The Board of Trustees has fiduciary responsibility for the governance of Menlo College. In that capacity, the Board oversees and shapes policy. The president and the president’s senior staff are responsible for the implementation of College policy and management of the day-to-day operations.
The trustees are a highly-accomplished, dedicated, and lively group of people who share an uncommon loyalty for, and commitment to, Menlo College. While serving in a voluntary capacity, our trustees make a significant time commitment. Meetings are held over the course of two days, at least three times each year. A strong committee structure provides the framework for the Board to oversee the important functions for which it is responsible. Most committee meetings occur during regularly scheduled Board meetings. Trustees typically serve on two committees.
As stated in the By-Laws, trustees serve terms of three years and may be elected for more than one term. Maintaining an effective Board requires a balance between adequate trustee turnover to gain fresh perspectives, and longevity of service to benefit from experience and institutional memory among its members.
The Board works primarily through committees composed of both trustees and advisors. The committees meet with relevant members of the administration, faculty, and students, and report to the full Board for decisions based on the committees’ recommendations. The established standing committees are Academic and Student Affairs, Audit, Buildings and Grounds, Committee of the Chairs, Development, Executive, Finance, Governance, and Investment. The charters of the committees are listed below.
Decisions made on behalf of Menlo College by Trustees on the College’s Board of Trustees are not improperly influenced by any Trustee’s personal, familial, business, or other interests. Read the full Conflict of Interest Policy here.
The current members of the Board of Trustees are listed below. To contact a member of the Menlo College Board or any of the committees, please send an email to BOT@Menlo.edu.
Tom Byers focuses on education regarding high-growth entrepreneurship and technology innovation. He is the first holder of the Entrepreneurship Professorship endowed chair in the School of Engineering, and is also a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. He has been a faculty director since the inception of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), which includes the Mayfield Fellows work/study program for undergraduates and the Entrepreneurship Corner (ECorner) collection of thought leader videos. He is a principal investigator and the director of the Epicenter, which is funded by the National Science Foundation to stimulate entrepreneurship education at all USA engineering and science colleges. He is the co-author of Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise published by McGraw-Hill.
He is a past recipient of the prestigious Gordon Prize by the National Academy of Engineering in the USA and Stanford University’s Gores Award, which is its highest honor for excellence in teaching. He has been a member of advisory boards at Harvard Business School, UC Berkeley, World Economic Forum, Conservation International, and several private enterprises.
Dr. Clayton-Pedersen is CEO of Emeritus Consulting Group, a Chicago-based firm that uses organizational development principles to assist nonprofit, public and education entities in enhancing their efficacy for the public good. Her storied career also includes roles as Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal and Senior Scholar for the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). She directed AAC&U’s partnership with the Pathways to College Network, which focuses on college access and success for underserved students. At Vanderbilt University, Clayton-Pedersen served in senior administrative roles within student affairs, academic affairs, athletic affairs and Vanderbilt’s public policy center. She also served as a research associate and an assistant professor of the practice in human and organizational development.
During her nearly 35-year career in education, Dr. Clayton-Pedersen has directed projects funded by the BellSouth, Ford, George Gund, James Irvine and Lumina Foundations, as well as the Carnegie Corp of New York, the Lilly Endowment, the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), the National Science Foundation and the Metropolitan Nashville Government. She served as Secretary of the Unite Way of Middle Tennessee and Vice Chair of Metro Nashville Social Service Commission and has consulted on higher education in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and China.
She advises foundations, businesses, regional consortia and national associations. She holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and both the M.Ed. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Howard “Howie” Dallmar is an Executive Managing Director and partner with Newmark Cornish & Carey. His area of expertise is representing companies and property owners in the acquisition and disposition of office and research and development properties in the San Francisco Mid-Peninsula area. After Menlo College, Mr. Dallmar attended Pepperdine University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, he played professional basketball for three years in Geneva, Switzerland and Melbourne, Australia. He was employed as an account executive for Owens Corning Fiberglass and 3M Company before he began a career in commercial real estate with Cornish & Carey Commercial. “I joined the Board of Menlo College because I wanted to get involved and make a difference at Menlo College on a personal level.”
Jim Davlin led General Motors’ global treasury operations, including capital planning, capital market activities, worldwide banking and pension funding. Mr. Davlin joined GM from Deere & Company, a global leader of agricultural and construction equipment, where he first served as Vice President and Treasurer, and then as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development. Davlin has also worked at The Procter & Gamble Company and at Eli Lilly and Company. In addition to his service to Menlo College, Mr. Davlin is a trustee of Wabash College and a member of the Advisory Board for the Duke Center for Finance. Davlin earned his JD from Duke University School of Law, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BA from Wabash College.
David C. Irmer Sr. is the President of Innisfree Companies, a diversified real estate firm he established in 1970 in Sausalito, and a graduate of Menlo College. Irmer’s development projects include Sequoia Station in Redwood City. Before Innisfree, he established and managed General American Development Corporation. He received his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami, Florida after attending Menlo.
Mr. Irmer is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers and the California Redevelopment Association, and is actively involved in various Chambers of Commerce. “I came away from Menlo understanding that I could do just about anything I set my mind to.”
Kathy Jackson joined the Menlo College Board of Trustees in 2022. With extensive corporate and nonprofit career experience, Kathy understands how to lead and scale organizations to achieve their aims of social good. She currently serves as Board Chair of Cilker Orchards Management Corporation. Most recently she served as a Director for CAI International, Inc. (NYSE: CAI) and was a co-founder of Magnify Community, a philanthropy innovation lab focused on prioritizing increased giving to Silicon Valley nonprofits.
Kathy previously served as CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, a $130 million organization that, during her tenure, provided more than one million meals per week to Silicon Valley residents. Kathy also served on the Board of Feeding America, the nation’s second largest charity. Prior to joining Second Harvest, she served as Board President of the Foundation for the Future at public Menlo-Atherton High School; she is delighted to have found M-A alums enrolled at Menlo College.
Before entering the nonprofit world, Kathy spent 23 years in asset-based leasing and lending as a Managing Director at Bank of America, GATX Capital, and D’Accord Incorporated.
In 2017, Kathy became a Senior Fellow of American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley. In 2014, she was honored as Network Leader of the Year across the 202 food banks within Feeding America.
Kathy has an MBA in Marketing, Finance, and Accounting from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University.
Micah Kāne is the CEO of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, where he is responsible for leading the executive team and day-to-day operations of the statewide philanthropic organization. Kāne served for seven years on HCF’s Board of Governors before transitioning into a management role. Before serving with HCF, Kāne was the chief operating officer of Pacific Links Hawai‘i, where he was responsible for the company’s Hawai‘i operations and future acquisitions in the islands. Other leadership roles include service as chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Kāne also served as a government affairs liaison for the Building Industry Association of Hawai‘i, and traveled throughout the South Pacific helping entrepreneurs start businesses as a business consultant for the Pacific Business Center. He is on the boards of various community-based organizations, including the Hawai‘i Meth Project, Malama Learning Center, Lanakila Pacific LLC and the March of Dimes. Over the years Kāne has been recognized for various awards, including the Salvation Army Partners in Community Service Award, Hawaiian Leader of the Year Award from the Ko‘olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, Ho‘oulu Leadership Award for Government, Environmental Council Award, Spirit of the Year Award from the Aloha United Way and the Housing Advocate of the Year Award from the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. Kāne is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, Menlo College, and he received his MBA from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Helene Kim is an international lawyer and management strategy advisor based in San Francisco, and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Management at Menlo College. She received her undergraduate degree (Summa Cum Laude) from Harvard-Radcliff College, and her JD from Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, she worked as a management strategy consultant for McKinsey Asia and as a business lawyer for Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, then served as founding Executive Director of International & Executive Education and Lecturer in Residence at the University of California Berkeley. Currently, she serves as a Director and Advisory Board Member of the Digital Cities research center at Stanford University. Her community service includes roles as a founding member of the Seoul-San Francisco Sister City Committee; former Board Chair of the Korean Center; San Francisco Day School volunteer; and Harvard Schools Committee Interviewer for San Francisco.
Larry Lopez is a partner at Australian Venture Consultants (AVC), a non-executive director of Jolimont Global Mining Systems, one of the founders of ANZA Technology Network, and a director of both ZAP Technology Ltd. and SayBubble. He has held various positions in international and corporate banking at Bank of the West and the Pacific Bank, and was with Silicon Valley Bank for 17 years. Lopez is currently an active member in his local community in Australia, where he serves on a number of non-profit charity boards and initiatives. Lopez is the son of Carlos Lopez, the 7th President of Menlo College. His great-great-great-grandfather was Faxon Atherton, for whom the town of Atherton is named. After Lopez graduated from Menlo College, he graduated from Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.
With its tripartite mission of teaching, research, and public service, the University of California encompasses ten campuses, five medical centers, and three national labs. It serves 273,000 students, with an annual budget of $36 billion. UCOP is the headquarters of the University, managing its fiscal and business operations, and supporting the academic, research and public service mission. Nelson is responsible for providing strategic guidance, decision making, resource planning, policy development, and organizational design analyses for the UC system and UCOP.
Since joining UCOP in 2012, Nelson has also served as Chief of Staff to the CFO, and Program Director for a system-wide program that redirects $200 million annually to teaching, research and public service through strategic procurement. She was previously Associate Director of the UC San Francisco Program Management Office, where she led the implementation of several finance, procurement, research, and HR systems. Before relocating to the west coast, Nelson lived and worked in Washington D.C. and abroad for PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she led projects worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development. She holds an M.B.A. in International Development from American University and B.S. degrees in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Delaware.
Colin O’Malley has leveraged his information security privacy background to launch and lead several companies. In 2013, he founded Lucid Privacy Group, which guides startups and marketing technology companies. He continues to serve as the Principal of the company today.
He also founded or co-founded two other companies in the past decade: Briefly.co, an enterprise focused on building tools and community to bring attention on content most likely to draw attention; and Evidon, a privacy compliance and data control company. He raised $20M in funding, built a multimillion dollar revenue line, created several new markets, and customer relationships with companies like WPP, Publicis, Dentsu, AmEx, Bank of America, Adobe, P&G, and Ford. His prior positions include VP of Strategic Partnerships and Programs at TRUSTe, where he helped secure an A round with Accel Partners, and CEO of Vocab Vitamins. He has also served in advisory roles for many technology companies, including Tapad, Datacoup, and First Growth Venture Network. He was also a trustee of Live Oak School in San Francisco.
Colin O’Malley is a 1999 graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he was a Posse Scholar.
Dr. Simmie Raiford obtained her B.S. and M.A.T. degrees from Jacksonville University, and her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida State University. She is the Executive Director of the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, based in Jacksonville, Florida.
The primary focus of Dr. Raiford’s efforts is to support transformation efforts in chronically low-performing schools. To that end, at the Schultz Center, she coaches principals and teachers on key elements of school transformation, instructional effectiveness, collaborative planning, data-driven decision making, conducting classroom observations and providing feedback, designing formative assessments, and curriculum alignment.
Prior to joining the Schultz Center, Dr, Raiford was a senior consultant with MGT Consulting Group and Cambridge Education. Over the course of her 40-year career, she accumulated experience at all levels of education, including serving as an educational policy analyst for the Florida legislature.
Among her many public appearances, Dr. Raiford was asked to deliver a podcast for Apple’s One Big Idea series, where she presented “Build a Child, Build a Nation” as an invitation to educators and legislators alike to create successively stronger generations whose skills include academics and a variety of well-rounded skills, to develop individuals who have the ideas and drive to shape the nation.
After joining Menlo College as an international student from Mexico and as a member of the Men’s Basketball team in the early 2000s, Aaron Santillan ‘03 deepened his relationship with the College by joining the Menlo College Board of Trustees.
Following his graduation from Menlo College in 2003, Aaron went on to receive a Master of Science (MS) degree in Information Systems from the University of San Francisco. He then joined VISA in 2006 as a Pricing Analyst and currently serves as Vice President / Head of US Interchange Pricing Strategy.
Since his time as a student, Aaron and his family have remained closely connected to Menlo College. He and his wife Eda Cano are reliable and heartfelt supporters of the College’s Basketball teams, regularly attending home and away games. Aaron also provides guidance as a member of the advisory board for Menlo’s academic program in Finance. His valuable reflections on the needs and desires of the industry have led to refinements in Menlo’s curriculum in ways that help students secure internships and jobs.
Eda and Aaron have two children: Alexander (19), who is currently attending Menlo College as a member of the class of 2025, and Luka (3), who attended his first Menlo Oaks’ basketball game at 4 weeks old!
Fran Schulz ’85 is an assurance partner at Ernst & Young in the Life Sciences Practice. Her clients include both public life sciences companies and emerging private life sciences companies. Over the course of her career, she has played a key role in helping companies work through the details of collaboration agreements, corporate spin-offs, reorganizations, and mergers and acquisitions, and has had personal involvement in over fifty public stock offerings. Her extensive experience with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) stems from her work with numerous public companies. She is on the board of directors of Women in Bio and the California Life Sciences Association. Her community service includes her role as a member of the Executive Leadership Team of American Heart Association Annual Research Roundtable. She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California Society of CPAs, Women Business Leaders. Fran is a 1985 Menlo College graduate.
Roger Smith founded the Silicon Valley Bank in 1983 and was the CEO from 1983-1992. The bank is credited with greatly increasing the financing opportunities for entrepreneurial ventures in the 1980s, as well as helping to stimulate the remarkable explosion of successful new companies in Silicon Valley. The Computer History Museum in Mountain View features the story of the partnership Roger formed with Bob Medearis and Bill Biggerstaff on this venture.
Smith subsequently founded Smith Venture Group, based in Palo Alto. Roger is involved in many corporate and community organizations, including a nonprofit he founded, called Mothers Against Murder, where he most recently mentored Menlo College alumna Jennifer Wences-Maciel ‘21.
Smith is particularly passionate about promoting higher education and career opportunities for members of the Latino community. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado, and moved to the Bay Area to pursue his MBA at the University of Santa Clara.
The appointment as Menlo College Trustee Emeritus is reserved for former trustees who have demonstrated significant contributions to the college and the community.
Andrea (Andy) Cunningham is an entrepreneur at the forefront of marketing, branding, positioning and communicating “The Next Big Thing.” Andy has played a key role in the launch of a number of new categories, including video games; personal computers; desktop publishing; digital imaging; RISC microprocessors; software as a service; very light jets; and clean tech investing. She is an expert in creating and executing marketing, branding and communicating strategies that accelerate growth, increase shareholder value and advance corporate reputation. Andy is the founder and president of Cunningham Collective, a brand strategy firm dedicated to bringing innovation to market. In addition to her role as a trustee of Menlo College, Andy serves on the following boards: Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc.; Finelite, Inc.; RhythmOne, LLC; The Aspen Institute; Menlo College; Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications; and ZERO1: The Art & Technology Network. Andy graduated from Northwestern University.
John Henry Felix exemplifies the values and skills Menlo College aspires to inculcate in its graduates. His distinguished career over five decades encompassed roles as an entrepreneur and corporate executive, as well as government service, labor relations, diplomacy, education, and community service. This service included nine years as a member of the Menlo College Board of Trustees, from 1995 to 2004.
A native of Hawaii, Dr Felix is an alumnus of Menlo College, Harris Manchester College (MA) and Walden University (PhD). He has written seven books. He is currently chair, president and CEO of HMAA, a health insurance company. He represents the governments of Portugal and Spain in Hawaii as honorary consul, is a former dean of the Consular Corps of Hawaii and is the recipient of several prestigious decorations from the governments of Portugal and Spain. Dr Felix is also the recipient of the highest honors from the American Red Cross (Harriman Award, 1976) and the International Red Cross (Henri Dunant Medal, 1983). He received the 2009 Thomas Jefferson Award for outstanding community and public service.
Julie Filizetti served as a Menlo College Trustee from 2008 to 2014, and as Board Chair from 2010 to 2014. Dr. Filizetti current role as Vice President at Isaacson, Miller following 16 years in higher education administration. Her prior roles include Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and as a fellow of the American Council on Education. She also spent 12 years as a naval officer, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Dr. Filizetti is a graduate of both Leadership Monterey Peninsula and Leadership California and is an active member of the San Benito County Community Foundation. She holds an Ed.D. in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Villanova University and the Naval Postgraduate School.
Mike Gullard is the founder and General Partner of Cornerstone Management, a consulting and investment firm specializing in telecommunications and software. He is the Chairman of Planar Systems, Inc. and Dyntek Inc. He is also a director of Selectica, Inc. and Alliance Semiconductor Corporation. Mike has been active in Silicon Valley for over forty years, and has extensive and long-term entrepreneurial management and investment experience in technology companies. He has an AB degree in economics from Stanford University as well as an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Charles J. Keenan, III, known as “Chop” to his friends and business associates, attended Menlo Junior College and Menlo School of Administration. He launched his career with the real estate developer Richard C. Price. The experience brought him to land development for homebuilders. In 1984, Mr. Keenan became a major player with the purchase of assets from Ponderosa Homes Northern California. The lots were later joint-ventured with Ponderosa Homes, a newly created homebuilding company, and Keenan Land Company continued to expand. Partnerships were formed in the fields of office development, retail, and hotel properties, and many of those partnerships still exist today. Mr. Keenan is a staunch supporter of many charitable causes and events in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. In 2007, Mr. Keenan received the Tall Tree Award for Businessman of the Year by Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce. In 2013, he was inducted into the Developer Hall of Fame by the NAIOP. He served on the Menlo College Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2016.
T. Geir Ramleth is the President and Board Member of PIX System, and the owner of GeirHeads. He is also an Executive Fellow with Dartmouth College’s Center for Digital Strategies.
Mr. Ramleth has held leadership positions for a variety of companies in the technology and communications sector, both domestically and internationally. From 2002 to 2013, he was senior vice president and chief information officer of Bechtel Group, Inc. Also while at Bechtel, he served as President and CEO of Genuity, a Bechtel Enterprises company. He left Bechtel to co-found Octoblu, a company that was later acquired by Citrix. Coincident with the acquisition, Mr. Ramleth joined Citrix to serve as Chief Strategy Officer, Workspace Services SVP & GM. Other leadership roles include positions with Oracle, PageMart, PacTel Personal Communications, and DigiPlex S.A.
After serving as a Menlo College Trustee from 2011 to 2018, and as Board chair between 2014 and 2018, Mr. Ramleth was elected as Trustee Emeritus in 2019.
The Board of Trustees works primarily through committees composed of both trustees and advisors. The committees meet with relevant members of the administration, faculty, and students and report to the full Board for decisions based on the committees’ recommendations. To contact any of the Committees, send an email to BOT@Menlo.edu.
The Academic & Student Affairs Committee (A&SA) oversees the quality of the College’s academic programs and curriculum through the review of programs and personnel policies integral to fulfilling the academic mission. The purview of this committee also extends to the social, moral, and leadership development of Menlo College students. Areas of focus include residential, social, cultural, community service, and athletic activities and the general physical and psychological well-being of students.
The Advancement Committee (AVC) is responsible for building and sustaining strategic relationships in order to ensure healthy and balanced contributed income streams for the College. In conjunction with management, the AVC oversees strategies and policies which ensure the effectiveness of the College’s marketing, communications, alumni experience, and development programs. Committee members are expected to actively participate in related events and outreach efforts outside of meetings.
The Audit Committee (AC) oversees accounting policies and procedures to ensure that the College’s financial statements present fairly and accurately the financial status of the College, and to make all trustees aware of issues that relate to their role as College fiduciaries. The AC provides oversight of the College’s internal controls and standards of conduct. Finally, the committee is responsible for the periodic assessment of the qualifications and independence of the College’s external auditors.
The purpose of the Building & Grounds Committee (B&G) is to establish priorities and recommend the allocation of resources necessary to protect, preserve and, where appropriate, expand the College’s physical assets, including buildings, grounds, and other properties; this mission extends to overseeing joint assets that are co-owned and/or co-operated by Menlo College and Menlo School.
The Governance Committee executes the responsibilities of the Building & Grounds Committee.
The mission of the Executive Committee is to strengthen the performance of the Office of the President by helping it function efficiently and effectively. The Executive Committee accomplishes this mission through the provision of advice and guidance for executive-level Office of the President decision-making.
The responsibilities of the Finance Committee (FC) fall into two broad areas: (1) overseeing current financial operations and results; and (2) ensuring that a viable long-range financial plan is in place or is being developed. The FC provides oversight of the institution’s financial practices and management. Specifically, it is responsible for reviewing and understanding financial statements; assuring the board that the statements reflect the institution’s financial condition; and determining the adequacy of internal controls surrounding financial information systems.
The Governance Committee (GC) assures that the Board of Trustees provides effective governance for the College. The primary means for the GC to exercise its overarching responsibility are the Bylaws and handbooks of the College, membership, and the structure and membership of the Board committees. The GC regularly reviews the Bylaws for ongoing relevancy; determines a desirable profile for the membership of the Board; evaluates prospective Trustee candidates and recommends them to the Board for approval; orients new Trustees; provides continuing education and development for Trustees on governance matters; evaluates the performance of the Board and of individual Trustees; and considers policies and activities with respect to Emeritus members of the Board.
The purpose of the Investment Committee (IC) is to maintain the prudent and effective investment of the endowment, formulate investment policies, and oversee management of the endowment. The IC is responsible for the endowment, planned gift annuities and life income funds, and other investment assets of the institution. The committee establishes the investment policy and, in conjunction with the Finance Committee, spending policy.
