Our Leadership

John has had a home in the Lake Tahoe region for more than 40 years. He is an active outdoors person and very involved in the local Tahoe communities. He was a Board member of the Truckee Tahoe Airport District from 2010 to 2018 and served as its President in 2014 and 2015.

John is the President of the North Tahoe Commercial real estate corporation; North Tahoe Properties, real estate property management corporation and the President of his own investment management company, Triley Ventures. Prior to retirement in 2004, John was a securities analyst on Wall Street for 20 years where he followed the high tech sector for Montgomery Securities, Salomon Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney and Citibank.

John began his technology pursuits at IBM in 1969. This led to his transition to Wall Street in 1985 as a technology analyst. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting & Statistics. Upon graduating, John went to work for Main LaFrentz & Co., the CPA firm that worked with Hewlett Packard at the time.

John has been married to his wife Glennis for 50 years. They have two adult children and three grandchildren who all spend much time in Tahoe.

Vickie Holtmeier is global SVP, emerging business unit at Salesforce. Salesforce focuses on delivering world class business and IT solutions, while integrating with Salesforce’s customer 360 platform. Vickie is responsible for building and scaling enterprise software teams across multiple industries.

Vickie has over 35 years of experience building high performing teams with various leadership positions at Siebel, Oracle and Brightedge. Outside of these roles, she gives back to the community through the Alzheimer’s Association, LEAD with Horses and environmental sustainability. Vickie holds a bachelor of science in business from Miami University, and a degree in organizational leadership from IESE Business School, Michigan University. She also enjoys cooking, biking, pickleball, tennis and skiing.

Kellie Kessel is a retired financial technology executive who most recently served as Managing Director of Black Knight Financial Services. In 2018, Black Knight acquired Compass Analytics, a company Kellie helped build since its founding in 2004. Prior to that, she was a Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank, working on their institutional sales and trading desk, advising clients on currency risk. Since her retirement, she spent six months sailing and travelling in the South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand and enrolled at Johns Hopkins University where she is currently pursuing an MA in Nonprofit Management.

Kellie is originally from Connecticut and moved to Mill Valley, CA in 1997, frequently visiting Tahoe until becoming a permanent resident of Incline Village in 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Connecticut and has served on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards.

Kellie and her husband, Rob, have three children. In her free time, you can find Kellie travelling, sailing, skiing, and hiking the stunning trails of Lake Tahoe.

Julie Teel has deep roots in Lake Tahoe. She is a founding member of the Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation. She has a long history of volunteerism and service to the Tahoe community, as a former member of the TRPA governing board, and philanthropic supporter of various causes.

Julie currently serves on the Nevada Museum of Art Board, Incline Village Community Hospital Foundation, University of Nevada Reno Foundation, Raley’s Food For Families Board Chair, the Thomas P. Raley Foundation and Hillsdale College, Michigan. Julie previously served as a Trustee for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (2016-2025), Board Member of the Crocker Art Museum (2012-2018, 2019-2022), National Salvation Army Advisory Board (2018-2024), Make-A-Wish Board (2015-2022), Raley’s Board of Directors (2017-2025), Ozark Trucking Board of Directors (2019-2025) and Sutter Hospitals Foundation.

Tom Baxter is an attorney specializing in finance and was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles and New York for over thirty years. In the course of his career, Tom principally represented private equity and credit firms, hedge funds, banks, insurance companies, public companies and other institutions in connection with a variety of debt and other investment transactions.

In the course of his practice, Tom formed several non-profit companies for clients and friends and served on the boards of several non-profits in Los Angeles, including Lamp Community and The People Concern, which provide services to the homeless, The Al Wooten Jr. Youth Center, which provides after school tutoring in south central LA, and Pacific Oaks College, which specializes in early childhood education.

Tom’s appreciation of the Sierras and the Tahoe area was fostered through summer visits to his grandparents’ cabin on Upper Echo Lake (built by his grandfather in the 1920s) and his mother’s favorite place on earth. That led to hiking the John Muir Trail in its entirety during high school and many other outdoor pursuits, including working in Alaska over three summers, climbing the California 14ers and mountaineering trips to Mexico, Peru and Europe.

Tom graduated as a history major at The Colorado College and earned his law degree, magna cum laude, from University of California Law School, San Francisco. Tom has enjoyed his family house in Glenbrook since the late 1970s. Tom and his wife Donna live in the Uppaway Estates section of Glenbrook, Nevada. His son Charlie works for an investment firm in New York City.

Scott Bensing served seven years in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer at sea during the first Persian Gulf War, as a flag aide to the NATO Force Commander, and as a congressional liaison officer to the U.S. Navy Secretary. In civilian life, Scott worked as Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator John Ensign, and as Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, prior to starting SB Strategic Consulting, Inc. in 2009.

Scott is heavily involved in community efforts throughout his home state of Nevada.  He was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the Tahoe Transportation District by Governor Joe Lombardo.  He is also a past Chairman of the Nevada Military Support Alliance and currently serves on the board of PTSDNOW! and the Military Officers Association of America, Incline Village Chapter.

Scott holds a B.S. degree in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and a Masters degree in Public Administration from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Scott and his wife moved to Incline Village in 2019 after launching their four children far and wide. Having raised their family in Annapolis, MD and Reno, NV, they originally ventured west for work before deciding to stay and call Nevada their home in 1999.  He enjoys fly fishing and working in his yard on projects that he thought were completed five years ago.

Jim Boyd was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to a second five-year term on the California Energy Commission on February 2, 2007. He was first appointed to the commission on February 6, 2002, and he was appointed to the Vice Chair position on June 16, 2006.

Prior to his appointment, Jim was Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff of the California Resources Agency. He created and chaired the state’s first Joint Agency Climate Change Team and the state’s Natural Gas Working Group.

Jim served for 15 years as the Chief Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), directing the nation’s largest state air pollution control program. During this period, CARB led the nation in establishing new pollution control programs for motor vehicles and fuels, toxic air contaminants, consumer products and industrial and area sources.

He currently presides over the Energy Commission Transportation Committee and currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the University of California Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. Jim is the Energy Commission’s representative on the Steering Team of the California Fuel Cell Partnership and has served on the Governor’s Hydrogen Highway Network Implementation Advisory Panel. He led the commission’s efforts to develop the state alternative fuels plan, which was requested by the governor and California State Legislature. He oversees the implementation of Assembly Bill 118, which established an Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program at the commission.

Jim chairs the Bio-energy Interagency Working Group that developed and is now implementing the Governor’s Bio-energy Action Plan and also serves as the state’s liaison to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and as California’s representative on the Border Governors’ Conference Energy Worktable. He presently serves on the Governor’s Climate Action Team.

A California native, Jim received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ryan Buntain is originally from New Jersey and spent the early years of his career in New York City after graduating from Ithaca College. Shortly after moving to Northern California, Ryan fell in love with Tahoe and has been a part time resident of Tahoe City since 2015.

Ryan is currently Head of Investor Relations at Knox Lane, a San Francisco based private equity firm. Prior to joining Knox Lane, Ryan was a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, where he served as a senior member of their investor relations team. Before joining Carlyle, Ryan was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he focused on marketing the firm’s multi-manager alternatives, secondary private equity funds, and customized offerings. Ryan began his career as a legal analyst for Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Originally driven west in large part by his passion for the outdoors, Ryan is the lone California outpost in his immediate family with the majority still based on the east coast and or overseas.  Ryan’s wife Holly Rose is a partner at a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and originally from the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Delta.  Ryan and Holly Rose have two little boys who in short order will start fully appreciating the magic of Tahoe just like London, their German Shorthaired Pointer, a Tahoe natural and West Shore trail specialist.

Todd has overseen over $1 billion in real estate throughout his career. With a degree from Santa Clara as a Juris Doctorate, Todd is a passionate deal maker at heart and is inspired by structuring joint ventures and complex business deals that take him to the places he loves.

Prior to joining the JMA team, Todd practiced law at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe along with Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory. He also served as JMA’s primary outside counsel for over six years in addition to representing other large institutional and development clients throughout the United States.

Todd is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bay Club Companies and is a member of and contributing author to the California State Bar Real Property Section and various other real estate and investment trade groups. Todd is also passionate about sports and athletics having captained the rugby team during his time at Boston College.

Education: B.S. from Boston College; Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University

Bill Dietz is president/principal broker at Tahoe Luxury Properties, a full-service luxury real estate and vacation rental business in California and Nevada. In addition to being the principal broker, Bill has overseen business operations and marketing strategy for the company since its inception in 1994 to today’s portfolio of over 120 hand-curated vacation rental properties around Lake Tahoe.

Bill has sold over $1.5 billion in real estate in the Tahoe region, including over 90 lakefront homes in California and Nevada, and is recognized as one of Tahoe’s top real estate brokers.

Bill holds a BA in History from the University of California at Davis, where he graduated Cum Laude and was awarded membership into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor’s society. He has lived in Tahoe since 1988 and enjoys spending his time skiing, mountain biking, surfing, boating and traveling with his wife, Kelly, and their two children. A dedicated steward of the region, Bill shares the Tahoe Fund’s mission to protect Lake Tahoe’s pristine environment while creating opportunities for all to experience and enjoy this one-of-a-kind treasure.

Verdi DiSesa is a Managing Director and Market Team Lead for Northern California and Northern Nevada at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In his senior role, Verdi directs a group of Bankers to deliver tailored financial strategies for some of the most affluent investors, entrepreneurs, executives and business owners in Northern California. He serves as a champion to help clients pursue their most meaningful goals and leave legacies for the generations to follow.

As a member of the leadership team in San Francisco, Verdi draws from the richness of his J.P. Morgan experience to expand the firm’s impact in the region. He has served on the National Associate and the National Advisory Councils, at Senior Leadership forums for the Private Bank, and has been recognized multiple times as one of the Private Bank’s Morgan Circle top advisors. Verdi also leads the Private Bank’s Innovation Economy efforts and coordinates with partners across various lines of business to solve for clients’ needs.

Over the course of a 16-year career in wealth management, Verdi has guided clients in navigating through two financial crises and the longest bull market in history. Before joining J.P. Morgan in 2013, he worked with the Investment Grade Credit Team at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco, and previously was part of the Private Wealth Management Group in Goldman’s New York office.

Verdi is a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned a degree in History with a focus on International Finance. He was a two-time captain of the varsity squash team.

Deeply enmeshed in the Bay Area and Reno/Tahoe communities, Verdi recently served as Commissioner of the Olympic Club’s squash program. He also serves as the current Chair of the Tahoe Fund board, and on the Executive and Forest Committees.

Outside of the office, Verdi, his wife, Kelsey, his daughters, Georgia and Lola, and their dog, Linus, spend much of their time in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Cindy Gustafson is the Placer County Supervisor for District 5, representing communities from Auburn to North Lake Tahoe. In her role as County Supervisor, she also serves on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board, the California Tahoe Conservancy Board and the Tahoe Transportation District Board.

A North Lake Tahoe resident since 1983, Cindy has dedicated her career to advancing the region’s environmental, economic, and community well-being. She served 26 years with the Tahoe City Public Utility District, including eight years as General Manager. In addition to her oversight of the District’s operating budget and infrastructure investments, she also secured and administered over $30 million in State and Federal grant funding for bike trails, sidewalks, water and sewer upgrades, community centers, public parks, beaches, and major environmental restoration projects. During her time at TCPUD, she was also privileged to be appointed by the Governor to serve on the California Fish and Game Commission, and later the Chair of the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force.

After her retirement from TCPUD and before joining the Board of Supervisors in 2019, Cindy was CEO of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and North Tahoe Chamber, where she strengthened partnerships and developed the strategy for on-going funding to support the region’s economic and environment goals.

Cindy and her husband raised their three sons in North Lake Tahoe, where they continue to enjoy the lake and surrounding Sierra Nevada through hiking, biking, boating, and skiing.

Deb Howard is Broker Associate, The Deb Howard Group, Berkshire Hathaway Drysdale Properties., CA and NV Real Estate in South Shore Tahoe and Carson Valley. Deb moved out of Alaska, where she was raised, to South Lake Tahoe in 1978 with her husband, Tony, to raise their two children and to enjoy this beautiful alpine community. She began her career in real estate and her active participation in South Lake Tahoe community affairs shortly thereafter.

Deb and her real estate team are directly involved with many of the issues that confront Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas. She maintains an open dialog with the local, state, and federal agencies involved in these issues that impact her industry and community. Deb believes that being up to date on local and national issues that confront the Lake Tahoe region, along with the real estate industry, is of paramount importance. To say the very least, Deb “lives and breathes Lake Tahoe.”

Kevin and his wife Sherí moved to the Tahoe-Truckee region in 1998, during the first ‘dot com’ boom. Kevin helped establish and manage several web-based technology firms in Truckee. In 2001 he co-founded Clear Capital, a national real estate valuation, technology, and analytics firm. He then led the effort to establish Clear Capital’s headquarters and main operational centers in Truckee, becoming one of the area’s largest employers and creating the model for non-tourism, technology-based jobs in the Tahoe Truckee region.

Clear Capital, now headquartered in downtown Reno, NV, has offices and staff across the nation, with over 650 employees and tens of thousands of contractors. Marshall retired from Clear Capital in 2019 and now serves as a Board Member and Strategic Advisor.

Kevin and Sherí were both raised in Auburn, CA, where they enjoyed the proximity to Tahoe. After a lifetime coming to Tahoe to mountain bike, snowboard, ski, camp, rock climb, and backpack, it only made sense to move to Tahoe and raise their family in the mountains. The Marshalls currently live in Incline Village, NV. Their two teenage children attend Tahoe Expedition Academy in Truckee.

In addition to the Tahoe Fund, Marshall is deeply involved in causes focused on youth mentorship, environment, addressing economic and social disparity, and education. You can find the Marshall’s exploring many obscure parts of the globe, but always eager to return to their Tahoe home base exploring on foot, ski, board, boat, bike, kayak, SUP, motorcycle, or overland rig.

Chris McNamara is a dedicated trail advocate and outdoor entrepreneur based in Zephyr Cove. He is deeply involved in transformational local infrastructure, including the vision for a continuous singletrack biking and hiking trail encircling Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Camino, a world-class pilgrimage route that stretches through the Sierra Nevada to connect historic mountain communities.

Chris and his wife, Tor, helped found the Tahoe Fund Trail Endowment, establishing a sustainable funding model for the long-term care of the region’s vast trail networks. In South Lake Tahoe, his leadership on the Ski Run Boulevard revitalization championed community-driven trail development, enhanced bike access, and the completion of Ski Run Park—a project heavily supported by the Tahoe Fund.

Beyond the Tahoe Basin, Chris serves as President of the Orogenesis Collective, which supports a 5,000-mile trail from Cabo to Canada. He is also the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of GearLab and the founder of SuperTopo guidebooks. A graduate of UC Berkeley, he is a former world-record-holding big wall climber with over 80 ascents of El Capitan, a pioneering wingsuit BASE jumper with a dozen first descents in the U.S. and Baffin Island, and the founder of the American Safe Climbing Association, which has replaced over 120,000 climbing anchors.

Amy Ohran is the President & COO of Palisades Tahoe, located in Olympic Valley, California. Amy is responsible for leading all resort operations, planning, enhancing the employee and guest experience, continuing to build and strengthen community relationships, and driving the profitability of the destination.

Amy comes to Palisades Tahoe with nearly 35 years’ experience in the snowsports industry, much of it spent in the Tahoe region. Most recently, Amy served as the Vice President & General Manager of Northstar California. Prior to that, she held a number of roles over 20 years at POWDR including two years as VP & GM of Woodward Mountain Centers, and eight years as President & GM of Boreal Ridge Corp. Amy also spent 16 years in various leadership roles at Mt. Bachelor, including as the Director of Staff & Skier Services and as Director of Ski & Ride School.

Jim Porter recently retired as a senior partner in the Porter Simon law firm with offices in Tahoe City and Truckee, California and Reno, Nevada. For over 50 years he practiced law in the Truckee/Tahoe and Reno areas, and is a licensed California real estate broker.

His weekly column, “The Law Review,” has appeared in the Sierra Sun for over 40 years. He has taught classes at various local colleges and is a member of several bar associations. In 1995, Jim was the first recipient of the “Attorney of the Year” award presented by the Tahoe-Truckee Bar Association. He was the Governor’s appointee to the Bipartisan McPherson Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

In 1998, Jim helped form and is Chairman Emeritus of the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation – initiated with a $1 million donation from William Hewlett of the Hewlett-Packard Company. The Foundation now has assets totally endowment totaling nearly $35 million. Jim has served on numerous local and regional boards.

Jim is a fifth generation Northern Californian and grew up visiting the Tahoe area for family vacations since he was in elementary school. In 1964, his family bought a vacation cabin in Crystal Bay, which they owned until 1994.

A University of California, Davis graduate, Jim received his law degree with honors from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. With two grown daughters now living in Oregon, Jim and his wife Marianne continue to enjoy life in Truckee – mountain biking, cross-country skiing, hiking, camping, fishing and gardening.

Cory Ritchie is an active supporter of environmental causes, bilingual education and equal access to youth sports at Lake Tahoe. In addition to being a founding board member of the Tahoe Fund, she has volunteered for numerous local organizations, including South Lake Tahoe’s Sustainable Rebuilding Expo, Youth Task Force, Boys and Girls Club, Girls on the Run Sierra, the Sports Connection, AYSO soccer, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe. Cory is also active with the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation and is a founding member of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Queen of Hearts Women’s Fund.

Cory grew up coming to Tahoe as a “weekender” on the Palisades Tahoe Ski Team. After exploring the mountains of Colorado and Vermont, Cory made her way back to Tahoe with her husband, Ryan, whom she met on the UC Davis Ski Team. Over the last twenty-plus years, they have lived all around the lake, in Tahoe City, Stateline, and Incline Village. They enjoy all Lake Tahoe has to offer, especially skiing, mountain biking, and backpacking with their two daughters.

Tara Schoedinger was appointed Vice President and General Manager of Northstar California Resort in November 2024. She brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across technology, public service, and mountain resort operations.

A graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in Business Information Systems, Tara spent the first two decades of her career in IT, including with Vail Resorts. In 2010, she was elected Mayor of Jamestown, Colorado, and led the town’s recovery following the devastating 2013 Colorado floods. She returned to Vail Resorts in 2016 as Chief of Staff to then-Chief Marketing Officer Kirsten Lynch and later served as Chief of Staff to Mountain Division President Pat Campbell. In 2021, Tara was named Vice President and General Manager of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, where she served on the board of the Crested Butte Land Trust, supporting conservation and public access efforts in the Gunnison Valley, as well as the board of the Crested Butte Center for the Arts. She was appointed Vice President and General Manager of Northstar California Resort in 2024, and currently serves on the Ski California Executive Committee.

Outside of work, Tara and her husband enjoy skiing, biking, camping and lake time, making North Lake Tahoe the perfect place to call home.

Tom Seeliger, a sixth-generation Northern Nevadan, was raised with a deep appreciation for Lake Tahoe’s community, lifestyle, and natural beauty. Growing up in a multigenerational family business rooted in the Basin, he developed an early understanding of entrepreneurship and a lasting respect for Tahoe as a vital resource.

Tom began his career as a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, then transitioned into environmental engineering in California. He ultimately found his calling in financial advising, joining Morgan Stanley in 2000 as a Financial Advisor. With more than 25 years of experience, he works with high-net-worth individuals, families, corporations, and foundations on long-term strategies for risk management and wealth building. He is currently an Executive Director at the firm.

Tom returned to Reno to raise his two sons in the place he has always called home. He served as a director of Edgewood Companies for 12 years and continues to support the organization as an advisory board member and shareholder. Outside of work, he enjoys backcountry skiing, mountain biking, flying, and traveling—interests he shares with his sons whenever possible.

Beth Treacy is the retired CEO and chief strategist of Treacy Marketing Group, a Chicago-based company specializing in transformational business and brand strategies for nonprofits. Industries served included manufacturing, health care, education, food distribution, hospitality/design, financial services and real estate.

Her community outreach efforts include pro bono marketing and consulting for numerous local
and national nonprofits. She is also a member and former president of the Auxiliary
Board of the Art Institute of Chicago, member of the Board of Visitors of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, member and former marketing committee chair of IWF Chicago, and a former trustee of the Chicago Architecture Center.

Beth earned an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of
Arts in history from Colorado College. She is an avid traveler and has lived, worked and studied abroad. Beth is a native Nevadan and currently splits her time between hiking and skiing in the Sierras and enjoying the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica where she lives with her husband, Lorry, and rescue dog, Mango.

Stephanie Tyler, President of AT&T Pacific Northwest and Nevada, is a highly accomplished external affairs executive and former Nevada State Senator with nearly 30 years of multi-state experience in administering government relations programs, corporate communications, campaign management and public service.

Stephanie has been in External Affairs with AT&T for more than 15 years. After lobbying communications issues in the California Legislature for 6 years, she was asked by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to take a one-year leave of absence from AT&T to serve as the Political Director to his successful re-election campaign. She then returned to the company where she now maintains responsibility for a 5-state western region.

A native Nevadan, Stephanie spent the early years of her career in a variety of political jobs including staff to a U.S. senator, running political organizations and statewide election campaigns.

She has been an active member of numerous community boards and commissions in both Reno and Las Vegas including the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities Board of Directors, the National JAG Board of Directors and the Nevada affiliate of the International Women’s Forum.

Stephanie is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno. She has homes in Carson City, Nevada and South Lake Tahoe, California.

Allen Biaggi is a third generation Nevadan from Douglas County and is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with degrees in Hydrology and Architectural Engineering Design.

Allen served as the Director of Nevada’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (a cabinet level position) under governors Guinn and Gibbons and as the Administrator of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection under governors Miller and Guinn. During his tenure with the State of Nevada, Allen served on numerous boards and commissions including The Commission on Workplace Safety, the Governor’s Climate Change Committee and the State Petroleum Board. Most notably for the Lake Tahoe Basin, Allen served on the Bi-State Fire Commission in the wake of the Angora Fire and sat on the Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for six years, including three years as its chairman.

Allen is the Principal of A. Biaggi & Associates, LLC, a natural resources consulting firm, and is an avid cyclist, skier and hiker. He resides in Douglas County with his wife Linda.

Las Vegas native Tim Cashman currently serves on the boards of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Nevada Taxpayers Association. Following graduation from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, he joined his family’s heavy equipment business in Reno, eventually managing operations in Reno and Elko before being named Vice-President of Cashman Equipment. He is co-owner of the Harley-Davidson dealerships in Southern Nevada and Utah.

In addition to his business endeavors, Tim has also served on the Nevada Department of Transportation’s Blue Ribbon Task Force, the Nevada Electric Energy Policy Committee and the State of Nevada Commission on Ethics. Since 2004 he has served as a trustee of the Keyser Foundation.

Tim enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, and is active in fishing, riding and boating.

Art Chapman is the Founder of JMA Ventures. Headquartered in San Francisco, JMA’s assets include but are not limited to The Fairmont Heritage Place Hotel at Ghirardelli Square, the Epic and Waterbar restaurants in San Francisco, Homewood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe, The West Shore Café and Inn, ownership interests in the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts, and the Red Lodge ski resort in Red Lodge Montana. Other assets include commercial properties in the State of Washington and Austin, Texas.

Art is a former Director of Community Development and Redevelopment in a large California city and served as a part time instructor in Public Administration and Community Development at the Center for Public Policy and Administration at California State University at Long Beach. He was a founding member of the Tahoe Fund. He was also appointed to and served on the bi-state, California, Nevada consultation committee that guided the development of the recently adopted Tahoe Regional Plan which is administered by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Until recently, he also served on the Board of Trustees of Sierra Nevada College. In 2011, Art was recognized as the Citizen of the Year by the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association.

Mr. Merrill was born and raised in San Francisco and received a BA degree from Stanford University and an MBA degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1967. Following graduation, he began his career in venture capital by joining BankAmerica Capital Corporation. In 1976 he became president of BankAmerica Capital Corporation and managed this very successful venture activity until 1980 when he formed and managed Merrill, Pickard, Anderson & Eyre (MPAE), a privately held venture capital partnership.

During his venture capital career, Mr. Merrill was involved in the start-up funding of Federal Express, Advanced Micro Devices, America Online, Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Aspect Telecommunications, Cypress Semiconductor, LSI Logic, Synopsys, Grand Junction and Kalpana (acquired by Cisco), Maxim Integrated Products, Palm Computing, and Rambus.
In 1996 MPAE stopped making new investments and Mr. Merrill helped form Benchmark Capital with several of the MPAE partners. He continues to be a special limited partner in that firm.

Mr. Merrill is presently devoting a significant amount of time to civic and non-profit activities as well as his private investments. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of Town School for Boys, a member of the Committee to Restore the San Francisco Opera House, and is a past director of the Children’s Health Council and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Mr. Merrill currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Aspire Public Schools, the largest Charter School organization in California. He is also on the Board of the UCSF Foundation and the Haas Center at Stanford University, as well as an investment partner in New Schools Venture Fund.

Mr. Merrill is a past president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists, a past director of the National Venture Capital Association, and was a director of numerous privately-held companies.

Mr. Merrill lives in San Francisco and is the father of two grown sons. He maintains a summer home near Tahoe City.

Brian Sandoval is the 17th president of the University of Nevada, Reno. He was appointed to this role on Sept. 17, 2020 by the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents. Sandoval is the first person of Hispanic origin as well as the first alumnus to serve as president in University history.

In his role as University President, Sandoval has launched a number of key initiatives stressing a long-term collaborative commitment to meet the ever-changing needs of Nevada. As he has raised visibility and awareness of the strategic priorities for the state’s original land-grant institution, Sandoval has stressed student accessibility, diversity and success; faculty and staff achievement and excellence; and innovation, partnership and impactful engagement through the University’s research and outreach efforts.

Sandoval served two terms as the 29th Governor of the State of Nevada from 2011-2019, during which time his leadership helped lift Nevada from an historic recession to a time of record-setting prosperity and growth.

Previously, Sandoval was president of global gaming development for MGM Resorts International and served as a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy as well as a Distinguished Fellow of Law and Leadership at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law.

Prior to becoming governor, Sandoval was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Nevada, becoming the state’s first Hispanic federal judge. He also was elected Nevada’s Attorney General, was a member of and at one point was the youngest chairman in the history of the Nevada Gaming Commission, and served two terms, 1994-98, as an assemblyman in the Nevada State Legislature.

Sandoval is a 1986 graduate of the University with a degree in English. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Ohio State University Moritz School of Law in 1989.

Sandoval first visited Lake Tahoe as a small boy at 4-H Camp at Stateline. It was there that he began his lifelong relationship with Lake Tahoe. He is married to Lauralyn McCarthy Sandoval, a 1992 graduate of the University’s Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism. She was also an intercollegiate athlete at the University, competing on the women’s tennis team. Sandoval has three children: James, Madeline and Marisa.

Patrick Wright is Executive Director of the California Tahoe Conservancy, a state agency charged with leading California’s efforts to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin. He was previously Director of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, where he led a consortium of agencies and stakeholders in managing one of the nation’s largest collaborative water management programs.

Wright also served as Deputy and Assistant Secretary for the California Resources Agency in the administrations of former governor Gray Davis and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and served on the board of the California Coastal Conservancy.

Prior to these appointments, he was a senior policy advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Interior and the Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Dominique has served as Deputy Director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (NDCNR) since 2017. Prior to working for the State of Nevada, Dominique co-founded Legacy Land and Water, LLC, and was a partner with Terra Firma Associates, LLC, both of which were small, versatile land use consulting firms dedicated to protecting and enhancing the environment. Currently inactive, Dominique is licensed to practice law in Nevada and California, and served as a law clerk to Judge Howard D. McKibben in the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada. Dominique is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Golden Gate University School of Law, where he was a Member and Editor of the Law Review, and received the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in Environmental Law. Dominique started his career in Washington, D.C., as a Legislative Aide to U.S. Senator Richard H. Bryan.

Dominique was born in South Lake Tahoe, California, and raised in Minden, Nevada, on a ranch founded in 1857. He is married to Laima Etchegoyhen and has two children, Vytis and Liepa.

Julie Regan is a seasoned government affairs, environmental conservation, and communications leader with decades of experience in the public and private sectors. She was selected as Executive Director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) in 2022 and has held an executive position at the agency since 2003. TRPA was the first environmental interstate compact agency of its kind in the United States. The agency is charged with the environmental protection of Lake Tahoe, the second deepest lake in the United States and the ancestral home of the native Washoe.

Julie earned her master’s degree in journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. She is a Ph.D. student in environmental science at the University of Nevada, Reno focusing her research on the intersection of science and public policy, building on her experience at Lake Tahoe balancing environmental preservation in a $5-billion tourist-based economy.

She is the past Co-Chair of the nationally-focused Network for Landscape Conservation and has contributed writings on destination stewardship to the global conversation on overtourism.

Originally from Delaware, Julie now resides in South Lake Tahoe’s Christmas Valley with her husband and dogs. She is active in the community and is the former Chair of the Barton Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. She enjoys skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and traveling.

Jason Vasques was appointed the California Tahoe Conservancy’s executive director in August 2022, following five years with the state agency. Jason previously supervised the agency’s landscape forestry program. Educated in the U.S. and New Zealand, Jason brings over two decades of experience in state government and nonprofit management, from the coral reefs of the Caribbean to rivers and streams in the Sierra Nevada and California’s central valley. Vasques is just the third executive director to lead the Conservancy.

Growing up in a mixed heritage home in a rural farming community in the central San Joaquin Valley, Jason is committed to a vision for Tahoe that benefits all.