The Academy welcomes twelve new members to its Board of Trustees

SAN FRANCISCO (September 25, 2019)—The Chair of the Board of Trustees of the California Academy of Sciences, Elizabeth “Liebe” Patterson, is pleased to announce that twelve new members have been elected to the Academy's Board of Trustees. These new members join the Board as the Academy celebrates the eleventh anniversary of its groundbreaking green building in Golden Gate Park. The only place in the world to house an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum under one living roof, the Academy is also home to world-class scientific research, sustainability, and environmental education programs that support the institution’s mission to explore, explain, and sustain life. The new Board members are:

John Adams is the Chief Operating and Strategy Officer in the wholesale division of Wells Fargo. Prior, from 2015 to 2018, he was Executive Vice President and Commercial Banking Group Head at Wells Fargo. From 2003 to 2015, he was Executive Vice President and Regional Group Head Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo, and from 1997 to 2003, he was Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Regional Manager at Wells Fargo. Adams received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from California State University, Chico in 1985 and an MBA from Golden Gate University in 1991. In addition, he attended Pacific Coast Banking School from 1994 to 1996, received executive education from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2002, and additional executive education from Harvard Business School in 2012.

Felicia Chiu is the Director of Public Equities and Fixed Income at the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation. Before joining the foundation, Chiu was an analyst in the value group at Farallon Capital Management, where she invested in equity and credit opportunities across a number of sectors. Previously, she served as an associate at Hellman & Friedman, a private-equity investment firm. Chiu has also held positions in the office of the CEO and COO and corporate development and strategy group at Barclays Global Investors, and in the mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings and real estate groups at Morgan Stanley. Chiu graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a BS in economics. She serves on the Board of Cow Hollow School and the investment committee at the San Francisco Day School.

Marc Ebbin is a principal at Ebbin Moser & Skaggs, where he focuses on state and federal environmental and natural resources laws and regulations. He currently advises public and private clients throughout the West, including government agencies, corporate and development interests, private landowners, and land conservancies. He is also counsel for the State of California on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan/California WaterFix and is outside counsel to the California High-Speed Rail Authority on environmental matters. Ebbin’s background includes serving from 1993 to 1998 in the Clinton Administration as Special Assistant to Secretary Bruce Babbitt of the United States Department of the Interior and Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. While at the Interior Department, he was responsible for assisting in the development and implementation of policies concerning the Endangered Species Act, habitat conservation planning, and management and planning of national parks, among other responsibilities. He received a JD from the University of Wisconsin in 1988 and a BA from Hamilton College in 1983.

Jack Forestell is the Chief Product Officer at Visa Inc., where he is responsible for leading Visa’s global product strategy, development, and management. Prior to this role, Forestell was global head of Merchant & Acquirer Solutions, responsible for developing merchant-focused products and solutions that create operational efficiencies and assist merchants in meeting their business goals. Before joining Visa in 2014, Forestell spent 12 years at Capital One, most recently as head of Capital One Digital. In this role, he led online and mobile banking, mobile/emerging payments, digital product design and development, as well as Capital One Labs. Before that, he spent five years as head of Capital One’s US card customer portfolio. Prior to Capital One, Forestell was a senior partner and member of the Board of Directors of Mercer Management Consulting, where he advised retail clients throughout Europe and the US on brand strategy, network optimization, pricing, and promotion. Forestell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with Honors from the Ivey School at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Adam Gazzaley is currently The David Dolby Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco and the Founder/Executive Director of Neuroscape, a translational neuroscience center engaged in technology creation and scientific research. He designs and develops novel brain assessment and optimization tools to impact education, wellness, and medicine practices. Gazzaley is also co-founder and Chief Science Advisor of Akili Interactive, a company developing therapeutic video games, and co-founder and Chief Scientist of JAZZ Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in experiential technology to improve human performance. His research and perspectives have been consistently profiled in high-impact media, such as The New York Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, CNN, and NBC Nightly News. He wrote and hosted the nationally-televised PBS special “The Distracted Mind with Adam Gazzaley,” and co-authored the 2016 MIT Press book “The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World.” Gazzaley obtained an MD and a PhD in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, completed Neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley.

Naureen Hassan is the Chief Digital Officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, responsible for the business’s digital strategy and delivery. This includes digital and social marketing to help advisors grow their practices, new digital investment products for advisors to use with their clients and the online and mobile platforms used by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s 3.5 million clients. Previously, Hassan was the executive vice president leading Investor Services segments and platforms at Charles Schwab and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She also led the team that developed Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, an industry-leading automated investment advice product. During her time at Schwab, she also served as the Chief Operating Officer of Schwab Bank and was a member of its Board of Directors and had leadership roles in Schwab Advisor Services, the leading custodial platform for nearly 7,000 independent advisory firms. Hassan holds a BA from Princeton University, where she graduated magna cum laude, and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Jay Kahn is a Partner at Light Street Capital, a hedge fund based in San Francisco. The firm invests globally in public and private companies with a focus on technology and media. Kahn is responsible for Light Street’s public and private investments globally in the Internet and media sectors. In addition to managing Light Street's public investments in Internet and media, Kahn led Light Street's private investments in Uber, Lyft, Harry’s, Pinterest, Everlane, Spotify, Slack, Toast, EZCater, and Boxed. Prior to joining Light Street in 2011, Kahn was an Associate at Elevation Partners from 2006-2008, where he evaluated late stage growth and buyout investments in Internet and media. Prior to Elevation, Kahn was a Senior Associate Consultant at L.E.K. Consulting from 2003 to 2006. Jay holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, 2010, and a BA in Quantitative Economics from Tufts University, where he graduated magna cum laude, 2002.

Rebecca Lin has been an artist all her life, even when she was majoring in physics at Harvard, managing Zappos.com's corporate real estate needs, or storyboarding at Disney TV. Her credits include the 101 Dalmatians series, Hercules series, House of Mouse, Recess, Teacher’s Pet, Teamo Supremo, and the feature film Recess: School’s Out. Lin has also created pieces for clients as varied as Dodge & Cox, Community Bible Study, and various preschools and elementary schools.

Joe O’Donnell is a Partner at investment firm Tiger Global Management since 2013 where he helps oversee the public investment portfolio. Prior to Tiger Global, he was an investor at Luxor Capital Group in 2013, a Managing Director at Highside Capital Management from 2009 to 2013, and served in various roles in private equity and investment banking. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a degree in Mathematics & Economics from the University of California, San Diego. O’Donnell is an active contributor to a variety of charitable organizations, including Conservacion Patagonica, World Wildlife Fund, Teach for America, Yosemite Conservancy, and Muttville. His interests also include basketball, chess, and high altitude climbing.

Kirsten Rhodes is a Risk & Financial Advisory principal within Deloitte & Touche LLP, and serves as the San Francisco Managing Principal. In this role, she helps drive client and business growth, facilitate cross-functional teaming, and further enhance Deloitte’s strategic positioning in the San Francisco market. Rhodes has strong ties to the local community and served as a board director for the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose for a decade. Since leaving that board post, she has joined the executive board of the Bay Area Council, 2019. She received the 2018 Jefferson Award for her ongoing commitment to public service and previously served on the advisory board for the Jefferson Awards – Students in Action. Rhodes has received the 2017, 2016, and 2015 San Francisco Business Times “Most Influential Women Award” and the 2014 YWCA Tribute to Women Award for her outstanding contributions. Rhodes previously led Deloitte’s Inclusion (Diversity & Wellness) initiatives for the West Region. Additionally, Rhodes led Deloitte’s relationship with The Representation Project and has consulted with many Fortune 500 companies on how to build, innovate, and measure success on their respective Diversity & Inclusion and Women’s Initiatives.

Nicholas Simon is a Senior Managing Director in the Blackstone Life Sciences group, having joined Blackstone as part of its acquisition of Clarus in December 2018. Prior to joining Blackstone, Simon was co-founder and Managing Director of Clarus since the firm's inception in 2005. Simon has over 30 years of operating and investment experience in the healthcare sector, and has led investments in biotechnology, pharmaceutical company partnerships, and medical technology. Prior to Clarus, Simon was a General Partner at MPM Capital, a healthcare venture capital firm. Prior to MPM Capital he was with Genentech from 1989 to 2000 where he was Vice President of Business and Corporate Development. Simon is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Gritstone Oncology (NASDAQ: GRTS), Lycera, Nuvelution Pharma, Inc. and Sientra (NASDAQ:SIEN). Simon received a BS degree in microbiology from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Loyola University. Simon is a Trustee at The J. David Gladstone Institutes, a private not-for-profit research institute affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.

William H. Younger, Jr. is a Partner at Palo Alto venture capital firm Sutter Hill Ventures, which he joined in 1981. At Sutter Hill, he has worked with entrepreneurs in the technology and medical fields. Younger is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gladstone Institutes Foundation and recently finished service on the Board of Directors of Stanford Health Care. Since 2017, he has been a member of the Cabinet for Stanford Medicine. Younger was also President of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists, Chair of the Venture Capital Committees of the Stanford GSB Trust and the Duke Engineering School, and President of the Menlo Atherton High School Foundation. Younger received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1972. From 1972 to 1973, he was Lieutenant Junior Grade in the US Public Health Service. Additionally, Younger received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. From 1975 to 1981, he worked at Cummins Engine Company.