2009-2010 Speakers
Janet A. Garufis
Janet Garufis joined Montecito Bank & Trust in 2004 and became the bank’s president and chief executive officer in September 2006.
Garufis began her banking career more than 30 years ago with Security Pacific Bank, now Bank of America, earning experience in retail, business, commercial and private banking. She is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University Northridge and is currently working to complete her Ph.D. from the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California at Santa Barbara.
Garufis currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Economic Ventures, Santa Barbara Symphony, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Sansum Clinic®.
Lynda Nahra
Lynda Nahra has been President of Community West Bank since 2000 and CEO since 2004 after serving in various positions of increasing responsibility for the bank since 1997.
Under Nahra’s direction, the bank has grown its assets; added branches in Santa Maria, Westlake Village and downtown Santa Barbara; developed the SBA division into a nationwide network of offices; and overseen the impressive growth of the bank’s manufactured housing portfolio.
Her banking experience, spanning more than 35 years, includes operations, consumer and commercial lending and sales as well as both private and corporate banking.
Industry involvement includes serving as the current President of the California Independent Bankers and director for the California Bankers Association.
John Nerland
John Nerland became President and CEO of California Oaks State Bank in August of 2007. Cal Oaks has branch offices in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and a loan production office in Walnut Creek.
Nerland began his banking career with Westamerica Bank in 1986. He progressed through the management ranks ultimately becoming the Regional Vice President and Market Manager for the San Rafael area, where the bank is headquartered.
In 1999 Nerland joined Civic Bank and eventually managed the East County region including offices in Walnut Creek, Concord and Antioch. After the sale of Civic Bank to City National Bank in 2002, he joined Solano Bank, a de novo bank wholly owned by North Bay Bancorp, as its President and CEO. Nerland took Solano Bank from a start up bank to $165 million in assets in four years. After the merger of Solano Bank into Vintage Bank in 2005, he remained as President of the Solano Bank division.
In 2006, Nerland became the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of Vintage Bank. He left the bank following the sale of North Bay Bancorp to Umpqua Bank in 2007.
Nerland has a bachelor's degree in finance from Arizona State University and an M.B.A. in Marketing from San Francisco State University.
George Leis
George S. Leis is President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Capital Bancorp, a community bank holding company that operates 48 branches on the Central Coast of California under the highly respected local brand names of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, First National Bank of Central California, South Valley National Bank, San Benito Bank and First Bank of San Luis Obispo. With more than 23 years of financial services experience, Leis joined Pacific Capital Bancorp in March 2006 as Executive Vice President of Wealth Management and was also named Executive Vice President of Information Technology later that year. He was appointed President and CEO of Pacific Capital Bancorp in April 2007.
Prior to joining Pacific Capital Bancorp, Leis was Managing Director, U.S. Head, Products and National Practice Leader for Investments at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. He also served as Senior Vice President and Director of Private Client Services Centers at Wells Fargo and as Senior Vice President and Manager for Bank of America Private Bank. Leis began his banking career with Security Pacific National Bank in retail and commercial banking.
Leis graduated from California State University, Northridge with a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, and is a certified trust and financial advisor.
James Rondeau
Jim Rondeau anchors Morning Edition on KCLU and hosts the station’s award-winning public affairs program, Crosstalk. A native of Seattle, his broadcasting career has included key positions at stations in the Northwest, San Diego and Los Angeles, as well as producing nationally syndicated programming for Premiere Radio Networks.
Jim’s work has been honored by major journalistic organizations, such as the Radio and Television News Association, the Associated Press Radio and Television Association and the Los Angeles Press Club. He has been recognized for outstanding coverage of major stories, including wildfires, immigration and same-sex marriage. Recently, the KCLU news team received an Edward R. Murrow Award for coverage of Santa Barbara County’s Tea Fire.
Under his guidance as Director of Programming, KCLU’s audience has increased substantially, and it has emerged as the leader in news and public affairs programming in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Keith Leonard
Keith Leonard is a co-founder of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on science and innovation in aesthetic medicine. As President and Chief Executive Officer, he directs the newly formed management team and leverages the experience of the board of directors.
Formerly, as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Amgen Europe, Leonard was responsible for all commercial operations in 28 countries. During his tenure in Europe, he built a team that took the company's products to market leadership in oncology and nephrology, and dramatically expanded the company's operations, in just three years. Prior to that experience, his career at Amgen included establishing the company's presence in rheumatology with the creation of the Rheumatology Business Unit. He served as Head of Information Management, and held leadership roles in Sales and Marketing, Engineering, Operations, and Finance. He is also a board member of ARYx Therapeutics and Affymax, Inc.
Leonard holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland; an M.S. in Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley; and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.
James D. Power III
James D. Power III, founder and former CEO of J.D. Power and Associates, has spent more than 40 years as a pioneer in customer satisfaction, with more than 35 years as founder of what has become one of the most prestigious marketing information firms in the world. The firm numbers among its clients virtually every automotive manufacturer and importer serving the U.S. market, in addition to clients in many other industries around the world. With corporate headquarters in Westlake Village, the firm has regional offices in Orange, Calif., Mesa, Ariz, Troy, Mich., and Norwalk, Conn.; and international offices in Bangkok, Beijing, London, Munich, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.
Following graduation from College of the Holy Cross in 1953, Power served four years of line officer duty aboard a Coast Guard icebreaker in the Arctic and Antarctic. He subsequently earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1992, Power was a recipient of the Automotive Hall of Fame's Distinguished Service Citation, awarded each year to seven of the industry's most accomplished leaders. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from College of the Holy Cross, California Lutheran University, California State University, Northridge and College Misericordia.
Donald E. Petersen
Donald E. Petersen became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Co. in February 1985. Prior to his election as Chairman, Petersen had been President and Chief Operating Officer since March 1980. He was a member of the Board of Directors from 1977 until his retirement in 1990.
Born in Pipestone, Minn., in 1926, Petersen joined Ford in 1949 after receiving a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University. He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington in 1946. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp in World War II and the Korean War.
Petersen is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the Engineering Society of Detroit. He is a past member of the Executive Advisory Board of the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality at the University of Minnesota. He served as a director on the boards of The Boeing Co., Dow Jones & Co. and Hewlett-Packard Co. He is currently a mutual fund board member with the Capital Research and Management Co. He serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board and as Campaign Chair for the University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences.
Capt. James McHugh
Capt. James J. McHugh was born in Newport, R.I. He graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 1986 as an NROTC student with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He holds two Master of Arts degrees, one in Computer Resources and Information Systems Management from Webster University and a second in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College.
In May 1986, McHugh began Naval Flight Officer training at VT 10 in Pensacola, Fla. He was designated a Naval Flight Officer in April 1988. Upon completion of training in July 1988, he reported to VAW 117 in San Diego. While there, he completed an around the world deployment onboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) and an around the horn deployment onboard USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72).
In December 1999, he reported to the Joint Staff in the Pentagon. He served as an Operations Officer in the J2 directorate where he participated in the development of policy, preparation and execution of combat operations in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Capt McHugh has accumulated more than 2,800 flight hours and more than 400 carrier arrested landings. His personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Navy Commendation Medals, a Joint Achievement Medal, three Navy Achievement Medals and various Unit and Service awards. In February 2009 he reported to Naval Base Ventura County to assume command.
Jonathan Greenblatt
Jonathan Greenblatt, a serial social entrepreneur and an acknowledged thought leader on ethical branding, is the founder and president of Our Good Works, the nonprofit organization that manages All for Good, the open source Web-based platform designed to enable more Americans to serve. He formerly worked as CEO of GOOD Worldwide Inc. Founded in 2006, GOOD is an integrated media company whose products include the award-winning GOOD Magazine and www.GOOD.Is, an online destination updated daily with fresh editorial and video features.
In 2003, Greenblatt co-founded Ethos Brands, the business that launched Ethos Water. Ethos is the premium bottled water that helps children around the world get clean water. In 2005, Starbucks Coffee Company purchased Ethos Water, one of only a handful of non-coffee business acquisitions in Starbucks' 30-plus year history. Greenblatt then joined the company as vice president of consumer products and served on the board of directors of the Starbucks Foundation.
Greenblatt served on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. He also served as an aide in the Clinton White House and U.S. Department of Commerce. He is a faculty member at the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA, where he teaches social entrepreneurship.
Greenblatt holds a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Tufts University.