Cal Poly Foundation
Board Members

Douglas H. Austin earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1971. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Austin Veum Robbins Partners, a San Diego-based architecture firm. He also serves as managing partner of Avion Development, LLC, which specialized in development of high-density mixed-use developments.

Gary Bloom earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Cal Poly in 1982. He has served as a senior executive in several leading technology corporations, including Oracle, Symantec and Veritas. He serves as the founding chair of the board.

Paul Bonderson earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cal Poly in 1975. A co-founder and vice president-strategic development, retired, of Brocade Communication Systems, Inc., he has funded the Bonderson Projects Center, now under construction on the Cal Poly campus.

Richard Bradshaw earned his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Cal Poly in 1970. As executive director at Cooley Godward in Palo Alto, he currently serves on the firm’s Risk Management, Technology and Marketing Committees. Mr. Bradshaw has been a director of Montgomery Street Income Securities, Inc. (NYSE) since 1991 and currently serves as chairman.

Mary R. Crebassa earned her bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Cal Poly in 1979. She is currently senior partner-development manager at Microsoft, where she works with the media and entertainment industries.

Marilyn Edling recently retired from her post as vice president, enterprise storage and servers, Americans region, at Hewlett-Packard Company. In addition to her extensive career at Hewlett-Packard, Apollo Computer and a privately held manufacturing company, she has provided consulting for Fortune 500 companies. Her son, Matthew, is a 2002 political science graduate of Cal Poly.

Kenneth N. Edwards is currently Dunn-Edwards Corporation's chief executive officer and an advisor to Cal Poly’s Polymers and Coatings Program. He has recently issued a $500,000 challenge for the funding of the Western Coatings Technology Center.

Sue Foster is the spouse of George Foster, owner of Foster Farms and major donors to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science (CAFES).  She also serves as a board member of Assist International, a non-profit focused on humanitarian needs worldwide, and other charitable organizations in the arts and health care. 

Todd Maki, the student representative on the Foundation Board, is a native of Los Gatos. He served as the Cal Poly ASI President during the 2006-2007 school year. He is a student in Cal Poly's Mechanical Engineering program with an emphasis in financial management and will earn his bachelor's degree in March 2008.

Mike Mantle earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly in 1979 in business administration. He now holds the position of Executive Vice President for California Bank and Trust.

Al Montna is a 1967 CAFES graduate, major rice and walnut farmer, long-time friend to Cal Poly and long-time member of the CAFES Dean’s Advisory Council.  Currently, he is the chair of the USA Rice Federation and involved in electoral politics.  (He will be recommended for election to the Board at its April meeting.)

Peter L. Oppenheimer earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly in 1985 in agricultural business. He is currently senior vice president and chief financial officer for Apple Computer, Inc., where he is responsible for the controller, treasury, investor relations, and corporate development, among other functions.

Warren A. Sinsheimer, III, is co-founder at the San Luis Obispo law firm of Sinsheimer, Schiebelhut & Baggett. He is a long-time supporter of Cal Poly, having played an instrumental role in the development of the Performing Arts Center on campus. He is also involved with the local Janssen Foundation, which provided funding for a softball field at the Cal Poly Sports Complex.

George H. Soares earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Cal Poly in 1966. He is a founding partner of Kahn, Soares & Conway, LLP, and owns and operates a dairy and farming business in Hanford, California. He chairs the Agriculture Advisory Board for CSU Chancellor Charles Reed.

William H. Swanson earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Cal Poly in 1973. He is chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company.

Robert Taylor is the attorney and a trustee for the Oreggia Family Foundation. The Cal Poly College of Agriculture is the beneficiary of the Oreggia Trust, which will provide about $1 million annually to the college for discretionary projects. He has served for some years as a member of the CSU-Monterey Bay Foundation Board of Directors and has received special recognition from the CSU Board of Trustees for facilitating major gifts to Monterey Bay, Sonoma, and Cal Poly.

Andrew J. Thulin earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Cal Poly in 1977 and currently serves as department chair for the Animal Science Department. As a professor and campus leader, Dr. Thulin is active in advancement and has considerable experience in international animal nutrition business ventures.

Robert Wacker is a certified financial planner and founder of R. E. Wacker Associates, Inc. He also serves on the investment committee of the Cal Poly Corporation and the board of the Cuesta College Foundation. In 1994 and every year since, Mr. Wacker has been named as one of "America’s Top Financial Advisors" by Worth Magazine -- the only advisor between Los Angeles and San Francisco to have been so consistently honored.

Board Staff

Sandra Ogren, Cal Poly's Vice President for University Advancement, previously served as Vice President for University Relations at the University of Minnesota, as a member Minnesota Supreme Court and as head of several agencies of state government in Minnesota. Ogren is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, IA, and of the University of Minnesota School of Law. She serves as CEO of the Cal Poly Foundation.

Mike McCall, Associate Vice President for Advancement and Chief Development Officer, came to Cal Poly as director of Planned Giving and Endowments in 1999 and was appointed Interim AVP for Advancement in 2005. He is a graduate of Old Dominion University an the Wake Forest University School of Law. McCall serves as secretary of the Cal Poly Foundation.

Robert D. Stets, Associate Vice President for Advancement, came to Cal Poly from Pennsylvania State University. Prior to that, he was VP finance and general counsel for the Milton Hershey School and its $7 billion endowment. He is a graduate of Muhlenberg College and the Duke University School of Law, and holds an MBA from St. Joseph's University. Stets serves as CFO and treasurer of the Cal Poly Foundation.

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