Board of Trustees

James F. Barbic, E. A.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, and a former professional baseball player, Mr. Barbic has been an enrolled tax consultant for over 40 years. A veteran of the Korean Conflict, he is known for both his skill and community activism. He has served as Chairman or Director of the California Society of Enrolled Agents, Central YMCA Board of San Francisco, Catholic Social Services, Chinese Youth Alternatives, East Side Heroes, and the World Boxing Foundation (with Mohammed Ali). He was a founding director of Lincoln Law School of San Jose.

Carl Cookson

Mr. Cookson was born in San Jose and completed his degree in Business Administration at San Jose State. His career in the land title business started in 1957 when he became Assistant Vice President of Valley Title Company. In 1967 he moved to First American Title Company as Vice President and Division Manager. In 1976 he established Santa Clara Land Title as Owner and Chairperson. He sold the company in 1997 to United Title where he was Vice Chairman until 2002. He has been a member and President of the California Land Title association and President of the California Escrow Associations. He is a Founding Member of the Silicon Valley Capital Club and a Founding Board Member of Cupertino National Bank. Mr. Cookson is active in the Rotary Club of San Jose, Symphony Association, City Lights Theater, Citizens Against Legal Abuse, San Jose Chamber of Commerce, among other organizations. Previously, he was on boards of Junior Achievement, Central YMCA, Arts Council, History Museum, Children's Discovery Museum, Repertory Theater, San Jose State Business Alumni.  In 2005 selected to the Jr. Achievement Business Hall of fame. 1998 San Jose State Business Alumnus, the 1993 Boy Scouts Distinguished Citizen of the Year, the 1990 Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year and the 1980 Optimist Club Citizen of the Year.

David Cortese, J.D.

Mr. Cortese is President of the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County. He grew up as part of a family that has been active in civic, cultural and business affairs. He was elected to the San Jose City Council in 2000, was Vice Mayor and was the only councilmember re-elected without opposition to a second four year term.  Prior to serving on the city council, Mr. Cortese served on the East Side Union High School Board of Trustees and served as President of the Board on two occasions. He chaired the Evergreen Valley High School new school committee and co-chaired a successful $80 million bond campaign which led to the first new high school in Silicon Valley in over twenty-five years. Mr. Cortese was educated at Bellarmine College Prep, Santa Clara University, the University of California, Davis and Lincoln Law School of San Jose. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and a Juris Doctor. He has been involved in a variety of civic and community affairs, including the Police Athletic League Board of Directors, Board of Directors of the East Valley YMCA, the Italian American Heritage Foundation, President of the Sons of Sicily Club, the PTA and the Board of Directors of Rotacare. He has been a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the Santa Clara County School Boards Association, the San Jose Real Estate Board, the Tri-county Apartment Association, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the Cal Aggi Alumni Association, the Most Holy Trinity Church Development Committee, East Side Heroes and St. Francis of Assisi Parish. He has been directly involved with the Evergreen, East Hills, Alum Rock and Berryessa Little Leagues. He was one of the founders of East Valley Girls Softball and formerly President of the San Jose (East Evergreen) Rotary Club and also a member of the Evergreen Business and Professional Association. He has also had the opportunity to work with his father, former Assemblyman Dominic L. Cortese over a political career that commenced in 1968.

Rod Diridon, Sr.

Mr. Diridon, the Executive Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute created by Congress at San Jose State University in 1991, began his political career in 1971 as the youngest person ever elected to the Saratoga City Council. He retired, after 20 years and six terms serving as chair of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. He is the only person to have chaired the San Francisco Bay Area's three regional governments: the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments serving nine counties and 104 cities. He is currently the Governor's appointee to the California High Speed Rail Authority Board of which he is chair emeritus. He also serves on the Corporate Board of Directors the Empire Broadcasting Company and Corporate Advisory Board of Wells Fargo Bank and will preside over the large San Jose Rotary  Club in 2009/10.  He founded and served as President of the Decision Research Institute, where he developed a shared survey research procedure adopted by UNICEF. He recently completed a term as President of the American Public Transportation Association and the national Council of University Transportation Centers, in Washington, DC.  Mr. Diridon earned a BS in Accounting and a MSBA from San Jose State University where he received the College of Business Lifetime Achievement Award. Upon his retirement from elected office, the historic Amtrak/CalTrain Station in San Jose was renamed the  San Jose Diridon Station in his honor.

Sarwat S. Fahmy, J.D.

Mr. Fahmy is the principal and Chief Executive Officer of Calandev, LLC, a worldwide real estate development company headquartered in San Jose. Mr. Fahmy has been a major developer in China and the Middle East, as well as the United States. An honor graduate of Lincoln Law School of San Jose, he holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and a Masters degree in Tax Law from Golden Gate University. He received his B. S. degree from Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

Honorable Teresa Guerrero-Daley, J.D.,  Judge of the Superior Court of California

Judge Guerrero-Daley is a graduate of both Lincoln Law School and San Jose State University. She is a Superior Court Judge serving in Santa Clara County. Judge Guerrero-Daley serves on the Executive Board of the Courts in Santa Clara County. She served as the Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose where her work received national, as well as international recognition. She was previously in private practice specializing in criminal law. Judge Guerrero-Daley was appointed to the Discipline Audit Panel of the California State Bar and graded the Bar Exam for five years. She is a former President of both La Raza Lawyers of Santa Clara and La Raza Lawyers of San Mateo County, formerly served on the Board of Trustees of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and chaired the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley

John Hopkins, J.D. 
John Hopkins co-founded one of San Joses most prominent legal firms, Hopkins & Carley, in 1968. Mr. Hopkins earned his bachelor's degree and J.D. from Stanford University. While there, he served as president of the Law Review and was a member of both Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif. Mr. Hopkins also completed four years of graduate work in counseling psychology at Santa Clara University. As a member of the State Bar of California, Mr. Hopkins has over 50 years of experience in his law practice, concentrating on tax, estate planning, family business, succession planning, charitable giving and foundations, real estate exchanges, sales, purchases, mergers and reorganization of businesses.  He is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, the Santa Clara County Bar Association and Attorneys for Family Held Enterprises. A Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Council, a founder of the Santa Clara University Family Business Forum, Mr. Hopkins is also a member and past president of the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council.

Robert S. Kieve

Robert S. Kieve is president of Empire Broadcasting Corporation, a company which he formed in 1967.  Empire owns and operates 1590 KLIV and acts as operating partner of 95.3 KRTY. He also serves as a radio commentator, frequently sharing his views about issues in Silicon Valley. After graduating from Harvard and after summer jobs in New Jersey radio stations, he became Information  Officer of the American Embassy in Madrid.  He was program director of a radio station in Geneva, NY and was a promotion writer for CBS in New York City. In 1953 he became a special assistant in the White House, acting as a writer for President Eisenhower. In 1957 he was named manager of station WBBF in Rochester, NY. During his ten years in Rochester, he also put on the air station WBBF-FM, a 24 hour classical music station which won the first annual award of the American Music Council for excellence in FM programming. He is  the author of El Arte Radiofonico, a book that for many years was Spain's only publication on radio broadcasting.  He has been deeply involved in San Jose community activities, including the San Jose Rotary Club,  Symphony Silicon Valley,  the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and as such is affectionately known by many as "Mr. San Jose."

Hon Lien

Hon Lien is a successful business person having founded Golden Phoenix Markets and Sunnyvale Seafood Corporation, one of the Bay Area's largest seafood distributorships. A native of Vietnam, she is an American success story. Her companies have plants in Vietnam and Europe, as well as the United States. She is a former member of the Board of the Silicon Valley Children's Hospital Foundation and currently serves as an Executive Vice President of a local bank.

James A. Liontas, M.S.Ch .E., J. D., LL. D.

After 25 years as a chemical engineer or sales manager with Bell & Howell, DuPont, and Merck, Dr. Liontas founded Peninsula University in 1975 and served as Dean of the College of Law for 25 years. Liontas is probably the only lawyer who signed his own J. D. degree. His 1983 honorary LL. D. was conferred by Pacific Coast University, which was teaching law before the Legislature established the State Bar. Upon his retirement in 2000, the Legislature passed a Resolution honoring Liontas for his dedication and contributions to the people of California and the legal profession.

Robert A. Petersen, CPA-Chair

Robert A. Petersen is a CPA licensed in California and Oregon. He graduated from University of Oregon, B.B.A. in Accounting and Business Statistics, UCLA-Anderson Graduate School of Business, Director Training and Certification. He is currently President of the Board of Accountancy for the State of California, appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He serves as a founding board member of The Sierra Health Foundation and is currently Chair of the nine member Board of Directors. SHF is a private, independent philanthropy based in Sacramento, California, with an endowment of approximately $130 million. Mr. Petersen has served as a member of its Governing Council of the California Society of CPAs. In addition he served as the immediate past-Chair of the Government Relations Committee. This committee recommends both legislative and regulatory policy for the Society's representatives in Sacramento and the Society's governing Council and Board of Directors.  He also serves as a member of the state Leadership Development Committee. Mr. Petersen received the Distinguished Service Award from CalCPA which is the highest award it bestows on its members for service to the profession.  In the past Mr. Petersen has served as a member of the Tax Division Executive Committee, as a member of the Board of Directors, Governing Council, and has held committee assignments such as a member of its Responsibilities in Tax Practice Committee, Government Affairs Committee, Legal Liability Committee, and Committee on Specialization of the American Institute of CPAs. He has served California Certified Public Accountants Education Foundation, the Research Institute of America; IRS Commissioners Advisory Group of the Internal Revenue Service; and the Saratoga Education Foundation. He has authored a number of publications California Sales and Use Tax; Procedures & Compliance: The Mobile Taxpayer, California Combined Reports and Multistage Taxpayer, California Tax Handbook; Consulting Editor, California Taxation, Consulting Editor, Advising California Partners and Proprietors, A Guide for Attorneys and Accountants. Contributor, The State Corporation Income Tax, Issues in Worldwide Unitary Combination, Contributing editor or author for the California CPA Quarterly, The Journal of Taxation, New York University Institute of State and Local Taxation, and others.

Willem P. Roelandts

Mr. Roelandts is currently the lead independent director on the Board of Trustees of Applied Materials. He served as Chairman of the Board of Xilinx, Inc., from July 2003 to February 2009, and as a director from January 1996 to August 2009. Mr. Roelandts also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Xilinx from January 1996 to January 2008. Prior to joining Xilinx, he held various executive positions during his 29-year career at Hewlett-Packard, where he last served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computer Systems Organizations. He currently serves on the board of directors of Aruba Networks, Inc. Mr. Roelandts is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Science, Technology and Society at Santa Clara University. A native of Belgium, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Rijks Hogere Technische and has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Santa Clara University and K.U. Leuven. The latter degree noted, His achievements are remarkable and can to a major extent be ascribed to his very personal management style focused on human values.

Carmen Sigler, Ph.D

Dr. Sigler is a Professor of Romance Languages at San Jose State University. She has also served as Dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts, Interim Dean of the College of Social Work, Acting President, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.  Her field of specialization is Golden Age Spanish Literature and she has published books and articles on topics related to Renaissance Spanish literature and foreign language education. Prior to serving as Provost, Dr. Sigler was Teacher Education Coordinator, Associate Chair for Curriculum, and Department Chair in the Department of Foreign Languages at San Jose State. She also served as Dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts, Interim Vice President for University Advancement and Acting Dean of the College of Social Work. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Montalvo Center for the Arts, Opera San Jose, the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, and the YMCA Metro Board and is a Commissioner for WASC. Dr. Sigler was born and raised in Argentina. She received A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of Michigan.

Barry Swenson

Barry Swenson of Barry Swenson Builders is one the premier builders and developers in the Santa Clara Valley. He is recognized as one of Silicon Valleys leading citizens and is a well respected businessman. In addition to his own companies, he has served San Jose State in advisory and board positions and is a graduate of San Jose State University.

TRUSTEES EMERITI

James F. Boccardo (1911-2003)

LeRoy J. Neider

Craig E. Needham