About Us >
Board of Directors
Chair
- Lindsay Austin, Chairman, Pavilion Integration Corp.
Lindsay Austin has over 30 years experience in companies that develop, manufacture and market lasers, optics and instrumentation. He is the cofounder and Chairman of Pavilion Integration Corp (PIC), a leader in biophotonics. Previous to PIC he was the President & CEO of SpectraSwitch, a start-up optical components company. Prior to this he was with JDS Uniphase where he initially served as VP Sales & Marketing and later as VP/GM of the Commercial Laser Division. He has also held senior management positions with Coherent, Lambda Physik and Spectra Physics. Lindsay earned his BS and MS degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington. His passion is winemaking and he operates a private winery - Kings Hill Cellars - that caters to clients who participate in the winemaking process and make wine by the barrel. In addition to serving the board of SMBC, he serves on the board of the Sonoma County Museum.
Directors
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Kelli leads PG&E's public affairs and government relations activities and strategies by partnering with cities and counties, community-based organizations, environmental and business organizations to enhance customer loyalty, environmental leadership, community engagement, and enable infrastructure development. Golden Gate University, School of Law California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo St. Ignatius College Prep |
Barry Palma is a Senior Vice President and a Leasing and Investment Advisor with Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank in Santa Rosa. His focus is representing investors in purchasing commercial real estate and leasing office, high tech and R&D industrial buildings. In addition he has represented Sonoma County's most prestigious firms in the leasing and purchasing of their facilities. Prior to joining Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank in March, 2010, he was with Orion Partners Ltd. and a top producing agent every year and has won numerous top salesman awards in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Since joining Cornish & Carey Commercial/ Newmark Knight Frank Barry was awarded the top salesman in Sonoma County for 2010. Along with coordinating the marketing and leasing of major business parks, office and industrial buildings, Mr. Palma is experienced in 1031 exchanges, build-to-suit transactions, tenant representation, real estate analysis and land sales. Mr. Palma holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Business from State University of New York at Albany. He completed some graduate work classes, in business at University of Texas at Dallas. In 1994 he completed the most comprehensive real estate program to graduate with a CCIM designation from the Commercial Real Estate Institute. |
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Brad Baker
is the visionary behind Sonoma Mountain Village, an internationally
recognized, deeply sustainable, mixed-use community planned to
feature 800,000 square feet of commercial space, provide 4,400
jobs along with convenient daily services to the community of 5,000
residents and surrounding neighborhoods. Brad is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Community Fuels
Inc., an alternative energy company. Community Fuels is committed to quality,
innovation, and operational excellence in biodiesel production and
related research. The Company has a state-of-the art facility at the Port
of Stockton in California and has plans to become the largest producer
of biodiesel in the state of California. Brad formed the SMBC in 2006 to foster
prosperity in sustainable resource and socially relevant start-up technologies in the North Bay
Region of California. In 2007, Brad founded Codding Steel Frame Solutions, a manufacturing patented technology by
Genesis Worldwide, Inc. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board for Genesis Worldwide. He also serves on the board of Aspen Air. Formerly, Brad co-founded Codding Baker, Inc., a registered advisory firm with the founder of
Codding Enterprises, Hugh Codding. Codding Baker, Inc. sold in 2006 to Exchange Bank of
Santa Rosa, California. Brad graduated with distinction in Economics from San Diego State
University in 1988. In May of 1988, he obtained his General Securities (Series 7) license.
Bruce's responsibilities at Sandia National Laboratories-California include the development of: partnerships with domestic and international industry, government, and universities; major R&D program funding; market strategy; academic alliances; and strategic business planning. He came to Sandia by way of NASA, Subaru's Advanced Vehicle Development Group, Pearson PLC, and more recently from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Balfour's management experience includes Director of Product and Business Development at Pearson PLC's educational software division in San Francisco. He was a manager in two successful startup software companies and the founder of three more small businesses, two of which were acquired by larger software companies. At NASA, he managed a team that developed and flight-tested experiment software for Shuttle intercept missions on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. He has also been a management and software design consultant for Microsoft, Broderbund, Maris Multimedia UK, and others. Balfour received formal training in technology business incubator development, best practices, and funding from the National Business Incubator Association, of which he is an active member. He holds a bachelor's degree in science communications from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he has also taught science writing classes in the Journalism Department. He is completing a master's degree in community and economic development at Penn State. He lives in Novato and writes novels in his spare time.
Bobbi is the Executive Director at RCU Service Group where she oversees the Auto Services division and the Insurance division. Previously, Mrs. Beehler served as the President and CEO of G Text, Inc. a start-up technology firm. She also served as a manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP where she performed audit services and assisted companies contemplating public stock offerings. Mrs. Beehler was an Associate Research Analyst with RBC Dain Rauscher, where she prepared financial models, determined valuations, wrote research reports and gave investment opinions on the companies she followed. She has also served as the Director of Investor Relations for a publicly traded internet company where she participated in three private security placements and led teams in a public offering and eventually the sale of the Company to WebMD. Mrs. Beehler currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America, Redwood Empire Council, and Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the Measure O Oversight Commission and the Community Investment Committee for the North Bay Angel Investors. She was also Chairwoman for the 7th North Bay Growth and Innovation Forum. She holds a BA from the UC Santa Barbara in Business Economics and a BA in Sociology.
Dave is a founder of the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster. He is a founding partner at Dillwood Burkel & Sully LLP, CPAs, since July, 2000. Dave practices in the fields of taxation, estate planning, business advisory services, litigation support, and is a qualified expert witness in Alameda and Mendocino Counties. Previously, Dave worked with the Big 8 firms of Deloitte Haskins & Sells (Now Deloitte & Touche) and Price Waterhouse (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP) in San Jose. While there, Dave worked with one of the first technology business incubators, and was intrigued by the unique, collaborative environment provided in the incubator, and the success rate of businesses that begin in that environment. Dave has been a frequent speaker at tax and accounting conferences and has written articles for the Journal of Taxation and The Tax Advisor. Dave is a member of the California Society of CPAs, having chaired the Wine Industry Conference three times, and a founder of the Central Coast Wine Industry Conference. He is also a member of the AICPA, and numerous charitable and business organizations. Dave is a graduate of the University of the Pacific and its Eberhardt School of Business with degrees in Religious Studies and Accounting. 
Dan has been in the wealth management business for 27 years. He started working for Bear Stearns in New York City while in college and then became a municipal bond trader and analyst when he graduated. After leaving the industry briefly, he worked as an advisor for a small firm in St. Louis. In 1990 he was hired by Charles Schwab in Indianapolis, IN, and then moved to Phoenix, AZ where he became a Sales and Service Director. In 2005, Dan moved to Wells Fargo as a Regional Brokerage Manager based in Tucson. Most recently, Wells Fargo relocated Dan and his wife, Joy, from AZ to Santa Rosa, CA to run the Wealth Management office in that city. His daughter Cassidy lives in Los Angeles, CA, and his son Blake, is a sophomore at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ. Dan has an MBA from Arizona State University, serves as a FINRA arbitrator and was a member of the FINRA western committee from 2006 through 2009..
Cynthia Murray is President/ CEO of North Bay Leadership Council (NBLC). NBLC is an employer-led public policy organization which represents the leading employers in the North Bay. NBLC’s goals are regional prosperity and improving quality of life by focusing on education, economic competiveness, transportation, and sustainability. 
Michael Newell is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster (SMBC). He is an experienced technology industry veteran with an excellent blend of business acumen and technical expertise. Immediately prior to joining SMBC, he served as the Business Development Manager at JDS Uniphase in Santa Rosa, California. He has broad business and technical experience, having held the posts of Business Development Manager, Product Line Manager, Dir. of Product Development and Dir. of Engineering at various points in his career. His corporate experience also spans the full range from small start-up to large mature corporation. He has a proven track record of bringing technology from concept to successful business implementation. Previously, he was one of the principals in Advanced Digital Optics; a start-up company in Southern California in the projection display industry that was acquired by JDS Uniphase in 2004. Dr. Newell has a PhD in Physics from the University of Queensland, and more than 10 patents to his name. 
As Dean of the School of Business and Economics at California’s Sonoma State University, Bill Silver is positioning SSU to be the nucleus for a thriving North Bay economy. Together with his faculty and staff colleagues, Dr. Silver is building results-focused educational programs which are responsive to the needs of North Bay organizations, including the region’s growing strengths in wine and hospitality, sustainable technologies, and service industries. Before joining SSU, Bill Silver was Chief Operating Officer and Senior Associate Dean at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, where he led academic programs that achieved national rankings for sustainable business practices, values-based leadership, and business relevance. During his tenure at the University of Denver’s business school, Dr. Silver directed executive and corporate education programs for more than 75 client organizations including First Data Corporation, Newmont Mining, Allstate Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, Hewlett Packard, Time Warner Telecom, and Lockheed Martin. Combining his interests in cognitive and leadership sciences, Silver incorporates experiential and expeditionary learning into his programs, using activities such as sailing, rock climbing, rafting, martial arts, high ropes, mountain climbing, international travel, and service learning to teach people business acumen, leadership intelligence and the ability to deliver results. He has written extensively for professional journals about leadership effectiveness and business performance. Silver is on the Board of Directors of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, volunteers at the Yulupa School in Bennett Valley, and is involved in supporting cancer research. Dr. Silver received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Washington, and his B.A. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan.
Simon Inman is a partner of Carle Mackie Power & Ross LLP, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, corporate finance, banking and general business advisory work. Formerly he was a partner with Hammonds, a leading U.K. based, pan-European law firm. Mr. Inman practiced law in the U.K. for 20 years where he represented clients in numerous national and international corporate and financial transactions. In 1998, Mr. Inman moved to Sonoma County with his California-born wife to pursue their interest in wine. The couple owns a Pinot Noir vineyard in the Russian River Valley and produce wine under their own label. Since joining CMPR in 1999, Mr. Inman has handled a wide range of business transactions including merger and acquisition transactions, start-up and venture capital financing, stock options and other equity incentive plans, public and private securities matters, real estate, tax-exempt bond transactions and other bank financings. Mr. Inman holds a LLB (Hons.) from the University of Leicester, England 1978, was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, 1981, and admitted to the State Bar of California, June 2000.
