Board of Directors
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Mohawk Valley Stewardship Council (MVSC), is a non profit corporation committed to protecting, conserving and restoring the physical, cultural, archeological, and historical resources in the Mohawk Valley. Restoring and overseeing the long-term operation of the White Sulphur Springs Ranch as a cultural and environmental hub for our region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains has become a priority project for the MVSC. We are a non profit 501(c)(3) corporation EIN# 26-3910738.
Board Of Directors
Mark Cowan, President
Richard D. Short, Vice President Susan Pettinato, Treasurer Nancy Meyers, Secretary John Barker, Director John Lullo, Director Bill Tantau, Director Sally Tantau, Director Our Director's BackgroundMark Cowan, President
Mark was born and has lived his entire life in California, as a ninth-generation Californian. He developed a love for the outdoors and small-town life after his family moved to Angels Camp in the 1960’s, and longed throughout his years in Silicon Valley to return to these roots. He ‘discovered’ Graeagle in 1990 through the family camp run by his alma mater, University of the Pacific, at the Feather River Inn, purchased a home in Graeagle in 2008, and moved here full time with his wife Georgia following his retirement in 2017. As an electrical engineer, Mark’s career spanned 41 years in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices, including extensive design and multidisciplinary project management with project budgets exceeding $20 million. Over his career, he amassed more than 40 patents in the field of medical devices and instrumentation. He has served on the boards of various community organizations, and until recently on the advisory board for the University of the Pacific Biomedical Engineering program. In addition to a passion for travel, Mark enjoys everything that this area has to offer including fishing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, and for better or worse a round of golf now and then. Dick Short, Vice President Richard (Dick) was born in nearby Reno Nevada, grandson of George Short who at the age of one year rode in a covered wagon with the family on their journey to the West on the California Trail in 1857. His mother’s father Andrew Paterson emigrated from Scotland in 1886 to Reno, Nevada. Dick first visited the Mohawk Valley as a child in 1949 and as a young adult began a life-long love affair with the area in 1967. In 2002, Dick and his wife Debbie purchased a home in Graeagle where they have become full time residents. Dick is a graduate of the University of Nevada, College of Civil Engineering. Upon graduation, he moved to San Francisco to pursue his engineering career. Soon after, he obtained a Masters Degree in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of California in 1972. After a successful career in the Bay Area, he moved to Graeagle in 2013. He opened his office in Graeagle where he continues to practice civil and geotechnical engineering. Dick’s expertise includes foundations for structures, landslide repair, foundation repair and retrofit, innovative reinforced soil solutions for foundations and earth retention. He invented a slope repair system that was recognized in 2005 as one of the outstanding news stories of the year by McGraw-Hill publications. Dick has been very active in professional societies where he was responsible for the creation of an educational trust which has given over $700,000 in scholarships. Dick has served as a Trustee on eight Boards including corporate and nonprofit organizations. He was asked to teach foundation design at U.C. Berkeley were he recently resigned after ten years. In addition to his professional and charity activities he is a professional sculptor having created over 30 busts of a variety of subjects in bronze or terracotta. Nancy Meyers, Secretary Nancy is a California native, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She and her husband, Jim, both graduated from U.C. Davis. Nancy also has an Executive MBA from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. She is retired from Union Bank, headquartered in San Francisco, where she was VP/Manager of Incentive Compensation. She also worked in the semiconductor industry with Etec Systems and Applied Materials; serving in positions including Financial Planning Manager, R&D Administration Manager, Government Contract Administration Manager and Director of Compensation. Her husband was raised in Taylorsville and is a graduate of Greenville High School. He introduced Nancy to Plumas County in 1968 and thought they might like to retire here. After living in Dublin for 30 years, they bought their home in Valley Ranch (Clio) in 2007 and have been full time residents since 2013. Nancy is also on the Board of Eastern Plumas Community Assistance Network (EPCAN) which operates the food bank in Portola. She is a RedRover Reader with High Sierra Animal Rescue, volunteers at the Mohawk Community Resource Center, and is active in many facets of the Mohawk Valley community. Nancy has been a member of the MVSC for several years, and was an active member of the original Buy A Brick Committee. In May 2018 she was appointed as Recording Secretary to the Board. Susan Pettinato, Treasurer Ms. Pettinato is a third generation Californian. She was born and raised in Sacramento, where she attended Sacramento State University. Her summers, as a youth, were spent at Donner Lake. Susan developed a deep connection to the Sierra Nevada, and an appreciation for the natural history of her surroundings. In 1993 Susan and her husband Sam purchased a home and property in the beautiful Mohawk Valley. Susan devoted many years as the Volunteer Coordinator for Horses Unlimited, a Plumas County non profit therapeutic equestrian program. Susan was responsible for recruitment, education, and coordination of 30 volunteers. In 2005 Susan was introduced to the concept of land conservation and her dream of preservation for the White Sulphur Springs Ranch was given new life. John Lullo, Director John was born in Chicago, Ill and attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is a graduate Metallurgical Engineer, and after 33 years with a large metals producer, with assignments all over the world, he retired to the Bay Area in 1997. He and his wife Judith became permanent residents of Plumas County in 2002. John has served on the Foundation Board of Eastern Plumas Health Care for over 10 years and served as treasurer of the Graeagle Men’s Golf Club for 5 years. He is an active woodworker and has shown his work in craft fairs all over Plumas County. John became active in the Mohawk Valley Stewardship Council in 2009 and was impressed with the goals of the organization and the dedication of the membership. He is the publicity chairman for the MVSC and continues to produce publications that keep the public informed about the activities of the organization. John Barker, Director John is a retired California Licensed General Contractor from Portola, California. He built custom homes in the Eastern Plumas area as well as the Portola Northside Fire Hall and the framing for the original Carmichael School. Since retirement he has owned, operated and repaired two historic lodges in the Lakes Basin area, Gold Lake Lodge and Elwell Lakes Lodge. John has extensive construction knowledge and a great deal of historical knowledge about the infrastructure of White Sulphur Springs Ranch. Bill Tantau, Director Mr. Tantau's parents purchased and built a homestead in 1960 on the ranch that adjoins White Sulphur Springs Ranch (WSSR) to the north and the family has been coming here part time since then. In 2007 he and his wife Sally moved to their ranch as full time residents. The Tantau's used the facilities at WSSR on many occasions in the 60s and 70s and have long been concerned at the recent deterioration of the property. They are active in this community and welcome the opportunity to participate in the rescue of this historic landmark. Mr. Tantau is a retired airline captain with prior non-profit organization experience. He is a native Californian and a graduate of UC Davis. Sally Simon Tantau , Director Ms. Tantau was raised in Illinois and, after graduating from the U of Michigan, came west to teach. She and Bill were married in 1961 & have two daughters, Margo & Shelley, and one grandson, Cooper. They lived in the Napa Valley for 35 years where Sally was an interior designer. She looks forward to restoring the buildings on the White Sulphur Springs Ranch. One of her volunteer efforts in St Helena was working on the Napa Valley Wine Auction committee for it’s first 13 years thus giving her first hand experience in fund raising. ______________________________ 2014 Advisory Board Ginny Liljefelt, Tim Buckhout, Janet Reihsen, Linda and Tom Cooley, Barbi and Jay Hendrick, Yvonne and Robert Ware, Alice Berg, Kim Kalbaugh, Marnie Malpass |
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