Corporate Bios

Dirk Lorenz – President Dirk is a founding member of CTPG, and has championed the use of the Center Theater as a community performing arts venue since serving on the Centerville Redevelopment Project Advisory Committee. The Lorenz family has lived and grown up with Fremont through several generations, most recently as owners of Fremont Flowers and The Depot Diner. Dirk is 2006 – 2007 Board Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce; he currently serves on the Fremont Planning Commission, ran for City Council in 2004, as well as a board member for the Centerville Business & Community Association and the Irvington Business Association. He is a Fremont Education Foundation associate board member as well as a trustee for the Washington Hospital Foundation. fremflwr@pacbell.net 510-755-1011

Julie Gilson – Vice President Julie is a founding member of the organization and has lived in Fremont for over 20 years. A C.P.A., she has worked with many locally owned businesses as well as with public companies and presently works for Network Equipment Technologies, a Fremont telecommunications equipment company. Julie serves on the board of the Fremont Cultural Arts Council and is an active member of the Centerville Business Association. jmgilson@comcast.net 510-468-0284

Janice Gebhardt – Secretary Janice is a new member to CTPG and has resided in Centerville since 1978. She is employed at Stanford Hospital where she has worked for over 17 years in the IVF program. She has been active in the Fremont Unified School District, serving many years as PTA president for Parkmont and chairing school site council for Washington High School. She established the Centerville After School Homework Center, the first joint project between the City of Fremont and FUSD.
gebjani@comcast.net 510-206-7905

Becky McLain – Treasurer Becky is a founding member of CTPG and Fremont resident since 1973. She is a retired City of Fremont Redevelopment Coordinator, where she worked for thirteen years and was part of the development team that formed the various Redevelopment districts. Prior to that, Becky was with City of Berkeley for twelve years, culminating in the position of Redevelopment Manager. She is a past member of the Irvington Business Association, the American Business Women’s Association, and is presently President of the City of Fremont Association of Retired Employees. Becky lived in Centerville for five years and is now a resident of Warm Springs.
rrmclain@aol.com

Sue Ten Eyck – Board member Sue joined the Board of CTPG in mid-2005 to replace relocating board member Jim Ferguson. Sue is a 40 year resident of Centerville. Currently Sue is Chair Senior Commissioner for the City of Fremont and a Senior Peer Counselor. Retired from a full time job Sue works part time as the Program Administrator for the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society, the cooperating association with the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont. She is immediate past chair for the Tri-City Elder Coalition and is a member of the Fremont Citizens committee for the next 50 years. sue10eyck@comcast.net 510-797-2457

Marcelle (Maggie) Pederson – Board member Maggie was elected to the CTPG Board in 2006. She grew up in Fremont, having moved here in 1962. She is an active member of the Centerville Business and Community Association (CBCA), and has served on the CBCA board as Treasurer for several years. Maggie is also a member of the Exchange Club of Fremont. She has worked with CTPG since the planning and hosting of Oscar Night 2006. Maggie looks forward to bringing the entertainment she remembers as a child back to Centerville, and adding variety that would enhance the experience for both Fremont’s children and their parents.
maggie.pederson@sbcglobal.net 510-710-9501

Evelyn La Torre – Board member Evelyn first moved from Montana to the tri-city area when a senior in high school. She graduated from Washington Union High in 1960. She has been a resident of Fremont since 1972, after earning a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1983, she obtained her Doctorate degree in Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. Evelyn worked as a School Psychologist for Fremont Unified School District from 1974 to 1980. She retired in 2002 as a School Administrator for Contra Costa County, after 32 years in Education. Evelyn met her husband, Walter, a retired Computer Program Analyst and Peruvian native, while she was serving in the Peace Corps from 1964 to 1966. The LaTorres have two grown sons, Tony and Tim and live in the Kimber Park area of Mission San Jose. elatorre@aol.com 510-651-6773

Maria Sicalbo – Board member Maria Sicalbo is working for KFAX Christian Radio Station in Fremont as a Sales Assistant and Graphic Artist. She has telecommunication background and public service work in the community. She is an ambassador for the Greater Hispanic San Jose Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Centerville Business and Community Association and a member of Jubilee Christian Church. She recently joined the CTPG as a board member. She has lived in Fremont for 33 years.
Maria7@pacbell.net 510-304-6829

Gaby Machuca – Board member Gaby is President of the Centerville Business and Community Association, a Library Commissioner, Centerville small business owner, past president of PTSA, Community Activist, and the mother of 5 children. She assisted with Celebrate Fremont event planning, and recently joined the CTPG board.
Gmachuca7@aol.com 510-978-1657

Advisory Board:

Victor Backer - Victor served as a board member for over a year and a half and continues to provide advice in the area of public relations. He has a wealth of contacts in the entertainment industry. Presently at KTEH Television, the San Jose PBS affiliate, Victor has lived in Fremont for several years.

Jonathan D. Larose, Esq. MBA - Jonathan assists the organization with legal advice as needed and is a member of Willett & McKay law offices in Fremont. He worked on a similar project to the Center Theater in southern California, and has been assisting CTPG since 2002.

Jack Rogers - Jack has been a Fremont resident for over thirty years and worked for the City of Fremont. At retirement, he held the position of Director of the Recreation Services and Maintenance Division. In this role, Jack shepherded the CTPG’s initial organization and receipt of a $25,000 grant from the City’s Redevelopment Agency, which was used to hire a consultant to assist in preparing the Group’s Business Plan for the theater. Active in Rotary, he is president of the Niles Rotary Club and is also a board member of Celebrate Fremont.

Andy MacRae - Also a founding member and long-time resident, Andy worked for Xerox Artificial Intelligence and Sun Microsystems. In the mid 1990s he founded one of the first web development companies in the SF Bay area, specializing in web sites for cities, school districts and other governmental entities. Currently Andy works for Hurricane Electric in Fremont, a business technical service provider specializing in technical web hosting, including dedicated servers and collocation. Andy is a member of Fremont’s Historical Architectural Review Board and currently serves as president of the Fremont Museum of Local History. He is a past member of the Fremont Library Advisory Board, and also helped found, and continues to manage the daily operations of, Fremont Online (Fremont’s community web site). A classic movie fan, he also produces staged radio plays on an occasional basis.
amacrae@macrae.net

Nina Moore - Nina has served on the board of the Fremont Education Foundation since 1997, and served as Foundation president from 1999 - 2003. She is also currently serving her second term on the Fremont Unified School District Board of Education, and is a board member of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, where she focuses on improving the collaboration between the business community and our schools. Nina has lived in Fremont since 1991 with her husband Mike and their two children. She is a transplanted East-Coaster who moved to the Bay Area in 1988 to join Sun Microsystems, where she worked as a Director of Information Technology until 1993. After leaving Sun to become head of Client Services for a San Mateo start-up, Nina retired in 1995 to spend more time with her family and take a more active role in her community. Her previous local community involvement has included: League of Women Voters, Action Committee Chair; Tri-Cities Children’s Centers (now Kidango) Board of Directors; FUSD Commission on Instructional Equity; FUSD Community Facilities Committee; Niles PTA.

Margaret Thornberry - A Fremont resident for over ten years, Margaret’s background in technical project management skills developed during the last 20 years at Pacific Bell and subsequently Network Associates in Silicon Valley. She has a MS in Systems Management-Information Systems. She is president of the Fremont Cultural Arts Council and chairs the Food, Art, and Entertainment committee of Celebrate Fremont. She was project manager for the 4th of July when it was held in the Irvington district, and continues to be active in the Irvington Business Association.

Yoko Young - Yoko joined the Advisory board of CTPG in July of 2006. She is the artistic director and owner of Yoko’s Dance Studio in Fremont and is an active participant in the Fremont community. Yoko joined the CTPG board because of her love for the arts and the needs of this community.