LCAD - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founder & Creative Director of Ad Hoc Industries
Adrian is the Founder & Creative Director of Ad Hoc Industries. With extensive creative, brand strategy, and design experience, Adrian's specialty is bridging the gap between business and creative organizational goals. Clients include Barbados Tourism, where he led creative for a global brand campaign with the superstar singer Rihanna. Recently, Adrian served as Creative Director on the leadership team at The Harvard Innovation Labs for four years and has been a mentor to student and alumni startups there for the last 10 years. Adrian was the Vice President of the $1.8B Global Footwear Division at PUMA where he led all creative design direction, including collaborations with athletes, fashion designers and artists such as Usain Bolt, Alexander McQueen and Kehinde Wiley. He holds an MBA from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Design Leader
- Senior Director, Footwear & Apparel Design Digital Product at VANS
Andrew Bjornson is a seasoned design leader who is passionate about empowering young creative to find pathways to careers in design fields. Andrew is an alumnus of Rochester Institute of Technology, with a BFA in Industrial Design Program and Associate Degree in Graphic Design. He has many decades of experience in footwear and action sport product design, working on Inline and Advanced Concept teams at brands such as Vans, New Balance, and Reebok, in addition to freelance design. He has led intern programs and collaborative experiences with college and high school programs. He is currently Senior Director for the digital footwear and apparel product design teams at Vans.
Andrew has designed and lead teams of designers creating industry leading product such as snowboard boots, bindings, helmets, and all types of footwear including running, cross training, basketball, outdoor, and more. He holds patents for several of the innovative projects on which he has worked. Andrew believes in a collaborative approach to design using consumer insight, athletic performance testing, and global trend research to produce solid solutions.
Andrew's philosophy is, "Patience and Persistence." There are no overnight successes. Success comes from failure. Like trying a new trick in snowboarding or skateboarding; you know you will wipe out- you just need to keep getting up, figuring out what went wrong, and try something different until you succeed.
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Shopoff Realty Investments
Mr. Shopoff has more than 45 years of real estate and investment experience. His expertise includes the acquisition, development, and sale of new and redeveloped residential and commercial properties throughout the United States, as well as partnership structures, debt placement, venture capital, and investment underwriting.
He has acquired over 1K properties on behalf of his various entities, including the acquisition of over 8K apartment units and the entitlement of over 15K lots of land
suitable for single-family or multi-family development, as well as millions of sqft of commercial projects.
Job Titles:
- CEO at the Surfrider Foundation
- CEO, Surfrider Foundation
Chad Nelsen is the CEO at the Surfrider Foundation where he has worked since 1998. At Surfrider, Chad is responsible for strategic guidance regarding environmental campaigns at the local through national level, and he oversees a number of environmental programs that include volunteer water quality monitoring, ocean-friendly landscaping, surfonomics, as well as education and outreach programs.
Prior to joining Surfrider, Chad was a NOAA Coastal Zone Management Fellow working with Oregon's state coastal zone management program. He is an alumni of Brown University and Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and has Doctorate the Environmental Science and Engineering program at UCLA where he focused on the economics of surfing. Through his work on coral reef conservation in Puerto Rico, the Surfrider Foundation earned recognition from the US Coral Reef Task Force.
Job Titles:
- CEO, Interactive Medical Systems
- Co - Founder, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Medical Systems, Inc
Mr. Reitz is the co-founder, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Medical Systems, Inc. Currently, Mr. Reitz manages all facets of Interactive Medical's operations including strategic planning, acquisitions and financial management.
Prior to Interactive Medical Systems, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at Dynamic Medical Systems. There he played an integral role in the vision, operations and the sale of DMS to Invacare in September 2011.
Mr. Reitz received a BS in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California. He is a member of the Entrepreneur Organization.
Dedicated and accomplished professional with a bold career transition from 18 years in commercial real estate/property management to a prominent figure in the emerging art field. Born and raised in the artistic landscapes of Mendocino County, Liz brings a unique blend of business acumen and a deep appreciation for art. An alumna of Biola University, her journey has been marked by a strong work ethic, commitment to excellence, and a keen ability to understand and embrace emerging art and artist. Liz is an avid art collector with a deep passion for various forms of artistic expression. She actively supports and promotes emerging artists, contributing to the vibrancy of the local art scene. Liz is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the artistic landscape of Southern California, with a focus on the dynamic Los Angeles art community.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair
- Founding Partner of KTGY
Hiro Kinoshita was born and raised in Japan and graduated from the Architectural School of Nihon University in Tokyo. He came to California to further pursue his career in architecture and planning.
Hiro is a founding partner of KTGY, now one of the largest Orange County based architectural firms. The firm has six offices throughout the U.S. and employs over four hundred. While at KTGY, he designed residential and resort projects in California, Hawaii, and throughout Asia.
He retired in 2014 and now spends his time playing golf and traveling to destinations on his bucket list.
Hiro resides in Newport Coast with his wife, Irene, and adorable poodles, Ben(nie) and Jerry.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Trustee
- CEO of Orange County
Jared K. Mathis, is CEO of Orange County based Moulton Company - an investment company involved in commercial, industrial and residential real estate. A twenty-five-year veteran of the real estate industry, Jared worked previously for the California Building Industry Association and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Jared received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Policy from Pomona College in Claremont and pursued his Masters of Real Estate at Georgetown University.
Jared and his wife Kate are proud parents of their three children and they spend most weekends at soccer games. Jared is also President of Moulton Museum, Co-Chair of the Laguna Playhouse Board of Directors, Member of Chapman University Board of Governors, Life Member of the Saddleback Area Historical Society and Board Member of 4-M Water District. Jared also loves to spend time on the golf course and has a deep appreciation for early California plein air art.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Trustee
- Video Game Developer
Justin Thavirat is an award-winning video game developer since 1994 when he answered a local job posting at school that read, "Do you like to draw and play video games?" Since then, Justin has worked art directing games, building art departments, developing new IPs, and contributing to game art, concept art, cinematic art, marketing illustrations, and box covers for many of Blizzard's award winning games in the Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft series. Justin was art director on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, lead artist on Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void, and an assistant art director overseeing art for several new game development teams at Blizzard Entertainment.
Justin's art has been featured in numerous publications and museums including The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, The Laguna Art Museum, and the Computer History Museum. Justin was one of the recipients of the 1995 Game Developers Choice Award for "Best Visual Arts", and has presented at the Game Developers Conference, THU, Vision X Live, and numerous other conferences, art schools, and colleges. Justin currently sits on the Game Developers Conference advisory board and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the Laguna College of Art + Design for his contributions to the industry and his assistance in establishing a thriving game art major at the college.
When not spending time with his wife and two boys, Justin's passions are plein air watercolor painting, experimental game development, and building exceptional art teams who cultivate a collaborative development culture and strive to achieve something greater than anyone thought possible.
Lisa Dallendorfer, a native of Southern California, is owner and principal of The Dall Group, a client solutions consultancy. Before starting her own company, she enjoyed 20 years at The Walt Disney Company in entertainment attraction retail design, store planning, construction and installation. During her tenure at Disney, her focus was on construction management and developing cost effective retail programs from concept to installation. Prior to Lisa's career at Disney, she was a dedicated art educator and administrator at the secondary and community college level. Creative education has always been her passion and first love. Lisa earned both her BA and MA in Art and Design from California State University, Long Beach, California. She holds a Standard Secondary Life Credential in Art Education as well as a Clear Administrative Credential from studies pursued at the University of California, Irvine campus.
Lisa is also an accomplished designer and artist. She is an experienced fine-finish woodworker and has created artisan bandsaw boxes, furniture and multi-media art pieces. Her bandsaw boxes are part of a wide variety of fine art collections. She participated in the Irvine Fine Arts Center All Media Juried Show multiple times and was awarded an Honorary Mention. She also was juried into The heART of Orange County All Media show at Chemers Gallery in Tustin.
Her name appears on the City of Irvine's "Wall of Recognition" giving tribute to her service as the Founding Chair of the Irvine Fine Art Advisory Board. Her leadership and partnership with the Irvine Community Services Department was instrumental in getting the Irvine Fine Arts Center designed and built. Along with her tenure as a Trustee at LCAD, she also served on the Board of the Pacific Art Foundation.
Lisa Mansour has called Laguna Beach home for 22 years. When she moved here with her family in the year 2000, she knew she wanted to be involved in the arts community. She was appointed to the Laguna Beach Arts Commission in 2009 and served the city for six years in this capacity. She began formal art training at Laguna College Art + Design in 2014 in the Post-Baccalaureate Program and graduated from LCAD in 2018. Lisa exhibits her art at the Sawdust Art Festival and 2022 marks her 5th year as an artist in the show. She is also a member of Quorum Gallery, the longest-established artist cooperative in Laguna Beach, and an artist member of Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, and Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. In April of 2022, she was the featured Artist of the Month in the LPAPA Gallery in north Laguna.
Lisa has served on the board of directors of LOCA Arts Education for the past 5 years, and was co-chair of their Birthday Bash fundraiser in 2022. She is a LOCA teacher, and has taught classes at Glennwood House. Lisa has previously served as a special trustee to the Friendship Shelter, and on the board of directors of the Laguna Beach Community Foundation, Lagunatunes, and Laguna Beach Arts Alliance. She chaired the LBAA Art Star Awards in 2011, which honored musician Lee Rocker among others. Lisa is a current member of the Board of Trustees of SAEF, Sawdust Art Enrichment Fund, a philanthropic effort that provides experiences in creating art to underserved populations throughout Orange County and beyond.
Lisa graduated from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona in 1988 with a degree in Marketing and spent 5 years working for an advertising agency in downtown Chicago. Her marketing background has served her well in her artistic career and endeavors.
Lisa and her husband John have raised three amazing daughters in Laguna and love giving back to the city, which has been so good to them. They are involved in many different organizations and causes in town including the Laguna Art Museum, Friendship Shelter, LCAD, Laguna Canyon Foundation, and Grower's First.
Researcher/academic/developer in game development, animation, and emerging technology Dedicated and innovative researcher/academic/developer in game development, animation, and emerging technology.
Grounded in a strong fundamental basis in liberal arts, Lucas works across game development, screen-based media (film and animation), and emerging technology (AR/VR/MR) to create meaningful and engaging experiences. He is passionate about storytelling, participant-centered experiences, and finding the fun and fascination in virtual and real-world embodied life.
His skillset ranges from classical animation to database normalization strategies, and everything in between. He is comfortable jumping from assessing the strengths of tonal compositions in storyboards to delving into a C# codebase for refactoring. Having led small and large productions, he values thoughtful and human-centric production pipelines and processes, and firmly believes that happiness must be embedded into systems in design, and not as an afterthought.
Lynn Jochim is a leader and collaborator in the evolution of cities of the future throughout California.
Job Titles:
- Producer
- Co - Founder of Group Y
Mark Sperling is a veteran event producer, marketing, and partnership executive with over three decades of experience with global brands in sports, entertainment, and consumer products. A pioneer in action/lifestyle sports and music culture, Mark has developed groundbreaking campaigns in experiential programming, public relations, marketing collaborations, licensing and broadcast partnerships, televised sporting events, and entrepreneurial ventures.
As Co-Founder of Group Y, Mark built the original and leading collective of industry professionals focused on youth marketing, lifestyle, and other progressive and expressive cultures. Mark has organized over 250 nationwide events, building a highly engaged online and live event community and curating over 950 guest speakers from the world of business, fashion, music, entertainment, media, tech, finance, politics, and more, who all share a common talent: authentically engaging with youth culture. Past events include ComplexCon, NBA Con, Agenda Emerge, Something In The Water Festival, CEO's Wear Sneakers, Good Is The New Cool, Hall of Flowers, ASC Action Sports + Culture conferences, and more.
Michael Ervin, a Laguna Beach resident, has been painting and sculpting art for more than 40 years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Professional Arts from Woodbury University, a renowned business and art college. In 1981, Michael opened his own advertising and design firm that has served world-class clients in a variety of industries. While that firm, Ervin Ad, is still operating today, he devotes most of his time to the arts through painting and sculpture. Michael has won several critically acclaimed national and international awards for his art, design and advertising. He has served on the Boards of Directors of many organizations, including The Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, the American Red Cross, The Nicole Brown Foundation, and The Business Marketing Association. He is an active member of the Laguna Beach arts community, currently serving on the city's Arts Commission. He is also a member of Laguna Outreach for Community Arts, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, The Laguna Beach Art Museum, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the Community Emergency Response Team for Laguna Beach, and the Sierra Club, among others. Michael and his wife, Sandra, a marketing professional, have lived in Laguna Beach for five years.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Trustee
- Principal of Seniors Capital LLC
Ms. Burton Gray is The Founding Principal of Seniors Capital LLC. The Fund provides Equity and Debt to the Seniors Housing Industry. Ms. Burton Gray has led several national platforms in her 37 year tenure in the healthcare industry providing financing and private placement activities in the health care sector, including real estate proprietary bridge lending, GSE lending and FHA loans. Her areas of expertise include the long-term care sector of the health care industry with a focus on underwriting and portfolio responsibilities. Prior to joining Hunt, she was Head of Health Care and Senior Managing Director for Hunt Mortgage Group, RED Mortgage Capital, LLC, both divisions of Orix International.
Ms. Burton Gray has extensive banking experience in both large commercial banking platforms, including Wells Fargo Bank, as well as smaller regional and community banks. Ms. Burton Gray has also worked for finance companies, including CIT Group- where she ran the National Healthcare RE Group, GE Finance, and Finova Capital.
Ms. Burton Gray also serves on the Foundation Board of Mission Hospital, a Providence Healthcare System.
Ms. Burton Gray taught courses in SAT, LSAT, MCAT, GRE, and GMAT for the Princeton Review; and participated on many other industry specific boards including Executive Board positions with ASHA (American Senior Housing Association), and Vice Chair of Urban Land Institute's Seniors Housing Council. Her past board memberships have included HCap, LTC 100, CALA, ALFA-Argentum, and the NIC Advisory Committee.
Nancy Beverage was born in Ontario, Canada and moved to the United States in her early years, becoming a U.S. citizen at age 17. She graduated from UCLA and was hired by IBM shortly thereafter. Spending her entire professional career at IBM, she worked in various marketing and technical management roles including managing the Orange County Executive Briefing Center. Since taking early retirement from IBM, Nancy has been active in many nonprofit organizations. She was a member of the Laguna Beach Arts Commission for nine years, serving two terms as Chair, served as Vice Chair of the a Laguna Beach Arts Alliance and is on the Executive Committee of the Laguna Beach Sister Cities Association. Nancy is married to Gary Beverage, another cheerful community volunteer. They enjoy boating and trying to train their pooch, Winston.
Nancy Bushnell was born in Bogota, Colombia. Her family lived in La Paz, Bolivia and Lima, Peru before moving to the United States in 1960. Nancy received her bachelor's degree with a double major in Spanish and Humanities from Pitzer College in Claremont, California and a California Teaching Credential from the University of Southern California. She earned a Master's Degree in International Management at The American Graduate School of Management in Glendale, Arizona. After completing her education, Nancy worked for Security Pacific National Bank in Los Angeles as a Latin American specialist in their International Banking Division. In 1976, Nancy married David P. Bushnell, founder of Bushnell Optical Corporation known for their sports optics and moved to Laguna that year. Nancy had been a member of the Board of Directors of Pitzer College for 20 years, serving as Co-Chair for Policies and Procedures. She also served on the boards of Human Options a battered women's shelter in Orange County, for 8 years, Sally's Fund a nonprofit transportation organization for Seniors of Laguna Beach for 4 years, and The Laguna Art Museum for 6 years, and serves on the Board of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna. The Bushnells have also been supporters of the Laguna Playhouse, The Friendship Shelter, and two Micro Credit NGOs: Opportunity International and FINCA
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Chief Financial Officer of MedEvals Management, Inc
Nancy L. Milby currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of MedEvals Management, Inc., a family business providing disability evaluations and health readiness assessments for US military veterans and service members. For the 15 years leading up the MedEvals, she was Executive Director of Laguna Culinary Arts, a hands-on cooking school for the home chef that opened in Laguna Beach in July 2001, then LCA Wine, a wine retail and wine education business. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Nancy was a senior financial executive, serving as Chief Financial Officer for several start-up and early-stage companies. Her financial training comes from 16 years at KPMG, a worldwide accounting and consulting firm, where she was a tax partner. While at KPMG, Nancy was actively involved in developing and teaching the firm's in-house training programs, earning numerous awards for instructor excellence. She also served as partner-in-charge of the firm's National Business School for her industry group.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
- Production Designer
Nelson Coates is an award-winning Production Designer for film, television, and theater. The fourth of five children of Abilene Christian University professors Drs. Ed & Jane Coates, Nelson graduated magna cum laude from ACU with a BA in Journalism/Mass Communications with an emphasis in design, and a minor in Biology. He was involved in more than 30 collegiate and professional theatre productions while in college, and went on to perform Off-Broadway, in regional theatre, and film & television, and subsequently began his career in theatrical feature film production design.
Coates was nominated for an Emmy® Award for his work on the eight-hour miniseries STEPHEN KING'S THE STAND for which he designed 225 sets and locations. He was named Abilene Christian University's Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year in 1996, and was recipient of the ACU JMC Department's Gutenberg Award. In 2013, Coates was nominated by the Art Directors Guild for Outstanding Contemporary Film Design for his work on FLIGHT, and in 2019 won that category for his Production Design of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. Other Art Directors Guild nominations include "The Morning Show" for AppleTV+, and the feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony® winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS.
Nelson's film design work includes such hits as THE PROPOSAL, FIFTY SHADES DARKER, FIFTY SHADES FREED, MURDER AT 1600, KISS THE GIRLS, ANTWONE FISHER, RUNAWAY JURY, BIG MIRACLE, THE GUILT TRIP, ON THE BASIS OF SEX chronicling Justice Ginsburg's work on gender discrimination, and most recently, Disney's HOCUS POCUS 2. Coates recently was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from his adopted hometown of Abilene, Texas, and the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council.
Coates is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Television Academy. He currently serves as President of the Art Directors Guild and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Designers Branch of the Academy.
Richard Holbrook has been helping companies create innovative and commercially successful products and brand positioning strategies for over thirty five years. As a 1981 Industrial Design graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design, he was recruited by several international automobile brands, and accepted a position with PSA Peugeot Citroen as part of the company's first Global Design Center in Paris, France.
In 1985 he left PSA and established his independent studio with initial clients Casablanca Fan, Dacor, Herman Miller, Thermador, Tropitone Furniture and other industry leadings brands. In 2000, Holbrook formed dna, a joint venture with client Teknion,. As CEO and Creative Director, Holbrook led a team that designed and delivered a new line of products including seating, storage, desks and accessories, as well as a ground-breaking website created to allow customers to specify custom configurations with a drag-and-drop interface. In 2003 Holbrook returned to his independent product development practice, initiating projects with new partners including Bernhardt Design, Brown Jordan International, Gunlocke Furniture, Office Depot and Staples.
Upon graduation from UW, Ron accepted a position with Wimberly, Whisenand, Allison, Tong & Goo, Architects (now known as WATG) in Honolulu, Hawaii. With offices in the Irvine, Los Angeles, New York, London, Cairo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Hawaii. WATG is recognized as one of the leading architecture, planning, interior design and strategy consulting firms specializing in hospitality, leisure, and entertainment design around the world.
Known for his direct involvement with projects, Ron gained invaluable knowledge of cultural variations in design and business while working with clients around the globe. He came to epitomize his firm's commitment to a dynamic, personal approach by its leaders. Serving as President and CEO of WATG from 1993-2009 he led the firm through successive years of growth and expanded the firm's operations to be truly global. Formally retiring after 40 years with the firm Ron continues to serve in an advisory role.
Ron is a 2001 North Dakota State University Alumni Achievement Award Honoree, and currently serves as a NDSU Foundation Trustee, and a member of the NDSU School of Design, Architecture and Art Advisory Board. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Over the years he has served on numerous advisory boards and organization panels.
Ron Holecek grew up on a farm & ranch in southwestern North Dakota and pursued his love of drawing and making things through the study of architecture at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Principal Consultant at SRTully
- Founder, Principal Consultant, SRTully & Associates
Steve is the founder and principal consultant at SRTully & associates. As an accomplished executive coach and business consultant, he specializes in empowering mid to senior-level managers through pivotal career transitions in the action sports and consumer products world. He has a deep background in the consumer products industry, with extensive experience in sales, marketing, and operations across wholesale, traditional retail, and DTC channels. Steve's held President-level leadership roles at renowned action sports companies including Quiksilver, Roxy, Vix Luxury Brazilian Swimwear, and Neff Headwear.
Suzanne Chonette was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. After moving to the United States, she attended Simmons College and the Museum School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Marriage intervened and after a hiatus as wife and mother of five children, she returned to academic studies when her youngest began high school. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Art Institute of Southern California, renamed Laguna College of Art and Design, in 1990. Suzanne's representational works are primarily in pastel and oil. She has been an active participant in Orange County philanthropies for the past 40 years holding many offices and chairs. As a former oboe player, Suzanne has a great love of symphonic music. She has been a Pacific Symphony Board member for the past 12 years and is currently a Life Board member. Suzanne's current priorities include the support of performing and visual arts education for the youth of our community.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Terry was selected to join the USO as an entertainer during the Vietnam War. Following two overseas tours, he began his early career in the field of college student services, eventually culminating as the dean of men at Tulane University.
Some forty years later, Terry retired as a fundraising executive and consultant, primarily for higher education institutions and performing arts centers. He served as vice-chancellor for advancement at the University of California, Santa Cruz, directed the first capital campaign at UC, Irvine, was the VP of development at Pitzer College, directed the campaign to build the Orange County Performing Arts Center's concert hall, and most recently, managed the completion of the capital drive to fund the new Smith Center for Performing Arts (Las Vegas),
Terry's consulting clients included LCAD, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Chapman University, St. Jude's Ranch (Las Vegas), and the Orange County Museum of Art.
An avid hiker and traveler, he has summited Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Whitney, trekked to the base camp of Mount Everest, completed the Inca Trail, and traversed the Grand Canyon.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Attorney at Law at the Collins Firm
Zeina J. Collins is an attorney, philanthropist, business owner, author, and fashion enthusiast, recently featured by Riviera Magazine as a Woman of
Style. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, she left the country during its civil war to relocate to the U.S., a move that made her what she considers, the definition
of the American Dream. After graduating from UCI and earning a B.S. in Biology, Zeina received her Juris Doctor and is licensed to practice in
California and Hawaii. She currently manages a law firm in California where
she lives with her husband and four children. Zeina is the author of Haute Mama, a modern-day no-nonsense book on balancing motherhood, love, a career, health and happiness with style and grace.