John R. Alm – Founder and Chairman
John R. Alm served as President of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., from January 2000 to January 2006, the Chief Executive Officer from January 2004 to January 2006, and the Chief Operating Officer since October 1999. Mr. Alm joined the Johnson Coca-Cola Bottling Group as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1980. He held a number of senior management positions at Coca-Cola Enterprises, ultimately being named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from April 1999 to October 1999; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from October 1997 to April 1999 and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from December 1991 to October 1997.
Prior to his career in the beverage industry, he was a senior auditor for Price Waterhouse and a director of corporate audit for 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. Mr. Alm has been a Director of Kimberly-Clark Corp. since February 22, 2006. He served as a Director of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., from 2001 to January 1, 2006. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from State University of New York in Buffalo and is a certified public accountant.
Realizing his long-term dream, John and his wife, Carolyn, founded the Paintrock Canyon Program in 2000. Initially bringing 36 LA teens to Paintrock for the inaugural summer, where the youth spent one month at camp, far away from their everyday lives in Los Angeles. Growing in scope and purpose, what is now known as the C5 program has served over 2500 youth nationwide.
Dale Babb
Dale Babb is one of the founding members of Regency Real Estate Brokers in Mission Viejo, California. He is a broker, part owner and has served on the Board of Directors of Regency as Treasurer. He and his team specialize in providing exceptional service to all clients with an emphasis on corporate relocation. They work with companies such as UPS, Maytag/Whirlpool, British Petroleum, Conexant, Cisco/Linksys and many others.
Dale consults regularly with executives from a variety of fields to help create synergistic solutions for their real estate needs. Prior to his current position, he worked for two fortune 500 companies and helped with the success of a small business machines company.
Born in Grand Haven, Michigan, he has lived in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Kentucky. Dale now lives in south Orange County, California, with his daughter, two dogs, one noisy bird and a loving wife. One of his favorite things is to see others grow and become great. He loves life and sports of all kinds. Among his favorite quotes is from the book The Science of Being Great and is as follows, “There are undreamed possibilities in the common lives all around us, in large sense, there are no “common” people.”
Lynda Boyer
Vice President - Restaurant Specialist, CB Richard Ellis
Terence A. Fitch
Senior Vice President and General Manager, West Region - Coca Cola Refreshments
As the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the West Region, Terry manages the overall strategic and operational functions for Coca-Cola Refreshments’ in the 5 state, West Region with approximately 7,000 employees. Terry is responsible for annual volume of approximately 250 million cases and $2.5 Billion in revenue.
Terry graduated from Arizona State University, in 1983, with a Bachelors Degree in Finance and Marketing, followed by an Executive Degree from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, Food Industry Management Program.
Prior to accepting his current position, Terry held the positions of West Business Unit Vice President & General Manager and Division Vice President & General Manager in three different divisions of Coca Cola Enterprises: Arkansas in 1992, the Gulf States in 1994, and Southern California in 1998.
Terry also serves on the board of the LA Sports Council, the Harold Pump Foundation and the Smart and Final Scholarship Foundation. He resides with his family in Pasadena.
Noyan John Garemani
Noyan Garemani joined Smith Barney in 2005 as a Senior Vice President of Wealth Management Services, and a Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining Smith Barney, he was Senior Vice President and Wealth Advisor at Morgan Stanley. He was a member of the Chairman’s Club, a group which represents the top 175 advisors at Morgan Stanley. He has been advising high net-worth clients on financial planning and the management of their investments since 1988 when he joined Morgan Stanley. Noyan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles where he was also on the men’s varsity tennis team. He also has an MBA in Finance from Pepperdine University, and received his CIMA certification from Wharton Business School. He lives in Bel Air, California with his wife and two children
David Irvin Houck
David Houck was born in 1963 in a small but well-known town – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. After completing his grammar school locally, David attended The Stony Brook School on Long Island and then began college at Iowa State. Fulfilling his dream of living in California, he transferred to Pepperdine University in 1985
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, David founded Houck Incorporated. For over 18 years David has chosen highly qualified and skilled colleagues to join his family-oriented company. With over 60 employees today, David’s interest in them extends beyond the work atmosphere: he also assists them with achieving their own personal goals – he truly considers them his local family. This philosophy has enabled David and his team to build and manage hundreds of aesthetic projects – both interior and exterior – located throughout Southern California.
Born into a long line of philanthropists, evidenced by his 100-year-old grandmother’s recent recognition of her dedication and contribution to her community for over 80 years, David is no stranger to humanitarian work. His commitment to helping children started in the early 1980s when he began teaching Sunday school at his church. Serving on the Board of Directors for the C5 Youth Foundation, David shares the common goal to serve as a significant resource to develop the positive assets in today's youth, enabling them to achieve their full potential and to contribute to the improvement of their communities
J. Michael Issa
Mike is a founding principal and the Executive Managing Director of Ballenger Cleveland & Issa, a leading California-based turnaround and consulting firm. During his career, he has consulted extensively in the area of corporate turnarounds, workouts and bankruptcies.
Mr. Issa is a noted turnaround expert who has led teams in over 100 successful corporate rehabilitations. Mr. Issa and his teams typically employ an interactive hands-on approach and assist management with the actual execution of the turnaround plan, as well as its formation. Mr. Issa also heads the firm’s substantial real estate practice and merchant banking activities.
He has personally managed several billion dollars of debt restructuring and financing on behalf of his corporate and real estate clients. Mr. Issa frequently appears as an expert witness in a variety of bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy litigation matters. He has worked on over 50 corporate bankruptcies in his career in various professional capacities including CRO, Responsible Officer, Financial Adviser to the Debtor, and interim executive management.
Mr. Issa is a Beta Gamma Sigma MBA from the University of Texas and Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, the Association for Corporate Growth, the Urban Land Institute and the Newport Business Forum.
Jim Karmin – Secretary
Jim grew up in a northern superb of Chicago. He graduated from New Trier Township High School and then went on to graduate from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
After graduation, Jim became a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and is currently still active as a stockholder of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. While active at the CBOT he developed and oversaw a medical garment design, manufacturing and distribution company. Also, while based in Chicago, he owned and operated a brokerage company in the field of restaurant supply.
Currently, Jim is a principle at Risk Reduction Insurance Services specializing in liability policies. As one of the longest termed supporters of the C5 Youth Foundation, Jim now serves as Secretary for the C5 Los Angeles Board of Directors.
Brian S. Katz, CIMA - Vice Chairman
Senior Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Michael S. Lurey
Michael Lurey is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, where he has practiced since 1970. He is the chair of the firm's Southern California Insolvency Practice Group and former co-chair of the firm's global Insolvency Practice Group. He also chaired the firm's Finance Department from 1988 to 1991, which administers finance, commercial law and insolvency matters. Mr. Lurey regularly represents debtors, borrowers, lenders, creditors' committees and other parties in all aspects of insolvency matters, including chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings. He has represented borrowers, secured creditors and creditors' committees in major financing transactions and out of court restructurings. He has also represented lenders and borrowers in new financings and structured finance transactions.
Mr. Lurey is a frequent lecturer and chairperson for the American Bankruptcy Institute, the California Bankruptcy Forum, the Practicing Law Institute and various other state educational organizations. He has published articles on numerous aspects of secured and unsecured lending, second lien financings, fraudulent transfer laws, chapter 11 cases and loan restructurings and is co-author of Matthew Bender's treatise "Collier Lending Institutions and the Bankruptcy Code"(1985) and annual updates for that treatise.
Mr. Lurey was recognized as a leading bankruptcy and restructuring attorney in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 editions of Chambers USA legal guide and named as an Outstanding Bankruptcy Lawyer of 2003 by Beard Group Inc.'s Turnarounds and Workouts Reporter. He has been listed as a leading insolvency and restructuring counsel in Who's Who Legal every year since they initiated their review of insolvency counsel and has been named in The K&A Restructuring Register America's Top 100 each year since its inception. Mr Lurey was selected to membership in the American College of Bankruptcy in 1994. Mr. Lurey is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and was chairperson of the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of that association from 1981 to 1982. He has been a member of the Committee on Business Bankruptcy and the Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section of the American Bar Association since 1974. Mr. Lurey is a member and past president of the Financial Lawyers Conference in Los Angeles.
Mr. Lurey was part of the founding board originally known as the, Paintrock Canyon Program, from 2001-2005 and joined the C5LA Board of Directors in 2011.
Cathy Sandeen, PhD, MBA
Dr. Sandeen is currently Dean of Continuing Education and UCLA Extension at the University of California Los Angeles, a position she has held since December 2006. Serving over 55,000 students per year, UCLA Extension offers over 4,500 classes and programs per year meeting the professional development, continuing education, and personal enrichment needs of working professionals, companies, and organizations throughout the Los Angeles region and beyond. Dr. Sandeen oversees the academic, financial, operational, and outreach aspects of the program. With an annual budget of $43 million, UCLA Extension is a completely self-supporting enterprise, receiving no state or campus funds. Excelling in its quality, innovation, and impact, UCLA Extension is considered one of the top programs of its type in the US.
Dr. Sandeen also oversees Continuing Educational of the Bar (CEB), a partnership between the University of California and the State Bar of California that provides continuing legal education classes and legal guides and updates for the legal profession. CEB has an annual self-support budget of $28 million.
Dr. Sandeen has over 18 years of experience in continuing education and professional development at three University of California campuses. Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. Sandeen served for six years as Vice Provost and Dean of University Extension and Summer Session at University of California Santa Cruz. There she focused on strengthening ties with Silicon Valley companies and governmental and community organizations and expanded international programs and partnerships. Dr. Sandeen also was responsible for Summer Session, campus-based academic programs where enrollments increased dramatically during her tenure. In these roles, Dr. Sandeen forged a highly productive relationship between Extension and the UC Santa Cruz faculty.
Prior to UC Santa Cruz, Dr. Sandeen held several positions in continuing education at University of California San Francisco, culminating in the position of Assistant Dean for Educational Support Services within the UCSF School of Dentistry. She is active in the University Continuing Education Association, has held leadership positions in professional organizations, has published and presented in the field of continuing higher education, and has received major grants to support continuing education programs. She is the 2009 recipient of the Research and Scholarship Award by the University Continuing Education Association. Dr. Sandeen earned a PhD in Communication from the University of Utah and an MBA degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Bob Skousen
Title Fund Manager, Strategic Income Enhancement Fund, LLC
June Stoddard
June Stoddard was born in Milwaukee, WI and spent her summers in the north woods of Ontario, Canada canoeing, camping, and hiking. She attended Camp Northway, founded in 1910, where her daughters are now counselors.
Currently President of JS Executive Search, June spent the last 25 years as a consultant and advisor in strategic executive search specializing in financial services, consumer products, and green business. Since 1996 Stoddard has led JS Executive Search. The mid ‘80s began Stoddard’s search career in New York City and continued in Los Angeles working for several search firms: Ryan Miller & Associates, Heidrick & Struggles, Stanton Chase International, Career Smith, and directly for corporations such as Capital One Financial.
June is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin- Madison with a BA in English & Theater. She is a professional member of the Sustainable Business Council, Green Business Networking, Los Angeles Venture Association, and Provisors.
YOUTH BOARD
Josh Renfro
Valentin Gazcon
President, C5LA Alumni Association (Class of 2006)