Events

Jennifer Armer started working for the Town in 2015 as an Associate Planner in the Community Development Department.  In late 2017 she was promoted to Senior Planner with the responsibility for managing the update of the Town’s General Plan.  She is currently the Planning Manager.

Jennifer has 16 years of planning experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and received her Masters in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley. Jennifer loves how planning connects with so many different interrelated topics that continue to provide new learning opportunities.

Joel Paulson started working for the Town in 2000 as an Assistant Planner in the Community Development Department and is currently the Community Development Director where he manages the Building Division, Planning Division, and Code Compliance and staffs the Planning Commission. Joel has 22.5 years of municipal government experience, 21 of which have been with the Town of Los Gatos.

Joel is a graduate of Humboldt State University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Planning.
 

Forty years ago, as a 23-year-old recent graduate of UC Santa Cruz, Dan Pulcrano moved to Los Gatos, founded the Los Gatos Weekly and joined the Los Gatos Rotary Club.

Funded by community investors, the Los Gatos Weekly competed with the established Los Gatos Times-Observer—which he bought eight years later to create the Weekly-Times.

Dan also founded the free weekly Metro Silicon Valley, and has bought four other similar papers around the Bay Area, including Good Times in Santa Cruz and the East Bay Express. The publishing group, known as Weeklys, now owns more than 15 publications, including community newspapers in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Scotts Valley, Watsonville and King City.

His newest publication is the Los Gatan, which began publishing in September.

He is married to his wife Juliana, and has three daughters.

Rotary Club of Los Gatos cordially invites you to our second annual Virtual WineFest & Auction
on Saturday, January 29 starting at 5 pm

Won’t you join us, help us help others all while enjoying good food, good wine, good company, and all for a good cause. 

Pick up your Wine Kits which serves 2 people for $150.00;
- includes 4 half bottles of specially selected Argentinean wines
- accompanied by an array of sweet and savory snacks.

Wine Tasting will be led by a professional Sommelier from Rootstock wine bar in Los Gatos.  Online auction will include exciting items to bid on.  “Raise Your Paddle” to fight local hunger.  

*All proceeds benefit Los Gatos Rotary Charities Foundation, which furthers the mission work of local and international charities we support.

A returned Peace Corps Volunteer and AmeriCorps Fellow, Darren joined Uplift Family Services (then Eastfield Ming Quong) in 2002 as a volunteer, and has since served as Development Manager, Associate Director, and now Director of Development. He has been a Certified Fund Raising Executive since 2013, and is currently a member of AFP Silicon Valley.

DeMonsi has provided 20 years of mission-driven, quality service at Uplift Family Services, managing multiple aspects of fund development—ranging from recruiting and managing volunteers, developing and managing successful events, submitting and receiving grant awards, successfully managing a major gifts portfolio, supporting three auxiliary stores, and more.

“Working with donors and volunteers to affect profound and meaningful change for children and families in our community has been a gift; I couldn’t imagine a more rewarding career,” said DeMonsi. “I’ve been truly blessed to be a part of the Uplift family for so long.”

Darren resides in Scotts Valley with his a 14-year-old neurodiverse son, Evan. He works out of Uplift Family Services’ Los Gatos office.

About Uplift Family Services

Uplift Family Services is one of the largest, most comprehensive behavioral health treatment programs in California. Each year, we do whatever it takes to help more than 34,000 children and family members manage and recover from challenges stemming from prior trauma—such as severe neglect and abuse—and learn the essential life skills they need to be successful at home, at school, and in their community.

Eric Drew is a former Los Gatos High School football quarterback, runway model, and VP of several Silicon Valley global firms.  His miraculous survival from a “terminal” leukemia, after every medical center in the US said nothing could be done, has brought hope to millions, and inspired new groundbreaking medical technologies and treatments.  

Diagnosed in his prime at age 35 with only days to live without emergency treatment, Eric’s charmed life as he knew it was over in an instant.  After two years of excruciating chemo and radiation treatments at several major hospitals, including two failed bone marrow transplants, Eric was exhausted and out of options.  He refused to accept his terminal prognosis, and through diligent self-advocacy and networking with doctors in Europe and Asia, he finally found the one treatment that could save him.  It was an experimental stem cell transplant using the umbilical cords of newborn babies.  A global search located matching stem cells, which had been frozen for eight years in a small cryo-bank in Milan Italy, and Eric was cured with the blood from this little baby girl.

Eric is now an internationally recognized keynote speaker, writer, spokesperson, and consumer and medical advocate.   He is the longest serving board member for the Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Foundation, and is serving his 17th year as Chairman of The WeHeal Foundation.  He is also the VP of Business Development and Patient Advocacy at Aloha Health Network, a new technology company using AI to match patients to optimal clinical trials.

Eric has been featured on the cover of MSN.com and in most major news publications throughout the US and Europe including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Discover Magazine.  He was published in Huffington Post and has appeared in countless TV and Radio shows including “CNN Morning Show”, “Dateline NBC”, “NPR Market Report”, “Montel Williams”, “Geraldo”, and many more.  He has done over 200 keynote presentations at medical centers, academic institutions, and conferences around the world, inspiring and educating a broad range of audiences.  Recently, he did the keynote TED talk at the first TEDx event hosted at Netflix headquarters.

Eric is also known for his triumphant battle against identity theft while he was fighting for his life in the Seattle hospital.  When his complaints to the FBI, Seattle Police, and hospital management went unanswered, Eric refused to be a victim.  After weeks of investigating and building evidence while on life support, Eric identified the hospital worker identity thief and forced the first federal conviction under the Federal HIPAA patient privacy laws.  He then battled nine of the largest  in federal court for eight years, triumphantly setting new legal precedents for consumer privacy protection.

We humans, have been engineering our environment for thousands of years by shaping natural materials and inventing new materials.  However, the number of materials we have developed and exploited is relatively few.  Nature has provided us with vastly rich chemistry, with over 90 different elements.   Combining these elements in different proportions creates even a larger number of new materials.  Not just chemistry, but the arrangement of elements in a material matters.  If we select 30 common, non-toxic elements there are billons of possible yet to be explored chemistries and realizing these chemistries in different structural arrangements, by tweaking synthesis condition, we have library of materials with vast range of functionalities. 

Many of the challenges we face today could be addressed with a new material with novel functionality. 

We are developing an approach that combines an accelerated brute searches, with insights from physiochemical theories, and predictions from previous experiment via machine-learning to search vast unexplored multi-dimensional composition- synthesis parameter spaces with 100-1000 times faster.  I will illustrate this approach with a recent example of a search of materials with wear-resistance comparable to diamond-like carbon.

Apurva Mehta is a Lead Scientist at SLAC National Accelerator with 30 years of experience in advance X-ray-based metrology.  Over the last decade, she has been combining high throughput computational and experimental methods in an artificial intelligence framework to accelerate discoveries and insights.

A Yoruba princess from Osun State in Nigeria who relocated to the US in 2017, Folake Phillips (a.k.a. Folake Oyetunji) founded AWỌ in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minnesota police and the Black Lives Matter street protests that erupted during the US COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.  

Raised in Nigeria with deep Yoruba cultural roots and educated at Coventry University in the UK with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Management, Folake Phillips is a Christian, wife, currently a mother of one and a community organizer. 

Though her career has spanned the fields of marketing, human resources, strategy and corporate client hospitality with multinational clients where she also organized, managed and facilitated various symposiums, public seminars and leadership trainings. With collective involvement at the core, her recent nonprofit work operates with a fierce urgency of now and curates programs addressing civil and social matters. 

Nancy Pearson was born and raised here; went to Saratoga High and UC Davis. Worked in tech for 20 years and helped move the company (Marketron) from Silicon Valley to Sun Valley, Idaho. Immediate Past-President of Kiwanis LG and representing service clubs on this senior services committee.

Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley is one of only two agencies resettling refugees in Santa Clara County.  With the Afghan crisis and now the influx of Ukrainian refugees, JFS SV needs help more than ever to support our resettlement efforts and help these refugees start their new lives here. This presentation will give a brief overview of JFS SV, what services we provide to refugees and how the community can help.

Debbie is the refugee resettlement housing coordinator for Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley responsible for sourcing and providing temporary and permanent housing for refugees who resettle in Santa Clara County.  She also works as a marketing coordinator for a real estate agent at the Christie’s Sereno office in Los Gatos.  A long-time volunteer in the community, Debbie ran successful auctions for the local elementary and high schools, volunteered in various capacities with Jewish Family Services and was the Vice President of Membership on the executive board at Temple Emanu-El, the oldest reform Jewish synagogue in San Jose.  Debbie was born and raised in San Jose, graduated from UC Irvine and moved back to the area where she and her husband raised their two sons.  

The Stanford Children’s Health Teen Van is a mobile clinic offering free health services to uninsured and underinsured youth, ages 12 to 25, in the San Francisco Bay Area. They visit high schools, community colleges, and nonprofit organizations from as far south as East San Jose and as far north as San Bruno. The staff includes a doctor specializing in adolescent medicine, a nurse practitioner, a social worker, a nutritionist, two medical assistants, and a registrar/driver.

Sergeant Sammy L. Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor for action in an area West of Cai Lai in the Republic of Vietnam on 18 November 1967.  In the movie "Forrest Gump" the fictional action in which Forrest was awarded the Medal of Honor is loosely based on Sgt. Davis's real action. Other awards include the Silver Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Viet Nam Service Medal, Viet Nam Campaign Medal and Good Conduct Medal.  He is married and has four children.

Date: May 10th

Time: Noon to 1:30

Location: Shir Hadash Synagogue - 20 Cherry Blossom Lane, Los Gatos

My name is Honey Berg. I’m a retired educator who has spent over 30 years ensuring that the needs of teachers, students and their families were the focus of my work.  I was an elementary school teacher and then a principal for 20 years. I was promoted to director and ultimately retired as an Assistant Superintendent of Education. 

After retiring, I concentrated my efforts on becoming a Hospice volunteer.  My goal was to bring as much comfort and compassion to my clients as possible.  I’m certified in Reiki, Healing Touch, Aromatherapy, and Vigiling.   I also received certification as an End of Life Doula.

During my time with Hospice, I became acutely aware of the need for non-medical support for patients diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. My commitment to these patients led to the establishment of “Stepping Stones”. Our goal is for Stepping Stones to help fill this void and  support people facing newly diagnosed or advanced illness while advocating for their well-being.

My name is Jane Selig.   I learned that my love of children went beyond loving my own when I took a part time job at the school district.  Supporting the kids became my joy, the part time became full time as a school secretary.  The school, the kids and parents became my second family and Cambrian School District was my second home for 25 years. 

During those years of working at the district, I was also a caregiver for my mother, then my grandmother and grandfather, and finally my father.  I knew at that time there was a calling to care for my loved ones in their last days. I felt it my honor to see them thru this life and on.

I was inspired to become a hospice volunteer because of my experiences with hospice who so graciously cared for my family. Once retired, I became a volunteer.  I felt a strong compassion for those who were ill and wanted all the tools.    I trained in Aromatherapy, Reiki, Healing Touch and became a Certified End-of-Life Doula.  I have supported patients in their home, in residential care facilities and most recently in a hospice house.

I started Stepping Stones, with my good friend who shares the same passion for caring for others.  Our mission is to advocate and improve quality of life for clients and their families who are navigating a life-threatening illness.  My heart is the driver of this journey.  I am always grateful for the perspective it gives me.

Date: May 17th, 2022

Time: Noon to 1:30

Location: Shir Hadash Synagogue - 20 Cherry Blossom Lane, Los Gatos

The role of shelters has changed dramatically to meet the evolving needs of our community.  This shift is reflected in the work that HSSV does today to support pets and people in Santa Clara County and beyond.  Looking ahead, this also creates new opportunities to save lives, keep families together, and change the game for animal welfare.

Kurt joined HSSV as President in January 2020 after previously serving as Chair of the Board of Directors. He is thrilled to lead a talented and passionate team that is saving lives, keeping families together, and advancing animal welfare.

Prior to HSSV, Kurt spent 20 years helping companies create sustainable growth. As an executive coach, he worked with business and nonprofit leaders to design effective organizations, build high-performing teams, and develop their own leadership skills. As a management consultant at Oliver Wyman, Kurt led engagements for Fortune 500 clients in media, technology, healthcare, and life sciences. He also has operating experience in marketing, sales, and product development at industry-leading technology companies including HP/Agilent and Tektronix.

Kurt received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University. Kurt is eternally grateful to have been rescued by his wife Charu and their adopted dogs.

Join us for our annual Family BBQ on May 20th at 5pm at Oak Meadow Park. Mark your calendars and bring your family! The price is $12 for 13 and above, $7 for 6-12, children 5 and under are free. We will provide a BBQ main dish and beverages. Bring an appetizer, side dish, or dessert. The train and carousel will be open!

Kostas Blimpikis, Associate Prof. Operations, Information and Technology, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.

Date: May 31st, 2022

Time: Noon to 1:30

Location: Shir Hadash Synagogue - 20 Cherry Blossom Lane, Los Gatos

Date: May 10th, 2022

Time: Noon to 1:30

Location: Shir Hadash Synagogue - 20 Cherry Blossom Lane, Los Gatos

Date: June 21st, 2022

Time: Noon to 1:30

Location: Shir Hadash Synagogue - 20 Cherry Blossom Lane, Los Gatos

The Rotary year runs from July 1 through June 30, which means that President Nicholas's term is nearly over. It is a Rotary tradition that the last meeting of the year be an dinner event that recognizes the outgoing president, Nicholas Welzenbach, and welcomes the incoming President, Mike Norcia.

SAVE THE DATE! More details to follow.