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Gayle Cahill
In May 2002 Gayle joined the City Attorney's Office as a Deputy City Attorney
on the Trial Team. Her practice currently revolves around a single piece of
affirmative litigation brought by the city involving construction of SF
International Airport. She received a BA, summa cum laude, from Concordia
College and a JD, Order of the Coif, from University of Minnesota. When asked
why she is interested in Equal Access, Gayle responded, "I'm excited by the
opportunity to help bring meaningful change to the lives of Equal Access
'clients'-through programs that are deeply respectful of their native culture
and highly valued".
Mark Gunther (Chair)
Mark Gunther began his career organizing food cooperatives, while working as a
cook and carpenter. Since 1980, as a manager in small businesses Mark has worked
in the catalog, periodical publishing, and consumer product industries, including
Mix Publications, publisher of the leading professional, audio and electronic
musical instrument magazines, and the Dinocardz Company, publisher of a series
of innovative, educational dinosaur products. He currently is a partner in Buddy
Rhodes Concrete Products, LLC. Mark spent ten years as a trustee, including
serving as treasurer and then president, of Presidio Hill School, California's
oldest, continuously operating progressive independent school. In addition to
his current duties with Equal Access, Mark is a trustee and Managing Director
of the Eva Gunther Foundation, a grantmaker focused on assisting programs which
improve girl's self esteem, and a Board member and chairman of the Building
Committee at Congregation Beth Sholom, San Francisco's largest Conservative
synagogue. Also a cyclist, he rides his bike about 7,000 miles per year.
Ronni Goldfarb (President and Executive Director)
Ronni is the Founder, President and Executive Director of Equal Access. In this capacity
she has worked closely with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to create the
Equal Access/UNDP Digital Broadcast Initiative and to launch an Asia Pacific Information
and Education Network which reaches millions of underserved people across Asia with vital
local language radio and multimedia development programming and thousands of communities
with complimentary leadership training. Ronni has been the President and Executive
Director of Equal Access since it's inception in 1999. Previously, as a Strategic
Communications and Business Development Consultant, Ronni has over 16 years experience
creating and implementing communications initiatives and programs for Fortune 100 and
500 Corporations and the for United Nations Agencies. Her work with the United Nations
includes strategic consulting for the UNDP Regional Bureau of Asia, the UN Conference
on Women, Beijing, and the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Ronni holds a Bachelor
of Arts Cum Laude from SUNY Buffalo and studied Cultural Anthropology and Media at
New York University and the New York School of Visual Arts.
Julie Gupta
Julie is an independent consultant focused on providing business and product strategy and implementation for media, Internet and technology companies at all stages of development. Previously, she was Executive Director of Product Strategy at AOL. Julie brings over 15 years of proven success in project leadership, business strategy and product management experience in for-profits and non-profits to her board role at Equal Access. She has been instrumental in managing successful teams at both startups and Fortune 500 companies charged with launching new product initiatives. Prior to AOL, she re-engineered a 150-year old non-profit organization to profitability and long-term sustainability. Julie has been an executive with multiple start-ups at early stages of their inception, developing and executing both long-term business strategies and the delivery of products and services. She has held key positions at Bain and Company, Sun Microsystems, and Kleiner Perkins-backed Corsair Communications. Additionally she co-founded Rentanything, an Internet marketplace known as the 'eBay for rentals'. Julie started her career at IBM. Julie has a Bachelors and Masters in Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Michael Kleeman
Michael Kleeman is currently at UCSD working with the School of International
Relations and the California
Institute of Telecommunications and Internet Technology (CALIT2) on
communications policy especially in
large distributed networks. He is also an independent consultant working with
major global customer and
network equipment manufacturers (HW and SW) and global carriers. This work is
focused on end to end user
experience and commercial opportunities. Formerly a Vice President at The
Boston Consulting Group, Director
at Arthur D. Little, and executive at Sprint, Mr. Kleeman has been involved
with numerous technology
companies in North America as advisor and executive. He has most recently
served as the Co-founder, Vice
President and Chief Technical Officer of Cometa Networks, a nationwide 802.11
firm, and before that Aerie
Networks, a US nationwide long distance fiber optic carrier and was also the
founding CTO of Global Telesystems
Group.
He holds an MA from the Claremont Graduate School, an undergraduate degree from
Syracuse University. He serves as the
National Chair of Strategy for the American Red Cross and the Marine Mammal
Center in Sausalito. Michael is also a
member of the Board of Advisors of CommNexus San Diego (formerly the San Diego
Technology Council) and an advisor
to Business for Social Responsibility. Previously he was a visiting fellow at
University of California Berkeley
(BRIE), a fellow of the BIOS Institute, a firm specializing in Complex Adaptive
Systems and served on the founding
Scientific Board of Science Foundation Ireland.
Sam Mills (Treasurer)
Sam Mills is writer, painter, therapist, husband and father of two children. He
practiced counseling at The Girard Lindsay Counseling Center and led special
education counseling at Castro Valley High School for seven years. An active
philanthropist for ten years, Sam has donor advised accounts with the Vanguard
Foundation, the Rudolf Steiner Foundation, and the East Bay Community Fund. Sam
has served as a director on two NGO boards, The 20/20 Foundation and the
Collective Heritage Institute. Sam is Annual Campaign Chair and heads the
Development Committee
Michael Novak
Mr. Michael Novak serves
as a senior advisor for many organizations doing business internationally. His
career originally centered in the software industry in Silicon Valley, and was
involved from the formation through public offering of several software
companies. For most of the past decade he has been directed towards
international business issues, concentrating on Asia. He has among other
positions served as President of Clarke Consulting Group a major U.S./Asia
intercultural consulting organization. As such he has been deeply involved in
the issue of international communications for such projects as the
International Space Station and many Japanese subsidiaries of US corporations.
He also served as the Asia VP for Sterling Software
He has also been involved in television production throughout much of his
career, and served on the development committee of KQED - San Francisco's major
PBS station. Mr. Novak has an MBA from the University of Michigan, and a
California CPA. A husband, father, and grandfather, he spends much of his time
in both Tokyo and in the US. His daughter Jennifer has been involved in PR for
many Silicon Valley companies, and his son Christopher designs racing
videogames for Microsoft in Washington. Mr. Novak is also an avid photographer.
Saswati Paul
Saswati recently returned to the practice of law after four years at home with her
children. She is currently a senior associate with Trucker Huss APC, an employee
benefits/ERISA specialty law firm based in San Francisco. Prior to February 2003,
she was with White & Case LLP and Baker & McKenzie. Before moving to the private
sector, she worked with the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. and San
Francisco, CA, for over seven years, enforcing fiduciary compliance under ERISA.
She began her legal career as the first Anheuser-Busch Fellow at the National
Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, and co-authored its first comprehensive
national audit on anti-Asian violence. She was appointed to the Maryland Governor's
Task Force on Anti-Asian Violence, and served as President of the Asian Pacific
American Bar Association Educational Fund of Washington, D.C.
In past years, she has also served on the boards of various Asian Pacific
American Bar Associations. She was instrumental in establishing the South Asian Bar
Association of Northern California's Hate Crimes Hotline. Saswati has also worked with
battered women and provided representation to indigent clients seeking political asylum
and/or facing deportation. While earning a B.A. in Economics from Yale University,
Saswati wrote her senior essay on the role of women in economic development. Saswati
continues to be involved with Yale by serving as an interviewer for its Alumni School
Committee. She also holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, where
she was the recipient of the Gryzmish and Dean's Funds Awards focusing on public
interest law. She is a member of the California, Maryland and District of Columbia Bars.
Kakoli Ray
Kakoli joined the Board of Directors of Equal Access in October 2005. Kakoli Ray
served as Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
in the Kyrgyz Republic for four years and her term was marked by the Mission's
expansion in several new interventions of importance to the Government of the Kyrgyz
Republic in the field of migration policy and management. She led negotiations for
concluding bilateral agreements, on counter trafficking, labor migration and in key
areas of technical cooperation between the IOM and the Government of the Kyrgyz
Republic, as well as with NGOs. Ms. Ray developed ground breaking programs in
counter trafficking, labor migration and technical and policy assistance to the
government and civil society. In 2004, Ms. Ray was awarded a medal of honor by
the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in recognition of her contribution to
development of migration policy in the country.
Ms. Ray has held posts at the Asia Foundation (where she served as
Regional Desk officer for South Asia), the International Rescue Committee (IRC),
The Soros Foundation and at the Council on Foreign Relations. While a Master's
student at Columbia University, Ms. Ray co-organized the first international
conference on displacement of indigenous peoples caused by the construction of
the Narmada Dam in western India. During her doctoral studies, Ms. Ray was a
fellow at the Transnationalism project at the University of Chicago.
Ms. Ray lectures and writes on development, the sociological and economic
implications of globalization- including gender and migration issues.
Presently (in 2005-2007) Kakoli is on parental leave at the IOM and remains
an official of the organization. During this period Ms. Ray is conducting
research and working on a book on minorities under the auspices of the European
Center on Minority Issues in Germany. Kakoli has a Doctorate in social sciences
and a Masters in international affairs and public policy, both from Columbia
University. She is married to Bharat Raj Pathak of Cornell University and
they have one daughter, Umika.
James Tobin
Mr. Tobin joined Equal Access' Board of Directors in October 2006. In January of
2006, James M. Tobin formed the Law Office of James M. Tobin to focus his practice
on the evolving convergence of the Internet and traditional telecommunications
industries, with emphasis on policy, regulatory issues and business transactions.
From 1990 until 2005, Mr. Tobin was the partner in charge of the San Francisco-based
telecommunications practice of Morrison & Foerster, a large international law firm.
Mr. Tobin has over thirty years of legal and business experience in the telecommunications
industry. Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Mr. Tobin held corporate offices as Senior
Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of ALC Communications Corp. (now part of
Global Crossing) and Vice President-Regulatory Affairs of Sprint. Mr. Tobin also served as a
member of the Board of Directors and Vice-Chairman of COMPTEL, the trade association of
competitive telecommunications service providers. Mr. Tobin also served as the Chairman
of the Board of Southern Pacific Telecommunications Company (predecessor company to
Qwest Communications) from 1991 through 1993.
Mr. Tobin's practice has focused on the transactional, regulatory,
and political aspects of the telecommunications and evolving internet industries, both
domestic and international. Mr. Tobin has counseled service providers (such as cellular
carriers, long distance carriers, local exchange carriers, and providers of enhanced and
Internet-related services), large users of communications services, and government regulators.
Mr. Tobin has lectured and spoken on telecommunications issues at the University
of California, Golden Gate University School of Law, the Institute of the Americas, California
Continuing Legal Education classes, and other industry and legal seminars in the United States,
Europe, and Latin America. In 2004, the San Francisco Magazine named Mr. Tobin one of Northern
California's Super Lawyers in Telecommunications, and Who's Who Legal, the International
Who's Who of Business Lawyers named him one of the world's finest Regulatory Communications
lawyers of the years 2005, 2006, and 2007. Mr. Tobin has been listed in Who's Who in
America and Who's Who in American Law for over fifteen years.
Diane de Terra, Ph.D., Professor
of Translation and Interpretation at the Monterey Institute of International
Studies
Diane de Terra was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Geneva and was a
professional associate at the East-West Center in Honolulu. She conducted
research in language policy and planning (in Southeast Asia and China),
administered a training program for Peace Corps-China and delivered an
international development studies program for foreign-service officers. She has
also worked as a conference interpreter and an international development
consultant.
John Gage, Chief Researcher and
Director of the Science Office, Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Mr. Gage attended the University of California, Berkeley, the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government and the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In 1999,
President Clinton appointed him to the Web Based Education Commission.
Kalon R. Gutierrez - Director, Brand Development, ZoomSystems
Kalon R. Gutierrez received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego
and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he attended as a Dean's Fellow.
During this time, he studied in both Spain and England, focusing on International Business and
Politics. Mr. Gutierrez began his career working for Andersen, LLP in strategic business consulting.
Following he moved to brand management, working for L'Oreal USA and Quest International in New York City.
He is currently directing business and brand development for ZoomSystems, the international pioneer
of automated retailing. Mr. Gutierrez has served as an Advance Team Member for Sir William Hague,
Prime Minister Candidate for the United Kingdom and was recently invited as a guest of President
Clinton's to Destroying the Color Line, featuring John Hope Franklin.
Yu Kakusaka, President of
Municipal Resource Planning Center, Tokyo
Mr. Kakusaka coordinates the activities of Equal Access in Japan. He is
President of Municipal Resource Planning in Tokyo and has extensive background
in urban planning in the developed and developing world, with experience in
South America, Africa and throughout Aisa. He has worked extensively in Sir
Edmund Hillary's Foundation in Nepal.
Avram Miller, CEO, The Avram
Miler Company
Avram Miller is CEO of The Avram Miller Company, a Strategy and Business
Development Corporation. His primary interests lie in the opportunities created
by the convergence of the communications, computer and media industries and
their global impact. Avram was one of the first individuals to recognize the
potential of the Internet to become a powerful new medium. In 2001, he was
listed as one of the top 100 dealmakers by Forbes Magazine. Avram joined Intel
Corp in 1984 and served as Vice President and Director of Corporate Business
Development until he resigned in 1999. While at Intel, he played a principle
role in establishing the companies venture activities and managed a billion
dollar plus portfolio. Before joining Intel, Avram held a number of senior
positions in the computer industry including serving as president of Franklin
Computer Corporation and as group manager at Digital Equipment Corporation. He
spent the majority of the 1970's applying computer technology to medical care.
Avram studied music and continues to play jazz piano in his spare time. He has
also held academic positions at the Medical School of Erasmus University in
Rotterdam and the Medical School of Tel Aviv University. Avram has served as a
director of numerous public and private companies. In addition to serving on
the board of Equal Access, he is Chairman Emeritus for Plugged-In, a non-profit
organization with the mission to bridge the technological gap between East Palo
Alto, California and the Silicon Valley. Miller is also a member of the Board
of Trustees for the California Institute of the Arts; an educational
institution dedicated to the careers of young professionals of the arts.
Kimberly Weichel
Kimberly Weichel is a social pioneer, educator, and specialist in global
communications, conflict resolution and cross-cultural projects. She has
directed international projects over the past 25 years in east and
southern Africa, Europe, the former Soviet Union, United States and with the
United Nations,particularly with women. Kim is co-founder of the Institute for
Peace Building, providing courses, training, mentoring and consulting in
Conflict resolution and peace leadership. She is president of the
United Nations Association of San Francisco and UN correspondent for the TV
program "Positive Spin". Kim is author of several books, most recently "Healing
the Heart of the World" www.kimweichel.org.
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