Judy Koch, Founder, Co-Chair of the Board

Prior to founding Bring Me A Book in 1997, Judy was President, CEO, and Board Chair of RSP Manufacturing Corporation from 1990 to 1997. RSP provided electro-mechanical contract manufacturing services to companies in Silicon Valley. Bring Me A Book grew out of a benefit program she had provided employees of her company. Judy began her career as an English teacher in California public schools. In 2004, she co-founded Fortune8Ventures LLC, a global business development company with offices in Shanghai and San Francisco. She is a member of The Committee of 200, Women’s Forum West, University Rotary Club of Palo Alto, and a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum. Judy received the Philanthropic Innovator Award in 2004 from the Committee of 200, and the 2003 Early Intervention for School Success Educator of the Year Award.

Thomas Geiser, Co-chair of the Board and Treasurer

Currently a Senior Advisor to the private investment firm Texas Pacific Group, Tom was Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of WellPoint Health Networks Inc, with responsibility for the company's legal and public affairs. Prior to joining WellPoint, he was in private law practice advising health care organizations as a partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison in San Francisco. He received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Elaine Andersen, Board Member

Elaine Andersen, PhD, is Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Neuroscience at the University of Southern California. Among her career interests and research pursuits, Elaine has specialized in exploring the relationship between language and cognition across the lifespan, with studies of child language acquisition in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Basque. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, the Spencer Foundation and the March of Dimes. She received her BA, MA and PhD at Stanford University. She divides her time between residences in both Southern California and Palo Alto, where she continues to consult with colleagues at Stanford University.

Dianne Calvi, President, Board Member

In addition to serving as President of BMAB, Dianne serves as Chair of the Read Aloud Collaborative of Silicon Valley; a member of the Young Readers, Future Leaders Initiative; a member of United Way’s Partnership for School Readiness; and Board Director for Shelter Network. Before coming to BMAB, she was Vice President of Marketing and Development for YouthNoise, a nonprofit venture of Save the Children. Previously, she worked in sales, marketing, and consulting positions for Microsoft, Xerox, and Montedison Corporations (Milan, IT). Dianne received a BA from Stanford University and a MBA from Bocconi University (Milan, IT) on a Rotary International Scholarship.

Kristine Schray Erving, Board Member

Kristine is a community leader with strong experience in non-profit board development, community project development and resource utilization. As well as former President, Junior League of Palo Alto • Mid- Peninsula, Kristine also has served in leadership positions on the boards of the YMCA-Mid-Peninsula, Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Palo Alto Senior Coordinating Council (Avenidas), the Experience Corp, and the East Palo Alto YMCA. She also founded Stanford Hospital’s medical library for the lay public, and Peninsula Habitat for Humanity’s first accelerated build and fundraiser. Kristine received a BS from the University of Oregon, and an MAT from the College of Notre Dame.

Christine Z. Loker, Secretary

Chris has had a 25 year career in Human Resources working with a number of Fortune 500 organizations. Most recently Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Charles Schwab & Co., Chris also has held senior management HR positions with Universal Studios, Levi Strauss & Company, and Bank of America. She is currently a Partner with her husband at John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller in San Francisco, specializing in buying and selling rare, antique children's books. Chris serves on a variety of national and international nonprofit boards, where she is active in HR, strategic planning, leadership, and board governance work. She received a BA from Stanford University and attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Connie Martinez, Board Member 

Currently Managing Director of 1stACT Silicon Valley, Connie Martinez was the Executive Director for Children's Discovery Museum(CDM) of San Jose during a seven year period of growth and expansion. CDM is considered one of the top ten children's museums in the nation and provides over 150 interactive exhibits and holds several award winning programs for the local community. Connie has lived in California since 1986, holding several leadership positions within the community including Director of Strategic Initiatives for University of California Santa Cruz, Vice President for Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network and Deputy City Manager, Planning Director and General Services Director for the City of Mountain View, CA. Connie has a BS in Finance and an MBA in Information Systems from the University of Colorado.

Brian Rogers, Board Member

Brian Rogers, an Oakland native, is currently the Executive Director of The Rogers Family Foundation, an organization that supports and enables the development of Oakland education and youth development organizations. The Rogers Family Foundation currently works with over 100 Oakland organizations in order to create systematic change as well as nurture innovative educational strategies. Previous to his current position, Brian was the manager of the Lair of the Bear, a family summer camp run by the UC Berkeley Alumni Association, as well as an English teacher and tennis coach at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. Brian graduated from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business as an undergraduate in 1995 and received his California teaching credential from St. Mary’s College in 2000.

Katherine Schiffeler, Board Member

Katherine Yuan Schiffeler was appointed by the Governor of California to serve as the China Director, California Technology Trade and Commerce Agency, from 2000-2004.  Prior to her appointment, Katherine provided business development advisory services for over twenty-five years to Asian and Chinese companies looking to expand across the Pacific.  Katherine also co-founded Fortune8Ventures, LLC in 2004, an international business consultancy and investment group.  She is President of Welcome Club International-Shanghai; Member of Council of American States in China; Board of Directors of the CereCure Center, a school and rehabilitation center fore Cerebral Palsy children in Shanghai; and is the recipient of many awards and recognitions from government and institutions.

Rod Verhulp, Board Member

Rod recently retired as the Vice President of Finance at Yahoo! Inc. His professional experience also includes tenures with Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he held senior management positions in finance. Rod spent 5 years working overseas in Saudi Arabia and London. His non-profit experience includes board and leadership positions with youth sports organizations, and he has helped raise funding for public and private schools. Rod has BA degree from the University of Puget Sound and a Masters of Science degree from Cal Poly.