Board of Directors

Les Adler
Dean, School of Extended Education
Sonoma State University

Les Adler is Professor of History in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University and former Dean of the School of Extended Education.  During more than three decades of academic and administrative work at the regional, statewide and national levels, he has promoted interdisciplinary learning community-oriented progressive change in higher education. Most recently, with the goal of sharing educational resources with individuals, communities and organizations outside traditional university boundaries, he established the Hutchins Center for Interdisciplinary Learning at SSU and, as Dean, played a central role in founding the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SSU and contributing to the national development of university-based, lifelong learning programs designed to serve America’s growing senior population.  He has been a board member of the Whitman Institute since 2005.


CJ Callen
Program Director, CFLeads

CJ Callen has a twenty-year history of leadership and management in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector. She brings to her work an extensive background in public policy advocacy, grassroots community organizing, and foundation strategy and program development. Currently, she serves as the Program Director at CFLeads, a national organization dedicated to advancing learning, reflection and action related to community foundation leadership. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Changemakers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting diversity in philanthropy. During her tenure at Changemakers, she provided the vision for the “Beyond the Choir” campaign and the ”Re-imagining Philanthropy Dialogues Project,” which focused on story-telling and the use of video to engage people in a public conversation about giving and community change. Before then, as Director of Programs at Northern California Grantmakers, she was responsible for overall planning, integration and assessment of the organization’s professional development, organizational effectiveness, public policy, and family philanthropy work. During her tenure at NCG, she established the “Heart of Philanthropy” as a signature program for strengthening reflective practices in the field. As a member of the Transforming Money Collaborative, she has both participated in and facilitated “Conversations on Race, Class and Money.” Early in her career as a public policy advocate, she founded a citywide youth organizing group, Youth Making a Change.

CJ is member of the Advisory Board of the Foundation Center’s San Francisco Branch. She is a former member of the Public Policy Committee of the Independent Sector and a past board member of Women & Philanthropy. CJ received her JD from Stanford University and her BA in political science and philosophy with honors from New York University.


John Esterle
Executive Director, The Whitman Institute

John Esterle is the Executive Director of The Whitman Institute. He began working at TWI in 1988 as a research associate and in 1999 assumed his present position. In 2004 he led TWI’s transition from an operating to a grantmaking foundation. John is also the board president of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE). PACE’s mission is to work within the field of philanthropy to inspire interest, understanding and investment in civic engagement and democratic renewal. Through 2001-2002, John also served as the PTA president of Rooftop Alternative K-8 Elementary School. Prior to joining TWI, John directed Crime and the News Media, a pilot project that featured a series of dialogues between journalists and proponents of alternatives to incarceration. He received his B.A. in Liberal Arts from the Hutchins School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Sonoma State University and his M.A. in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University.


Sue Ellen McCann
Senior Executive Producer, KQED, Inc.

Sue Ellen McCann joined KQED Public Broadcasting in 1999 and is an Executive Producer on numerous documentaries and programs at KQED. She has been honored with a variety of awards, including Academy Award nomination, and local and national Emmys. Currently, Sue Ellen executive produces QUEST, a cross editorial/ platform series on Northern California science, environment and nature and Truly CA, a documentary series of eclectic stories about California. Prior to working at KQED, Sue Ellen operated Studio Miramar, an independent production company with her husband, working on CD ROM education tools, touch screen kiosks and early web site development. Her activities in the education arena continue today at KQED in the development of both traditional education tools as well as social and place-based media. Sue Ellen is a distinguished alumnus from Sonoma State University where she graduated with a BA in Liberal Studies. She earned a MA from the San Francisco Art Institute.

Jill Blair

Strategy and Organizational Improvement Consultant

for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Community

Jill Blair started her career as a consultant in 1992 after having worked in the public, private and philanthropic sectors on policy, civic engagement, youth development and public education. In 1998 in partnership with Fay Twersky and Paul Wisotzky, Jill founded BTW informing change, a California-based consulting firm that provides information-based consulting to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.  In 2006 Jill relocated with her family to Seattle, WA where she is now continuing her consulting practice independently. Jill works with nonprofits and philanthropy on strategy development, organizational learning and program and initiative design. She has authored scores of reports and articles addressing a wide range of issues affecting the independent sector. In addition to her passion for helping improve practice and performance in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Jill is deeply committed to the work of The Whitman Institute and proud to be a part of its Board of Trustees. Jill and her partner Fay Twersky share their lives with their two children, David-Nathan and Sophia - a very complete family which Jill describes as her most important life accomplishment. Jill recently joined the board of the Seattle City Club, an organization that works to build knowledge, create connections, cultivate trust and inspire civic action.

Staff

John Esterle, Executive Director


Pia Infante, Program Associate

Pia Infante is an Oakland based consultant and coach whose mission is to support leaders and organizations to be awake, joyful, integrative, and catalytic.  Pia has served on staff at The Whitman Institute for five years.  She is a member of the Movement Strategy Center’s Organizational Development Practitioners for Social Change cohort and The Coaches of Color Consortium.  Pia has an M.A. in Education from The New School for Social Research, a B.A. in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley, and an Executive Coaching credential from The Academy for Coaching Excellence.    

Consultants

Dan Clurman, Website / Interviews

Dan Clurman is a coach, trainer, teacher, and organizational consultant. Over the past 25 years, he has provided communication training and coaching to organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors such as NASA, EPA, and Wells Fargo Bank. He has also taught courses in critical thinking, group dynamics, conflict resolution and coaching at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where he is on the faculty of the Ageno School of Business. In addition to leading communication workshops through his business Communication Options, he also coaches individuals and couples on the psychology of money. Dan earned a B.A. in anthropology from Columbia University in New York and an M.A. in psychology from Sonoma State University. He is also a guild certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method® and conducts ongoing training in somatic education. Besides co-authoring two books, Money Disagreements: How to Talk about Them and Conversations with Critical Thinkers, Dan has published a book of poetry, Floating Upstream, and a book of cartoons, You’ve Got to Draw the Line Somewhere.


Deanne Stone, Newsletter / Profiles

Deanne Stone is a freelance writer living in Berkeley. For the past 20 years, she has specialized in writing about family philanthropy, family businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Besides writing profiles of the founders and chronicling the histories of these organizations, she has also authored more than 100 articles about common issues confronted by families working together. She is the author of the book Family Issues and contributed to the books Splendid Legacy: A Guide to Creating Your Family Foundation; Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations and The Succession Workbook: Continuity Planning for Family Foundations. She is a regular contributor to the magazine Family Business and writes profiles of social justice lawyers for the magazine, Superlawyer.


Edd Conboy, Fellow Emeritus

Edd is a program director and staff therapist for the Council on Relationships in Philadelphia. A seasoned therapist with more than twenty years experience in the field, Edd as worked as a coach and consultant to bring the skills, knowledge and expertise of the psychotherapeutic community into non-traditional settings in addition to his work as a private practitioner. He has also designed and implemented leadership development programs for young emerging leaders in public-benefit organizations, as well as social-emotional intelligence and compassionate listening trainings. Prior to developing his consulting practice, Edd worked in the performance psychology field helping elite athletes and their coaches prepare for major competitions.

Edd was designated a TWI fellow in 2005.  In that capacity he facilitated monthly “Funder Reflections,” started TWI’s blog, and played a key role in informing the Institute’s perspectives on the link between dialogue, critical thinking, and effective action. He is now a Fellow Emeritus of TWI.