BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Co-Owner, Vineyard 29 & Cru at the Annex

President, Napa Valley Vine Trail

Chuck and his wife, Anne, are the owners of Vineyard 29, a premium winery in Napa Valley producing 12 wines from 45 acres of estate vineyards and 100 acres of contracted vineyards.  Their approach to wine at Vineyard 29 is to combine time tested traditional techniques for winemaking with the best technology, facilities and equipment to produce the best wine possible.

Prior to Vineyard 29, Chuck spent over twenty-five years creating, financing, working in and advising startup high technology companies. including Covad Communications, which he co-founded in 1996 to provide broadband data services to homes and businesses.    Prior to founding Covad, Chuck managed his own consulting firm Cefac Consulting and was a consultant at Gemini Consulting.  Chuck was also the President & CEO of Visioneer Communications and was a general partner at the venture capital firm, InterWest Partners. Chuck began his Silicon Valley career as the product manager for the 8086 microprocessor at Intel. Chuck received a BSEE from Brown University in 1974, an MSEE from Syracuse University in 1976 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1978.

In Napa Valley, Chuck is involved in several non profit organizations including board member of the St. Helena Hospital and chair of its Foundation in 2010, President of the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition, which is designing, funding and building a 47 mile hiking and biking trail from the Vallejo Ferry Terminal to Calistoga and President of NapaLearns, a group focused on accelerating the adoption of project based learning and digital technology, curriculum, and associated professional development in all the schools in Napa Valley.  Chuck is the President of RAD Napa.

Partner, Napa Valley Wine Train

Greg is a seasoned real estate developer and entrepreneur with a reputation for creativity, perseverance and giving back to the community. He is co-owner of SN Management, a development/consulting firm specializing in land acquisition and entitlement, and he is one of the founding partners in the current ownership of the Napa Valley Wine Train. Today he oversees the entitlement and development of the many Wine Train properties encompassing several properties consisting of Hotels, housing and restoration of the historic Rutherford Train Station. His commitment to the community is unmistakable based on his current Board Member service including not only Napa Rail Arts District, but also the Napa Valley Chamber of Commerce, Visit Napa Valley and Napa Green. “I joined the Napa RAD Board because I want to be a catalyst in creating a one of a kind public art district and join in the transformation of my back yard.”

Alonso Corona is an entrepreneur and artist who grew up in Los Angeles. He received his BA in Business from UC Santa Cruz where he met his wife. Together, they came to Napa where Alonso became an entrepreneur, owning and operating a dry cleaning business for 18 years. Since selling the business in 2021,  Alonso has devoted his time to local charities and community organizations. His passion for art and education brought Alonso to the Rail Arts District where he is excited to be part of the Board of Directors. In addition to spending time with his wife and two sons, Alonso devotes his free time to throwing clay on the pottery wheel and taking photographs which he likes to print in large format to share with friends and family.

Holmes & Moffett Commerical Team at Coldwell Banker Brokers of Napa Valley

Prior to joining Coldwell Banker Commercial in 2006, Cathy spent seven years in the mortgage industry and six years in residential real estate in both Texas and California. Cathy worked for Fortune 100 companies: Texas Instruments, American Airlines , and Sprint . Cathy is a Napa native , and a graduate of Napa High School. She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton where she received a degree in Business Administration.

Attorney, Partner at Burke, Williams & Sorenson, LLP.

Elisabeth is a trial lawyer and has successfully represented businesses, state agencies, and counties and cities as first chair in more than 130 jury trials throughout California. Earlier in her legal career, she worked as a prosecutor at the Napa, Sacramento, and San Francisco District Attorney’s offices, and she supervised a team of trial attorneys at the California Department of Justice. Elisabeth arrived in Napa in 2003, and served on the Napa Commission on the Status of Women, the Napa Sierra Club, the Wolfe Center, the American Canyon Chamber of Commerce, the Napa Chamber of Commerce, and as an advisor on the Skyline Wilderness Park Master Plan.  Elisabeth is a graduate of Leadership Napa Valley 2006. She also is an accomplished wine writer, and her articles have appeared in the Wine Enthusiast, the Napa Register, the Napa Valley Marketplace, Legal Times and she is the author of a wine travel book.

Artist

Lorrie Kempf is a curator and artist with extensive experience managing public art projects. Since 2008 she has curated dozens of exhibitions for the City and County of Sacramento at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery, the Sacramento International Airport, and the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) Gallery. Additionally, she worked for many years as the Director of the Gallery at Joie de Vivre’s prestigious Ventana Inn and Spa Resort. Lorrie received a Bachelor of Arts in Studio from the University of California, Davis. Her work has been exhibited throughout Northern California at the Center for Contemporary Art in Sacramento, Memorial Union Gallery at UC Davis, and at Gallery 2110 in Sacramento among others. She currently has a studio practice in Sonoma, California.

Artist

Jacques Lesec earned his Master’s degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in 2012, where he trained in advanced digital modeling platforms and emerging mix-media representation technologies. During his graduate studies, he worked for design office Oyler Wu Collaborative in Los Angeles, participating in several highly published design/build concepts. Jacques received a Masters in Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles.  He received Bachelors in Political Science (International Relations) from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Principal Designer, Steven Miller Design Studio, Inc.

Steven Miller has practiced design in the Bay Area and beyond for over 30 years and founded the design studio in 1999 to provide architectural and interior design services for residential and hospitality design clients. Collaborating on residences, winery, hotel and restaurant, as well as product licensure projects across the country and in Europe, Japan, and Mexico has provided the studio with countless resources and a wide ranging perspective. Miller attended the California College of Arts (CCA) where he sits on the Alumni Campus Planning Council and keeps him connected to the inner workings of this academic environment and its new unified campus in San Francisco.

Principal, Green 17

Trained from an early age by Buddhist monks and hippie gardeners here in Northern California, Tim understands that the connection between people and the garden is our connection to a greater sense of Nature and its seasonal cycles. Paying close attention to the layered stories being told by a site and its architecture is what informs his thoughtful and often unexpected design solutions. Tim is a polyglot, comfortable speaking a diverse set of design languages. The tone of his work has been described as “lush minimalism,” and spans in scale from sophisticated urban rooftop and courtyard gardens to sweeping estate masterplans, integrating diverse use programs with tailored landscapes that are seamlessly contextualized into their native settings and fluent with each project’s needs.

Nancy St.Clair has a passion for the arts and the energy to help drive awareness for all “FUN” things to do and see in the Napa Valley. She has lived in Old town Napa for ten years, relocating from the East Coast and delights in so many of the positive changes that make Napa not only a world-wide tourist destination, but also a great place to live and work. She is involved in many activities in the local community, including being a graduate of the Napa Citizens academy and supporting the Napa Valley Film Festival. Nancy is a retired sales & marketing executive, with over 35 years of international marketing experience. She has worked for large corporations, as well as smaller start-ups. She truly enjoyed the entrepreneurial experience, establishing brand recognition and advancing market share in the US market. 

Studio 707, Founder + Creative Director

With unlimited connections in the culinary and wine world, for the past fifteen years, Ashley Nicole Teplin has used her extraordinary skill set to gain exposure and create virtual and real-world publicity for her diverse client set. In 2018, Ashley was awarded the Top 40 under 40 honors for Wine Enthusiast for her work with Teplin+Nuss and ability to ‘Spread the wine word’. Ashley is Immersed in the worlds of art, culture, wine, and cuisine, she wields her expertise in public relations, media production, photography, social media advisement, culinary and fine arts to forge new networks and strengthen existing relationships among her clients. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, as well as a culinary arts degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

Cassandra Walker has over 35 years of public and private planning and development experience.  She led the award-winning redevelopment efforts in downtown Napa For the City of Napa as the Community Development Director for 17 years.   Upon retirement Cass began consulting for a variety of Cities or redevelopment and economic development projects and activities. For the last four years she has been The Gasser Foundation’s Housing and Grants Consultant.

Her expertise is working with communities and organization to achieve their goals whether it is developing a long-range development strategy, working to implement key projects, developing  affordable housing,  or  community engagement and outreach activities.   Cass enjoys working with all types of organizations to achieve their goals.  Cass has set on a number of Boards of Directors for local and statewide organizations.  Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine and a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from Boston University.