Administrative Senior Staff

Leslie E. Stocker Jr.

President

A California native, Mr. Stocker holds a master's in communications from California State University, Fullerton, and a certificate in executive business management from University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career at Braille Institute in 1979 as Director of Development and was promoted to Assistant Executive Director in 1984, becoming President in 1995. He is the fifth person to lead the 90-year-old Braille Institute. He also is active in community service, including membership in the Rotary Club of Los Angeles.

Peter A. Mindnich

Executive Vice President

Mr. Mindnich holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California (USC). He brings with him a broad and complementary set of educational and professional skills and experiences from both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. After spending more than 30 years in the financial services industry as a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Company, he later continued his career in the investment management sector of the industry, until he retired from BlackRock, Inc. in 2008.

Peter’s experience was further developed at the USC School of Social Work, where he completed field internships at Long Beach based St. Mary Hospital’s C.A.R.E. Program, which provides services to HIV positive adults, and U.S. VETS, a Los Angeles headquartered organization that provides a broad range of services to veterans transitioning back to civilian life.

Sally H. Jameson

Vice President of Programs and Services

Mrs. Jameson received her MBA from Pepperdine University, has done graduate work at the University of Southern California and also holds a bachelor's degree from Drake University in Iowa. She has more than 25 years of fundraising and public relations experience in the nonprofit sector. She is an educator and administrator who taught public relations through UCLA Extension for 15 years. Prior to joining the Institute, she taught management classes in the school of business at Woodbury University while serving there as Vice President of Marketing and Director of Development. She joined Braille Institute as the Director of Communications in 1990 and served in that capacity for eight years. In 1998 she was appointed Vice President of Development and Communications until assuming her role as Vice President of Programs and Services in 2001.

Reza Rahman

Vice President of Finance & Chief Financial Officer

Reza Rahman was born in Bangladesh and received his early education there before coming to the United States in 1981. Here, he earned his BA and MBA from the University of Central Oklahoma, formerly Central State University of Oklahoma.

In 1985 Mr. Rahman came to Los Angeles in search of work. He loved the weather and soon found work as an accountant for a life insurance company. While working, he studied for his certification as a CPA and received his license. Then he saw an ad by the Institute for an Assistant Director of Financial Services. He applied and was hired immediately. His excellent work in this area for a number of years has resulted in his being named Assistant Corporate Treasurer and Vice President of Finance.

David L. Burkhardt

Vice President of Development

A California native, Mr. Burkhardt holds a master’s degree in mass communications from San José State University. He began his career in the nonprofit sector in 1980 with the United Way of Santa Clara County, and since that time has helped to raise funds for a number of this country’s leading nonprofit organizations. Following United Way, Mr. Burkhardt became a campaign consultant for CCS, serving on the successful “Save the Cable Cars Campaign” team in San Francisco, among other assignments. He later served as Development Director for The Phoenix Zoo, National Vice President of Development for Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership, and then President/CEO of Northridge Hospital Foundation. In 2002, Mr. Burkhardt joined Braille Institute as Vice President of Development, where he leads the Institute’s fundraising program.

Anthony Joji Taketa

Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of the Board

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Anthony Joji Taketa attended Loyola high school, followed by Loyola Marymount and then UCLA Law School. After law school Mr. Taketa got a job with a firm in Fresno, Baker Manock & Jensen, one of Central California's largest law firms, where he specialized in litigation, both business-related and medical malpractice.

After four years Mr. Taketa moved back to Los Angeles to join the prestigious firm of Poindexter & Doutré, which has been the general legal counsel for Braille Institute for many years. He remained with this firm for more than 18 years, widening his experience with litigation relating to probate, construction, real estate and other areas. Here he acquired experience in dealing with various nonprofit organizations, including Braille Institute, which gave him a firm background for the job he now occupies with us, having come aboard in 2007.

Nancy N. Niebrugge*

Assistant Vice President of Programs and Services

Nancy directs the Institute’s national programs, including The Braille Challenge®, and oversees BIA’s marketing, public relations and volunteer services. She’s been with Braille Institute for 15 years, having served as director of both the braille publishing and communication departments. She is a member of several professional committees serving people who are blind or visually impaired, as well as being BIA’s trustee to the federal educational materials program administered by the American Printing House for the Blind and BIA’s representative to the national Councils for Schools for the Blind.

*(KNEE-brew-ghee)