The Advisory Board’s purpose is to aid Management and the Board of Directors by providing community, investor, and customer input that is utilized in product design, pricing, marketing strategies, and raising capital.
Steven D. Bassi
A native of the Salinas Valley, Mr. Bassi is Vice President of Production at Tanimura & Antle, Inc., a Salinas-based grower of fresh vegetables. He is a founding organizer of Pacific Valley Bank and served on the Board of Directors from 2002 to 2009. Mr. Bassi is also a past member of the Executive Committee of the California Lettuce Research Board and the Board of Directors of Dulcinea Farms LLC.
Michael Shah
Michael Shah is a CPA practicing in Salinas, California. Raised in Salinas, he has been with the CPA firm of Stevens, Sloan and Shah since 1999. He was an organizer of Pacific Valley Bank, served on the Board of Directors from 2004-2008 and is a consultant to the bank. He has a Bachelor in Accounting, an MBA with a concentration in Finance, and a Masters in Business Taxation.
Carl Hansen (Vice Chairman)
Mr. Hansen is a Salinas business man. He has lived and worked in Salinas since 1953. Carl married Shirley and they both owned and ran Wharton's Floor Covering for 49 years. They both now own C & S Properties and spend their time working there, a business that involves the whole family. Mr. Hansen continues to serve on the Monterey Mosquito Abatement Board as he has for the last 30 years. He is also the past national president of the Horseless Carriage Club of America, in addition to being the past president of the Salinas Antique Auto Club. Carl is also a member of First Baptist Church, where he often volunteers his time for repairs.
Diane Braga
Mrs. Diane Braga has lived in the Salinas Valley for most of her adult life. She attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, majoring in Agriculture. She worked in Monterey County as a travel agent for 29 years and helped her husband, Norman, with the cattle-end of his ranching operation until the land was completely converted into row crops. Mrs. Braga has also been active in real estate and property management. Mr. and Mrs. Braga have four children and six grandchildren. Together, they were founding investors and enthusiastic advocates for Pacific Valley Bank. Diane is a member of several civic organizations and she hosts many fundraisers and events in her late husband's famous barn.
Anna M. Caballero
Anna M. Caballero began her professional career in 1979 when she moved to Salinas to take a job with California Rural Legal Assistance to provide legal services to farm workers after graduating from UCLA Law School. Deciding to make Salinas her permanent home and seeing the need for legal representation at a price working families could afford, Caballero and two colleagues founded the law firm of Caballero, Matcham and McCarthy in 1982. The firm developed an excellent reputation and received many awards during its 25 year history. Ms. Caballero retired from the firm when she was elected to the California State Assembly, 28th District in 2006. She served in the Assembly until her retirement in 2010. She previously served the City of Salinas as a Councilmember for 7 years and Mayor for 8 years.
Ms. Caballero is married to attorney Juan Uranga and they have three adult children and four grandchildren. Ms. Caballero was a founding organizer of Pacific Valley Bank and a founding investor.
Rosa Catalano
Mrs. Catalano was born in Sicily. She moved to Monterey with her mother after the war in 1948. At 16 she started packing fish to help bring in some income for the family. Rosa married the love of her life, John, one of the best musicians around in 1950. They were married for 58 years. He passed away last year. Rosa worked as a waitress in two restaurants, one for 17 years and the other 30 years. John & Rosa Catalano opened Cibo Restaurant in Monterey over 19 years ago. She loves to cook, and is the cook of Cibo Restaurant. She has also volunteered many times in the Monterey area for many diverse causes. Mrs. Catalano's son, Mario, now assists her at the restaurant. He brings new ideas and Rosa keeps the old traditions, combining them into a beautiful mix of old and new. This combination continues to draw in locals as well as visitors. She is a people person and a lifelong friend to anyone she meets.
Louis H. Huntington
A resident of the Salinas Valley for most of his life, Mr. Huntington has farmed near Soledad for 44 years and is active in a variety of professional organizations. He is Chairman of the Board of Steinbeck Country Produce and President of Huntington Farms. Mr. Huntington is a founding organizer of Pacific Valley Bank and served on the Board of Directors from 2002 to 2009. His additional bank-related experience includes 12 years as a board member of American AgCredit, ACA.
Janette Chapman
Mrs. Chapman has been a resident of Salinas since 1982. She is married to Rick Chapman and has two children. Currently, Mrs. Chapman is Vice President of Finance for Quality Acoustics, Inc. a local acoustical ceiling company. She and her husband became owners of this company in 1985. Their company is a member of the Salinas Valley Builders Exchange and the North County Chamber of Commerce. Janette has served in both leadership and general membership positions on committees for school and sports programs in the North Monterey County area. She is also a volunteer for the New Hope ministry at Salinas Valley Community Church.
Carlo Cortopassi
Mr. Cortopassi was born in Massarosa, Italy. He came to America in 1956. He began working at a business his wife's grandfather owned, Castroville Plumbing and Heating. Mr. Cortopassi spent four nights a week studying the plumbing trade, English, and earning his citizenship. Carlo and his wife, Anna, bought the business from her grandfather in 1959. Now his son, Paul, and daughter, Cindy, help run the business. This business has been in their family for 75 years. He has been a Rotarian in Castroville since 1972. He became Rotary District 5230 Governor in l986-87. He has spoken at Rotary Conferences in many different states and countries. He has served on the Grand Jury in Salinas, the Advisory Board for CSA14, and was appointed from 2000 - 2006 to the MRWPCA Board.
R.C. (Clint) Dyer (Chairman)
R.C. (Clint) Dyer was Senior Vice President, Operations for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, headquartered in San Jose from 2003 through December 2008. In this role, he was working in Japan and responsible for Consumer & Commercial Hard Disk Drive Business Group. Prior to joining Hitachi, Clint spent more than 25 years working for IBM in positions of increasing responsibility in industrial engineering, cost engineering, quality, materials planning and worldwide inventory management for the Storage Technology Division. He spent ten years working in IBM Fujisawa, Japan leading the Asian HDD materials operations, manufacturing and procurement organization. He retired from IBM as Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management. He holds two Masters Degrees - one in Business Administration from Golden Gate University and the other in System Engineering from San Jose State University. He has written several articles detailing Supply Chain management initiatives both at IBM and Hitachi GST as well as having been a keynote speaker at various SCM conferences at Stanford, E2Open, Semi-conductor Manufacturing consortiums and a Global SCM University Forums.
Stan Savitz
Mr. Savitz graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Agricultural Economics. Stan has been a Salinas businessman for 52 years, owning and running Nate Savitz Company, a produce brokerage Firm. He was Chairman of the Board for the American Heart Association for the Tri County Area. Mr. Savitz was also the President of Temple Beth El for a number of years. He has volunteered his time at the Steinbeck Center for 8 years, as well as with the Literacy Program in association with the library. Mr. Savitz also assists with deliveries for Meals on Wheels and serves meals at Dorothy's Place.