Janet is a former Mayor of Santa Rosa and served for 12 years on the Santa Rosa City Council. She served as a Sonoma County Planning Commissioner for 10 years. As a councilmember, she was instrumental in establishing Samuel Jones Hall, a homeless center. She served on the Mayor’s Gang Task Force and Co-Chaired the Peanuts on Parade Project. She worked for the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce and was the Executive Director of the Sonoma County Business Education Roundtable. She has served on many non-profit boards of directors including United Way where she served as chairman of the board twice, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Volunteer Center, the Salvation Army, A Place to Play and Shelter Solutions. She has received the Champion of Youth Award from the Santa Rosa Boys and Girls Club, a Community Partnering Award, Models and Mentors award from the Community Foundation of Sonoma County, and the 2003 Community Award from the Sonoma County Task Force on the Homeless. She and her husband, Dan, were recently honored by the Boy Scouts as Distinguished Citizens of the Year. Dan and Janet have three children and five grandsons all residing in Santa Rosa.
John F. Bribiescas - Vice President
As a native Santa Rosan, John is proud to be associated with Chop’s Teen Cub. In 2009, he retired from his high school alma mater, Santa Rosa High School, after a thirty-five year teaching career. John taught literature and writing and served as Chairman of the English Department for many years. He also coached high school sports for twenty-four seasons. Over the course of his career, he was honored two times as Teacher of the Year and was nominated again in his final year. In 1993, John was recognized at the California State Capitol by Congressman Mike Thompson for his achievements in public education. He’s featured in Who’s Who of America’s Teachers and he’s also received multiple civic awards for his work with community youth and building partnerships. John is the founding president of the non-profit Schools Plus. Additionally, he served two terms on the Santa Rosa Board of Community Services, one term as chairman of the board. Additional community service includes: Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce Education Committee; Community Foundation Allocations Committee; Leadership Santa Rosa; the Santa Rosa Citizen’s Academy and the Santa Rosa Citizen’s Police Academy. As a young man, John was greatly influenced by Santa Rosa community leaders James B. Keegan Sr. and Benny Friedman. He’s an avid surfer and outdoorsman and loves spending time with his wife Carol.
Steve Nielsen - Secretary
Steve was the interim executive director at Chop’s for five months in 2008 until a new Executive Director was selected to replace Tom Tolliver, who guided the organization from its inception ten years ago. He is a retired Santa Rosa City Schools’ administrator whose over thirty years in education includes stints as a teacher on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation; a university counselor at Northern Arizona University; an alternative education teacher and administrator in Cloverdale; and a principal in a variety of positions spanning infancy and preschool through high school and adult education in Santa Rosa. He is currently a member of the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission. He and his wife, Elisa, are avid hikers who have traversed many trails throughout the North Bay area. With their two children, they have been volunteers with the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods and the Assistance Dog Institute.
Captain Hank Schreeder - Treasurer
Captain Hank Schreeder joined Chop’s Board in June 2010. Captain Schreeder started his law enforcement career in 1988 at Fullerton Police Department and joined Santa Rosa Police Department in 1991. He has worked as a Motor Officer, Field Training Officer, Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Detective and S.W.A.T. Officer.
Hank was promoted to Sergeant in April 2000 and work in patrol. He also worked in the Investigations Bureau supervising the Gang Investigations Section where he was involved in the development of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force which focuses on the intervention and prevention of gang crimes in Sonoma County.
He was promoted to Lieutenant in September 2006 and served as a manager in both the Field Patrol and Investigations Divisions. He was promoted to Captain in 2009 and maintains the responsibility of the Investigations Division.
Captain Schreeder has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Long Beach. Captain Schreeder is married to Lisa, a Special Education instructor for Petaluma School District and he has two teenage sons, Josh and Zach.
Robin Stephani
Robin Stephani joined Chop’s board in the summer of 2008 after relocating her residence and business, one on each side of Chop’s, to the heart of the West End Historic District. As principal and owner of Stephani Design Studio, Robin has been designing residential, multi-family housing and winery buildings in Sonoma County for the last 9 years. Robin sees Chops, along with other strong neighborhood elements such as, the Round Barn Dog Park, weekly neighborhood bocce ball gatherings, The Railroad Handcar Regatta, the Santa Rosa Creek Trail, and the plethora of Rail Road Square Merchant sponsored events, as the sign of a vital and thriving neighborhood. As a neighbor, small business owner, designer, and mother, Robin has joined the Chop’s board, eager to participate and mentor the teens of this community.
Bill Pass
Bill works at Merrill Lynch as a Wealth Management Advisor. He was a long time friend and investment advisor to Charles DeMeo. Bill has been an investment advisor for the past 18 years following a 20-year career as a controller for a Fortune 500 Company. He has worked tirelessly to see Mr. DeMeo’s vision come to fruition.
Earlene Reichert
Earlene Reichert joined CHOPS in the summer of 2009 as the Railroad Square Business Association representative to the Board.
She is a retired high school teacher of English. Her teaching experience includes Speech/Debate, Yearbook and Academic Decathlon. She holds the distinction of being a Diamond Key Coach and Lifetime member of the National Forensic League. Her awards also include the Coach of the Year from the Golden Gate Speech Association, Teacher of the Year for West Sonoma County and the Campfire Inc. Charlotte Joy Farnsworth medal for service.
With retirement, she joined Welfare League of Santa Rosa and has served as Shop Director, Vice President and President. Presently she is the Publicity Chairperson and Railroad Square Representative.
Mrs. Reichert and husband Dick have lived in Santa Rosa for 28 years. They are members of the Chancel and Touring choirs of First United Methodist Church and recently are first time grandparents.
Jane Bender
Jane ran the Sonoma County ReLeaf from 1987-1999. She was responsible for the planting of thousands of trees with schools and at-risk kids throughout Northern CA. She served on the Santa Rosa Board of Community Services for 8 years, from 1990-1998. Jane was elected to the Santa Rosa City Council in 2000; re-elected in 2004; and then re-elected again in 2008 to serve out Bob Blanchard’s term. She served as Mayor from 2004-2006 and is currently serving on the following boards: Climate Protection Campaign, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army (youth services), and the Infineon Children’s Speedway Charities.
Jane has been involved and making a difference in the community for many years. She established the Santa Rosa Gang Task Force, participated in the Measure O Campaign to fund the programs and continued to serve as the on-going chair of that effort, which is a nationally recognized program. Jane will bring a wealth of experience to the Chop’s Board.
Michael Tonjum
Michael Tonjum Ph.D. is a licensed Psychologist who has been in practice for over 30 years. Specializing in the assessment and therapy of children and their families with special needs, Michael has extensive experience treating children who have been diagnosed as having ADHD, Learning Disabilities, depression, anxiety and pervasive developmental disorders. After 12 years as the Executive Director of LifeWorks of Sonoma County, a local non-profit agency, Michael has again returned to private practice. His practice now also includes working with children, adolescents and adults experiencing life transition difficulties, depression and anxiety. Additionally, Michael has extensive experience helping couples resolve marital/relationship issues. Michael is on the Board of Directors for the Collaborative Council of the Redwood Empire (CCRE) and provides coaching support to divorcing couples utilizing the Collaborative Process. Michael cares about the community and is committed to helping others.
Matthew Hunstock
Matt is a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He began working in the financial services industry in 2003, and joined Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in 2008. He earned his Bachelors Degree in History & Business Economics from University of California at Santa Barbara and holds an MBA with emphasis in Financial Planning from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA. In addition, Matt holds the designation of CFP® (Certified Financial Planner™)
Matt is a longtime and active resident of Sonoma County. He is involved as a board member for the Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation and the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network. He is also a member of the Sonoma County Medical Alliance Association. Matt stays active with sports & hobbies by being involved in a local USTA Tennis League, playing golf, photography, and in the winter time participating in skiing & snowboarding up in the Lake Tahoe area.
Rolf Nelson
Rolf is a third generation Sonoma County resident, who has always lived and worked here. As Senior Vice President of Retail Banking for Exchange Bank, he is responsible for the daily operations and performance of the bank’s 18 branches throughout the County. Rolf has been with Exchange Bank since 1990 where he started his career as Branch Manager of the Windsor Office . Rolfbegan his banking career as a management trainee with Security Pacific Bank in 1978. Rolf has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from CSU Long Beach and is a graduate ofPacific Coast Banking School in Seattle. Among other community activities, Rolf chairs the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce Leadership Santa Rosa program. He has served on the Chamber’s Board of Directors since 2004, is past president of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce and Windsor Rotary Club, is a founding member of the Roseland Cinco de Mayo event, and past board member of the Redwood Empire Chapter of the American Red Cross. Rolf and his wife Becky have two grown children, Todd (Chrissy) and Haley. Rolf joined the Chop’s Board because he feels there is no greater investment that a community can make than in it’s children.
