Leadership
The Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center has a distinguished Board of Directors and Advisory Council drawn from across the Tri-Valley. These individuals and the LVPAC staff, working with the Livermore City Council and City staff, have given their time and resources to help the Valley flourish both culturally and economically.
Board of Directors
Philip R. Wente: Chairman
Mr. Wente is President of the Wente Land and Cattle Company, Vice Chairman of Wente Vineyards, Past Chairman of the Tri-Valley Business Council and a current member of the Wine Institute, Agricultural Water Task Force, California Community College Foundation, and the Alameda County Agricultural Advisory Committee. He has held many positions throughout the California wine industry, as well as the Tri-Valley business community. Mr. Wente’s invaluable expertise in the agri-tourism industry facilitates the merging of wine event tourism with the arts, strengthens Livermore’s positioning as a tourist destination, and brings stellar leadership to our project.
Joan K. Seppala: President
Ms. Seppala is founder and publisher of The Independent, a Livermore and Pleasanton weekly newspaper established in 1963. She serves on the Board of Directors of Chicago-based Intermatic Incorporated, an integrated manufacturer of consumer and industrial energy control products. Ms. Seppala has participated in several Alameda County public bodies, including the Altamont Settlement Committee. She also serves on the Livermore Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee and the Livermore Cultural Arts Council. As early as 1986, she envisioned a performing arts center in downtown Livermore to enrich the cultural life of the community.
Thomas Reitter: Secretary
Mr. Reitter is a former member of the Livermore City Council (1989-2007) and a retired mechanical engineer from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. As a council member, he was particularly concerned with preserving agriculture and open space around Livermore and in preserving the city's individual character and sense of place. He helped focus the city on downtown re-vitalization. He sees the Bankhead Theater and the proposed regional performing arts theater as major economic drivers of the new downtown that will make Livermore a center for arts and entertainment.
Michael Bocchicchio: Treasurer
Mr. Bocchicchio is an architect and currently serves as the Assistant Vice President – Facilities Administration, for the University of California System. He was twice appointed State Architect under Governor Deukmeijian, was employed as the Regional Director of Planning and Facilities for Southern California for Kaiser Permanente and served as University Architect and Executive Director for the University of Southern California. He and his wife are impresarios active in producing grand opera in the Bay Area. He is a former President of the Livermore Valley Opera company. Mr. Bocchicchio, chair of the Performing Arts Center Architectural and Construction Committee, has extensive experience and knowledge of large-scale construction management and financing.
Nancy Bankhead: Director
Nancy Bankhead was born and raised in Livermore. She is the president of Fallon Enterprises, Inc., a family business comprised of real estate investments and ranching. She currently serves as vice-president for the Livermore Cultural Arts Council. Ms. Bankhead represents her family and their naming gift of the Bankhead Theater by continuing to support and advocate for arts, history and culture in the region.
Jay Davis: Director
Jay Davis is a nuclear physicist trained at the Universities of Texas and Wisconsin. During his three-decade career at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he built accelerators for research in nuclear physics and for materials science in support of the fusion program. He also founded the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, creating isotopic tracing and tagging tools for research programs in the geosciences, toxicology, nutritional sciences, oncology, archaeology, and nuclear forensics. At the time he left LLNL to join the Department of Defense in 1998, he was the Associate Director for Earth and Environmental Sciences. In the national security component of his career, he worked to develop techniques for arms control treaties, was a senior member of the NEST program, served as an inspector in Iraq for UNSCOM after the First Gulf War, and then served as the founding Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. As Director of DTRA, he merged three DoD organizations to create DoD’s operating and technical focus for dealing with all aspects of weapons of mass destruction. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and serves on its Panel on Public Affairs and on two Boards of the National Academy of Sciences. His continuing national security interests are in the areas of nuclear forensics, renewal of the US nuclear force, and counter terrorism.
Michael W. Faber: Director
Michael W. Faber has founded three corporations, one of which became a major publicly traded company with an eventual valuation of $ 1.6 billion. He has received 80 patents from the United States, European Economic Union Countries, Japanese and Korean Patent Offices in the fields of consumer electronics, television, cable, automotive, medical and consumer products. Considered as the “father of television program guides,” his TV Guide on screen product is in 61 million U.S. households as well as utilized by tens of millions of consumers throughout Europe, Asia, South America, Indonesia, and now China. Currently, Chairman of the Board of Faber Trust Group, Mr. Faber continues to develop, patent and deliver inventions with significant licensing revenues directed toward Mr. and Mrs. Faber’s charitable activities. He is currently an Executive Board member of the San Francisco Council of the Boy Scouts of America, co-founder and board member of the Pleasanton Schools Educational Enrichment Foundation, Senior Advisor to the Bay Area Alliance for Youth and Family Services and board member of the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society. He is the recipient of a “Silver Beaver,” the highest Boy Scout council volunteer award and most importantly served as Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmaster, and Cub Master for over 20 years. Mr. Faber holds three degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles and the California University System.
Chris Grant: Director
Chris is Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Kaiser Permanente's venture capital and corporate development group. He oversees the organization’s venture investment strategy which is designed to support the company's healthcare mission while generating venture capital rates of return. Additionally, he oversees corporate development and merger and acquisitions company-wide. Before joining Kaiser Permanente in 1995, Chris held several positions on the Business Development and Financial Management Team of Rockwell International Corp. Additionally, Chris serves on the Board of Trustees of the Pleasanton Unified School District and two charitable funds. Chris has a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of California, Santa Barbara and has completed executive management programs at Kenaan Flagler School of Business (UNC at Chapel Hill) as well as Venture Capital Institute Graduate and Undergraduate programs. Chris, his wife and family are long-time residents of Pleasanton.
Patrick Kernan: Director
Patrick Kernan opened the Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel's Pleasanton law office and was chosen to become its managing partner from 1998 until June of 2004. From 2004 to 2005, he was employed as the Vice President & General Counsel of Valley Care Health Systems. Mr. Kernan founded the Law Offices of Patrick J. Kernan in 2007. Mr. Kernan is a past member of the Hospital & Pacific Care Boards and is now on the Pacific Chamber Symphony Board and the Las Positas Foundation Board. Mr. Kernan was appointed to the Pleasanton Unified School District Board in 1997, was elected to the Board in 2001 and re-elected in 2006.
Jean King: Director
Jean King was employed at Sandia Labs as a computer programmer and is an adjunct instructor at Las Positas College teaching mathematics. Previously on the boards of the League of Women Voters, AAUW, Friends of the Vineyards; past president of the Student Education Loan Fund, Del Valle Fine Arts, Livermore-Amador Symphony Association; and on the boards of Tri Valley Conservancy, Livermore Commission for the Arts, and Livermore Cultural Arts Council. Jean was named Woman of the Year (2009) for the 15th Assembly District, for her leadership role in the arts and the environment, including preservation of vineyard lands.
Steve King: Director
Mr. King has more than 25 years of leadership experience and has led highly successful corporate expansion initiatives throughout his career, with a proven track record in sales, marketing, financial and executive management. He is currently president and CEO of Virtela Communications, a premier global network integrator. Prior to Virtela, he was president and CEO of ZANTAZ Inc., (headquartered in Pleasanton). Under his seven-year leadership, the company grew to be profitable and a recognized market leader. Prior to ZANTAZ, Steve held a number of executive positions at E*TRADE Group Inc., where he played a key role in growing the company from under $100 million to more than $1.5 billion in revenues. He ultimately became CEO of E*OFFERING, the pioneering online investment bank of E*TRADE. In 2006, he received the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Steve is also on the board of TrustedID, a leader in identity theft prevention solutions.
Layne Marceau: Director
Mr. Marceau is the President of Shea Homes Northern California. He previously held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Shea Homes Southern California, where he played an integral part in Shea's financial partnership negotiations with Morgan Stanley Real East Fund. He also led the due diligence for Shea in its acquisitions of the Mission Viejo Company and UDC Homes. At Shea Homes, Marceau oversees all facets of the Northern California Division's operations, including land acquisitions and negotiations. He is a strong proponent of developing `customers for life' and using technology to streamline internal operations and improve the home buying process. Marceau holds an MBA in Finance from the University of California, Irvine and a Bachelor's Degree in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego. He is also a California Certified Public Accountant and Real Estate Broker.
Mortimer L. Mendelsohn: Director
Dr. Mendelsohn is a retired Senior Scientist and former Associate Director at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where for 20 years he headed the Biomedical and Environmental Research Program specializing in radiology, cytogenetics and analytical cytology. He spent three years as Vice Chairman of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan. Long active in the arts, he currently serves on the Board of Del Valle Fine Arts. Dr. Mendelsohn brings extensive connections in the arts community and high-level managerial expertise to the board’s endeavors.
Joseph Madden: Director
Mr. Madden is President of Goal Line Productions, a Pleasanton-based production studio, where he has produced numerous commercials for clients including AT&T, Microsoft, Clorox, and Ace Hardware. His company also produces feature films. He is executive producer of the 2004 Academy Award™ nominated feature film “The Cooler,” and the comedy-horror “Dead and Breakfast,” which was filmed entirely on location in Livermore. He has served on several relevant community boards, including the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the California Independent Film Festival. He brings fundraising and arts presentation experience to the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center board.
Michael Madden: Director
Since 1990, Mr. Madden has been President of Red Bear Property management. The firm’s real estate portfolio includes single-family homes, senior-housing projects, office buildings, hotels and historical downtown properties in both Pleasanton and Livermore. For the past twelve years, Mr. Madden has volunteered his time as head freshmen football coach at Foothill High School. He has also served on the Board of the Pleasanton Downtown Association, the George A Spiliotopoulos Golf Tournament, and the Executive Committee for the Easter Seals Kaleidoscope Activity Center. His knowledge of the land use and development process and close ties throughout the community are assets to the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center.
Douglas Sirotta: Director
Mr. Sirotta is a partner with the International Accounting and advisory firm of BDO Seidman, LLP. He is a practicing partner specializing in providing tax consultation to companies in the Technology, Manufacturing and Retail industries. His technical specialization includes international tax, compensation, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Intellectual property taxation. He also serves on the firm’s Board of Directors and is the business line leader to the West Coast and National tax practices. He has been a partner with BDO since 2001 and was employed before that at Ernst & Young LLP for over 12 years in their Southern California practice.
Charles Smith: Director
Mr. Smith is the principal of CHS Ventures, a private investment and consulting firm, and an advisor and consultant to several venture capital firms and emerging companies. He serves on the Board of Directors at NeoScale Systems and SiliconStor, Inc. and is a member of the Business Advisory Board of Mellanox Corporation and Monosphere Inc. Mr. Smith was the founding Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Brocade Communications, Inc (BRCD) through 2002. Prior to Brocade, he held executive positions with IBM Storage Systems Division, Parallel Technology, and NEC Corporation. As Chairman of the Board at Persist Technologies, he led the company to a successful acquisition by Hewlett Packard in 2003. Mr. Smith lends his business acumen, energy and understanding of fundraising to the project.
Donald Tishman: Director
Mr. Tishman has been in real estate development as an attorney, developer and educator for more than forty years. He has developed real estate in more than 35 major metropolitan areas throughout the United States. His companies have developed more than 40,000 multi-family dwellings. In addition, Mr. Tishman’s companies have extensively developed shopping centers, office buildings and industrial parks. Mr. Tishman is presently the Director of the Real Estate Development Center at the University of New Mexico where he has been teaching a graduate seminar on real estate since 1991. Mr. Tishman lives in Pleasanton and is still developing.
Denise Watkins: Director
Ms. Watkins is President of the Pleasanton Schools Educational Enrichment Foundation, a non-profit corporation which supports arts, science and other enrichment learning programs that benefit all Pleasanton Unified School District students. Ms. Watkins has served on numerous committees for the Pleasanton School District, including co-chairing the recent district-wide Excellence Committee. Ms Watkins and her husband Bill, former CEO of Seagate Technologies, run Primal Quest LLC, an Expedition Adventure Race. Before her involvement with Primal Quest and the school district, Ms. Watkins worked for 18 years in the telecommunications field, developing network management and control systems for satellite and wireless communications.
Donna Wilcox: Director
Ms. Wilcox is a CEO, a Director and a marketing consultant for several local wineries. Her long career in the wine business included General Manager of Concannon Vineyard and Wente Sparkling Wine Cellars in Livermore, as well as Vice President, Marketing and Sales, for Wente Vineyards. During her employment at Wente, she opened the Sparkling Wine Cellars new restaurant, conference center and concert series. She also was responsible for starting several local events including Art in the Vineyard and the Livermore Valley Wine Festival. In addition, she has been instructor for wine appreciation and service at many national universities and has conducted several national and international seminars on wine.
Phillip N. Dean: Director Emeritus
Mr. Dean retired as a physicist from the University of California in1993, having spent 32 years working in the fields of radiological physics and analytical cytology at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He was President of the Livermore Cultural Arts Council for 10 years. Mr. Dean is a distinguished, longstanding supporter of the project who has made administrative, management and sound fiscal practice a cornerstone of the organization.
Advisory Council
Scott Haggerty, Alameda County Supervisor
Ellen Tauscher, U.S. House of Representatives - California 10th District
Elaine Taylor, Co-founder, Taylor Family Foundation
Staff
Mr. Brown has spent the last two decades in senior management positions for a variety of businesses and organizations. These have included Transfair USA, the Fair Trade certifier for the United States, where he was the first CFO, Welman Services, Zions Bancorp’s wealth management and trusts division, where he was both CFO and COO, Playworks USA, a national provider of services to k through 8th public schools, where he was CFO, and Tides Center, a $100 MM non-profit, where he worked in a variety of interim senior management roles before being hired by LVPAC. Previous to these experiences, Mr. Brown founded, or was a senior manager of several software companies or software consultancies in Silicon Valley, including Sabroco, Catalyst Resources, and Lozoic.
Kimberly Moore, Development Director
Ms. Moore has 18 years of experience in sales, marketing and development with a background in a variety of fields including business services, high-tech, real estate, multi-media, and entertainment. She is also an independent contractor with RE/MAX Accord and oversees the marketing and transactional aspects of properties that she and her partner represent. As a member of several industry associations on a local, state and national level, Kimberly is known for her committee work and dedication. She currently is an Ambassador for the Livermore Chamber of Commerce and is a past Public Relations Officer on the Board of Directors for the Livermore Marketing Association.
Nancy Mueller, Marketing Director
Ms. Mueller has over 20 years of marketing, operations and customer service experience from a variety of Tri-Valley businesses including Wente Vineyards, Concannon Vineyard and the Alameda County Fair. Her recent activities include online entertainment ticketing and web sales, email marketing, membership programs, customer relationship management and event organization. In her position as Marketing Manager at Wente Vineyards, she was responsible for providing marketing support for the summer concert series, restaurant, catering, golf course and grill operations. Mueller is a 5th generation Livermore resident and active in the community, including involvement with the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, Bay Area Professional Ticketing Association, Livermore Valley Education Foundation, Las Positas College Presidential Advisory Council, and service as a Board member of the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and Livermore Downtown Inc.
Linda Ryan, Manager, Bothwell Arts Center
Ms. Ryan is a professional artist and an active member of the local arts community. She started the Tri-Valley Artists Guild (TVAG) ArtWalk Livermore in 2002, and directed three of the past four annual ArtWalks. Linda is President of TVAG, an Arts Commissioner for the City of Livermore, and a past Board Member of Livermore Downtown, Inc. She has been active in a variety of the arts, from theater to vocal performance groups to literary arts, and has worked as a Studio Program Director, Marketing Director, and as an editor. Ryan has studied cultural arts in four Bay Area colleges, and has curated and hung over 50 art exhibitions, taught painting and organized workshops, critique and painting groups.