Cal Poly Foundation
Board Members

Mike Applegate is a 1980 Orfalea College of Business graduate and President of TimeValue Software, developer of loan amortization and tax-related software used by accountants, attorneys and other financial professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. A wrestler in his student days, Applegate is a strong supporter and advocate for athletic programs.

Douglas H. Austin earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1971. He is Chairman and Director of Design of Austin Veum Robbins Partners, a San Diego-based architecture firm. He also serves as managing partner of Avion Development, LLC--specialists in the development of high-density mixed-use developments. Austin’s firm was selected to be the architects for the new Center for Construction Excellence at Cal Poly.

Steve Barnard earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Cal Poly in 1975. He is President and CEO of Mission Produce in Oxnard, a leader in the avocado industry. In recent years, Barnard served on the CAFES Dean’s Advisory Board, the Horticulture and Crop Science Advisory Board, and as Executive Committee Chairman of the Produce Marketing Association.

Gary Bloom earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Cal Poly in 1982. He was the CEO for Veritas Software and served as vice-Chairman and President of Symantec Corporation, as well as spending a number of years in senior positions at Oracle. Currently, Bloom serves as founding president of the Foundation Board and also as a member on the Taleo On Demand Talent Management Solutions and BMC Software boards.

Paul Bonderson earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cal Poly in 1975. He is co-founder and former Vice President-Strategic Development of Brocade Communication Systems, Inc. Bonderson funded the Bonderson Projects Center, a multi-purpose space for students working on senior projects and other faculty and student research. Bonderson is a passionate advocate of wildlife and wetlands conservation. He serves as regional vice president of Ducks Unlimited and as a member of the Wetlands America Trust Board.

Richard J. Bradshaw earned his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Cal Poly in 1970. Since 2004, he has been Chairman of the Board at Montgomery Street Income Securities, Inc., a closed-end diversified management investment company. Bradshaw recently retired from his position as Executive Director at Cooley Godward Kronish in Palo Alto, the preeminent business law firm in the Silicon Valley.

Mary R. Crebassa earned her bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Cal Poly in 1979. She was recently promoted to Media and Entertainment Industry Analyst at Microsoft, where she is responsible for analyzing media and industry trends and how they might impact Microsoft. She also serves as co-chair of the College of Liberal Arts’ Dean’s Council and as a member of the Alumni Association Board.

Marilyn Edling most recently served as Vice President, Enterprise Storage and Servers, American 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. She currently serves on the boards of Rainbird Corporation and Generation Fate, a nonprofit focused on foster children.

Kenneth N. Edwards is CEO and owner of Dunn-Edwards Corporation, a manufacturer and supplier of premium quality architectural coatings. Co-founded in 1925 by his father, the company has grown to be one of the largest independent coatings companies in the southwestern United States. The Western Coatings and Polymers Center in Cal Poly’s new Center for Science and Mathematics will be named after Edwards.

Sue Foster and husband George own Foster Farms and Foster Farms Dairy. She serves on the boards of several charitable organizations in the arts and health care, including Assist International, a non-profit focused on humanitarian needs worldwide. Foster also serves as a member of the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees as well as the Board of Directors for the Gallo Center for the Arts.

John Lake earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cal Poly in 1970. He is President and CEO of Rain for Rent, a company that provides solutions to liquid handling problems, such as equipment to handle irrigation. Lake also serves as a member of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Mike Mantle earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly in 1979 in business administration. Currently, he is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at One Economy Corporation in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Retail and Business Banking and Community Development Divisions at the California Bank and Trust. He serves as chair of the Fundraising and Advancement Committee of the Orfalea College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council.

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, Montna is Chairman of the USA Rice Federation’s Board of Directors.

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, corporate development and other functions.

Warren A. Sinsheimer, III, is an attorney and 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 Robert H. 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. An attorney and founding partner of Kahn, Soares & Conway, LLP, Soares also owns and operates a dairy and farming business in Hanford. He also chairs the Agriculture Advisory Board for CSU Chancellor Charles Reed. Awarded Cal Poly Advocate of the Year in 2007, Soares represents agricultural interests at the California legislature.

William H. Swanson earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Cal Poly in 1973. He is currently Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company. In addition to serving on the Cal Poly President’s Cabinet, Swanson is a member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation board, the Pepperdine University Board of Regents, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy Board, and the Sprint Nextel Corporation Board of Directors. Swanson and Cal Poly’s President Baker co-chair the Business-Higher Education Forum’s Securing America’s Leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative.

Robert Taylor, attorney and trustee for the Oreggia Family Foundation, has been intimately involved with several CSU campuses. Taylor has served as a member of the CSU-Monterey Bay Foundation Board of Directors since 2001 and 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. Thulin was the 2007 recipient of the Provost’s Leadership Award for Partnership in Philanthropy.

Robert Wacker, a financial planner and tax specialist, founded R. E. Wacker Associates, Inc. and has been President since 1987. Prior to that, he was an executive at J.G. Enterprises in Monterey and Trinico Enterprises in Watsonville. Wacker has been named for a number of years as among the country’s best financial planners by Money Magazine.

Board Staff

Sandra Ogren, Vice President for University Advancement at Cal Poly since 2004, previously served as Vice President for University Relations at the University of Minnesota and was a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Michael McCall, Associate Vice President for University Advancement at Cal Poly since 2004, also served as the Director of Planned Giving since 1999. An attorney and experienced fundraiser, McCall came to Cal Poly from the University of Colorado.

Robert Stets, Associate Vice President for Operations and Finance, previously served as the Vice President for Finance and the Secretary at the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania. An experienced attorney, Stets specializes in trusts and estates and non-profit law.

Copyright 2007, Cal Poly Foundation. All Rights Reserved