LOS ALTOS HISTORY MUSEUM - Key Persons
Alex Wang serves on the public relations and nominating committees. A Realtor in Silicon Valley since 1999, he is the founder of Rainmaker Real Estate, a boutique residential real estate brokerage headquartered in Los Altos. Alex is a UC Berkeley alum and a graduate of the Influence and Negotiation Strategies Program at Stanford University. He is bilingual in English and Mandarin, is passionate about cross-cultural work and community charity involvement, and enjoys rock climbing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Alex lives in Los Altos with his wife and three children.
Allison Aldrich has a background in management consulting, product design, and product management. She serves as the President of the Claremont McKenna College parent board and is an ex-officio member of their Board of Trustees. Allison is also actively involved in the Young Men's Service League and contributes as a Los Altos CERT and BAT member. Allison holds an MA in art history from George Washington University, and a BA in English and psychology from UNC Chapel Hill.
Audrey Hollenbeck is the youth representative of the board. She is a senior at Mountain View High School and has lived in Mountain View for 13 years and in Los Altos Hills for five years. She has been a teen docent at the History Museum for the last three years, and was Teen Docent Manager last year, scheduling trainings and shifts for the teen docents, and volunteers with events such as Train Days and Dancing through the Decades. It is her dream to have a career at a history museum after college.
Barbara Klein is responsible for bookkeeping and accounting. A retired professional as Director of Housing Programs in the Office of the Provost at Stanford University, she has a strong background in accounting and finance with a degree from the University of Cincinnati. Residing in Los Altos for over 40 years, Barbara now enjoys her part-time job and actively volunteers at the Museum's Store and special events. She enjoys knitting and spending quality time with her family.
Christopher Fling is an eight-year resident of Los Altos and has volunteered at the Museum as a docent and Store helper since 2022. A 20-year veteran real estate agent, he founded Fling Yang & Associates with partner Karen Yang in 2015. Christopher has held past board positions with the American Heart Association and local food banks. He holds an MA in organizational management from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Consuelo Mendez worked forty years grafting tree seedlings at Brokaw Nursery, then retired, but came back to work because Social Security benefits didn't cover her bills. " I consider myself a skilled worker," she says. "I know all aspects of the nursery work, which is a reason why I'm still here. I'm a little of an expert in almost everything. This job is very different from picking strawberries, what I did before coming here." Workers at Brokaw joined the United Farm Workers in the 1970s. They no longer have a union contract, but Mendez' seniority still protected her job.
Consuelo Méndez trabajó cuarenta años injertando brotes de árboles en el Vivero Brokaw, posteriormente se jubiló, pero volvió a trabajar porque los beneficios del Seguro Social eran insuficientes. "Me considero una trabajadora calificada", comenta. "Conozco todos los aspectos del trabajo en viveros, lo que explica porque todavía estoy aquí. Soy como un poco experta en casi todo. Este trabajo es muy diferente a la recolección de fresas, que es algo que hice antes de llegar aquí." En la década de 1970 los trabajadores de Brokaw se unieron a los United Farm Workers. Actualmente ya no tienen un contrato sindical, pero la antigüedad de Méndez aún la protege en su trabajo.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Diane Holcomb generates all publicity, manages communications and oversees the membership database. Previously she managed programs for Music for Minors and Hidden Villa, and was the book buyer for East West Bookshop in Mountain View. She also freelances as a copywriter for entrepreneurs and nonprofits. Diane has an AA degree in Theater Arts from Foothill College, and attended the American Conservatory Theater training program.
Elisabeth Ward grew up in Southern California and spent her summers with family in Iceland. She holds a Master's degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Museum Studies, and a PhD in Scandinavian Languages and Literature from University of California, Berkeley. Before coming to Los Altos History Museum, she worked at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Museum and at Pacific Lutheran University.
Gerri Acers serves on the Education Committee. She has lived in Los Altos for 43 years and worked as a former teacher and school administrator in San Mateo/Foster City School District for 28 years. Her career also included 15 years with the New Teacher Center, a national education nonprofit mentoring teachers. Gerri is a member of the Foothill College Commission, Mountain View/Los Altos Scholars, Los Altos Rotary and the Museum's Education Committee. She holds a master's degree in public administration from Santa Clara University.
Janet Klinke is a past Docent Committee chair and Nominating Committee chair, and volunteers as a docent. A Los Altos resident since 1982, she was a Scout leader and St. William School Board Member before embarking on a 30-year career in the healthcare field, initially for a local business owner, and then for the County of Santa Clara managing IT systems and solutions for Valley Health Plan. Originally from Chicago, Janet holds a BA from St. Xavier University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- Secretary
Jay Thomas is secretary of the board. With a distinguished career in the technology industry, Jay held numerous executive positions before retiring. His commitment to education is evident through his previous role as the president of the Los Altos Education Foundation (LAEF) and his 12-year tenure as an elected member of the Los Altos School District (LASD) Board, including three terms as Board President. He earned an MS in communications systems engineering from Santa Clara University, and a BS in electrical engineering from Cal Poly.
Jordan Grealish is responsible for the Museum's Changing Exhibit program, which oversees two gallery spaces: the Main Gallery and the J. Gilbert Smith Gallery. A Texas native, she received a BA in History with a minor in Museum Studies from Baylor University, where she worked with Waco's Dr. Pepper Museum. She has worked with the Museum's Collections in varying roles since 2020. She and her husband reside in San Jose, where she enjoys attending the theatre, hiking, and their two cats Brie and Peaches.
Job Titles:
- Worker from Sahuayo, Michoacan, Lives in a Settlement of Trailers in Raisin City
Jose Chavarria, a farm worker from Sahuayo, Michoacan, lives in a settlement of trailers in Raisin City.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Fundraising Committee
Kelly Davis is chair of the Fundraising Committee. She works as an account relationship manager for Pinnacle Bank in Los Altos, and previously at Boston Private Bank. Earlier, she spent 15 years as regional manager at Heritage Bank of Commerce. She serves on the board of the Foothill-DeAnza Foundation and has served on the boards of the Los Altos Village Association, the Endowment Fund of the Junior League Palo Alto-MidPeninsula, the Palo Alto Red Cross and is a member of the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce. An accomplished equestrian, Kelly enjoys riding and competing.
Ken Buscho oversees the Museum's operations. A Central Valley native, he ventured to Humboldt State to pursue a degree in botany and spent several seasons as a naturalist in redwood parks before shifting his focus to study computer science in Chico. His professional journey led him to work as a programmer and trainer for various Bay Area companies, including Google and Stanford Hospital, managing IT support organizations. Ken has been a dedicated search and rescue volunteer since the mid-80s.
Job Titles:
- 2nd Vice President
- Member of the Executive Team
Kuljeet Kalkat is a long-term resident of Los Altos. He spent over 30 years in product development and management in the computer industry and today mentors clean technology startups. From 1991-98 he and his wife ran a small business in downtown Los Altos. He serves as chair of the Los Altos Financial Commission and on the board of the Community Service Agency for Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. He holds electrical engineering and economics degrees from University of Maryland and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- President
- President, Chair of the Governance Committee
Larry Lang is president, chair of the Governance Committee, a member of the Oral Histories Committee, and previously served as 1st and 2nd vice president. He currently serves on the Los Altos Historical Commission. A Bay Area resident since 1991, he moved from New Jersey to join Cisco. His current work focuses on start-ups, most recently as CEO of RF Pixels. He enjoys traveling with his family, including visits to many US Civil War battlefields and Roman Ruins. He holds engineering degrees from Stanford and Duke.
Job Titles:
- Education and Volunteer Coordinator
Lillie Moore is responsible for recruiting, training, and scheduling volunteers, and for developing offerings that enhance the Museum's educational program. She holds a BA in History from Virginia Tech, along with a minor in GIS/Remote Sensing. Originally from Georgia, Lillie spent four years volunteering at the Fernbank Natural History Museum in Atlanta. She now resides in Santa Clara where she worked as a private history tutor before joining the Los Altos History Museum staff.
Job Titles:
- Rental Events Marketing Manager
Lisa Porter is the point person for weddings and external rental events, with additional support in marketing and volunteer recruitment. Previously, she worked as the Marketing Manager for an e-commerce company, and was the Publications Specialist for the Milpitas Unified School District Adult Ed. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Lisa recently spent almost a decade living on the East Coast. She is a painter and creator and shows her art at venues and events throughout the area and online.
Job Titles:
- Trabajador
- Worker in a Crew of Mexican
Lucas Carina is the most experienced worker in a crew of Mexican farm workers grafting pistachio trees in an orchard near Caruthers.
Lucas Carina es el trabajador más experimentado en una cuadrilla de trabajadores agrícolas mexicanos que injerta árboles de pistache en un huerto cerca de Caruthers.
Luisa Bautista viste a sus dos hijas, Julia Jasmín López y Luz Esbeidy López con prendas bordadas de su pueblo natal, San Pablo Tijaltepec.
Gloria Merino, a Triqui woman, practices as a curandera, or traditional doctor, and a partera, or midwife. Many Triqui migrants prefer the traditional medicine she practices to going to a hospital or western doctor. She holds a bundle of the different herbs she uses in making remedies for various illnesses or problems. "I make a living now working as a curandera," she says, "and I also collect cans to recycle. Many people still bring their children to me. I even cure adults. It was hard to get all of the herbs at first here in this country, but I grow many of them now. I've met a lot of people from Salinas, King City, Chualar, Santa Rosa, Soledad and other places, who want me to heal them."
Gloria Merino, una mujer triqui, es una curandera -practica la medicina tradicional, y también es partera, es decir, comadrona. Muchos migrantes triquis prefieren la medicina tradicional que ella practica a acudir a un hospital o a un médico occidental. Ella está sosteniendo un manojo con las diferentes hierbas que utiliza para aliviar diversas enfermedades o padecimientos. "Ahora me gano la vida trabajando como curandera", comenta,"y también recolectando latas para reciclar. Muchas personas todavía me traen sus hijos para que yo los cure. También atiendo a los adultos. Al principio era difícil conseguir todas las hierbas en este país, pero ahora cultivo muchas de ellas. He conocido a mucha gente de Salinas, King City, Chualar, Santa Rosa, Soledad y otros lugares que quieren que yo los cure".
Rafael Flores, an organizer of one of the dance groups at the Guelaguetza, says, "Oaxacan dances are very different. They are more like a ceremony of respect. We represent our people by our dance. Many families have children born here. They assimilate into this country and don't know their own culture. If the parents don't know their own culture, then the children just take in American culture. Many Oaxacan youth see themselves as American and not Oaxacan. It's important for us not only to learn English, but also to know our history and remember our ancestors."
Manuel Garcia, a farm worker from Esteli, Nicaragua, shows the juice from trimming tobacco plants on his hands and arms. He absorbs nicotine from it, but the rancher discourages workers from wearing gloves, saying that it would cause them to harm the plants. Tobacco juice is the source of green tobacco sickness, an occupational health hazard. "I feel it as soon as I start work," he says. "Then, after my body gets used to it, I can hardly feel it at all. But I know I'm absorbing it all day."
Manuel García, un trabajador agrícola de Estelí, Nicaragua, muestra sus manos y brazos manchadas de jugo por recortar las plantas de tabaco. Manuel absorbe la nicotina de la planta, pero el productor les pide a los trabajadores no usar guantes, argumentando que dañarían las plantas. El jugo del tabaco es la fuente de la enfermedad del tabaco verde, un riesgo ocupacional. "Siento los síntomas tan pronto como empiezo a trabajar", comenta. "Pero una vez que mi cuerpo se acostumbra, no siento absolutamente nada. Pero estoy conciente de que lo estoy absorbiendo todo el día".
Margo Horn serves on the Collections Committee. In 1985, she began teaching in the Stanford Department of History. Her research and teaching combines interests in US women's history and the history of medicine. She is serving her second term on the Los Altos Historical Commission, and is a founding member of the Los Altos Affordable Housing Alliance. Margo received her AB in History from UC Santa Cruz, and MA and PhD from Tufts University. She is active in her synagogue and enjoys cooking.
Maria Perez works bent over strawberry plants all day. Strawberry picking is painful and exhausting. The earth in the beds is covered in plastic, while in between the workers walk in sand and mud. She and many members of her crew are Mixtec migrants from San Vincente in Oaxaca.
Rafael Flores, organizador de uno de los grupos de danza de la Guelaguetza, comenta, "los bailes oaxaqueños son muy diferentes. Son más como una ceremonia para demostrar respeto. Nosotros representamos a nuestro pueblo por medio de nuestra danza. Muchas familias tienen hijos nacidos aquí. Ellos se asimilan a este país y no conocen su propia cultura. Si los padres no conocen su propia cultura, entonces los niños simplemente adoptan la cultura americana. Muchos jóvenes de Oaxaca se ven a sí mismos como americanos y no como oaxaqueños. Por eso para nosotros es importante no sólo aprender inglés, sino también conocer nuestra historia y recordar a nuestros antepasados".
Job Titles:
- Head
- Jefe
- President of FUJ
Ramon Torres, head of the strike committee and president of Familias Unidas por la Justicia, talks to the strikers at Sakuma Farms about the effort to get the company to sign an agreement.
Sophia Abarca oversees the Museum's over 16,000 objects, artworks and paper archives. Native to the Bay Area, she grew up in South San Francisco. She earned a BA in Anthropology from San José State University and an MA in Museum Studies with an emphasis in Collections/Registration from San Francisco State University. Before coming to Los Altos, Sophia worked as the registrar for the Hayward Area Historical Society. She enjoys hiking, reading, and playing with her Labradoodle.
Tyler Furuichi serves on the garden and orchard commons committees. His early experiences working at his family's Los Altos Nursery (opened by the Furuichis in 1918) inspired him to pursue a career in landscape design. He studied horticulture with an emphasis in residential landscape design at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he graduated with a BS in Environmental Horticultural Science. In 2008, Tyler founded his landscape design and consultation business, Furuichi Design, which he has expanded to cover territories from Burlingame to Morgan Hill.
Valeria Alvarado is a Mixtec immigrant from Oaxaca, and lives in a trailer in Toolville with her husband, son and three daughters. She is a leader of the community's effort to gain safe drinking water. Residents of Toolville have discovered dangerous concentrations of nitrates in their water supply, because of the fertilizers in runoff from irrigating surrounding farms. Residents can use the water from their taps for washing dishes and clothes, but have to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Valeria Alvarado es una inmigrante mixteca de Oaxaca y vive en un remolque en Toolville con su esposo, su hijo y tres hijas. Ella es una de las líderes que dirige el esfuerzo de la comunidad para obtener agua potable. Los habitantes de Toolville han descubierto peligrosas concentraciones de nitratos en el suministro de agua causados por los residuos de fertilizantes en los canales de riego de los campos de cultivo en los alrededores. Pueden utilizar el agua del grifo para lavar los platos y la ropa, sin embargo tienen que comprar agua embotellada para beber y cocinar.
Job Titles:
- 1st Vice President
- Member of the Executive Team
Victoria Holman is 1st vice president and previously served as secretary. She manages Los Altos History Museum's Store, helps lead 3rd -and 4th-grade school tours, and serves on the Volunteer Development Committee. A Mountain View resident, Vicki taught in a San Jose elementary school for 30 years. She is president of the Santa Clara Reading Council, and led the Reading Conference at Asilomar for four years. Vicki holds a BA in Education from San Jose State with additional studies in special ed, and earned an Elementary Teaching Credential.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Team
- Treasurer
Gerri Acers serves on the Education Committee. She has lived in Los Altos for 43 years and worked as a former teacher and school administrator in San Mateo/Foster City School District for 28 years. Her career also included 15 years with the New Teacher Center, a national education nonprofit mentoring teachers. Gerri is a member of the Foothill College Commission, Mountain View/Los Altos Scholars, Los Altos Rotary and the Museum's Education Committee. She holds a master's degree in public administration from Santa Clara University.
Wayne Hooper is treasurer, a member of the facilities and Smith House committees, and a Museum docent. He is a native Californian and has lived in Los Altos since 1976. He spent his professional career at Santa Clara Unified School District, retiring as the District's Assistant Superintendent - Business Services. Wayne holds a BA in Business from San Francisco State University, an MA in Business from San Jose State University, and MAs in pupil personnel/guidance and school business management from Santa Clara University.
Wynn Belton has been a resident of the area for 44 years. He brings a strong background in technology sales and a deep commitment to the community. After graduating from Los Altos High School, he earned a BA in political science from UC Berkeley. Currently, he leads the global cyber security sales organization at Palo Alto Networks. Outside of work, Wynn finds joy in playing basketball, international travel, hiking, and supporting his children's diverse activities on the weekends.