boardBios

Cristina Piasecki Chair	Born in Washington D.C. and raised in California , Cristina was a Family Giving Tree delivery elf for three years before joining the Board of Directors in 2004. She graduated from San Jose State University with a BS degree in Business Administration, specializing in Human Resources. Currently, she uses this degree to make her living as a self-employed Human Resources Consultant. As a consultant, she is primarily focused on HR management customized for the client, including HR infrastructure, programs and policy, and employment law. Before becoming an independent consultant, Cristina served as Director of Human Resources at Novell for 15 years. Cris is married to husband Steve and together they have two grown sons, David and Paul. Her Jack Russell Terrier, Jackson (Jax for short), rounds out their family. She is interested in fitness, travel, gardening, antiques, and reading.

Todd Yoshida Treasurer	A Bay Area native all his life, Todd graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from San Jose State University. He founded his own structural engineering firm in 1989 after working for various other firms in the Santa Clara Valley. Todd has been with the Family Giving Tree since its inception and is Jennifer's constant reminder that she is making a difference in the lives of people.

Jennifer Cullenbine Executive Director	Jennifer is a true native Californian who graduated from San Jose State University with an undergraduate degree and a Masters in Business Administration. She created the Family Giving Tree as a class project in 1990 and has been the Queen Elf and Executive Director ever since. Jennifer strives to promote volunteerism and donates hundreds of hours each year to Public Television (KTEH), The Cancer Society and numerous local events.

Larry Sacks	Larry has been a member of FGT board of directors since 1996! He has worked for a variety of firms in Silicon Valley, most recently with Netscape/AOL. In 2003, he formed a Systems consulting business called "KC and Associates" and classifies himself as a "systems geek". In June of 2004, Larry and Gerry Young formed an alliance and now work together as part of Focused I.T. Solutions. He is currently employeed by the City of Cupertino as the IT Assistant, and holds a staff photographer position at The Santa Clara Weekly. Larry is an avid photographer and can be seen at many FGT events toting a camera. He has his own photography business; Larry Sacks Photography. Larry is an active volunteer with Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose and when he is not working, he can be found racing (on a track), working pit crew and as crew-photographer for friends that race in the SCCA, autocrossing, driving his Fiat, cooking, hiking and playing tennis.

Gerry Young	Gerry is a third-generation Californian. He was raised in San Rafael, while his father was raised in Sausalito. Gerry's grandmother was born in Santa Clara, and his great-grandfather owned an orchard near the Winchesters (of Winchester Mystery House fame) in San Jose. This orchard was next to a dirt road that was once Stevens Creek Road. He is married to his soul mate Tami and currently resides in San Jose. He has two cats: Scooter and Jazmine. Jazmine loves to be chased by Scooter, while Scooter has such a great sense of smell that he is known by Gerry and Tami as their "FBI Cat!" Gerry has two college degrees one in Computer Science and the other in Business Administration. He also has received a Life Award for surviving three decades in technology. He is Founder and CEO of Focused I.T. Solutions. He also is a clay sculptor, and loves to cook (he loves all food!), garden, and go fishing. His favorite TV show is Stargate SG1. He joined the Board to be apart of the Family Giving Tree's passion of helping children. He is a past Board member of the San Rafael High School Alumni Association. Gerry and his wife enjoy being Deacons at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in San Jose.

William (Bill) Cilker, Jr.	Bill is a property manager and orchardist, who lives in Milpitas with his wife , Liz, and daughter Cindy. Bill graduated from Los Gatos High School and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He works in the family business managing commercial and agricultural property. Bill also sits on the Agricultural Advisory Board of the Santa Clara Water District, his home owners association and is active in the Model A Ford Club. He is past president of the Milpitas Rotary Club and the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau.

Josh McFarland	Josh McFarland is the Founding CEO of My Two Front Teeth, and is currently a Sr. Product Manager at Google. Prior to this, he was a Senior Product Manager at Zaplet, a business process management software company. McFarland earned his Bachelor's degree with distinction in Economics at Stanford and was selected to complete the Mayfield Fellows Program, a highly prestigious fellowship designed to hone entrepreneurial skills. McFarland has also worked for Riffage.com and Trilogy Software – and yes, even as a driver in a coal mine.

David Selinger	David "Selly" Selinger describes himself as a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Rich Relevance, a data mining company. In addition, David co-founded Redfin, building the next generation of real estate software which was recently featured on “60 Minutes.” He has also developed extensive experience in software development and business intelligence throughout his career including stints at Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Palo Alto BMW Research Center, 2Roam Wireless and Engage media. He received his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Stanford University with a specialization in robotics and artificial intelligence, and has authored a number of patents and papers in data mining and internet technologies.

Jonathan Hicks	Jonathan D. Hicks is an associate with Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, Inc.'s Litigation and Employment groups. Jonathan works on matters related to employment practices, wage & hour defense and advice, fraud, breach of contract, trademark, copyright, media and entertainment, and general business litigation. He also periodically presents seminars throughout the Bay Area and Tri-Valley on employment topics, including wage and hour, hiring, terminations, discrimination claims and employee leaves. Jonathan graduated from the Law School at the University of Southern California in 2004. He was the Public Interest Law Foundation's auction co-chair, academic coordinator for the Black Law Students Association and a quarter-finalist in the Hale Moot Court competition. He clerked for Associate Justices Ronald B. Robie and Coleman A. Blease in the California Court of Appeals, Third Appellate District. He also wrote a dissertation on California reforms in direct democracy with Professor Erwin Chemerinsky. Jonathan received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley for political science in 1999.

Larry Rogers

The Family Giving Tree

Board of Directors