March 2008 Programs

 March 3 - Margot Gerritsen - Meeting the Daunting Challenge of Supplying the world with energy

Margot Gerritsen is a faculty member in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Computational and Mathematical Engineering. She will discuss how we could meet the rather daunting challenge of supplying the world with energy in a sustainable manner. There are no silver bullets, and there are no purely local answers. Each decision we make has consequences, for ourselves or for other areas in the world. What are the smartest decisions we can make now and here to get on the right track?

Margot escaped her native Holland in 1990 in search of hillier and sunnier places and intellectual and other adventures as an International Rotary Scholar (thank you, Rotary!!). She received her PhD in computational mathematics from Stanford University in 1997. Before returning to Stanford as a faculty member she was a professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where she conducted research in yacht design and coastal ocean modeling. In the last years, she and her colleagues and students, have focused on the design of new computational tools to enhance production of existing oil and gas reservoirs in an environmentally friendly way. She regularly advises NGOs, VCs and the energy industry.

Margot is a single mother of 8-year old son, Callum.  She loves the outdoors (biking, hiking), plays piano, tries to learn to play the banjo, enjoys dancing, reading, Peets coffee, and of course any activity with her son. She does not always like to mention her stint as a weightlift instructor....

March 10 - Sumbul Ali-Karamali - The Status of Women in Islam

Born in India, Sumbul moved to Southern California as a toddler.  She earned her undergraduate degree in English, with Distinction, from Stanford University and her J.D. from the University of California at Davis.  She has a graduate degree in Islamic Law, with Distinction, from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, where she was second in her class of about a thousand L.L.M. candidates. Sumbul has taught Islamic Law as a teaching assistant at the University of London, has worked as a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law in London, and has lectured on Islam and Islamic law.  She has published three articles (two in legal journals) and has held two editorial positions that involved synthesizing complex material for the lay reader.  Sumbul has also worked as a corporate lawyer.

Sumbul and her attorney husband live in Palo Alto with their two children. She serves on the board of trustees of Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills.  Sumbul has played the violin in several community orchestras, homeschooled her son, and offered Indian cooking classes.  Her book, Islam at Home: Conversations with the Muslim Next Door is due to be released by White Cloud Press in August 2008.

March 17 - Bob Medearis - Solar Energy - where it's at and where it's going

No photo is available.

Bob graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering at Stanford in 1954 and was later designated as a Distinguished Alumnus by the School of Engineering in 1986.  He also received a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard in 1959.  He was a Consulting Professor of Civil Engineering where he taught for 31 years from 1968 to 1999.  He has served on over 19 public and private companies in the Banking, Real Estate and High technology arenas. Mr. Medearis conceptualized, then Founded and was the first Chairman/ CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, a well known local and now international bank specializing in the high tech sector.  Bob conducted the first ever Board of Directors Conference held at Stanford in the 80's and is now working on four start ups all in the energy sector.  Those companies being Solaixc a manufacture of silicon ingots, Bluepoint Energy Inc. (aka Chapeau Inc) a public company manufacturing Co-Generation Power Units with Caterpillar Diesel and a Demand Response product used in controlling such units remotely, Visual Network Design Inc. which works on software products for the control and operation of servers and related equipment and lastly Xeresys Inc. which has a new product on earthquake forecasting and loss modeling analysis. In addition to his Banking and teaching background he was the President, CEO and Chairman/Director of Wilsey and Ham and then to become W H Pacific Inc. a multi-ranged civil engineering and structural engineering company during the period of 1967-2000 when they sold the company to Harris Engineering in the UK in 2001. 

He is married to a college classmate, Helga Biermer.  They have three children and four grandchildren;  Bob and Helga reside in Davis. 


March 24 - A Longtime Member and New Members Talks - David Blitz, Adrian Mikolajczak, and Mark Nadim

 David Blitz

Born January 10, 1950 in Davenport, Iowa & grew up just across the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois. Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, 1972. Master, Public Administration with a concentration in Health Services Administration from the University of San Francisco, 2000.

I spent twenty years in real estate development, finance and marketing in the Midwest before moving to Palo Alto in 1993 with my wife, Cindy, and two daughters. We acquired the Palo Alto Nursing Center and operated the Skilled Nursing Facility for five years. Upon the sale of our business and completion of my graduate program in health care (where I learned I was unlikely to reform the health care system), I returned to real estate in 2000 with Check Point Software as Sr. Manager, Real Estate & Facilities with responsibility for twenty-five offices in the US, Canada and South America. In June 2007 I joined The Staubach Company as a Sr. Project Manager for the corporate real estate services & consulting company started 30 years ago by Heisman Trophy winner & two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, Roger Staubach.

Cindy remains in health care as a financial manager for a national nursing home company. Our oldest daughter, Kara, graduated from The French Culinary Institute in NY and is a Pastry Chef at the restaurant Cru in Greenwich Village. Our younger daughter, Becca, graduated from George Washington University in Public Policy, completed the AmeriCorp service program assigned to The American Red Cross in Palo Alto (Trish Bubenik) including three weeks at Hurricane Katrina. She then spent a year working for the fundraising group at the Public TV station, WGBH, in Boston before an extended trip to Europe. 

I have completed 9 marathons & the 500 mile bike ride across Iowa. Hobbies include photography, reading and wine.

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Adrian Mikolajczak

I was born in Connecticut, but grew up on the small, isolated, pacific Island of Coronado, in southern California. I moved back to the mainland, specifically the San Francisco Bay area, to attend college at Stanford University.

I currently work at Tyco Electronics, as a corporate Entrepreneur, responsible for leading new Core Technology development, and the associated business and market development. My focus is in the area of “Organic Components” used for circuit protection. These components make electrical equipment safer and more reliable. You likely own parts I have had a hand in developing or have supported.

My career has been mostly focused on innovation: new product invention, development, and introduction. I have had rolls in Marketing, System Engineering, and Program Management.

After dating my wife Evelyn Horng for 5 years we were married 4 years ago in 2003. We have one very lovely 3 ½ year old dog (rescued), but no children as of yet. We spend most of our weekends fixing up our “fixer upper / money pit” of a house.

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 Mark Nadim

My name is Mark Nadim, I am a retired engineer; my second career is a commercial property real estate advisor with the objective of helping high technology engineers invest in commercial real estate.

I was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, where I got my education, I went to a Jesuit Middle and High School, and then to the engineering college in Baghdad University where I obtained my Bachelors in Electronics. I came to the US and the Bay Area in 1977. Worked in the high tech industry for over 26 years and retired 2 years ago.

My wife Sandra is a retired engineer as well. We have one daughter, Nicole, who goes to a Palo Alto public school. Sandra and I volunteer in Nicole's school to raise funds for the PTA and help in the class room. I am also the vice president of my neighborhood association. We have been living in Palo Alto since 1986.

I enjoy the outdoors. Golf, hiking, biking, and also enjoy reading a good book.


March 31 - Judge Leonard Edwards - Creative Ways of Rehabilitating Drug Abusing Parents - and Reuniting Families

Judge Leonard Edwards (ret) is a Judge-in-Residence with the California Administrative Office of the Courts.  In that capacity he is working with the California Courts to improve court operations particularly regarding juvenile and family court matters.

Judge Edwards was a judge of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County for 26 years.  Judge Edwards served in the Domestic Relations Court for 3 years and after that spent the majority of his time as the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court.  Judge Edwards was the President of the California Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in 1984 and was the Founder and first President of the Juvenile Court Judges of California, a section of the California Judges Association.

Judge Edwards was the founder of the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council and a co-author of the Greenbook (Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases).  Judge Edwards led the creation of the Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency Drug Treatment Court in 1997 until his retirement in 2006.  He was the President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in 2002.  He has taught judges and lawyers in more than 44 states and 8 foreign countries.  He has received many awards including the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence in 2004.  Judge Edwards has written widely on issues relating to juvenile and family courts.  He and his wife wrote Child Abuse and the Legal System.  He has worked closely with Rotary in Brazil and in the United States.  He has received 2 Paul Harris Awards.  Judge Edwards is a widower with one son, a daughter-in-law and a grandson.  His son, Erik Edwards is a lawyer with Cooley Godward in Palo Alto. 

February 2008 Programs

February 4 – Violet Gonda  Development of Media in Emerging Democracies

Violet Gonda, currently a Yahoo! International Fellow in the Knight Fellows Program at Stanford.  Born in Mutare, Manicaland, Zimbabwe, she is a producer and presenter for SW Radio Africa (London)

Ms. Gonda holds journalism qualifications from Zimbabwe and a master's degree in International Journalism from City University in the United Kingdom. In 1996, she began her career in journalism as a television production assistant for Edwina Spicer Productions, a television production house specializing in political documentaries. In 1999, Spicer started the Media Monitoring Project - Zimbabwe (MMPZ) with Gonda to monitor Zimbabwean media. In 2000, Gonda spent 6 months with the BBC's World Service's Focus on Africa and Network Africa. She has been with SW Radio Africa in London as a producer and presenter since its inception in 2001. In 2002, Gonda was banned from returning to her home country by the Zimbabwean government because of her journalism work at the radio station.

She won an international award for best radio documentary from the International Association of Women in Radio and Television and her radio station received a team Free Media Pioneer Award from the International Press Institute, both in 2005. In 2006, her station was awarded the International Station of the Year from the Association of International Broadcasters. That same year, Gonda was a nominee for the International Press Freedom Award by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and was a Stanford University Summer Fellow in their Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

February 11 – Dr. Frank Benest - Addressing the Retirement Wave in Public Service 

A whole generation of baby boomer managers in local government is retiring, jeopardizing the leadership of public agencies and the quality of community life.  Dr. Frank Benest, City Manager of Palo Alto, will discuss the consequences of the retirement wave and what local government and its communities can do about it.

Frank Benest is the City Manager of Palo Alto, California. He is a noted consultant and trainer on rightsizing public organizations, entrepreneurial government, and civic engagement.  Prior to his appointment in Palo Alto, Frank served as City Manager in Brea and Colton, California.  He has a doctorate in management from Brigham Young University; a Masters in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach; and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University. Frank is a Credentialed ICMA Manager. Frank is Past President of the California City Managers Department, currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International City/County Management Association, and was recently inducted into the National Academy of Public Administration.  He will be retiring as City Manager this year.

February 18  - Dark - President's Day Observed

February 25  - Sarah Freedman - Teaching History after Genocide in Rwanda

Professor Freedman studies the teaching and learning of written language, as well as ways English is taught in schools. She has worked with teacher researchers in urban, multicultural settings. She has recently completed two research projects, Teaching English in Untracked Classrooms, and the Role of Education in Reconstructing Societies after Genocide in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

In her talk Professor Freedman will describe a project she has been leading for the past six years, in collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Education and Rwandan and U.S.-based educators and historians, to create materials for a new history curriculum in Rwanda. Since the 1994 genocide, there has been a moratorium on the teaching of history. Her project was designed to break that moratorium. The way Rwandan history was framed before the genocide has been blamed for creating and deepening divisions between Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa and was then used in the propaganda that helped incite the genocide. 

Currently, the Rwandan government is promoting a version of the history that they hope will lead to unity and reconciliation. Although much progress has been made in Rwanda, many tensions remain. She will discuss the significant gains since the genocide, what can be seen as the remaining obstacles to a lasting peace, and the ways the schools are entangled in the larger political processes.

Professor Freedman lives in Palo Alto with her husband Bob, a physician.  They are the parents of Rachel who lives in NYC.  From North Carolina, she studied at the University of Chicago and got an MA in Linguistics and a PhD in Education from Stanford.  Prior to being named Professor in Language and Literacy, Society and Culture at UC Berkeley Sarah taught high school English, and at the University of North Carolina, Stanford, and San Francisco State. 

She and her collaborators won the Multicultural Book Award from the National Association of Multicultural Educators for the book Inside City Schools: Investigating Literacy in Multicultural Classrooms, published by Teachers College Press in 1999. The same book was her second volume to win the Ed Frye Book Award from the National Reading Conference. She had won previously in 1994 for her Harvard University Press book, Exchanging Writing, Exchanging Cultures: Lessons in Reform from U.S. and British Schools. That book also won the Richard Meade Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. Freedman also wrote Response to Student Writing (1987) and edited The Acquisition of Written Language: Response and Revision (1985). She is an associate of the National Conference for Research in the Language Arts and has served as an adviser for many groups, including the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the Children's Television Workshop. She has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences and at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Study and Conference Center.  

January 2008 Programs

January 7 - Rick Young - Globalism and the restructuring of American Capitalism

Rick Young United States Fellow eryoung@stanford.edu Producer PBS Frontline, Washington Topic: Globalization and the restructuring of American capitalism

Young was born in Washington DC and earned his bachelor's degree from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. In 1990, his journalism career began when he joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney as a documentary researcher and associate producer, after having been a congressional investigator for the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983-89.

Since 1992, he has been an independent producer for PBS Frontline, working on a wide variety of programs including the business and economics beat for the series for the last four years. He has received numerous awards including, two Writers' Guild nominations, two Emmy's and three Emmy nominations for his documentaries. FRONTLINE stories he's produced include:  "The Wall Street Fix," a  look at the entangled web of conflicts on Wall Street that brought  about the rise and fall of WorldCom;  "Tax Me if You Can," a look at  how mainstream accounting firms turned into marketers of illegal tax  shelters;  "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?," a look at how low-price  retailers are driving manufacturing overseas and depressing wages here at home; "Can You Afford to Retire?," a look at how corporate America  is dumping pensions and selling a savings system, the 401(k), that was never designed to be a primary retirement vehicle.

January 14 - John Taylor - The Untold Story of International Finance in the Post-9/11 World

The financial front of the war on terror is one of the least reported yet one of the most successful and important parts of the post-9/11 fight against terrorists.  From his unmatched vantage point as head of Treasury’s international affairs division for four years, John Taylor provides an intimate look into the days, weeks, and years that followed 9/11, taking you inside the White House situation room, the meetings of the G7 finance ministers, and to cities around the world in a tour of crises and successes, including freezing terrorist assets, financial reconstruction of Afghanistan, creation of a new Iraqi currency, forgiveness of 80% of Iraq’s debt, cancellation of 100% of poor country debt, and the escape of the world economy from financial crisis and contagion. His story is a testament to the ingenuity and determination of the global financial warriors who serve at the front lines of the financial war on terror.  

John B. Taylor is Professor of Economics at Stanford and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is known to legions of students as an excellent teacher and has won awards for being the best undergraduate teacher at Stanford. He is also known to central bankers and economists around the world for his research on monetary theory and policy, and in particular for the Taylor Rule. Taylor has an active interest in public policy.  He served as senior economist on both President Carter’s and President Ford's Council of Economic Advisers, and as a member of President George H.W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.

For four years from 2001 to 2005, he served as Under Secretary of Treasury where, as head of the international division, he played a central role in the financial front of the war on terror. He has received numerous awards including the Adam Smith Award from the National Association for Business Economics for his work as a researcher, public servant, and teacher, the Medal of Uruguay for resolving the 2002 financial crisis, and the Alexander Hamilton Award for his leadership in international finance at the U.S. Treasury. He is currently a member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Council of Economic Advisers and the author of the new book Global Financial Warriors: The Untold Story of International Finance in the Post 9/11 World.

January 21 - Dark in Observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday

January 28 -  Steve Blank - Secret History of Silicon Valley

Steve Blank is Director at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Commissioner at California Coastal Commission, and Lecturer at Stanford University, Graduate School of Engineering.

Over the last 25 years, Steve has been part of, or co-founded eight Silicon Valley startups. These have run the gamut from semiconductors, video games, personal computers, and supercomputers. (MIPS, Zilog, Rocket Science, SuperMac, Convergent Technologies, Ardent, ESL) Steve's last company was E.piphany, an enterprise software company.

Steve is on the board of two private companies; CafePress.com an on-line marketplace, and IMVU a 3D IM social network. He serves on the California Coastal Commission and is on the board of Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST,) Audubon National & is Chairman of Aubudon California.

Steve currently teaches entrepreneurship at U.C. Berkeley Haas Business School, the joint Berkeley/Columbia MBA program, and at the Stanford University Graduate School of Engineering. Steve teaches a methodology of starting and managing marketing, sales and business development in high technology startups.