Advisory Board Members

Kristi Barens is a founder and principal of Mullin Barens Stanford Financial (MBS Financial), a leading consulting firm that assists companies with 409A and other executive compensation and benefit needs. With many years of consulting experience in the design and funding of executive benefit programs, Kristi has worked with hundreds of corporations on their customized benefit and insurance plans for key employees. Kristi’s giving nature has earned her nominations for Philanthropist of the Year, Executive of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal’s ‘Women Making a Difference Awards’.

In Memoriam

Peggy was born in Escondido, California, and lived on her parents' citrus ranch until she was 17 and came to the Los Angeles area for college. Peggy accepted an honor scholarship to Occidental College, later transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, and finished up at Wright MacMahon Secretarial School. She worked in the purchasing department of a small defense firm and later became a one-woman office for her former boss in his new company.

Peggy married William E. Bloomfield, and together in 1947 they founded Web Service Co., a coin-operated laundry business. This venture was when automatic washers first appeared, and the business grew rapidly. Peggy was the "office," and her husband managed everything else. They spread out gradually, until the company finally covered all of the Sun Belt across the country. She is still active on the Board of Directors, as Secretary and Chair of stock records. Web Service's national headquarters is located in Redondo Beach.

Peggy has one stepdaughter, Carole, and Bill and she have two children: Joanne Hunter and William Bloomfield, Jr. Together, they have eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2004.

At UCLA, Peggy was active as a member of the Board of Councillors of The UCLA Foundation, Chair of the Chancellor's cabinet of the Chancellor's Associates, a member of Women & Philanthropy, and participates with other groups. She served on the board of the Westwood Village Rotary Club Auxiliary and the Concern Foundation. Also, Peggy was active in her Bloomfield Family Foundation, plus was a supporter of the Jonsson Cancer Center at UCLA, KCET, the Music Center, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She was a member of the Mayflower Society and the D.A.R, as well.

Linda Bozung, a retired Partner at DLA Piper in Los Angeles, was a leading Land Use and Entitlement attorney in California. She managed the entitlement and CEQA processes for major projects like The Grove, Americana at Brand, and the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Her expertise included CEQA, Zoning, General Plan, Fifth Amendment takings, natural resources, endangered species, wetlands, and Development Agreements. Linda frequently spoke at industry conferences and held prominent roles, including on the ABA Governing Council and as chair of its Land Use Committee. She was recognized as one of “The 50 Most Powerful Women in Los Angeles Law” and named among the top real estate lawyers in LA County. Linda also earned accolades such as Super Lawyer and Top Dealmaker and was listed in the Best Lawyers in America. Beyond her legal career, she chaired the Weingart Center, served on the boards of the Santa Monica YMCA and Public Counsel, and contributed to significant environmental and urban planning efforts. Linda holds a B.S. from Purdue University, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and an LL.M. from Harvard.

Susan has more than 22 years of financial services and commercial real estate experience, and is managing director, Private Client Advisor at U.S. Trust. She has a demonstrated history of working with clients on both the asset and liability sides of the balance sheet, is committed to client confidentiality and accountability, and is skilled in portfolio management, capital markets, commercial lending, hedge funds, and strategic planning.

Iris Cantor is chairman and president of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. She and her husband, B. Gerald Cantor (1916-1996), established the foundation in 1978 to support the visual arts as well as medical, educational, and cultural institutions and programs in the United States and abroad. Her passion for advancing women's healthcare has led to the establishment of comprehensive women's health centers on both coasts—at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center and at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Mary Ann Cloyd was a senior partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) with responsibility for leading PwC’s Center for Board Governance at the time of her retirement in 2015. Cloyd has over 39 years of public accounting experience serving multinational corporate clients in a variety of industries including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Since February 2016, Cloyd has served on the board of directors of Bellerophon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on developing innovative products combining novel drugs and devices in the treatment of cardiopulmonary and cardiac diseases.

In Memoriam

Jan Cloyde enjoyed a career in management with several top 20 banks. She first retired from City National Bank in Los Angeles in 2006. She co-founded a community bank after raising $350 million in the private equity markets in 2009. She served as its president and a board member until her second retirement in 2011.

Suzanne Fisher is a director with the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation. She is a niece of Ms. Cantor. In April 2017, the board of directors of the Cantor Foundation named vice president of the board of trustees, Ryan Fisher, the new executive director of the Foundation. Ryan is Suzanne’s son. 

Karren Ganstwig retired from a 30+ year career as an executive in retail management in order to more fully focus on breast cancer advocacy. She is a member and team leader for advocacy at the National Breast Cancer Coalition. While she served on the board of the American Friends of Technion University, she and husband, Howard Welinksy, endowed a breast cancer research scholarship.

Denise Goldfarb is the CFO/director/secretary and husband, Andrew, is president of the Pergo Foundation, which gives primarily to education, the arts and human services. Andrew was previously president and CEO of HCC Industries, Inc. Many leading-edge companies involved in the aerospace, defense, geophysical, nuclear, and medical fields depend on HCC for their glass-to-metal-sealed Interconnection devices. 

Eileen has been a healthcare leader, entrepreneur, and advocate for underserved women. She built two highly respected pharmacy services companies that were both acquired by public companies. As President and CEO of Home Pharmacy of California, she built an innovative and industry leading regional home infusion pharmacy company which provided infusion, nutritional and specialty medication and services to patients in their homes. She led the company through major changes in the healthcare environment concluding with a strategic acquisition by Walgreens Health Services. She worked closely with the leadership of Walgreens Health Services to open up strategic opportunities within California. Eileen also founded Patient Care Pharmacy, an institutional pharmacy company, which provided comprehensive pharmacy services to long term care facilities. As President and CEO, she orchestrated a strategic sale to Integrated Health Services, a public company that owned a national chain of subacute hospitals. She received her doctorate in pharmacy at USC School of Pharmacy where she has served as Chair of the Board of Councilors and as an adjunct clinical professor of pharmacy. Her professional and community organizations have included Young Presidents Organization, Downtown Women’s Center, Iris Cantor UCLA Women’s Health Executive Advisory Board,  Women’s Leadership Network which mentors women in transition, John Douglas French Alzheimers Foundation and Fulfillment Fund which provides one on one mentoring to underserved youth.

Julia Gouw retired from East West Bancorp in 2016 after over 25 years with the company. She also retired from the board of directors of East West Bancorp and East West Bank. In 2003 and 2008, the Los Angeles Business Journal named her "Philanthropist of the Year." In 2012, she was named one of “L.A.’s Top Women in Finance.” Institutional Investor magazine named her among the "Best CFO’s in America in 2006."

Patricia started her career in employee benefit consulting and sales at Mutual of New York, in the New Business Underwriting Department, then moved into pension investment sales at CAN, and from there worked in consulting at Johnson & Higgins. In 1991, Patricia was hired to run the U.S. Sales & Marketing for an international subsidiary of Bankers Trust. Since her 1995 retirement, Patricia has been managing her own investments and focusing on philanthropy.

Linda Griego’s career spans Los Angeles civic leadership, philanthropy, business, and government service. She is the founder/vice chair of the MLK Health and Wellness Community Development Corporation, managing projects like the Jacqueline Avant Children Center and the MLK Behavioral Health Center. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Previously, Linda served on boards such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital and Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She has been a trustee for foundations including the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the UCLA Foundation.

Her government roles include Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Community Development Bank, and the L.A. Economic Task Force. In business, she renovated a historic 1912 firehouse into offices and a restaurant and serves on the board of Paramount Global. Linda holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from UCLA and received the UCLA Medal in 2008. She is a former senior fellow of the UCLA School of Public Policy.

Roslyn Holt Swartz is a real estate developer and president of Leader Properties, Inc., Leader Fairfax, Inc., Leader 358, Inc., Leader 359, Inc., and Leader Ventura, Inc. She previously served as CEO of Beverly Stanley Investments. She is a former coordinator of oral history at the Elderly Jewish Community Center in Venice, CA, and in 1974, she worked for the library of the Los Angeles County Planning Department. Roslyn is a certified community college instructor for the state of California. 

Cindy Huang is a seasoned leader in the finance and investment sectors, with over 20 years of experience as a top banker at Citibank N.A. and HSBC. She founded Edgewater Investments and Edgewater Capital Group, venture capital firms investing in innovative tech companies like SpaceX and Palantir. Under her leadership, five companies from her angel investment portfolio have gone public on Nasdaq. As CEO of EC Lending, Cindy leads a company with billions in funding capacity. She also co-founded Swifa, a fintech joint venture focused on open banking and cross-border payments, and founded Apex Financial Holdings, a bank holding company expanding operations into Asia. Cindy holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science from National Taiwan University, specializing in global climate research and GPS systems. Committed to philanthropy, she is a founding member of the Women Leadership in Philanthropy Fund, advocating for Asian women’s empowerment and leadership. Cindy resides in Los Angeles, where she continues her professional and philanthropic work.

After her admission to the California State Bar, Judge Isacoff worked in a small law firm specializing in criminal law (1971-1975) and then joined the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. Judge Isacoff was involved in a pioneering domestic violence unit, where she prepared the guidelines for the prosecution of child-abuse cases. Judge Isacoff was appointed to the bench by then-Governor Jerry Brown in 1981. For her first 16 years, she served in the criminal division. In January 1997, she moved to the civil division and ultimately spent two years as one of four judges in the appellate division of the Superior Court. She served a total of 23 years on the bench, retiring in 2004.

Krystyna has been practicing law for over 30 years, and was most recently was a partner with Klein DeNatale Goldner. Her practice included personal injury and products liability litigation. Kryssy and husband, Lee, formed The Lee & Krystyna Jamieson Recovery Home for Women & Children, an 18-month addiction recovery program. This program helps mothers going through the recovery process maintain critical bonds with their children by continuing to live with them and learn useful life skills. She has been recognized as Volunteer of the Year by the State Bar of California, and continuing that driving force to always do better, Kryssy currently works as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). 

Lisa is the chief operating officer of The Ranch Malibu. The Ranch Malibu offers 4 to 10-day luxury fitness retreats designed to promote weight loss, health and wellness. She began her career as an equity research analyst with Lehman Brothers, then moved to positions with HBO, MTV Networks, VH1, and Endemol USA. Her husband, James Keston, is the chief investment officer of LARO Properties, a diversified investment company headquartered in Los Angeles, and was named one of Orange Country’s “Most Influential” by the Orange County Register in 2018. 

Jason is a retired shareholder of Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Lincenberg & Drooks, where he practiced business litigation and white collar criminal defense from 1983 to 2010. He authored or-coauthored six articles and lectured on ethics and other legal topics to various groups. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1970 to 1983, where he prosecuted federal and state criminal offenses and defended the government in civil suits. Among Jason’s criminal cases that had a broad impact was a rape case in which Jason successfully argued that the victim’s prior sexual behavior was not admissible. Jason was then asked by Representative Elizabeth Holtzman’s office to consult on the drafting of what became Federal Rule of Evidence 412, which limits the admission of evidence of a victim’s prior sexual behavior in the federal courts. Jason also created a course on the subject of expert witnesses at George Washington University Law School. Jason is a member of the Community Advisory Board for the UC Health Care Planning Study, the Advance Care Planning Advisory Group of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, UCLA’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program Steering Committee and the Collection Advocates Group at Iowa State University’s Brunnier Art Museum. He created a Museum Experience Fund at Pennsylvania State University which provides grants to encourage and create opportunities for students to explore museums and the museum field. Jason also advises nonprofits on stewardship practices. Jason received his BA from Pennsylvania State University and his JD from George Washington University Law School.

Elaine is a compensation management consultant. She completed the sale of her firm in 2020.  Prior to selling her firm, Elaine spent over 35 years providing compensation consulting services to prominent private and independent grantmaking foundations, as well as nonprofit organizations across the country. Elaine created the Total Compensation Survey of Foundations which is recognized as one of the most respected data sources for compensation, benefits and related information for the philanthropic sector. She has held numerous leadership positions on various nonprofit boards. Elaine continues her philanthropic endeavors, including the creation of a no-kill animal center in honor of her parents. She treasures her involvement with this board, which she joined as a founding member in 2004 as a legacy to her mother and favorite aunt to ensure expanded research in women's health.

Lauren co-founded Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in 1984 with husband, Arthur Levine. Ms. Leichtman has been a private equity investor for more than 27 years. In addition to planning the strategic direction of LLCP, her activities include primary responsibility for the investment activities of LLCP and institutional fundraising. Ms. Leichtman is chairperson of the Investment Committee of the Fund. Prior to founding LLCP, Ms. Leichtman practiced law for approximately ten years, including three years with the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She is recognized as one of the first women to have managed more than $5 billion in investment capital.

Susan Levine is the Founder and CEO of Career Group Companies, a top recruiting firm in the U.S. With a focus on building meaningful connections, Susan has become a trusted advisor to executives nationwide. She launched Career Group, Inc. in 1981 as the first high-end recruiting firm for executive and administrative support, followed by Syndicatebleu for creative roles. Her firm has since expanded to include Fourth Floor for fashion and Career Group Search for C-level positions, serving major markets like Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Her leadership has taken a niche brand into a widely recognized industry name, specializing in handpicked freelance and direct hire placements that serve both candidate and client in the most personalized way possible. Under Susan’s leadership, the company is known for personalized placements and has received numerous accolades, including six consecutive years on Forbes' list of America's Top Recruiting Firms and Inc.'s 2022 Best in Business. In 2023, she was recognized as one of the top 200 Female Founders by Inc.

Beyond her professional achievements, Susan is dedicated to philanthropy, focusing on the IDD community through Best Buddies and supporting cancer research initiatives. In her free time, she enjoys family gatherings, traveling to Capri, interior design, cooking, and spending time with her grandchildren.

Lois Magnin’s husband, Jerry, is the president and CEO of Bruin Pharma, which he co-founded in 2002 with Dr. Alan Fogelman. Bruin Pharma was created to spearhead the development of D-4F and significantly increase its availability. D-4F is a drug that dramatically reduces arterial plaque build-up in animal studies and demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity. Jerry is the former president of Polo Ralph Lauren Beverly Hills.

From 1968 to 1997, Judith worked at Teledyne, Inc., becoming Corporate Secretary in 1987 and General Counsel in 1990.  After retirement she learned an important lesson from her organic farm in Brazil.  Namely, that she didn’t belong in farming!  Since then she has served on a for-profit board and several non-profit boards.

Kathleen identified herself as a homemaker on a 2016 campaign contribution form. Husband Jonathan is the chairman of Arix Bioscience Plc. He has 35 years’ global experience in operations, strategy and business development and extensive expertise within the biopharma industry. He has raised over $20 billion in new capital and throughout his career has been engaged in business development and mergers and acquisitions on both the buy-side and sell-side, globally. 

Azar and husband, Harry, have two children, both who earned BA’s at UCLA. The Sagheb’s have been benefactors to the Pacoima Middle School since 1996 after seeing a news story about a fire at the school, and were featured in a 1995 Los Angeles Times articles when they offered a Van Nuys high school student $12,000 to replace a scholarship to Scripps College that was lost due to a mix-up on her financial aid form. Harry was a retired biochemist.

 Joanie Sutantyo is a principal with Multi Investment Associates which owns and operates commercial properties. Currently they own four office buildings and two industrial properties that have a combined assessed value of $39.2 million. Dun & Bradstreet estimates sales of $5.7 million for the company.

Lily Sutantyo is a partner with Multi Investment Associates which owns and operates commercial properties. Currently they own four office buildings and two industrial properties that have a combined assessed value of $39.2 million. Dun & Bradstreet estimates sales of $5.7 million for the company. Husband, Kiki, is associated with Bio-Green Planet, Inc., an energy conservation company that has estimated sales of $643,000. 

Josie is chair of the Los Angeles region’s Tiffany Circle for the American Red Cross, a community of women leaders in business, entertainment, the arts, and philanthropy. These women advance the American Red Cross mission by engaging and embracing women within their regions, across the country, and around the world. Josie has 20+ years of experience in consulting including with Price Waterhouse and in the electronic payment industry. Josie has been awarded the prestigious Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation from the National Association of Realtors, joining a select and distinguished society of over 1,400 real estate professionals throughout the world.

Janet A. Wells is president and CEO of Insta Graphic Systems, the world’s leading heat transfer and heat transfer machine manufacturer serving the apparel industry. She was the first woman appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Juanita Krepps to the Southern California Regional District Export Council, an export advisory board to the president. Over the past 40 years, Janet has worked closely with the Department of Commerce representing U.S. small and medium-size businesses on numerous export and trade initiatives. In 2000, Janet accepted the president’s “E” Award from Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley in recognition of Insta Graphic Systems’ export excellence. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was asked by Governor Newsom’s office to form and lead a team of business executives to help the state obtain personal protective equipment (PPE) for California medical care facilities. Janet and her team successfully helped the state source and acquire hundreds of thousands of PPE for California and many of its hospitals.

Janet has worked with professional and community organizations including the California Fashion Association’s executive board; the Young Presidents’ Organization “Lean In” program, which mentors young female leaders; and the Women’s Leadership Network mentoring women in transition. She attended UCLA as an undergraduate and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa then graduated magna cum laude. Janet is married to Stephen Kahane, D. Env., president and CEO of International Coatings Company.

Cari is the founder and president of Athena Parking, Inc. which encompasses parking management as well as ownership in parking and other real estate investments. She is one of only a few women in the ownership arena of the parking industry. Her parking career spans more than 43 years, and she maintains an active role in overseeing all of Athena’s operations. Cari’s educational path included the American School in Switzerland and USC. She is married to Richard Dane, also an executive in the parking industry. Cari is an officer and past chairperson of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District and on the advisory board of the City of Hope Real Estate Council.

Sue Yang currently consults and helps multi-national companies develop international strategies, especially in China. After nearly two decades in banking, Sue held various leadership positions at Bank of America and East West Bank. As senior vice president at Bank of America, Sue led the strategic investment of the company in China Construction Bank, which generated billions of investment gains for Bank of America. She was executive vice president with East West Bank before she left in 2013 to pursue her other career interests.

Susan is president of Horizon Construction, an apartment and industrial space management and construction company that she started with her husband, Edward, 35 years ago. She is also the owner of the Channel Road Inn in Santa Monica and the Inn at Playa del Rey in Playa del Rey. Since her husband’s death in 2006, Susan has had less time to devote to the management of her hotels as she and her daughter, Alissa have taken over the apartment management business adding commercial office buildings and a small strip mall to their holdings. Susan remarried Alan Bilanin in 2013 and their extended families now include 10 grandchildren.