Board of Advisors
- OWEN GERONIMO serves as the founder of San Francisco Fashion Week ™ and San Francisco Fashion And Merchants Alliance, Inc., a California non-profit corporation and social development network that champions in various sustainable projects in support of the thriving local fashion industry in the San Francisco Bay Area. He facilitates the monthly educational seminar ‘Fashion+TechSF’, a platform to discuss the business of fashion and arts through an open forum utilizing current business models and technologies. Owen Geronimo won the coveted ‘Best Fashion Event Producer of 2010 and 2011,’ award at the San Francisco Fashion Awards ™. He is also a social activist, an accomplished artist in the realm of abstract expressionism and also an entrepreneur, managing international logistics for a transportation service in Southeast Asia.
- ROBERT BURNS NIXON is Chief Financial Officer of SFFAMA and Online Editor for sffamainc.org. He is also Chief Economic Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for new venture businesses based in San Francisco. He is an economist, theoretician, executive editor and publisher at the Aesthetica Economica. Previously, Robert worked in consumer and business technology as a director for several private and public corporations in Silicon Valley and in strategic business operations for Sony Corporation in Japan, Europe and North America.
- An artist with classical training, Robert has worked as a consultant for Thomas Pink, Ltd., in Europe and was awarded the LVMH internship in Paris, France during business school. Robert graduated from the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University with an A.B. in International Relations and Economics. He holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and General Management from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France and speaks English, French and Japanese.
- GWENDOLYN WRIGHT, Managing Principal of The Wright Consultants, LLC, has twenty two years of management and business administration proficiency ranging from creation of new market opportunities and expanding distribution channels to development of quantitative sales and marketing plans, pricing new products, and financial feasibility risk analysis. She consults with entrepreneurs and C level executives and manages start-ups and emerging businesses from Portland, Oregon to New York City. With a love of fashion, food and lifestyle companies, she has extensive experience in apparel, jewelry and accessories design as well as green and sustainable products, digital, social and technical design and marketing, retail brands, manufacturing and sales, and e-commerce. Previously, Ms. Wright was a First Vice President and credit and portfolio executive in Private Banking, was appointed to both the Small Business Commission, where she served as Vice President and Budget Committee Chairperson, and the San Francisco Revolving Loan Committee, and was awarded USA Small Business Administration Finance Advocate of the Year 2005.
Ms. Wright received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and completed graduate study in Business Administration at Golden Gate University, and the National Commercial Lending Graduate School, Corporate Banking Division, at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. Additionally, she serves on the Advisory Boards of the internationally acclaimed San Francisco Black Film Festival, and Infin8 Sync, an entertainment production company, which features Bring Your Own Art, a quarterly empowerment event for independent artists.
- NATALIA E. THURSTON (Legal Counsel) holds a J.D. from Boalt Hall, U.C. Berkeley, an M.B.A. from San Francisco State University, and earned her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College. At Boalt Hall, Natalia served as an editor and author for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, and received the American Jurisprudence Award for small business counseling. Natalia is a practicing visual artist and dancer, and has been involved with San Francisco’s art community for many years. She has worked with numerous art and public interest organizations including California Lawyers for the Arts, Mission Cultural Center, Fogo Na Roupa, and Voiceofdance.com. Natalia has also served as a business consultant to organizations including Oracle Corp. and the East Bay Community Law Center.
- PATRICK CONSORTI - Patrick is based in San Francisco, California. Over the years since he worked as an independent consultant for Altos Advisors. He has built a track record of success in sales and has brought new initiatives from concept to market delivery, winning both recognition and market results for his work in telecom and high technology. Patrick’s work experience includes Cisco Systems (6 years), Tandem Computers / HP (11 years), Infitel and Brazil Telecom. His rolodex includes executives from US Operators, VARs, large enterprises, Network Equipment Providers and the Bay Area venture community. Mr. Consorti is a board member of International School of the Peninsula. He also served as for three years as an ISTP Trustee in the 1980s. He and his wife have two children who are graduates of the school. Patrick will serve as Co-Chair of the Endowment Committee for 2009-2010. He previously served on the Endowment and Audit Committees. Patrick works in the network infrastructure industry
- BRAD CARRICK, Business Development & Marketing and founder of SOLZ Shoes. SOLZ Shoes combines a lifestyle shoe company with an extendable microbranding platform. It has designed and patented a unique, lightweight casual shoe that folds up in a small “capsule” that can be clipped on to bags or clothing. It has also launched “The Walk Street Movement” and “The Sneak In Artist” as additional lifestyle brands. SOLZ is the name of the company and also the flagship brand. SOLZ shoes is marketed as the “Ultimate Beach Shoes” and a platform for self-branding, sponsorship opportunities enabling working with clients to license or franchise any of their brands.
- Brad graduated from Colgate University with B.A. in International Relations, Economics and Asian Studies. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from IE Business School in Spain.
- JOANNA RILEY WEIDENMILLER is the co-founder and CEO of The One Page Company, a communications company that specializes in utilizing the next generation of user interface applications to create OnePage Proposals and delivering them across all platforms. The company is based in San Francisco, CA and its technology partner, We@link is based in Shanghai, China. She is partner of 360fashion a global network enabling the leading web and mobile applications for high level fashion professionals to build their brand image. Joanna is CEO of EventPod China, a new technology streaming live photos from networked cameras instantly on TV/display screens. EventPod is based in the USA and has successfully partnered with the leading event and photography companies in China.Joanna sits on the international board for WildAid advocating to end illegal wildlife trade. Prior, Joanna was CEO and founder of Performance Advertising Associates in New York and Chicago, a outsourced company specializing in business to business marketing for Fortune 500 companies. Joanna was born and raised in San Francisco, CA and was a full scholarship rower at The University of Virginia, where she received her BA in Foreign Affairs.
- LORRAINE SANDERS is a San Francisco-based writer, blogger, media consultant and the founder of SF Indie Fashion, a web site and resource covering the San Francisco Bay Area’s wealth of independently-run fashion labels, local designers and independent retailers. She covers fashion for 7×7’s Glamwatch, the San Francisco Chronicle and its SF Unzipped blog and writes regularly about fashion, art and small businesses for Daily Candy, NBC Bay Area, KQED, the Noe Valley Voice and many others. Additionally, she is a part-time fashion journalism instructor at the Academy of Art University, as well as a freelance copy writer and media consultant skilled in developing online content and social media strategies. Her clients include Kayak.com, TravelPost.com, the Temple Music Group, Relevant Searches and Yojo Mobile. She holds an A.B. in English from Brown University and an M.A. in Communications from Stanford University and was recently selected as a news entrepreneurship fellow by the University of Southern California Knight Digital Media Center.
- OLIVIA ONGPIN was born in San Francisco and resided in various neighborhoods before settling into her 5-unit building in the Mission. She has a keen sense of what each San Francisco neighborhood has to offer. This knowledge, and her belief in diligence and communication, is paramount to being a quality real estate agent.
- A career-long entrepreneur, she comes from a background in mercantilism, consulting, and customer service. As founder of the Fabric8 gallery, boutique, and website - which markets and sells local, independent artists and designers — she has over 14 years of experience in helping both sellers and buyers make sound investments.
- Olivia graduated from Stanford University with a degree in American Studies. She received the SF Bay Guardian Small Business Award for Diversity in Business (2005) and was chosen as one of the Top 25 Women On The Web (2000).
