December 5, 2013 – San Diego, CA – The San Diego Foundation has named Bob McNeely, Christine Moore, Audie de Castro, and Jacob James to its Board of Governors.
These four distinguished individuals join a Board of Governors composed of 30 volunteers with diverse professional backgrounds, who are involved in many community and charitable activities. The Board oversees The Foundation by establishing policy, setting priorities, and making final decisions to approve awards and grants.
Bob Kelly, President and CEO of The San Diego Foundation, noted, “Each of these distinguished individuals brings unique talent to our Board of Governors, from Foundation support and development to finance, government relations, and law. We are truly honored to have Bob, Christine, Audie, and Jacob join our team.”
Bob McNeely is a retired executive vice president and director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Group for Union Bank, N.A. and currently serves as a senior executive advisor to the bank. Having served in a variety of management positions at Union Bank for 45 years, Mr. McNeely was a key player in developing the bank’s community reinvestment strategy in the late 1980s, was responsible for the bank’s Community Advisory Board, and chaired the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act Committee and its Leadership Council for Inclusion. Most recently, Mr. McNeely was responsible for coordination of the bank’s community development efforts, served as officer of the Community Reinvestment Act, and as chairman and chief executive of the Union Bank Foundation.
Active in the community, Mr. McNeely serves on numerous committees and sits as board chair to a wide range of organization including the University Club, the UCSD Foundation and the President’s Community Council at Point Loma Nazarene University. He is former board chair of the New Covenant Trust Company, wholly owned by the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation, former vice board chair for the Centre City Development Corporation, and president emeritus of the board of trustees for the California Historical Society. Mr. McNeely graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle and the School of Bank Marketing at the University of Colorado in Boulder, he also holds an honorary doctorate degree of humane letters.
Christine Moore grew up in the City Heights community and is currently director of external affairs for AT&T California. Prior to this role at AT&T, she spent two years as deputy district director for the office of Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, and served four years on the San Diego City Council as a council representative.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for Urban Corps San Diego and the South County Economic Development Council, Ms. Moore is chairperson for the City of Chula Vista Cultural Arts Commission and a member of the Port of San Diego’s Marketing Advisory Committee. She previously volunteered on the boards for the Imperial Valley Community Foundation, the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, and the National Conflict Resolution Center.
Ms. Moore was awarded President Barack Obama’s Volunteer Service Award in 2012 and named the Business Woman of the Year in 2012 by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. de Castro, founder of de Castro P.C., Attorneys and Counselors, oversees all practice areas of the agency. He aggressively litigates business and commercial disputes, including those involving fraud or misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. Utilizing his past CPA experience and forensic accounting background, he has handled shareholder inspection demands and has successfully prosecuted claims against controlling shareholders and principals. With his financial background and business acumen, Mr. de Castro also has a successful transactional practice. He has served as corporate counsel to public and private companies, including those in high technology, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, medical device, contractors, real estate, retail, and service industries. He handles complex and large transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, licensing, distributorships, and commercial real estate deals.
Mr. de Castro is involved in numerous civic and community affairs throughout the region. In 2011, he was appointed by the mayor of San Diego as chairman of the Consolidated Plan Advisory Board for the city and served as former commissioner of the City of San Diego Citizens Equal Opportunity Commission. He is also past president of the Asian Business Association of San Diego and the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce. Mr. de Castro graduated Cum Laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Mr. James serves as managing director of the Waitt Foundation, focusing on novel approaches to philanthropy and public-private partnerships. Mr. James joined the Waitt Foundation in 2009 as lead policy advisor and executive assistant to Waitt Foundation founder and chairman, Mr. Ted Waitt, and has since served as the primary liaison between Mr. Waitt and his global companies, staff, public policy, and philanthropic activities. Before joining the Waitt Foundation, Mr. James was involved in both local and national public affairs campaigns and legislative issues, most recently serving San Diego’s communities as an aide to Congresswoman Susan A. Davis.
Today, Mr. James is a member of the Waitt Foundation’s Board of Directors and provides stewardship to the Waitt Institute. He also serves as an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative on behalf of the Waitt Foundation. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Point Loma Nazarene University, Mr. James graduated from Georgetown University with a master’s degree in government.
About The San Diego Foundation
Founded in 1975, The San Diego Foundation’s purpose is to promote and increase effective and responsible charitable giving. The Foundation manages more than $624 million in assets, almost half of which reside in permanent endowment funds that extend the impact of today’s gifts to future generations. Since its inception, The Foundation has granted more than $842 million to the San Diego region’s nonprofit community. For additional information, please visit The San Diego Foundation at sdfoundation.org.
Contact
Vince Heald, Beck Ellman Heald, 858-453-9600, vheald@behmedia.com
Heather Back, The San Diego Foundation, 619-235-2300, Heather@sdfoundation.org
