Tim Kosier (Current Chair) In 1981 it was my good fortune to marry Betsy, whose Bay Area family spent a lifetime enjoying the Tahoe region. That began annual opportunities for me to absorb the beauty of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains. We made yearly treks for 29 years from as far away as South Dakota—my state of origin—and Nebraska, states where we settled and raised our son Brian. Our Tahoe experiences inspired us to move permanently to Carson City in 2009—one of our best decisions yet. Spanning a career of more than 35 years, I developed and directed services for people with developmental disabilities. Thanks to my roots in the Midwest, outdoor activities have been a lifelong focus and fostered my active commitment to the environment and conservation, which included leadership roles and advocacy. Not surprisingly, my nine years as a TERC docent have been very enriching and thanks to Heather Segale, this connection has served as a springboard for an array of additional volunteer activities in the Tahoe region where I have fun educating lots of kids about science. |
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Elie Alyeshmerni M. Elie Alyeshmerni, a linguist, retired from teaching at Carleton College in 1998 and moved to Southern California. He has had an interest in community-serving real estate in the past forty years. While in Minneapolis, he was the volunteer head of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program of the Stevens Square/ Loring Heights neighborhood. After 3 years and 76 community meetings, he provided a unanimous plan to the city council, which was readily approved. Then he was asked to focus on revitalizing the commercial street Nicollet Avenue that connected three neighborhoods. Both projects continue to thrive and have improved the quality of life of those who live and work in the neighborhood. In 2003, he purchased the Ski Run Marina in South Lake Tahoe and transformed it to better serve the community and visitors. He currently serves as the President of Lake Tahoe Marina Association and sees himself as a steward of the welfare of a small segment of the Lake . As such, he is proud to be part of TERC, a research organization that will impact the lake. |
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Mike Bruno Mike Bruno is CEO of Hooked Wireless, Inc., a technology firm based in the Bay Area focused on embedded camera systems, machine learning and vision. Mike has been an amateur student of Tahoe ecology since he arrived there in 1973. As a watersports enthusiast, he has spent nearly every subsequent summer on the Lake observing its changes over time. He is a dedicated supporter of Tahoe environmental efforts. His biggest concern is the growth of algae in the lake driven by nutrient-based pollution, climate change and drought. In recent years, he has been a strong advocate of using aerial surveillance to quantify nearshore algae growth at the lake. Mike splits his time between Tahoe and the Bay Area. He maintains a residence in the town of Meyers near South Lake Tahoe, and a home in Los Altos Hills. He holds undergraduate degrees in Physics and Molecular Biology from UC San Diego, and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley. |
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Laurie Byren Laurie is grateful to be living in beautiful Lake Tahoe. As a docent for the Tahoe Science Center, she is passionate about helping visitors understand the challenges to maintaining a healthy lake environment. With a Finance and IT background and an MBA, she worked at Hughes Aircraft Company in Southern California designing databases to analyze deliveries, contract status, and cash flow. She later held positions with a computer consulting company and a medical equipment company. While raising her two children with husband Bob, she changed her focus to the community, serving as Founding President for the Hermosa Beach Education Foundation, President of the H.B. Community Center Foundation, and board member for local organizations including Sandpipers (a large women’s philanthropic organization) and Tifereth Jacob Synagogue. She also served as a H.B. City Parks and Community Resources Commissioner. Laurie later turned to a career in College Planning, helping high school students explore their college options throughout the U.S. A large percentage of her practice was devoted to pro bono work with students residing in the socio-economic challenged areas of Los Angeles. An avid hiker & cyclist, she has cycled all around the U.S. and internationally, including 6 times with Tahoe’s “America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride.” |
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Roger de Lusignan Roger is a results-driven, high-energy executive and entrepreneur with over 30 years of executive management experience. Most of his career has been focused on innovation in the health care services sector, with time spent in Fin-Tech, Insurance Services, and Consumer Packaged Goods. Currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer of a veteran owned and operated craft beverage company. As a lifetime Bay Area resident, he grew up loving Lake Tahoe, and now splits his time between Tahoe City and the Peninsula. His passion is mountain biking, cooking and world travel. He first became interested in the ecological restoration of Lake Tahoe by learning of the plans to commercialize the harvesting of non-native Mysis shrimp from Lake Tahoe in an entrepreneurial economically sustainable fashion. In support of this effort, he sits on the Shrimply Blue Board in addition to the TERC Advisory Board. |
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Debi Fitzgerrell Debi's connection with Lake Tahoe began in early childhood. In second grade, her parents leased a beachfront house year while she attended Kings Beach Elementary School. Back then the clarity of the water was remarkable and intriguing to her. She still sees Tahoe as the most beautiful lake in the world, and has a very strong desire to do what I can to help restore it to its 1962 clarity. She grew up in Piedmont add raised her children with her husband Scott. In 1989, her family bought a vacation home in Incline, which was destroyed by fire in 2015, bought a replacement in Incline in 2017, and moved into it permanently in 2020. The environment has been a major concern since childhood and was a founding member of the Climate Action Committee for the East Bay Association of Realtors. She was among the top real estate brokers in Piedmont and Oakland for the last 40 years and understands how to work with others to accomplish shared goals and really get things done. On the recreation front, Debi enjoys hiking, snow shoeing, and, especially, paddling her beautiful, strip built sea kayak, which her talented husband built for her 15 years ago. Last June, for a fundraiser, she joined a couple dozen others and completed the first TERC circumnavigation of the lake, with Scott leading. She is currently working with Geoff Schladow and TERC to plan the 2022 circumnavigation to help generate even more money for TERC! |
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David Hardie CEO Hallador Investment Advisors & Board member at the Parasol Community Foundation Mr. Hardie resides in Incline Village, NV where he has been the Chairman and CEO of Hallador Investment Advisors, Inc. since 2004. Prior to forming Hallador Investment Advisors, Mr. Hardie was the President of Hallador, Inc., a financial services firm in Sacramento, California from 1974 to 2002. He is a 1974 graduate of California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (BBA Finance/Accounting) and Harvard University, OPM/Business in 1990, and the Director/Founder of Hallador Energy Company (HNRG) a NASD listed company. I have lived in Tahoe for 18 years and vacationed in Tahoe for 50 years. Tahoe Environmental Research Center can greatly assist in the preservation of Tahoe’s environmental beauty and work with the organizations that can future develop ecological tourism for the Tahoe Basis. |
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Kirk Hardie Kirk grew up in Sacramento, California and spent most winter weekends skiing in the Tahoe region. He has been an environmental educator in Idaho, Oregon, California, and Nevada, highlighting the beauty of birds in the natural world, among many other topics. In 2009, he received his Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he developed a four-week high school curriculum based on the ecology of the Great Basin. His background in field ornithology has included research projects with Gunnison Sage Grouse and Lewis’ Woodpeckers, in addition to co-leading international birding trips. Kirk also teaches Field Ornithology as an adjunct faculty member at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village, NV. His favorite pastimes are hiking, biking, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. |
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David Loury Dr. David Loury is the former chief scientific officer and executive vice president of preclinical safety at Pharmacyclics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company based in Sunnyvale, California where he was responsible for the development of ibrutinib, an FDA approved drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma. David received his B.S. degree in biology and environmental toxicology in 1980 and his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology in 1984, both degrees from the University of California at Davis. He is currently serving on the boards of the UC Davis Foundation and the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. David and his wife Dana run the David and Dana Loury Foundation which supports environmental research at Lake Tahoe, graduate student education at UCD and UCSC, and undergraduate education at UCSD. Some of my fondest childhood memories were coming to Lake Tahoe to visit my grandfather who lived in Tahoe Vista, CA. Having the freedom to relocate after retirement, we chose to settle on the north shore of Lake Tahoe and have since been engaged with TERC by supporting the evening lecture series, sponsoring the purchase of lake-side cameras and a near-shore monitoring station, and establishing an endowed fellowship for graduate students in honor of Charles Goldman. |
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Davis Masten Davis first came to Lake Tahoe at 14 years old on a YMCA caravan. He has the good fortune of being married for over 30 years to Christopher Ireland who grew up spending summers at her grandparents in King’s Beach. Davis and Christopher have lived in Marla Bay since 2014. Davis has served the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in a variety of capacities and is currently an Associate Member for the National Academy of Sciences. For 33 years, Davis was the ex-Chairman of Cheskin serving clients like Microsoft, PepsiCo, Disney, McCormick/Schilling, Atari, P&G, 3M, Kroger, HP and Johnson and Johnson. Cheskin focused on understanding and enhancing the customer experience and using those insights to drive multicultural product and communication strategies. Davis helped pioneer the area of design research, a practice now used worldwide. He is also ex-Chairman of Quantified Self Labs, ex-Board member at San Jose Discovery Museum, Mattson & Co. Carena, and others. Advisory boards included Quantified Communications, Ooga Labs, Affinity Labs and the AIGA Center for Brand Experience. |
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Steve Pardella Retired data architect with Fanatics, eBay, and Autodesk, among others. Steve is also retired from 30 years as a National Ski Patroller at Palisades Tahoe. Steve first discovered TERC after moving to Tahoe City in 2019 from Marin County, but he is a long-time Tahoe outdoorsman. Starting with trips with his parents, then boy scout camp in Marin Sierra, annual backpack trips with friends, and three decades of ski patrolling, familiarity with the Sierra and Lake Tahoe has been a lifelong journey. Circumnavigating the lake for the last two years on the TERC Circ with his spouse Keri, he gained an even greater appreciation for this unique and fragile place and his interest was piqued to take an active role in conserving the beauty of the lake and the surrounding land. Learning the hidden mysteries and vulnerability of the lake has driven Steve to dedicate his time towards preservation and stewardship of this amazing ecosystem. |
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Frances Pierce Frances' love affair with Lake Tahoe began with with her first visit, as a baby, to the cabin her grandfather built at Homewood. She remembers swimming in crystal clear water and drinking water straight out of the lake throughout childhood. She now lives not far from that cabin on the West Shore. She has a degree in Earth Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz and geology graduate studies from the University of Arizona. For most of her 37-year career, she worked as a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Menlo Park, CA; Denver, CO; and Tucson, AZ. Her last assignment was at USGS Headquarters in Reston, VA, with the Energy Resources Program and as Manager of a USGS grants program to preserve and catalog the Nation's geoscience collections. She was elected President of the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG) Denver Chapter and President of the AWG Foundation and served as Councilor, Vice Treasurer, and President of the Arizona Geological Society. She wants to raise awareness of the unique environmental challenges to this special place and was a TERC docent for about six years, and now she wants to do more by directly supporting the work of TERC scientists by becoming a TERC board member. |
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Philip is currently President of Allied Professionals Insurance, a fully integrated insurance group specializing in non-standard healthcare professional liability coverage. Philip has held that position since 1994, during which time the company grew from a few hundred customers, to become the largest provider of its type in the country, with over 150,000 clients nationwide. Phil received a BA in Finance in 1976 from CSUF and an MBA from Harvard in 1980. A community activist, Phil is currently Chairman of the Board of Servite High School, an all boys Catholic High School, serving 800 high school students in Orange County, CA. Phil is also a member of the USC Thornton School of Music Board, and past Chair of the north Orange County District for the Boy Scouts of America. Phil and his wife, Mary, live in Zephyr Cove, NV and have two children, Katie, a graduate of USC and professional musician, and Michael, a graduate of UC Berkeley, and an aerospace engineer. |
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Past Members |
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Carole Kilgore Anderson Philanthropy Carole Kilgore Anderson is one of Parasol’s founding board members and has been an Emeritus Board member since 2006. She has been a resident of Incline Village since 1996 when she relocated here from Long Island, NY. Carole formerly served on the Board of the Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio, The Ohio governor’s special commission on the advancement of best practices for special education, The Women’s Board of the Field Museum, Chicago, IL, The Women’s Board of the Children’ Home & Aid Society, Chicago, IL and the Board of The Western Folklife Center, Elko NV where she is currently a member of the National Advisory Board. Carole currently is a member of the Board of the NV Museum of Art and the NV Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. |
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Bubba Crutchfield In 2017, my wife Susan and I moved from Burnsville, NC to Incline Village to be closer to our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Since moving here we have become actively involved in the work of the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, volunteering initially as docents for the Tahoe Science Center while also offering philanthropic support for various projects undertaken by the Tahoe Science Center and TERC. Our first exposure to Lake Tahoe was in 1977, when we attended a conference held in South Lake Tahoe. We understood what a special place Lake Tahoe was, even then. After that first visit, we made a point to spend many of our family weekends enjoying the natural wonders which abound in and around Lake Tahoe. We lived in Burnsville, NC, which is located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, for 21 years. During our time there, we were both very active in building philanthropy for our area of Western North Carolina, serving on many non-profit boards. Among those, I was a founding board member of The Yancey Fund, a local affiliate of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC), headquartered in Asheville, NC. I also served on the board of CFWNC and was Board Chair during a major portion of my tenure, including the tumultuous period of the Great Recession, which required both a tough hand and a nimble step in order to weather the financial market collapse and it’s impact on non-profits. Having a sales and marketing background, I am comfortable asking people to support organizations I believe in. Both the Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the Tahoe Science Center do vital work in research and public outreach as it relates to all areas of both our personal and the natural impacts in and around Lake Tahoe. I look forward to serving on the TERC Advisory Board and using my position to further the excellent outreach efforts now underway to build a lasting philanthropy for these very worthwhile organizations. |
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Alison Edelstein Truckee, part-time resident Alison Weirick Edelstein, a Los Angeles native. Alison had been fundraising for many organizations including the University of Michigan, Harvard-Westlake School, United Friends of the Children, Lupus LA, as well as having formed her own non-profit, We Are Linked. Alison's focus is on the arts, the environment and educational scholarship. She holds her AB in Art History from the University of Michigan, a certificate from Sotheby's Institute, London, and her MA in Art History from the University of Chicago. Alison's holds leadership/board positions on the University of Michigan, Dean's Advisory Council, College of Literature, Science and the Arts and the St. John's Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees in Santa Monica, CA. Alison resides in Pacific Palisades, CA with her husband Geoff Edelstein who serves on the Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation Board of Directors. Alison and Geoff have two sons, Daniel (24) and Matthew (22). Alison and Geoff spend as much time as possible at their second home in Truckee during the summer and winter seasons as well as at least monthly visits in the Spring and Fall. Alison and Geoff hope to spend at least 50% of their time in Truckee/Tahoe in the future. Both Alison and Geoff's children have their undergraduate degrees in Environmental Science/Policy and Sustainability and the entire family are lifelong outdoor enthusiasts. Science and the environment and two of the core values espoused by the Edelstein family and their philanthropy and Alison is honored to dedicate more of her time to advancing the mission of the Tahoe Environmental Research Center. |
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Brian Kennedy Mr. Kennedy is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and holds an M.B.A. degree from Harvard University. He spent most of his career as founder and CEO of an international gold mining company. During his career, he was involved with a number of environmental issues related to development and mitigation. He and his wife, Nancy, have spent the last 25 years in northern Nevada and they have been involved with numerous non-profit organizations, including the Nevada Museum of Art, Sierra Nevada College, Community Foundation of Western Nevada, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and the Desert Research Institute. The Lake Tahoe region is a unique place, which requires continual study and protection. Brian is delighted to be part of the board where he can contribute his skills and actively participate in maintaining a pristine environment for all of us to enjoy. |
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Veronica Kaufman Veronica graduated with honors in Sociology from Pomona College and Masters in Sociological Theory and Medical Sociology at Harvard. Over the years, Veronica worked at a number of think tank type situations as a Medical Sociologist, including Duke University, the RAND Corporation and the Assembly Office of Research for California. She has been involved with numerous non-profit organizations, including The Institute of Governmental Affairs, UC Davis, Board of Directors of the Sacramento Opera, Co-Chair of the Capital Discussion Group; Co-Chair of “Project for Psychiatric Programs”, a support group at UC Davis Medical Center; Sacramento Federation JCRC Board, UC Davis Hillel Advisory Board, secretary of the North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Truckee Tahoe Humane Society, served on the Northwest Pacific Regional Board of AIPAC and the National Council for AIPAC in Washington, DC. Veronica was a full-time resident for the past ten years at Northstar but has moved to Regency at Caramella Ranch in Reno this year. She enjoys skiing, golfing, snow shoeing, playing Bridge, and walking her dog. |
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Gerhard “Gerry” Parker Gerry Parker received his BS, MS, PhD in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, in 1965, 1966, and 1970 respectively. Gerry’s thesis advisor was Dr Carver Mead and specialized in semiconductor physics. He held summer jobs with the Air Force Flight Test Center, Hewlett Packard, Fairchild Semiconductor, and Varian Associates. Shortly after its founding, he joined Intel Corporation as a member of the technical staff in Mountain View, California. Gerry retired from Intel in 2001 and served on Applied Materials, Lattice Semiconductor and FEI Company boards of directors until 2015. He began his Intel career in research and the development of light emit-ting diodes, then moved to head up reliability and quality for Intel products. In 1977 he was elected vice president and director of technology development. In 1988, Gerry’s job expanded to include manufacturing, technology development, purchasing, construction, quality, and planning. From 1998 to 2001 he was Executive Vice President for New Business Group. This involved overseeing multiple internal “startups” primarily focused on the internet and new product opportunities. After his retirement in 2001, he served on the UC Davis Foundation Board for 6 years as well as on the UC Davis Research Advisory Board. |
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Mary Ann Peoples President, Boyd Foundation Mary Ann Peoples is the President of the Boyd Family Foundation, a private grant making foundation with a focus on providing scholarships to students who are in the first generation in their family to attend college. The foundation is named in honor of Mary Ann’s aunt and uncle, Kathryn and Eugene Boyd, longtime Sacramento residents. For over 20 years Mary Ann was President of The Umbrella Group, a company that published and distributed K-12 art curriculum that she developed. She was a docent at the Newport Harbor Art Museum in Newport Beach, California where she administered an “arts in the schools” program in 13 school districts. She was also member of the Woman’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, an art consultant in the Bay Area and on the Art League board at the Madison Art Center in Madison Wisconsin. She has been a literacy trainer and served on the boards of the Hudson Valley Children’s Museum and the Piermont Library Board in New York. Mary Ann presently serves as a member the Stanford Ex-President’s Club of the East Bay and on the Board of Trustees of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. She is a sustaining trustee of Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Mary Ann and her late husband, Lou, are generous supporters of UC Davis. They have provided scholarship support for undergraduate students, students in the School of Education and fellows at the UC Davis Lake Tahoe Environmental Center. Mary Ann has three grown children, Jim, Anne and John and four grandchildren, Josh, Hannah, Sophie and Miles. Mary Ann received both her B.A. and her M.A. from Stanford University. |