Nathan James, CEO

heritage

Son of Dust Bowl babies who escaped the farm to become a professor and a judge.

home

Russian Hill, San Francisco.

gigs

Newspaper editor, magazine investigative journalist, flak catcher, copywriter,
creative director, rainmaker, college instructor, novelist, entrepreneur.

formal education

BA, Georgia State University.

MFA, Columbia University.

Instructors: Russell Banks, Harold Brodkey, Milos Forman, Stephen Koch, Gordon Lish, Bernard Malamud, Sharon Olds, Cynthia Ozick, Robert Pinsky.

informal education

Serving as my uncle’s welding apprentice on oil rigs. Let’s just say it made me appreciate my formal education.

influences

Don DeLillo and the Apostle John. Not as odd a combo as you might first think.

fun

Globetrotting with my smart, beautiful, happy traveling companion – my wife.

Janelle James, Vice President

heritage

Dad did medicine, education, bodybuilding, car racing, steer roping, and played semi-pro baseball and football. Mom taught kindergarten. Super-achievement balanced by super-nurturing.

home

SoCal gal transplanted to San Francisco.

gigs

More or less in order, with some overlap: Junior Olympic swimmer (that hyper-achievement thing), cheerleading captain, lifeguard, swimsuit model, women’s ministry leader, Swiss skincare company regional vice president, speaker, novelist, mom, wife. (The swimsuit modeling and women’s ministry leadership did not overlap.)

formal education

B.A., liberal studies and English, California State University, San Bernardino.

informal education

Swimming taught me that if you’re not moving forward, you’re sinking.

fun

Sunday movie nights with popcorn cooked in coconut oil, walking all over Russian Hill, meeting new people, writing fiction in bed, spending time with my family.

Greg Neverka, Sponsorship Sales

heritage

Growing up on the south shore of Long Island made me love the ocean, while living only 20 miles from New York made me love culture.

home

Ocean + mountains + big city life = San Francisco!

gigs

Researching the sponsorships of nearly every major American event. Marketing and selling luxury goods in Manhattan. Lifeguarding along the Atlantic.

formal education

B.S., Long Island University, Business Administration + Marketing

informal education

Leading scout groups sailing through the keys, canoeing through 10,000 lakes, and hiking through the Sangre de Cristos.

passion

Seeking and surfing the world’s best waves, anywhere they are found.

Annie Sabolick, Sponsorship Sales

heritage

Rocker dad who talked about me from the stage. Complete strangers knew the details of my life, so I learned to empathize with people who find themselves tabloid covers. This may be why I’m up and productive when other people are sleeping.

home

I feel most at home on the Internet. Most of my conversations happen there. In cyberspace, my friends know where to find me. In “reality,” my physical location is inconsequential.

gigs

I grew up believing I was the princess of Laguna Beach. Or the co-princess, with my sister. I’m trying to outgrow the notion. Some days, I succeed.

formal education

None. I am completely uneducated. I somehow figured out how to stay away from school. My Mom has the normative notion that she home schooled me, but we both know that was just field trips dressed up in study guides..

informal education

See above.

influences

Gertrude Stein. Dorothy Parker. Andy Warhol. Woody Allen. Mom.

One of these things is not like the others.

fun

“Most of the time, I don’t have much fun. The rest of the time, I don’t have any fun at all.” – Woody Allen