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Leadership: Board of Directors, Committees and Staff
For 90 years, Braille Institute has been guided by the wisdom and tireless expertise of a generous Board of Directors and a capable and knowledgeable staff who have enabled us to become an organization bringing hope and confidence to thousands of people who are blind or visually impaired.
Board of Directors
Medical Advisory Board
Regional Committees
Senior Staff
Staff Directory
Board of Directors
Chairman
James H. Jackson**
Vice President, Strategic Planning, Alisal Properties
Vice Chairman
James J. Rhodes*
Managing Partner, Proteus Environmental Technologies
Secretary
Delores Louie*
Treasurer
Lester M. Sussman, C.P.A.*
Managing Director, Resources Audit Solutions
Members
James B. Boyle Jr.
Boyle, Olson & Robinson, Attorneys at Law
Virginia M. Braun*
Thomas K. Callister
Resource Management & Marketing Solutions
Michael C. Corley
KPMG LLP
Caryl O. Crahan
Edmond R. Davis
Davis & Whalen, L.L.P., Attorneys at Law
Nancy N. Davis
Vice President Foundation Services, Whittier Trust Company
Percy Duran III
Richard C. Larson*
Mortgage Consultant
Michael J. D. Lindsay*
John F. Llewellyn*
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries
Brent Mayne*
Frank R. Miller Jr., C.P.A.
Richard A. Nelson*
Consultant
John G. Nuanes
Ronald E. Smith, M.D.
Professor and Chairman, USC School of Medicine,
Ophthalmology Department; Doheny Eye Institute
Harvey Strode
Philip V. Swan*
Private Trustee
George E. Thomas
Thomas Partners Investments, L.L.C.
Howard O. Wilson*
Consultant
Diane Wilkinson
Life Member
Frank L. Mallory
Advisory Partner, Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher,
Attorneys at Law
** Executive Committee Chairman
* Executive Committee Member
Medical Advisory Board
Mark Borchert, M.D.
Richard Casey, M.D.
Ron Gallemore, M.D., Ph.D.
Bartly J. Mondino, M.D.
Steven Schwartz, M.D.
Ronald Smith, M.D.
Bill Takeshita, O.D., F.A.A.O., F.C.O.V.D.
Regional Committees
Orange County
Brent Mayne*
Charles Caldwell
Thomas K. Callister
Ted Konopsis
Richard A. Nelson
Willard S. Voit
Howard Wilson
San Diego
John C. Westwater*
Russell W. Kirbey
Roger L. McNitt, Esq.
Bertha Melgoza, Ph.D.
Santa Barbara
Caryl O. Crahan*
Joan Lévy
Frank R. Miller, Jr.
*Chairperson
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 and Town Hall of California.
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
Assistant Corporate Treasurer and
Vice President of Finance
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
Mr. Burkhardt received his bachelor's degree in humanities at California State University, Chico, and his master's degree in mass communications at San Jose State University. Before joining Braille Institute in February 2002, he served as President/CEO of the Northridge Hospital Foundation. He also spent three years as National Vice President of Development for the Hugh O'Brian Youth Foundation and five years as Development Director for the Arizona Zoological Society. Mr. Burkhardt is also the current president of the Northridge/Chatsworth Rotary Club.
Kathleen M. Ash
Vice President of Operations
A California native, Kathy Ash comes to us with an impressive background in business, education, finance and operations. She was born and raised in Inglewood and attended elementary and high school in Playa Del Rey, where she currently resides. She received a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, then went on to a master's in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.
She stayed at USC as a member of the budget advisory committee and went on to other financial and advisory positions there, culminating in her appointment as Executive Director of Administrative Services for USC's School of Engineering. Following this, she became involved in teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which led to her being chosen as Director of Finance and Operations at the prestigious Marlborough School in Los Angeles. She came to Braille Institute in 2007, realizing her career objective as an executive in a nonprofit organization, "whose mission [she is] passionate about."
Anthony Joji Taketa
Vice President, Assistant Corporate Secretary and General Counsel
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
Ms. Niebrugge is the Assistant Vice President of Programs and Services for Braille Institute. She oversees the Institute’s Digital Media, Communications and Volunteer Services. She also is the program director for BIA’s annual braille reading and writing contest for school-age children in the U.S. and Canada, The Braille Challenge™.
Ms. Niebrugge serves on several committees involved with improving the literacy rate of blind schoolchildren. She leads the Institute’s Braille Challenge™ National Advisory Committee, is BIA’s trustee to the federal educational materials program administered by the American Printing House for the Blind and serves on APH’s Educational Products Committee. She also is an active member of the California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped (CTEVH).
Ms. Niebrugge is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles and has been with Braille Institute for 12 years, having served as director of both the Braille Publishing and Communications departments. She has had more than 20 years of experience in marketing, communications and public relations. Prior to joining Braille Institute she worked at the West Coast headquarters for CIGNA Healthcare and was sole proprietor of her own public relations business.
*(KNEE-brew-ghee)
Victoria M. Liske
Assistant Vice President and Auxiliary Liaison
Mrs. Liske received both her master's degree in educational psychology and her bachelor's degree in child development from California State University, Northridge, with additional undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. With more than 15 years of previous experience working with children and families, she joined Braille Institute in 1985 as Director of Preschool Services. In 1989 she was given additional responsibilities as Director of Child Development and Youth Services and assumed her current position nine years later. Mrs. Liske is on the board of the Infant Development Association and is a member of the Pasadena Junior Philharmonic Association.
Staff Directory
Click on the link below to download a complete list of Braille Institute’s staff.
Staff Directory. 108 kilobytes PDF download. (108 Kb Download PDF viewer, Acrobat Reader, from adobe.com)
