Events

Professor Sarrafan serves as Director of Film and Television Production at San José State University. He is majorly responsible for rebuilding the film production area of the department and has brought name recognition to the program.  He has over twenty five years of professional experience in the film and television business as a director, producer, designer, and editor.

As a filmmaker of two award-winning feature films Sting of Chance and Pizza Wars the Movie, Professor Sarrafan earned theatrical release and national DVD distribution. He has completed numerous award winning shorts, documentaries, and commercials as well. He has also directed and edited multi-award-winning music videos for The Donnas, Mix Master Mike, Townsend, High on Fire, Natalise, Nuthouze, Christopher “Kid” Reid, Paloma and the Ruby’s and Mark-D with airplay on MTV, MTV Chi, VH1, CMC, and music-related websites.

As an editor/designer/special effects artist, he has worked on: episodics such as Law & Order, Fame LA, Magnificent Seven,New York Undercover, Ultra Force, Soldier of Furtune, Pinky & the Brain, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sailor Moon, and Sea Quest. Specials such as the Oscars, the Emmys, Elizabeth Taylor Tribute, Sea World Special, Disney Special, the Ace Awards, American Film Institute Tribute, American Music Awards, and the Kennedy Center Honors. Motion Pictures such as Independence Day, Fled, Stargate, 2-days in the Valley, Meteor-Man, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Swift Justice, Moll Flanders, Steel, numerousMovies of the Week, commercials, and music videos for Henry Rollins and Michael Jackson. He is the creator of the very popular climate action hero The Green Ninja and director of its award winning live action shorts. Babak has directed numerous corporate, promotional, educational, and global broadcast projects for Intel Corporation, Adobe, HP, Samsung, Ecobold, Foodnap, Groupon, Yooala, and Four Wings Creative.

Larry Stone is the former Santa Clara County Assessor 

Jacab will share his highlights of a fascinating life and career.

While growing up on the LCO Chippewa Indian reservation in northern Wisconsin without running water or electricity, Jacob set his sights to become an electronic engineer.  By joining the US Airforce after high school, he utilized the GI Bill to obtain a BSEE and MBA and went on to a colorful career that took him to 100 countries.  While employed by GTE International,he pioneered the creation of multi-national power grids throughout South American and Southern Africa. Leading a Arthur D. Little consulting team, a leading think-tank firm,  he completed the master planning  for telecommunications for two new model cities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. For ADL he secured the contract for the planning of the national phone systems for the country of Thailand. Launching his own consulting company, he developed a communications and information system for the Chicago Board of Trade that triggered the demise and bankruptcy of ATT long distance and launched the Competitive Local Exchange Industry, a $100 B industry. As a consultant to NATO, he led the development of the first multi-national satellite based internet system serving Eastern Europe and Central Asia known as the Virtual Silk Highway. For the Mass Turnpike Authority he developed and implemented the first fiber optic based automatic toll collection system, now duplicated globally.  Over the past 15 years Jacob has collaborated with the University of Colorado at Boulder utilizing National Science Foundation funding to develop a thin film based ophthalmic lens that enables printing lenses at the doctor’s office allowing the delivery of eyeglasses at the time of the eye-exam.

Mantin Lu is the 2026 overall Speaker of the Year, an Amazon number one bestselling author, and a two time TEDx speaker. He spent over twenty years as a senior executive in the multi billion dollar gaming industry. During that time he mastered the exact mechanics of why people stay in a game and why they quit. His biggest leadership test came when his two year old son was diagnosed with autism. By combining his executive background with personal resilience, Mantin discovered that beating real life challenges uses the exact same structural patterns as winning a difficult game. This realization sparked the SLAY to LEAD movement. Today, as the founder of Success Spectrum Strategies, Mantin helps young leaders, professionals, and families replace fragile willpower with actionable game plans. Through his signature SLAY the Dragon framework, he empowers individuals to build executive function skills, master modern complexity, and reclaim their focus. Fresh off his second TEDx stage and holding the pinnacle Speaker of the Year title, Mantin is on a global mission. His work gives the next generation and their leaders a clear strategy to stop escaping their battles and finally lead their lives.

Pets In Need has been connecting hearts and completing homes since 1965. As a community-supported animal welfare organization serving the Peninsula, Pets In Need provides sheltering, medical care, behavioral support, adoption services, and community assistance programs that help both animals and the people who love them. Operating shelters in Palo Alto and Redwood City, Pets In Need serves nearly 9,800 animals each year through compassionate care, lifesaving partnerships, and programs designed to keep pets healthy, safe, and with the families who care for them. Potential speaking topics include animal welfare trends, access to veterinary care, behavioral rehabilitation, community partnerships, and the evolving role of shelters in supporting both pets and people.  They have the lowest “kill” rate at 97%.  There could be some really meaningful conversations around the current state of animal welfare and the work happening locally.

Paul Gunsky owns and operates the Los Gatos Theater right here in our town and will be discussing its histsory & the cinema business