San Francisco Food Bank - Board of Directors

Jack R. Bertges, Senior Vice President, New Resource Bank

Jack Bertges is a Senior Vice President specializing in commercial lending at New Resource Bank. With a long-term interest in the environment, Jack joined New Resource Bank in 2007 after having originally transferred to San Francisco in the mid 1980’s in his role with Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh. For more than ten years, he has organized a golf tournament for the San Francisco business community that has raised funds for the San Francisco Food Bank. He is on the Board of the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma, the Rose Court in San Francisco, and serves on the Advisory Board of San Francisco Baykeeper. He continues to support the Second Harvest Food Bank in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania.

Jack received his B.S. in Business Administration at John Carroll University in Cleveland and his MBA from Pennsylvania State University. Jack and his wife JoAnn live in San Francisco.

Aaron Bortel, Esq., President, Bortel Law
Aaron Bortel has been practicing law throughout the Bay area for over 18 years. He is a member of the National College of DUI Defense, the California DUI lawyers Association, the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Bar Association of San Francisco. Prior to joining the S.F. Food Bank Board of Directors, Aaron served on the Board of the Marin Food Bank.

Shari Freedman, Chief Financial Officer, Worldwise, Inc.

Shari Freedman is the Chief Financial officer at Worldwise, an environmental consumer products company. Before joining Worldwise, Shari served as the chief financial officer at Niman Ranch, Inc. She has over 20 years of experience heading finance and strategy initiatives in leading retail and consumer brand companies. She dedicates her time to a number of causes and is a member of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation Caring Commission and Northern California Holocaust Center Board of Directors. She is also the former President of the Board of Jewish Vocational Services and a former board member of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation.

Shari earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations/economics from American University and a master’s in business administration from Georgetown University. She lives in San Francisco with her daughter.

Timothy Geraghty, Regional President, Northern Trust, NA

Timothy Geraghty oversees Northern Trust's Wealth Advisory Services Group in Northern California. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of the United Way of the Bay Area, where he is a member of the Executive Committee and is Chairperson of the Working Families Issue Cabinet. While living in Atlanta, Tim served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Tim was also active on the Boards of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Bobby Dodd Center for Disabled Adults in Atlanta.

Tim received a bachelor's degree from Emory University and a master's degree in business administration from Loyola University in Chicago. He lives in Tiburon with his wife and three children.

Bill Hansell, Principal at FUSE Architecture
Bill opened the office of Hansell Design (now FUSE) in 1996 and has over 20 years of architectural and design experience. The firm has completed projects throughout the Bay Area and has expanded its scope to include design services in Ireland, where Bill is also a citizen. Bill is active in Bay Area architecture schools and has taught at UC Berkeley as well as the Academy of Art University. He has been a guest critic at CCAC and his alma mater, the University of Virgina.

Bill holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia and studied Architecture and English Literature there as an undergraduate. He serves on the Marinwood Community Services District board and the Dixie Elementary Arts Council. Prior to serving on the S.F. Food Bank Board, he served on the Board of the Marin Food Bank. Bill lives in San Rafael.

John Koeppel, Partner, Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley
John Koeppel is a partner at Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley, a litigation and transactional firm. John's practice involves commercial litigation, product liability, construction defect, and general casualty matters. John also volunteers as a mediator for the San Francisco Superior Court and Federal District Court.

In addition to his membership on the San Francisco Food Bank's board of directors, John has been involved with several local organizations including Stonestown YMCA, San Francisco School, Chicken Soupers and Or Shalom. John has also been active in the San Francisco Bar Association's Volunteer Legal Services Program.

John graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame, received a master's degree in international trade from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and earned his law degree from Hastings College of Law. He lives in San Francisco with his wife.

Gary Maxworthy, Consultant
Gary Maxworthy has worked with a wide variety of companies in the food industry as a salesman, regional and national sales manager and food broker. He has worked as a manager at a regional level for both Lever Brothers and Phillip Morris U.S.A.( non tobacco products), two of the largest grocery manufacturers nationwide. From 1986 to 1994 Gary served as president of Bromar Northern California, the largest food brokerage company in the West at that time. He has strong relationships with West Coast food industry top and middle management, retailers, distributors, wholesalers and brokers.

Gary’s work with the San Francisco Food Bank spans from 1994 to present. His efforts in food solicitation and donor development have helped to increase the Food Bank's food distribution from 3.5 million pounds a year to more than 43 million pounds. Gary founded the statewide "Farm to Family" program that distributes fresh produce to families in need. Because of this work, Gary was one of 15 people out of over 1,000 national nominees to be awarded "The Purpose Prize" in 2007. Recently his work with Farm to Family earned Gary the National Jefferson Award which is also known as the "Nobel Prize of public service." In addition to his membership on the San Francisco Food Bank's board, Gary has also served on the board of the Food Industry Crusade against Hunger.

Tricia McCarthy, Nonprofit Consultant
Tricia assists small nonprofit organizations in their legal formation, including incorporation and IRS status. Additionally, she consults in board creation, strategic planning and fundraising. Following a career as an attorney, Tricia now focuses exclusively on nonprofit work. Tricia founded the Bridge of Books Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing free books to at-risk children. She assists grassroots organizations and local schools in need with fundraising, nonprofit formation and annual drives.

Tricia serves on the Board of the University of San Francisco’s Public Interest Law Foundation, which provides mentoring and grants to law students working in the nonprofit/public interest sector; the Bay Area Advisory Board for New Leaders for New Schools; and was the past Board President for The Food Pantry located on Potrero Hill in San Francisco.

Tricia earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California followed by her Juris Doctor and Masters in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Susan Meyer, Transaction Advisory Services Partner, Ernst & Young
Susan Meyer is a Transaction Advisory Services Partner at Ernst & Young. Since joining the Transaction Support Group in 1994, Sue has led or participated in more than 300 due diligence projects for private equity investor groups and corporate acquirers. Sue has extensive experience leading private equity funds in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York and deep transaction experience spanning a broad range of industries including technology, software, manufacturing, distribution, consumer products, business services, retail and healthcare. Sue’s experience includes mergers, acquisitions and recapitalizations of public and privately held companies, business and division carve-outs, and industry consolidations, including those with significant global operations.

Sue received both her Bachelors (with honors) and Masters degrees in business and administration from the University of Michigan. Sue lives in San Francisco.

Dean Ornish, M.D., President and Founder, Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder, president, and director of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his medical training from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. For the past 32 years, Dean has directed clinical research demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse coronary heart disease, prostate cancer, and other chronic diseases without drugs or surgery. His current research showed that comprehensive lifestyle changes affect gene expression. He is the author of six best-selling books, including his latest, The Spectrum.

Dean has received several awards, including the 1994 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of Texas, Austin, and the “National Public Health Hero” award from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Ornish was recognized as “one of the most interesting people of 1996” by People magazine, selected as one of the “TIME 100” in integrative medicine, and chosen by LIFE magazine as “one of the fifty most influential members of his generation.”

Hyun Park, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, PG&E Corporation

Hyun Park oversees all regulatory and securities law compliance, litigation strategy, all legal matters related to significant corporate transactions, as well as corporate governance and the corporate secretary functions. Prior to joining PG&E Corporation in 2006, he was Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Allegheny Energy, Inc., in Pennsylvania. He also previously served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Sithe Energies, Inc. in New York, and was a partner with the law firm of Latham & Watkins, where he specialized in corporate transactions and finance. He is a member of the State Bar of California.

Hyun earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He earned a master's degree in economics from Oxford University and a bachelor's degree in economics from Columbia College.

Curt Sigfstead, Managing Director, JP Morgan

Curt Sigfstead is a Managing Director in JPMorgan's Technology Investment Banking Group. He has worked on a wide variety of strategic assignments including buy sides, sell sides, joint ventures and private placements for a variety of clients. He has also worked on a number of capital raising assignments including convertible debt, bank and bond financings, follow-ons, IPOs, and venture investing.

Curt earned his bachelor's degree from Brown University and has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. He resides in San Francisco with his wife and two daughters.

Harold Sogard, Vice Chairman at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners (retired)
Harold Sogard spent 19 years with Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. Through his years there, Harold was in charge of leading senior relationships on major clients across a wide range of industries; running the daily operations of the company; heading up new business; championing the company's culture; and developing and leading implementation of the overall strategy for the agency. Prior to his work at GSP, Harold worked at Ogilvy and Mather after beginning his career by managing theater companies in New York City.

Harold is a graduate of Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Theater and received his MBA from the University of Chicago. He lives in Tiburon with his wife Susan and their children.

David M. Steinberg, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank

David Steinberg is a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank. His area of expertise is in Specialty Pharmaceuticals. During his 18 year career he has consistently been ranked as a top analyst by the Wall Street Journal's "Best on the Street" survey and Institutional Investor's "All American Research Team." His research on various topics within the global drug industry has regularly been referenced in such national publications as The New York Times, Barrons and Fortune.

David earned a BA from Colby College and a masters in business administration from the Harvard Business School. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Northfield Mount Hermon School and the Board of Overseers of Colby College.

Matt Taddei, President and CEO, Taddei, Ludwig & Associates, Inc.
Matt Taddei co-founded TLA Financial in 1989. A graduate of Linfield College with a B.A. in Business, Matt holds Masters degrees from the American College in Management and Financial Services, is a Certified Financial Planner TM professional, and holds the Charter Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations.

A long-time resident of Marin County, Matt shares his energy and leadership talent in several community and voluntary endeavors. A member of Rotary for over 20 years, Matt served as President of the Rotary Club of Marin Sunrise and is Past President of the Marin Estate Planning Council and the Marin Society of Financial Services Professionals. Prior to joining the S.F. Food Bank Board, Matt served on the Board of the Marin Food Bank, leading the organization as Board Chair in 2009 and 2010.

Michael Terris, President, Terris, Barnes and Walters
After founding Terris Communications (which has grown into Terris, Barnes & Walters) in 1988, Michael has guided the firm as it grew in clientele and partners through the 1990s. Today, he is actively involved in marketing, creative, message development, earned media and targeting for a wide variety of the firm’s clients.

Michael graduated cum laud from Harvard in 1984. He has served on the board for the Urban School of San Francisco and the Town School of Boys. Michael lives in San Francisco with his wife Maureen and three sons.

Dave Weber, Executive Vice President, Wells Fargo
David Weber is executive vice president and chief credit officer of Wells Fargo’s Wholesale Banking Group. He is responsible for the credit risk management of Wholesale Banking and serves customers nationwide with services such as middle-market banking, corporate banking, commercial real estate, international banking, treasury management, asset-based lending, insurance, foreign exchange, trade services, equipment finance, corporate trust, capital markets activities, and asset management.

Dave received his B.A. in economics from Loyola University in New Orleans and his M.B.A. in finance and accounting from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is also a Trustee of the World Affairs Council of Northern California. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

Bernice R. Welles, MD, Head of Development, Enject, Inc. and CEO of Alquest Therapeutics, Inc.
Bernice Welles, MD directs all aspects of development for Enject, Inc., a privately held start-up which is developing a novel delivery system for emergency glucagon treatment of severe hypoglycemia in insulin dependent diabetes patients. Her previous positions include Vice President of DiObex, Inc., a biotechnology start-up, and Venture Partner at MPM Capital where she focused on evaluating potential investments in the health care industry. After a brief academic career at the University of California San Francisco, Bernice spent 8 years at Genentech, Inc. involved in all aspects of biotechnology drug development. She ultimately served as Vice President of Product Development with responsibility for all development projects and portfolio planning. Bernice is a member of the American Diabetes Association and the Endocrine Society.

Bernice received her master’s in business administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, her medical degree from the Albany School of Medicine, and her bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University.