La Luz Center

Kimberly Blattner

Kimberly has been resident of Sonoma since 1982. Kimberly was raised in Oregon and came to California to attend Stanford University where she received a B.A. in Political Science and was the captain of the women’s varsity swimming team. She received an M.A. and elementary and secondary teaching credentials from UC Davis and taught high school from 1976-1990. She was the chair of the English Department at Sonoma Valley High School from 1988-90. She has served on the boards of Presidio Hill School, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, SFMOMA Docent Council, League of Women Voters of Sonoma County, and Enterprise for High School Students. She currently serves on the city’s Community Services and Environment Commission.

Ken Adelson

Ken and his wife, Karen, bought a home above. They moved there full-time in 2007. Ken first became involved in La Luz when Karen became a member of the Noche committee; this year she serves as a co-chair of the committee. Ken is a Senior Counsel at Cooley LLP in San Francisco. He specializes in business litigation and served as firm-wide chair of the Litigation Department and as Partner In Charge of the San Francisco office. He has represented BRIDGE Housing, a nonprofit developer of affordable housing. Ken has been a member of the board of directors of Children’s Garden (now Sunny Hills Services), which operated treatment homes and provided services for abused and neglected children. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1966 and from Boalt Hall in 1969. Ken enjoys spending time with his two children, his grandchildren and working in the garden.

Betzy Chavez

Betzy is the bilingual counselor for Sonoma Valley High School. She has been working with bilingual education and advising for many years, and her work has included outreach for Upward Bound and counseling for migrant students. She has also worked for Sonoma State University to create a webpage in Spanish as a resource for parents. Given her past efforts to fully include the Spanish-speaking community in the Sonoma Valley, her place on the Board of La Luz is just an extension of her ongoing commitment to the Latino community.

Phil Coturri

Phil is owner and president of Enterprise Vineyards, the region’s first organic and biodynamic vineyard management company. Born and raised in San Francisco, Phil moved to Glen Ellen permanently after high school and attended Sonoma State University, where he earned a degree in English. In 1979, he founded Enterprise Vineyards, a vineyard development and management company, and has used only organic farming practices for 31 years. Phil is proud to be a supporter of the Hispanic community in the Valley. Enterprise Vineyards sponsors English classes for its managers during the winter months. Phil has always supported La Luz and VWS, recognizing that vineyard workers are the lifeblood of the wine industry.

Marcelo Defreitas

Marcelo was born in Brazil. He grew up on a cattle ranch in the Southern part of Brazil called Rio Grande Do Sul. He started college in Public Relations at a local university and began work doing public relations at the largest publishing company in South America. In 1984, he moved to San Francisco to finish his degree and to learn English. Marcelo is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English. He finished his studies at the University of San Francisco and got a bachelors in fine art from The Academy of Art. In 1988, he joined Primo Angeli Inc., the noted packaging design company, as a junior designer. He stayed at Primo Angeli until 1999 having been promoted to art director. There, he worked for several prominent clients including Nestle, Intel, Safeway, Sutter Home, as well as European and Latin American clients. He was a teacher at the Academy of Art University on the graphic design department. In 1999 he moved to Sonoma. He has always loved La Luz and its philosophy and he is very excited to start the journey as a board member.

Sharon Delaney

Sharon has lived in Sonoma County for 30 years and currently serves as recording secretary on the La Luz Board. She is also a member of the Brown Baggers, a group involved in preparing and passing out burritos to the homeless and day laborers in our community. Our group also prepares food for the La Luz Center’s migrant worker camp. In the past she has been actively involved in her children's schools and the boards at Cardinal Newman High School and St. Eugene's Cathedral School. Sharon was a member of St Joseph's Medical Center Guild (LA) and the Junior League of Napa Sonoma.

William Enriquez

William Enriquez was born in San Francisco, grew up on the Peninsula, and moved to Sonoma in 2007. He graduated from San Francisco State with a Bachelor's degree in Child & Adolescent Development. From 1999-2007 he worked for the City of Menlo Park doing Literacy Outreach to children and adults, and from 2007-2008 at Olive School in Novato doing Case Management for students and Families in need of Social and emotional support. From 2009 to present he has worked for Parent Services Project in the Canal area in San Rafael doing outreach, referrals to families, and coordinating a playgroup for children and parents to provide social support to the families in need. His work is very similar to what La Luz does, that's why he enjoys being on the board. He is also a huge San Francisco Giants and 49ers fan!

Tim Freeman

Tim is a California native, five generations deep. He graduated from Cal State East Bay, and received his CPA while at Deloitte and Touche. He worked in corporate management at The Gap, was controller for an international food company based in Sydney Australia, and was a founding principal and lead financial executive at Viant, an internet consulting firm.Tim moved to Chicago from Sonoma 7 years ago where he became a Realtor and ultimately managing broker at Coldwell Banker’s boutique luxury office.

Tim lives in Glen Ellen with his partner Dean Carvalho and dog Blue and is now a Realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors in Sonoma.

He has joined the Board “because the needs in the La Luz community are becoming greater day by day, and support, both financial and otherwise, are critical.” He looks forward to helping forge and solidify relationships between La Luz and the greater community."

Donna Halow

Donna and her husband, Jim, have maintained a residence in Sonoma Valley since 1985. They founded Trinity Capital and Donna was Trinity’s President in 2002 until retiring in 2004 and moving to Sonoma full-time. Prior to this she worked in several executive positions with Levi Strauss & Co. Donna graduated from the University of Washington with an MBA and from Ohio State University with a BS in Finance.

Locally, Donna is on the Sonoma Valley Fund Board, the Community Foundation Sonoma County Distribution Committee and has worked on numerous efforts for the Sonoma Valley Hospital, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and Children’s Medical Aid. Upon retiring, she was a technical volunteer for Grameen Foundation’s Technology Center here and in Kenya, and worked with Make a Difference in Zambia. She is past Board member and current volunteer with Okizu Foundation, supporting children with cancer. She is an ongoing supporter of local, national and international charities and a ready volunteer with several of these organizations. Donna and Jim have supported La Luz since 1998 and became members of “Padrinos” in 2003.

Kathleen Hill

Kathleen is currently Food & Wine Editor of the Sonoma Index-Tribune and serves as Sonoma Valley Unified School District's School Garden Project Coordinator. Kathleen has worked for the Peace Corps, the United Nations and in the White House. She has written more than 30 books, most in collaboration with her husband, Gerald N. Hill.

Kathe Hodgson

Kathe recently retired from her position as Director of Exhibitions at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (de Young Museum and Legion of Honor). She was a curator at the museum for several years and also taught art history at San Francisco State University and City College. Since retiring she and her husband spend much of their time in Glen Ellen and she has served on the board of the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art for 8 years and was president in 2005-2006. As a La Luz board member, Kathe has served on the publicity and nominating committees as well as the Noche de Luna committee.

Maite Iturri

Maite Iturri is principal of El Verano Elementary School. She was raised in a bilingual and bicultural home in San Francisco, attending Lowell High School, San Francisco City College, UC Berkeley, and Sonoma State University. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate at UC Davis. Her research interests have included parent participation in the Latino community in Sonoma, the role of a principle in program improvement, and the importance of community organizations and non-profits supporting local schools. She has also created a parent leadership group at El Verano School. Maite serves on the Board of the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) and Coordinating Council for Youth Development in Sonoma (CCYDS).

Elizabeth Kemp

Elizabeth was born and raised in London, England. She moved to Sonoma with her husband James Kemp in 1967, where they raised five children. Elizabeth ran a daycare and preschool for over 20 years. She was a founding member of FISH, SOS, and the Brown Baggers, and she has worked with many other nonprofits in the Sonoma Valley. Elizabeth was a Board Member with Vineyard Workers Sevices for 8 years.

Robert P. Kowal

Robert has been a resident of Sonoma since 1999. Bob moved here following a 35 year career in Hospital Management as CEO of some of the largest health systems in the country. Bob and his partner Mark Sipes initially owned and operated The Inn at Cedar Mansion, a Sonoma Bed and Breakfast. In 2004 Bob took on the position as CEO of Sonoma Valley Hospital where he became intricately involved with the workings of La Luz Center. He has been a member of the La Luz Board for 3 years and currently is a sales associate at Sotheby’s Homes.

Claudia Mendoza-Carruth

Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Claudia Mendoza-Carruth is a seasoned multicultural communications professional with more than 20 years of experience encompassing TV anchoring, cultural and communications liaison to foreign executives and dignitaries at Intercontinental Hotels, Dow Chemical, Bechtel and UNICEF. When she came to California in 1991 she worked at Sacramento’s Small Business Exchange newspaper, and at PG&E where she created the diversity media relations program. In 2006 Claudia and her husband moved to Sonoma, where she established MC(2), a business providing translation, interpretation and community outreach services to clients in the wine industry, public policy, medical and government fields. She works with the Sonoma International Film Festival developing a Spanish language cinema program, and has served on the boards of the Hispanic Charity Ball in San José, the San Francisco Latino Film Festival, and New America Media.

Horacio Paco Villaseñor

Paco, a native of Tepatitlan Jalisco Mexico, moved to Sonoma at the age of 7. He attended the local elementary schools and Santa Rosa Junior College. He has been on the board of La Luz since 2003. His career in banking began in 1989, and he is presently employed at Westamerica Bank, where he is Vice President Financial Sales Officer. Paco is very proud of his heritage and is commited to the well being of his community.

Tom Perkins

Tom has been a resident of Sonoma since 1990. He moved to San Francisco from Chicago in 1986. He has been a supporter of La Luz for 15 years and has been on the board for four years. He is a past board member of Hanna Boys Center, Thatcher School, and Engender-Health, which focuses on reproductive health in underdeveloped countries. Tom is a graduate of Harvard College, served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, and is portfolio manager of Perkins mutual funds.

Anna Pier

Anna is a bilingual teacher and community educator. She was one of the founders of the dual immersion program at Flowery School, where she taught first grade. Since 2007, as Director of Educational Programs for CommonBond Foundation, she organizes—and sometimes teaches in—Spanish and English classes and summer programs for children and adults in Sonoma Valley. She led the Sonoma Nonprofit Collaborative’s youth advocacy forums and served as their representative to the committee on youth resources. She is a past advisor and member of the Board of Directors of Nuestra Voz.

Martha Rosenblatt

Martha was born and raised in the Chicago area and received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin. From there she moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where she raised two children and became involved with Planned Parenthood. While serving on several committees for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she also served as its president for 3 years. This is where she met her husband, who followed her as president in the organization. After moving to Sonoma in 1989, the Rosenblatts became involved in the founding of the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, and Martha served as one of its early presidents. She is pleased to have served as La Luz’s Board President during the exciting year of its merger with Vineyard Workers Services. Martha has been a docent at the Bouverie Preserve and is one of the founding members of Impact100, a new organization of women committed to making a significant impact in our community.

Vicki Stollmeyer

Vicki Stollmeyer left Iowa for Spain as a high school exchange student, and fell in love with the Spanish language. She went on to earn a B.A. from the University of Iowa, and an M.A. in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin. She taught Spanish in universities and high schools, and tutored for many years at the Canal Community Alliance in Marin. She worked as a translator at the World’s Fair in Montreal (where she met her husband) and for the Canadian government. She has organized and worked as a translator for medical mission trips to Ecuador, Haiti, and Guatemala. She served on the boards of the Marin Foundation and the Tiburon Peninsula Club, and did publicity for school district fundraising and the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. She is a founding member of Impact 100.

Dave Stollmeyer

Dave is a native of Montreal and received his BA in International Relations from McGill University in 1967. For nineteen years, Dave worked in the cargo shipping and cruise line industries, with March Shipping, Costa Cruises. In 1980, he created and became President of American Hawaii Cruises and World Explorer Cruises. In 1985, Dave left the cruise line industry to enter another 24 hour service industry – electronic security – growing a small alarm company into one of the largest independent alarm companies in Northern California.

Dave has served on the boards of the Sonoma Ecology Center, Bread and Roses, The Nelson Family of Companies, Hospice of Marin, and the Sonoma Valley Fund. He has joined La Luz’s board as Co-Chair of the Finance/Development Committee.