Beyond the Boardroom

Karen Johnson

Author: Alexandra Russell
Dec, 2008 Issue

Karen Johnson’s interest in community service and philanthropy started early. She remembers: “I was 11 years old when John F. Kennedy said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ My father explained we each have a responsibility to protect the rights of all people and make sure all Americans are cared for. From that moment on, I was hooked.”
Prior to becoming director of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa four years ago, Johnson was director of Gilda’s Club of Northern New Jersey (a family-centric cancer support system). But she’s no North Bay newcomer. Her East Coast tenure began only a few years earlier—following a 16-year stint as executive director of the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County. We’re glad to have her back.

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Dennis Pedisich

Author: Alexandra Russell
Nov, 2008 Issue

Even though he graduated from Santa Clara University with degrees in history and agribusiness, Dennis Pedisich has always worked professionally as a banker. “It was a tough economic environment then [in the late 1970s], and one of the few industries hiring was banks. My first job was as an agricultural loan officer in Fresno. Here I am, 31 years later, still in banking.”

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Gladys Horiuchi

Author: Alexandra Russell
Special Wine Issue, Oct, 2008

As manager of communications for the Wine Institute, a nonprofit advocacy association of more than 1,100 California wineries and affiliated businesses, Gladys Horiuchi spends her time thinking of ways to promote California wineries and wine (How hard can that be?) And as a communicator for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, she also helps encourage the adoption of environmentally friendly winegrowing and winemaking practices.
“I studied to be an English and journalism teacher for junior high or high school,” says the Mill Valley resident. “And I actually taught for six months when an English teacher left on maternity leave mid-year.” But Horiuchi’s career led her down a different path instead.

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Greg Valliere

Columnist: Alexandra Russell
Oct, 2008 Issue

In Marin, you never know when you’ll encounter a famous face at the local market. That’s because the county is home to more than a few rock stars, movie stars and entertainment moguls. It’s also home to a whole host of business and industry leaders whom, though powerful, may be harder to pick out of the crowd. Now meet Greg Valliere, who straddles that line.

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