Leadership & Board
A passion for Tahoe Truckee
Our Staff and Board of Directors, Past and Present
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Value Statement
We are here to serve our entire community and to co-create a place of home. We are in passionate pursuit of a just Tahoe Truckee community, where people of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and identities have an equal opportunity to thrive. We will intentionally infuse equity into all aspects of our governance, operations and programming, and equitably distribute and redistribute resources in our community.
Adopted by TTCF’s Board of Directors on February 10, 2022.
Current Staff
Stacy Caldwell, CFRE
Chief Executive Officer
Stacy has dedicated her career to community impact. For over two decades, she has specialized in venture philanthropy, social innovation, and economic development. Alongside TTCF staff and board, she engages community members around solving pressing issues. With her national network, she brings resources and expertise to inform our strategies. Prior to joining TTCF in 2012, Stacy was President and CEO of Dallas Social Venture Partners and Co-founded National Rural Funders Collaborative.
Phyllis McConn
Community Impact Officer
Phyllis has been part of TTCF’s mission since 2001 and has been involved in nearly every step of its evolution. She has served in a variety of roles including Grants Coordinator, Controller, Volunteer Coordinator, and Financial Support. She now dedicates her time to community engagement, nonprofit capacity building and organizational development, grantmaking, and the scholarship process. Phyllis is a voracious reader, loves volunteering, hiking, and visiting with her son who now lives in Denver.
Sache Cantu
Chief Operating Officer
Over the past two decades, Saché has worked on cross sector collaboration for social good. Prior to joining TTCF she served as the Community Giving Manager for the U.S. arm of BBVA where she led charitable contributions programs and initiatives. Connecting resources to community-based opportunities has been central to her work as a grantmaker and in the nonprofit sector where she has addressed issues ranging from economic development to education. She holds a BA from UT Austin and an MPA from George Washington University with a concentration in Budgeting & Public Finance. She lives in Grass Valley where she was raised and is an avid trail runner.
Kathy Whitlow
Foundation Services Director
Kathy joined TTCF in 2015 and has a background in Human Resources management. She is responsible for Foundation Services, including financial management, operations, and program support. Kathy became involved with TTCF as a volunteer and donor after moving to Truckee in 2007, and loves engaging young women in philanthropy through the Queen of Hearts Girls Giving Back initiative. Kathy enjoys spending her free time enjoying the Tahoe lifestyle with her husband and two kids.
Parisa Nodehi
Director of Operations
Parisa attended University of San Diego and Loyola New Orleans College of Law. After graduating, she primarily worked in the technology industry with a focus in the reliability of the electrical grid. However, her passion has always been in working and volunteering in her local communities and advocating for women’s healthcare rights and issues. Parisa grew up in Minnesota and spent summers in Truckee where she developed a love for the outdoors and mountain life. She now lives in Truckee where she enjoys reading and meditating by the beach, hiking, skiing, and exploring all that the Sierras have to offer.
Kristina Kind
Program Director
Prior to joining TTCF in 2020, Kristina worked extensively with youth-focused nonprofits in Lake Tahoe and in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is impressed by the resiliency of children and committed to galvanizing the community's resources to better support them. Kristina coordinates all program-related communications for MHC and CCTT. In her free time, she skis, hikes, and camps.
Erika Veidis
Forest Futures Program Director
Erika has 8+ years of experience in developing interdisciplinary approaches to climate and environmental solutions. Before joining TTCF, Erika worked at the intersections of environment and health at Stanford and the Planetary Health Alliance, where she built stakeholder coalitions, facilitated research collaborations, managed strategic communications initiatives, and taught sustainability and environmental humanities. She studied political science at Harvard and environmental economics while completing her MBA at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Erika moved to Tahoe from the East Coast and spends her free time skiing and trail running with her dogs.
Ashley Beck
Director of Engagement & Commnications
Ashley is a multi-passionate storyteller, community builder, and nature lover. Through her work with nonprofits, social impact initiatives, and tech startups, she has partnered with incredible people to make the world a little better. She creates and holds transformative spaces and events that dissolve perceived barriers and encourage people to think beyond the obvious. From 2014-2020, Ashley was TTCF’s storyteller then communications manager. After a brief hiatus, she is happy to again be part of TTCF’s mission in 2024. She brings an array of skills including strategy, campaign development, project management, event planning, and more.
Dana Crary
Community Impact Manager
Dana brings her diverse background in systems building and creative problem solving to help TTCF expand and strengthen the capabilities of Truckee and Tahoe communities. Prior to joining the team in 2022, Dana’s passion for building sustainable food systems led to a wealth of experience supporting nonprofit organizations focused on food justice and education, as well as working with small food businesses. She and her husband live in Truckee and enjoy sharing all that this beautiful section of the Sierra has to offer with friends and loved ones.
Maeve Donovan
Program Manager
Maeve brings her wealth of engagement and strategic skills to her position as Program Manager within TTCF’s Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee, Mountain Housing Council, and other impact initiatives. Prior to joining the team in 2024, Maeve gained in-depth experience in grant management, data storytelling, direct services, and youth education, equipping her with a deep understanding of community needs and effective program implementation strategies. She is driven by mission-led environments and works to create sustainable solutions for community resiliency.
Bobby Bear
Summer Intern
Bobby has spent much of his life living in the Tahoe National Forest. He is originally from Lakeport, CA where he was carved by his maker Mark Colp, a nationally renown wood carver. Bobby made his way to Tahoe and spent much of his life in a comfortable den at the base of Northstar. After the catastrophic wildfires season 2021, Bobby reached out to TTCF to see how he could be more helpful in protecting our community. Bobby officially joined the team in 2022 summer intern to help educate our community around sustainable forest management and wildfire preparedness. Have a question for Bobby? bobbybear@ttcf.net
Board of Directors
Kelley R. Carroll
Board Chair | Porter Simon Law
Kelley has served the TTCF Board since 2016. He previously served the boards of Truckee Donner Land Trust, SWEP, Sierra Senior Services, and more. He chairs TTCF’s Governance and Audit Committees. Kelley is a shareholder and attorney at Porter Simon where he began in 1991 after practicing in San Francisco. He focuses on estate planning, trust and probate law in California and Nevada. He strongly supports environmental and educational causes and groups that work to strengthen the local community and culture.
Erin Kilmer Neel
Vice Board Chair | Beneficial State Foundation
Erin oversees strategy and operations of the Beneficial State Foundation and leads development of social impact banking industry standards. She is grateful to work to address social and environmental injustices every day. She loves comedy, biking, paddling, and generally playing in lakes, rivers, mountains, and beaches with her fabulous husband, Beau.
Bill Austin
Founder of Pacific Crest Wealth Planning
Bill has lived in the Tahoe area since 1984. He has a Masters in Personal Financial Planning and is a Certified Financial Planner Professional™ (CFP®). Bill values TTCF’s ability to connect resources to community needs and environmental sustainability. He serves on TTCF’s Investment Committee and Excellence in Education Board (past president). Prior community service includes Tahoe SAFE Alliance and Truckee River Watershed Council. In his free time, he enjoys alpine and nordic skiing, mountain biking, golf and hiking with his family.
Emily Anne Gendron
Consultant
Emily joins TTCF with a passion for growing a diverse, vibrant middle class. She attended Princeton University and specializes in culture optimization and strategy execution in the tech, arts, nonprofit, and government sectors. Most recently, she’s collaborated with business leaders to enhance Tahoe-Truckee’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. She lives in Truckee with her wife and children.
Jerusha Hall
Board Secretary | Northstar California, Environmental Planner
Jerusha has loved living in Truckee-Tahoe for over 25 years. She enjoys cultivating community connections while raising her family and playing outdoors as much as possible. She serves on the Town of Truckee Planning Commission, the EpicPromise Giving Council, and owns a small business focused on forest health. She’s passionate about accelerating achievable housing solutions and utilizing forest resources to create a regional hub for wood products- while retaining community character.
Alex Mourelatos
Owner of Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort
Alex was born and raised in San Francisco and grew up coming to Tahoe in the summer and winter. His parents purchased the Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort in Tahoe Vista in 1978. Alex left Accenture, a global IT, and Management Consulting firm, after 17 years of service, in 2004 to run the Resort. He has spent the last 16 years growing a successful business that has served the North Lake Tahoe community during that period with a track record as a collaborative, progressive member of our community.
Kristin York
Sierra Business Council, Vice President of Economic Empowerment
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Kristin worked in corporate restructuring and turnarounds. She moved to Truckee with her family in 2001. She’s an avid backcountry skier, trail runner, and mountain biker. Kristin is also a Professor of Sustainable Business at Presidio Graduate School, an elected official on the Board of TDRPD, serves the Tahoe Food Hub board. She’s on a California task force to democratize capital through impact investing. She is helping TTCF create a community impact investment model.
Cheryl Schrady
Past Chair of Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy’s Board of Trustees
Cheryl is passionate about serving the local Tahoe Truckee community through her work with nonprofits. After graduating from Stanford University, Cheryl studied law and business at the University of Southern California earning a Juris Doctorate and Masters in Business Administration. Cheryl’s legal and business acumen made her well suited to practice law in the Bay Area focusing on corporate law, mergers & acquisitions, and securities law advising start-up and mature corporations (both for-profit and nonprofit) as well as financial entities and funds. The Schrady family moved to Truckee in 2011 and enjoys all that the Tahoe Truckee mountain life has to offer.
Mike Rayfield
Board Treasurer | CFO, Crooked Tree Ranch
Mike retired from the Semiconductor industry after 35 years. Initially holding sales and marketing positions and the last 20 years Senior operating positions at Cisco, NVIDIA, Micron Technologies and AMD. He is also the Board chair of Achieve Tahoe where he has been an instructor for the past 12 years. Mike graduated from the University of Vermont after studying Electrical Engineering and Pre-med. Mike, his wife Gina and their 2 children reside full time in Truckee on their horse ranch.
Shelly Purdy
Story Makers Media
Shelly grew up in Olympic Valley and is grateful to have raised her own family in Truckee. Before joining TTCF, she served on the Excellence in Education Foundation board for 10 years and in various positions on local school and youth sports boards. At the national level, Shelly served as an advisory board member for the Radio Television Digital News Association’s Environmental Journalism Center. She has worked in TV, public relations, video production, and marketing for 30+ years. She currently owns a communications firm that specializes in community outreach and engagement.
Past Board Chairs of the Foundation’s Board of Directors
| Name | Title / Affiliation | Chair Service | Board Service |
| Jim Porter | Porter Simon Law, Partner | 1998-2000 | 1998-2006 |
| Linda Brown | Retired TTUSD Teacher | 2000-2002 | 1998-2009 |
| Roger Kahn | Entrepreneur | 2002-2004 | 1998-2011 |
| Rob Kautz | Former SugarBowl Resort CEO | 2004-2006 | 1998-2009 |
| Scott Ryan | Ryan Group Architects, Principal Architect | 2006-2008 | 2001-2009 |
| Fred Ilfeld | Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Nevada Medical School | 2008-2010 | 2003-2012 |
| Patti Boxeth | Retired Finance Professional | 2010-2012 | 2005-2014 |
| Steve Gross | Porter Simon Law, Partner | 2012-2014 | 2006-2016 |
| Craig Lundin | 2014-2016 | 2009-2016 | |
| Walter Auerbach | Auerbach Engineering Corp | 2016-2018 | 2012-Present |