Press Release Headlines

California Historical Society Announces New Trustees Elected to Serve on Board of Directors

New Board President and Dedicated Slate of Officers and Trustees to Provide Continued Stewardship of the Historical Society Mission, Collections and California's Vibrant History

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The California Historical Society (CHS) announced the appointment of three new members to its board of trustees.  The new trustees, in addition to the election of new board officers, bring a wide range of experience, geographical diversity and expertise that will benefit the organization and its mission.

Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140929/148912

"Each new trustee, along with the Board officers, bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion about California history to our organization and we are honored to have their leadership on the Board," said Dr. Anthea Hartig, Executive Director of the California Historical Society. "Their collective insight and professionalism will be extremely valuable to the important work we do to maintain, preserve, and share our state's rich history."

Stephen M. LeSieur, of San Francisco, who has been a CHS trustee since 2010, was elected by the Board of Trustees as the California Historical Society's new president. LeSieur is Managing Director, Spectrum Equity. Steve joined Spectrum in July of 2005. Steve was an associate at Trident Capital, a private equity firm focused on information and business services. Prior to Trident, Steve was an analyst in the Media and Communications group at Thomas Weisel Partners, where he worked on a number of mergers and acquisitions and both public and private equity financings. Steve began his career at The Beacon Group, a private equity firm acquired by JP Morgan Chase in 1999. Steve joined the Board of Trustees of the California Historical Society in 2010.

Additional trustee officers elected for one-year terms include R. Thomas Decker and John Brown as Vice Presidents; Beverly B. Thomas, as Secretary; and Ralph C. Walter, as Treasurer.

The three new members to the board of trustees will serve an initial three-year term and include:

Lindsie M. Bear, of Berkeley, is Director of The Berkeley Roundhouse, the California Indian publishing and outreach programs of Heyday, a non-profit publishing institution dedicated to the cultures, ecology, and history of California. She is also Managing Editor of News from Native California, a quarterly magazine that amplifies the voices of California's Native peoples, and contributor to the forthcoming anthology, Wonderments of the East Bay. She is a former Senior Editor and Marketing Manager for the University of California Press and member of the 40th Street Warehouse, an underground art and music space in Oakland. Lindsie received her B.A. in Philosophy and Mathematics from St John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is originally from Bishop, California and has been licensed as a whitewater rafting guide, a Class III firefighter, and has won awards for her skills as a kayak fisherwoman and jam maker.

Steve Juarez, of Sacramento, is Associate Vice President and Director of State Government Relations for the University of California. Previously, Steve was Executive Director at JPMorgan in the Public Finance Division; Director of Financial Management for the J. Paul Getty Trust; Assistant Vice Chancellor for Government & Community Relations at UCLA; and Chief Legislative Representative for the County of Los Angeles in Sacramento. He also served the California Debt Advisory Commission as Executive Director and has represented the State Treasurer's Office on a wide spectrum of public finance matters and in policy positions with the State Legislature and Los Angeles local government.  Steve sits on the Boards of the National Association of Counties Financial Services Corporation and the Southern California Leadership Network and is a member of the California State Association of Counties Finance Corporation.  He is a Senior Fellow with the Luskin School of Affairs Public at UCLA. For five years, Steve served as an appointed member of the Los Angeles City Fire and Police Pension Board. He is a graduate of UCLA (B.A., Political Science) and USC (Masters of Public Administration).

Michael J. Sangiacomo, of San Francisco, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Recology Inc., a 100% employee-owned, integrated resource recovery and optimization company headquartered in San Francisco.  After graduating from the University of San Francisco in 1971 with a BS in Business Administration, Mike practiced as a Certified Public Accountant from 1971 through 1978.  In 1983, Mike was recruited to be the Chief Financial Officer of Envirocal, Inc., Sunset Scavenger's parent company.  In 1987, the company merged with Norcal Waste Systems, and in 1988 Mike was made the Chief Financial Officer of the merged companies.  In 1990, he was appointed to the Recology board of directors and promoted to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in 1991. Mike serves as a member of the University of San Francisco School of Business and Management Advisory Council.  Previous board positions include the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce (1998 – 2004, Chair in 2002); the San Francisco 49ers Foundation; San Francisco AIDS Foundation; South Bayshore Community Development Corporation; and the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee.

The new trustees will serve an initial three-year term and were approved at the annual board of trustees meeting on September 11, 2014 in San Francisco.

About the California Historical Society:  The California Historical Society is a 142-year-old, non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and empower people to make California's richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives. We hold one of the top research collections on California history, which includes over 35,000 volumes of books and pamphlets, more than 4,000 manuscript collections, and about 500,000 photographs documenting California's social, cultural, economic, and political history and development, including some of the most cherished and valuable documents and images of California's past. Learn more at californiahistoricalsociety.org.

Contact:
Kevin Herglotz
HPA Strategic Communications
415-874-9650
Email