of strategic initiatives which included strengthening the academic core, diversifying the campus community, defining excellence in early college liberal arts education, realizing success in fund-raising, and growing an increasing selectivity in student enrollment.

During her tenure, the college's endowment realized dramatic growth, largely due to success in securing dedicated gifts to support student scholarships and faculty development. Marcy developed signature programs with the University of Oxford, Columbia University, the University of Manchester, and the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program, while expanding international options for students. In recent years the student body at Bard College at Simon's Rock grew to campus capacity, while under-represented students composed thirty percent of the student population in 2011.

Under Marcy's leadership, the college experienced considerable success in seeking major grant funding, and enjoyed an increasingly visible presence in media outlets and in higher education. This work has strengthened the academic core while placing Bard College at Simon's Rock at the forefront of excellence in early college liberal arts education.

Prior to her role at Bard College, Marcy worked in both public and private institutions of higher education. Her experience includes leadership of a national grant-funded Project on the Future of Higher Education through Antioch University, work as the first Dean of University Relations and Planning at Antioch University Seattle, and serving as the lead researcher and policy advisor to the President of Western Washington University.

Marcy serves on the editorial board of Liberal Education, on the national higher education advisory board for the National Center on Education and the Economy, and was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to serve as a commissioner on the Commonwealth's Public Education Nominating Council.

Marcy is a political scientist with a Doctorate of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. She conducts ongoing research on women in American politics, and has also published extensively on issues of diversity, leadership, and strategy in higher education. She was born and raised in western Nebraska, and received her Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Nebraska.

Brett Martinez is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Redwood Credit Union, the North Bay's largest credit union. Mr. Martinez oversees all aspects of the Credit Union, which serves over 144,000 Members and is the 54th largest credit union in the United States, with assets exceeding $1.8 billion.

Formerly serving as the Credit Union's Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Martinez brings over 22 years of credit union experience to Redwood Credit Union. In his prior role, Mr. Martinez oversaw branch operations, the call center, lending and facilities. Prior to joining Redwood Credit Union, Mr. Martinez served as a Senior Executive for both the California Credit Union League and Arrowhead Credit Union in San Bernardino, CA.

He holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from California State University/San Bernardino and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of La Verne. He is also a graduate of CUNA Management School.

Mr. Martinez is an active participant in the community, serving on a variety of non-profit, community and industry Boards. He is a Board member of the United Way of the Wine Country, serving on the Audit Committee and the Executive Committee. For the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, he is a member of the Board's Executive Committee and the Division Chair for the Community Relations Committee. Brett serves on the Credit Union 4 Kids National Advisory Board and is the Fundraising Coordinator for a 5-year Credit Union 4 Kids Fundraising Campaign. He is also the Vice Chair on the California Credit Union League's Board of Directors and serves on various League Committees. He previously served on Rotary in both Northern and Southern California and the California Credit Union League's Audit Committee.

Mr. Martinez and his wife Theresa reside in Santa Rosa with their two sons. He enjoys golf, tennis, boating and spending time with his family.

Mr. Perry practices in the areas of land use, real estate and business law. He represents clients before various administrative and planning agencies, including County of Sonoma, City of Santa Rosa, Town of Windsor, City of Petaluma, City of Rohnert Park, City of Sonoma, City of Cotati, City of Sebastopol, Sonoma County Airport Land Use Commission and Water Quality and Air Quality Boards.

Mr. Perry also represents clients in general real estate, environmental and contractual litigation. He has significant experience with California Environmental Quality Act compliance and litigation.Mr. Perry has practiced law in Sonoma County since 1975. He is a founding partner of Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz and previously partner with the firm of Luke & Perry. He is an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell (AV: "indicates very high to preeminent legal ability and very high ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar and Judiciary.")

Mr. Perry currently is a member of the Board of Trustees of Memorial Hospital; a member of the Sonoma County Harvest Fair (past president); a member of Santa Rosa Mainstreet Board of Directors (past president); a member of Business Advisory Assessment District (vice-chairman); and a member of the Sonoma County Volunteer Center Board of Directors (past president).

Mr. Perry was formerly a member of the Audubon Canyon Ranch Board of Directors; Sonoma County Planning Commissioner 1986-1995, Chairman 1987 and 1992; a member of the Sonoma County Emergency Medical Care Advisory Committee; Sonoma County Energy Advisory Committee; Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control Board; Sonoma County Civil Service Commission; member of the Board of Directors of Burbank Housing Development Corporation; Member of the Board of Director of the Sonoma County Fair (past president).

Mr. Perry attended the University of Nevada, Reno for two years. He received a bachelor of science degree in economics from University of California, Davis, in 1971 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis (King Hall) in 1974. Mr. Perry attended "Mediation of the Litigated Case" at Pepperdine University.

Tom Forster was the long-time Director of Operations and Facilities at Skywalker Ranch for Lucasfilm, Ltd. and for Skywalker Properties, Ltd. in Nicasio. Originally hired in 1984, he was a key player in the development of Skywalker Ranch, including the real estate, construction, facilities and maintenance, fire protection, security, guest lodging, food services, fitness facilities, general stores, shipping, agricultural operations, and community relations. He also developed and served as the Fire Chief of the Skywalker Ranch Fire Brigade.

He is a fourth generation native of Marin County. Tom is a graduate of the College of Marin, Chico State University, and the University of San Francisco, where he received a Masters in Human Resources and Organizational Development. He is a long-time instructor at the California Fire Academy at Monterey Bay, and has also taught for the Santa Rosa Junior College Fire Technology program. A very active member of the community, Tom is a past-President of the Marin County Fire Chiefs Association, the Marin Sonoma Fire Training Officers Association, the Larkspur Volunteer Firefighters Association, and the Northern Marin Toastmasters. He has also served on the boards of the North Bay Leadership Council, the Marin County Disaster Council, the Marin Conservation Corps, and the Marin Center Renaissance Partnership.

Both Tom and George Lucas received the "Good Neighbor Award" from the Nicasio Landowners Association in 2005 in recognition of their many efforts in the local community. Tom also received the Carl Harrison Award from the Sonoma County Fire Chiefs Association in 2005, given annually for the most important contribution to the Sonoma County Fire Service (He volunteered to lead strategic planning efforts for the Fire Chiefs Association.)

Tom is currently working part-time on special projects for Skywalker Properties Ltd., and serves as a private consultant in the areas of team-building, leadership development, and long-range planning.

Gordon Radley counsels, assists, and is a Board member of public, private and start-up companies in the entertainment and new media industries.

He has been working in the entertainment industry for over 35 years and recently retired from Lucasfilm Ltd. where he had been President since 1992. He joined Lucasfilm in 1985 and held various senior executive positions, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Business Group Vice President and General Counsel. During his Presidency, he grew the Lucas organization into one of the most financially successful and pre-eminent entertainment companies in the world, known for its excellence, creativity, and technological achievement. Prior to Lucasfilm, Radley held senior executive positions at both motion picture studios (Twentieth Century Fox) and independent production and distribution companies. 

Radley has twice served in the United States Peace Corps, as a Volunteer in Malawi, Central Africa, and as a project Training Director in Western Samoa, South Pacific. He is an Advisor to the National Peace Corps Association and is a Trustee for foundations working on AIDS relief in Africa and on the preservation of island cultures and environments throughout the world.He is a graduate of Amherst College (magna cum laude) and Harvard Law School.