As the Chief Executive Officer of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California from 1999 until December 2004, Ron was responsible for managing the operations of the world’s largest wholesale water supplier serving the 18 million residents in urban Southern California with assets worth $11 billion with a $1 billion annual operating budget. Under Ron’s leadership MWD was successful in diversifying the region’s water supply with the development of new large water transfer, groundwater banking, reclaimed water, and cutting-edge conservation programs. Ron also led a major restructuring of MWD’s management, adopted a new Strategic Plan with unprecedented public participation, updated its long term resources plan, completed a $2 billion dollar new reservoir, adopted a long term capital improvement and finance plan, and completed a major overhaul of its rate structure. Since leaving Metropolitan Ron served as interim Executive Vice President of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce to provide leadership and management during the transition to a new CEO.
Prior to 1999 Ron served as General Counsel for BKK Corporation, where he managed all environmental compliance matters, including extensive regulatory and legislative affairs in California and at the federal level.
Ron is a graduate of Whittier College and received his Juris Doctorate at UCLA Law School.
Mr. Lund worked at ILFC for more than 30 years, the entire time as CFO, and served as Vice Chairman and CFO since 2002. Prior to joining ILFC, Mr. Lund worked for the company currently known as Deloitte & Touche as an Audit Manager and for California-World Financial Corporation as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lund graduated from Whittier College in 1971 with a B.A. in Business Administration. He became a Certified Public Accountant, State of California, in 1973.
Anderson has extensive operating and financial experience as a senior executive in the technology industry. From 1996-2004, he was the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Apple, and made major contributions to Apple’s turnaround and re-emergence as an industry leader, resolving a major liquidity crisis, executing a massive restructuring that returned the company to sustainable profitability, and working with the company’s executive team to re-energize Apple’s revenue and profit growth.
As a senior financial executive of several public companies, Anderson has been involved in numerous acquisitions and a wide range of other corporate finance transactions, including complex equity and debt financings, and recapitalizations. He previously served on the boards of directors of Apple, Move, Palm, Crystal Decisions and 3COM, and on the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council. He currently serves on the boards of directors of eBay, Yelp, and Sonos.
Anderson earned his B.A. in business at Whittier College in 1966. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Orthogonian Society and played on the baseball team. After graduation, he served as a captain in the United State Air Force before earning his MBA in accounting from UCLA in 1972. He and his wife, Marilyn, reside in Menlo Park.
Allen is an enthusiastic supporter of Whittier Athletics. He currently serves as chair of the Purple & Gold Hall of Fame committee and regularly attends the annual Purple & Gold Golf Tournament. Most recently, Allen co-founded the new Whittier College Black Alumni Association to help current Black students succeed and graduate from Whittier. Allen is also a member of the Sachsen Society.
Allen has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Whittier College. Originally from San Diego, he and his wife, Allyson, currently reside in Los Angeles, California.
Jim earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Whittier College, his MBA from the University of Southern California, and an M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University.
After obtaining his MBA, Jim began his career at Arthur Andersen & Company, earning his CPA, followed by 14 years at Santa Fe International Corporation and a three-year stint at Ashton-Tate Corporation.
In 2012, Jim retired from his most recent role as Senior Vice President and Principal Financial Officer at The Capital Group Companies, Inc. Over his 20 years at Capital, he served in various roles including Chairman of The Capital Groups Charitable Foundation, President and Treasurer of Capital Management Services, Inc., and Senior Vice President of Capital International, Inc. He was also the senior financial officer of Capital's emerging markets private equity funds.
Jim is married to his college sweetheart, Joyce (Eakin) Brown ’71. The couple have been generous philanthropists and are Whittier College Poets Laureate. In addition to endowing a faculty development fund aimed at stimulating pedagogical innovation, they made a leadership gift to the Science & Learning Center project.
Jim has also served on the boards of the Los Angeles BioMedical Institute (now the Lundquist Institute), chairing both the investment and finance committees, the board of the Catalina Island Conservancy, serving as treasurer, and most recently the Catalina Island Museum where he is a past board chair and continues to chair the investment and finance committees.
Residing in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Jim and Joyce are the parents of two children and grandparents of five.
As CFO, Michele has grown the construction company from a small family business in 1999 to an enterprise spanning multiple sectors, including healthcare, government, education, housing, civic, and various private commercial projects. Today, the company has a strong reputation for client-centered service, leveraging a diverse team of subcontractors, engineers, planners, and technical experts. Notably, Vincor serves as a prime contractor, coordinating with design consultants, public agencies, and community organizations.
At Whittier College, Michele was a Business Administration major. She was active in founding the Women’s Lacrosse Club and treasurer for the Hispanic Student Association. She cites Director of the Center for Mexican American Affairs Martin Ortiz ’48 as an influential mentor. Michele is currently a member of the Poet Council.
Family, faith, and philanthropy are central values for Michele. An active volunteer in public health initiatives, with a focus on public health efforts directed toward Latin American communities, Michele previously served as Chair of the Latino Advisory Council at CHOC, a role that led to an invitation to join the Board of Directors at CHOC. She also sits on AltaMed’s Healthcare Initiative for Women and Children. She and her husband, Vincent, are active in their church, St. Juliana Falconieri in Fullerton, and they enjoy spending time with their four children and four grandchildren, all of whom live in Southern California.
Cross serves as a distinguished senior fellow with the Education Commission of the States. Previously, he was a senior fellow with the Center for Education Policy, a WASC Senior College and University Commissioner from 2011-2017. He was also a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Advisory Council for the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education from 2011-2017.
From 1994 to 2002, Chris was president and chief executive officer of the Council for Basic Education (CBE). Before joining CBE, he served as director of the education initiative of The Business Roundtable and as assistant secretary for educational research and improvement in the U.S. Department of Education. Cross served as president of the Maryland State Board of Education from 1994 to 1997. He was a member of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning. He was also the Republican staff director of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor in the 1970s.
Chris has written extensively on education and other public policy areas and has been published in numerous professional journals and newspapers, including Education Week, Teachers College Record, Phi Delta Kappa, The College Board Review, The Washington Post, the Sacramento Bee, and the Los Angeles Times. He co-authored an article, “Systems, not Superheroes,” published in the winter 2008 edition of the American Association of School Administrators’ Journal of Scholarship and Practice. The first edition of his book, Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age, was published in 2003 by Teachers College Press (TCP), and the second edition, Political Education: Setting the Course for State and Federal Education Policy, was published by TCP in 2014.
In addition to his bachelor's degree from Whittier College, Chris has a Master of Arts degree in government from California State University, Los Angeles, and a certificate from the Center for Creative Leadership at the University of Maryland. During his time at Whittier, Chris was involved in many activities such as the William Penn Society, Quaker Campus Editor, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha (political science). Chris served as a Whittier trustee from 2000-2011 and was elected to rejoin the board in 2017. He's also a longtime member of our John Greenleaf Whittier Society and a faithful supporter of other major Whittier campaigns. Chris is also the Chair of the Board of Community Catalyst Partners and serves as a director of TregoED, a non-profit created by Dr. Ben Tregoe, a Whittier alum (1951) and longtime Whittier trustee member.
He earned his degree in business administration from Whittier College and joined Morgan Stanley in 1988. He is now a senior vice president at the firm. Founding president of the Whittier College Purple & Gold Athletic Group, Daigneault has served on the boards of the Whittier Host Lions Club, Whittier Area Chamber of Commerce and as president of the Whittier Exchange Club. He is a board member of the Brethren Community Foundation and chairs the Whittier Host Lions Memorial Scholarship Fund. He lives in Glendora with his family.
Arriving from Portland, Oregon, Dean majored in political science at Whittier and was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha honor society, the tennis team, and the Metaphonian Society. Earlier in her career, at AGB Consulting, Dean was responsible for developing and delivering comprehensive programs and services for the boards of public foundations and their CEOs to support their governance responsibilities and fiduciary duties. At Oregon State University Foundation, she served as corporate secretary, maintaining corporate records and advising on policy and procedural matters, governance and communications about the board.
Gilchris '68 previously served as Chairman of the Board and on the compensation committee of Spirit Realty Capital, Inc. (NYSE: SRC). He also served as Senior Advisor for acquisitions and investments at The Irvine Company, a privately-held real estate investment company, from July 2011 until July 2018, after having served as President of its Investment Properties Group from 2006 to 2011.
He also served as President and Co-Chief Executive Officer and on the board of directors of Maguire Properties, Inc., a publicly-held REIT, from 2002 to 2006. From 1997 to 2001, Gilchrist served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and member of the board of directors of Commonwealth Atlantic Properties, a privately held real estate company he co-founded. From 1995 to 1997, he served as the Co-Chairman of Managing Partner of Commonwealth Atlantic Properties.
He has previously served as director of Ventas (NYSE: VTR) from 2011 to August 2021 and was Chairman of both its Compensation and Investment committees. He has also previously served as a director of BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: BMR) from 2007 to 2014, Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. from 2008 to 2011, and TIER REIT, Inc. (NYSE: TIER) from 2013 to August 2019, and as Chairman from 2016 to August 2019 until TIER REIT, Inc. was acquired by Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ).
Gilchrist is a member of the Whittier College Board of Trustees and served as its Chairman from 2003 to 2011 where he received his BA in 1968. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the University of California, Los Angeles Law School, where he earned his JD in 1971.
Barbara spent the majority of her career as a teacher. She retired from La Jolla High School and was an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Diego. She has dedicated over 75 years to the Girl Scouts of the USA, serving in various leadership positions.
Barbara is married to Dr. David Groce, a retired experimental physicist, and they reside in La Jolla, California. When traveling, they enjoy meeting with fellow poets. They have one daughter, EA, and two grandchildren. Barbara became a member of the Whittier College Board of Trustees in 1992 and returned to the Board in 2014 following the mandatory hiatus.
Laviano’s grandmother, Gloria Ancira, was an advocate and community leader whose goal was to demystify homeownership for many Angelenos in marginalized and low-income communities. Since graduating from Whittier, Laviano has built on her grandmother’s legacy with more than 20 years of work in real estate development and asset management focused on affordable housing in California. Laviano has brought more than 25,000 affordable housing units into compliance within the City of Los Angeles and provided executive oversight for over $500 million in assets. In 2010, she started a consulting and private real estate development company and pivoted to a private capital financial model deployed within Housing for Us All and Erna Enterprises.
Laviano also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Optimist Youth Home and Family Services, a more than 100-year-old organization providing programs for at-risk youth, emancipated foster youth and their families.
As president and founder of Marathon Communications, he and his team provide these professional specialties to major national corporations, real estate developers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, forging paths to achieve their goals.
Mr. Lichtenstein received a B.A. from Connecticut College, a master’s degree in urban studies from Occidental College, and a J.D. from Loyola University Los Angeles. He currently serves as co-chair of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association board of trustees, sits on the Fuller Avenue Senior Housing Board, and is a board member of the Coro Foundation. He and his wife, Melanie Cotton, are the proud parents of Poet Daniel Lichtenstein ’16.
From 2002-2019, he served as Commissioner for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), an athletic conference in the NCAA's Division III. His leadership significantly shaped the CCIW, as he was the chief athletic administrative officer for the colleges and universities of the conference. His tenure included the addition of three new conference sports, one new full-time member, five new associate, one-sport members and numerous. Other conference enhancements Chris oversaw include a new conference officiating structures, additional sports equipment partners and a re-design of the conference marks and web presence. Between 2009 and 2012, in his role as CCIW Commissioner, Chris served in various additional DIII leadership positions, including chair of the NCAA Division III Management Council and President of the Division III Commissioners Association Executive Committee, in addition to numerous other DIII committee assignments like a term as chair of the Division III Membership Committee.
In 2017, he completed a four-year tenure on the NCAA Division III Football Committee, playing a key role in national oversight of the sport and DIII football championship. Prior to Chris’ commissioner position, he helped to shape policy and governance for collegiate athletics as the chief legislative liaison for the Division III Presidents Council and Management Council as part of his nearly five-year stint on the NCAA national office staff in Overland Park, Kansas, and Indianapolis, IN.
Chris has a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia (August 1996). He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Whittier College (May 1994). At Whittier, Chris played on the Men's Baseball team and was active with the Quaker Campus student newspaper and the Student Senate.
A Whittier College trustee from 2014-16, Chris has regularly supported Purple & Gold and the Baseball Fund. In 2011, Chris underwrote the renovation of Whittier College’s baseball field. In 2012, he made it possible to renovate the men's and women's locker rooms. His largest gift to date supported the renovation of the Science & Learning Center. Most recently, Chris contributed substantially to the Whittier NOW! campaign.
Chris has two adult children and resides with his partner Patty on Lake Keowee in South Carolina.
The Marziellos lead an organization that employs over 220 people at 22 locations. Before coming to Philadelphia, the Marziellos managed Club operations in Oregon, Wisconsin, and New York. Since coming to Philadelphia, the Marziellos have raised more than $120 million in revenue to support programming, operations, and capital investment. Their leadership has resulted in improved financial stability and security, innovative new programming, growth of membership and services, and substantial improvements to Club facilities. In addition, they initiated the Call-to-Action Literacy Initiative, which now reaches over 1,400 youth at 15 Clubs throughout Philadelphia, and STEM learning Labs to provide young people with 21st-century skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marziellos’ team served over 350,000 meals at 15 locations to low-income families over 14 months.
Before joining the Boys & Girls Club movement, Lisabeth Marziello worked in marketing and advertising for several Los Angeles companies including Backer Spielvogel Bates; Foote, Cone & Belding; and Eisaman, Johns & Laws.
Mullenbach retired as the deputy chief of launch systems at the Space & Missile Systems Center, a subordinate unit of the U.S. Air Force, where she oversaw over $5 billion in contracts. Prior to her career with the Air Force, Mullenbach served as executive director of Samaritans International, manager of corporate services for American Honda Motor Company, and vice president of institutional markets for Union Bank, among other leadership roles. A member of the Thalian Society and former Poet Council member, Mullenbach is also a recipient of the 2015 Poet Award for Service to the College. She and her husband reside in Whittier.
Raised in the hospitality industry, Bharat’s father bought his first hotel, the original Peter Pan Motor Lodge, in the mid-70’s. The family later built the Castle Inn & Suites across the street from Disneyland Resort.
Having earned his MBA from Cal State Fullerton, Bharat is an active volunteer leader in Orange County. He serves on numerous boards including the Anaheim Family YMCA, the Anaheim Community Foundation, the California Lodging Industry Association, Visit Anaheim, and the Anaheim Police Association.
Bharat was a member for the Whittier College Board of Trustees from 2018-2023 and served on the Advancement and Buildings and Grounds Committees. Prior to that, he was on the Poet Council.
Bharat and his wife Ragini are the parents of Whittier graduate Rakesh Patel ’18 as well as a daughter who graduated from Chapman University. The family resides in Villa Park, CA.
Parks's career spans business and academia, including terms as an associate professor at California State University, Los Angeles, and member of the board of advisors of USC’s Marshall School of Business. He has served on the boards of institutions including California State University, Northridge, California Council on Economic Education and Autry National Center of the American West, as well as Whittier Trust, a private wealth management company. Currently, he is the executive director of the Los Angeles branch of CBIZ MHM, L.L.C., a business services firm. Parks splits his time between Los Angeles and Williamstown, Massachusetts.
With over two decades of service to the San Diego Unified School District, she has dedicated her career to impacting the lives of students. Currently serving as Chair of the Alumni Board, she brings a wealth of experience to this role, having previously held the position and contributed to the Alumni Engagement Committee.
Beyond her work in education, Dr. Rice is an adjunct faculty member at both the University of San Diego and San Diego State University, sharing her knowledge and passion for teaching with aspiring educators. Her commitment to lifelong learning is evident in her academic pursuits, culminating in a PhD in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. She is a proud alumna of Whittier College (Class of 1996), where she earned a degree in Theatre Arts, and San Diego State University, where she obtained both a credential and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Rice is deeply invested in her alma mater, in particular Whittier College.
A daughter of Mexican immigrants, Torres-Retana has a passion for educational equity and social justice rooted in her experiences raised in a San Gabriel Valley working-class community. A first-generation college student, Torres-Retana graduated with a bachelor’s in sociology and a minor in history from Whittier College. She earned her Master's in Public Administration from CSU-Dominguez Hills. Later, while working in Student Affairs at the University of Southern California, she enrolled in the Ed.D. program at the USC Rossier School of Education and earned her degree in 2007. At USC, she was director of El Centro Chicano (1999-2004) and later an Assistant Dean with the office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards (SJACS).
In 2015, Torres-Retana began her current appointment at Pasadena City College, where she serves as a dean. She remains an adjunct assistant professor at the USC Rossier School of Education, teaching in graduate programs and serving on dissertation committees. Married with three adult children, she lives in the Los Angeles area.
It is the trustees who - in consultation with others - determine, reaffirm, or change the College's purposes and mission. They approve all major institutional policies including decisions concerning the addition or discontinuation of major academic programs and major services, consistent with Whittier's mission and financial capacity.
The duties of the Board includes appointing, supporting, and assessing the president and other officers of the College, as well as approving procedures for the granting of tenure to faculty and earned and honorary degrees. Additionally, trustees must lead planning initiatives, assess outcomes, and monitor progress against goals. They ensure that the College has adequate resources to fulfill its mission by approving and monitoring the annual budget, protecting financial and capital assets, and prudently investing restricted and unrestricted funds.
Elected for up to five, three-year terms before a required hiatus year, Board members set an excellent collective example in personal philanthropy. They lead special fundraising initiatives for capital and endowment projects, and are typically the College's top donors to the Whittier Fund with their generous annual support for scholarships. Guaranteeing that Whittier serves as a good citizen in its relationships with other social, educational, and business enterprises through appropriate collaborations and partnerships, trustees are key ambassadors for the College in the United States and abroad.
The Board of Trustees is committed to the College’s values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and to governing by fostering an environment of mutual respect as established in the Board’s Code of Conduct.
C. Milo Connick Ph.D. Richard H. Deihl '49 Rayburn S. Dezember '53 Ethel L. Eckles Richard I. Gilchrist '68, P'06-07 Alfred J. Gobar '53 Charlotte D. Graham L.H.D. '99 Willard V. Harris Jr. '55, L.H.D. '02 Donald J. Herrema '74 Caroline (Patterson) Ireland '43 Sharon W. (Ettinger) McLaughlin Chandler R. Myers LL.D. '88 Hubert C. Perry '35 Anthony R. Pierno '54, L.H.D. '00 Carl L. Randolph Ph.D., LL.D. Homer (Bill) G. Rosenberger, M.D. Ruth B. Shannon L.H.D. '92 Elden L. Smith '62 Judith A. (Kjellberg) Swayne '63 Benjamin B., Tregoe, Jr., Ph.D, LL.D. Maxine M. Trotter '47 Roberta G. Veloz '57 Donald E. Wood L.H.D. '98
Updated September 2023
