BOARD INFO
Lucas Frerichs has a significant amount of experience with various types of cooperatives, including food, housing and agriculture. For nine years he served on the Davis Food Co-op Board of Directors, including two years as Board President. He also served as a Board Member and President for Yolo Mutual Housing Association, a non-profit that builds affordable housing for the residents of Yolo County, California.
Lucas currently chairs the City of Davis' Social Services Commission, which advises the City Council on all matters relating to issues of social services which affect the citizens of Davis, including but not limited to the issues of social services in health, affordable housing, homelessness, hunger, transit, and low income needs. Additionally, the Social Services Commission advises the City Council on Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnership Program and other social services-related Federal and State grant programs. In his professional life, Mr. Frerichs works in the California State Legislature, where he works as a consultant on various issues, including Housing and Community Development, Local Government, Transportation, Utilities and Commerce, and Water-related issues.
Jessica Nelson is the Energy Services Manager for Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative. Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative (PSREC) was founded in 1937 as a member-owned electric distribution utility providing electrical power and related services to over 7,500 member/owners in rural Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra counties in California and portions of Washoe County in Nevada. Ms. Nelson coordinates the development of wind energy projects, administers solar and conservation programs, legislative and regulatory monitoring, and manages PSREC's community outreach regarding renewable energy, home energy auditing, and green building.
Each year, Jessica organizes the Golden State Power Cooperative's annual visit to Washington DC to lobby on national and statewide energy issues and to emphasize the importance of electric cooperatives to rural communities. She also serves on the board of directors for the Clean Power Cooperative and Cooperative Community Energy. Additionally, she sits on the AB 32 Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee for Lassen County, which provides input for the implementation of California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act.
Leland H. “Lee” Ruth* (CCCD Board Secretary) has more than 30 years of experience working with cooperatives. He is president of Lee Ruth & Associates, a firm specializing in assisting agricultural associations and cooperatives with problems related to governmental relations, organization development and public relations.
Lee, President Emeritus of the Agricultural Council of California, is highly regarded as a government relations strategist and adviser having worked the California legislative scene for some 30 years representing the interests of agricultural cooperatives.
Lee has served as spokesman for cooperatives at the state and national levels. He is a past board member of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, past chair of the National Conference of Cooperative Councils, former Policy Advisory Committee member to the California Center for Cooperatives and is currently on the board of directors of Agricultural Cooperatives Development International/ Volunteers in Cooperative Assistance ACDI/VOCA.
Between 1997 and 2002, Lee was the Principal Coordinator of a project which resulted in the formation of the California Electric Users Cooperative, and served as a consultant in the development of Clean Power Cooperative and Golden State Power Cooperative. In 2003 he was the Chair of the California Energy Co-Op Symposium, an activity funded by a USDA Cooperative Development Grant, administered by the UC Davis Center for Cooperatives. In 2004 he led the formation of the Synergetic Enterprise Development Group, whose purpose is to create new forms and models of cooperatives and to facilitate expansion and stabilization of existing cooperatives.
Karen Tiedemann, A.D., J.D., M.C.P., has extensive experience with cooperatives. She is a partner in Goldfarb and Lipman LLP with an emphasis of practice in affordable housing, redevelopment and environmental law. She has special expertise on both stock and limited equity cooperative housing structures, as well as with co-housing communities. Karen is co-author of Between the Lines: A Question & Answer Guide On Legal Issues In Supportive Housing and A Legal Guide to California Redevelopment.
Karen's education includes an A.B. from the University of California, Berkeley. J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, Order of the Coif honors. She is Associate Editor for Ecology Law Quarterly. She also holds a Masters in City Planning from University of California, Berkeley.
Frank A. Van Konynenburg, JD is a partner in Tuttle & Van Konynenburg, LLP and has practiced law for more than 40 years. Frank's experiences growing up on a farm sparked a love of agriculture and his dual career as attorney and fruit farmer. His ability to balance these diverse roles is apparent by his successes in both arenas.
Frank has been involved with cooperative businesses for more than 30 years and is the author of A Home and A Price: 75 Years of History with the California Canning Peach Association. He has served on the boards of Allied Grape Growers, United Vintners, Diamond Walnut, California Freestone Peach Association, and California Freestone Peach Association. He also served on a number of related committees including Policy Advisory Committee for the U.C. Davis College of Agriculture and the Ag. Advisory Committee for the Great Valley Center, a futurist think tank for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley.
Joe Marriffino is a Cooperative Developer for the Association of Arizmendi Cooperatives, a network of worker-owned bakeries in the greater San Francisco region of California. In the last nine years, the association has launched three award-winning new bakery cooperatives. As part of the Association’s Development & Support Cooperative, Joe provides business support to member bakeries and training in democratic business management for worker-owners.
Joe is also a worker-member of the Arizmendi Bakery in San Francisco. He is former director of the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives and remains active in the organization. He has a Master’s degree in Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community and previously worked in business management and education positions related to that field.
Lucas currently chairs the City of Davis' Social Services Commission, which advises the City Council on all matters relating to issues of social services which affect the citizens of Davis, including but not limited to the issues of social services in health, affordable housing, homelessness, hunger, transit, and low income needs. Additionally, the Social Services Commission advises the City Council on Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnership Program and other social services-related Federal and State grant programs. In his professional life, Mr. Frerichs works in the California State Legislature, where he works as a consultant on various issues, including Housing and Community Development, Local Government, Transportation, Utilities and Commerce, and Water-related issues.
Jessica Nelson is the Energy Services Manager for Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative. Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative (PSREC) was founded in 1937 as a member-owned electric distribution utility providing electrical power and related services to over 7,500 member/owners in rural Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra counties in California and portions of Washoe County in Nevada. Ms. Nelson coordinates the development of wind energy projects, administers solar and conservation programs, legislative and regulatory monitoring, and manages PSREC's community outreach regarding renewable energy, home energy auditing, and green building.
Each year, Jessica organizes the Golden State Power Cooperative's annual visit to Washington DC to lobby on national and statewide energy issues and to emphasize the importance of electric cooperatives to rural communities. She also serves on the board of directors for the Clean Power Cooperative and Cooperative Community Energy. Additionally, she sits on the AB 32 Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee for Lassen County, which provides input for the implementation of California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act.
Leland H. “Lee” Ruth* (CCCD Board Secretary) has more than 30 years of experience working with cooperatives. He is president of Lee Ruth & Associates, a firm specializing in assisting agricultural associations and cooperatives with problems related to governmental relations, organization development and public relations.
Lee, President Emeritus of the Agricultural Council of California, is highly regarded as a government relations strategist and adviser having worked the California legislative scene for some 30 years representing the interests of agricultural cooperatives.
Lee has served as spokesman for cooperatives at the state and national levels. He is a past board member of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, past chair of the National Conference of Cooperative Councils, former Policy Advisory Committee member to the California Center for Cooperatives and is currently on the board of directors of Agricultural Cooperatives Development International/ Volunteers in Cooperative Assistance ACDI/VOCA.
Between 1997 and 2002, Lee was the Principal Coordinator of a project which resulted in the formation of the California Electric Users Cooperative, and served as a consultant in the development of Clean Power Cooperative and Golden State Power Cooperative. In 2003 he was the Chair of the California Energy Co-Op Symposium, an activity funded by a USDA Cooperative Development Grant, administered by the UC Davis Center for Cooperatives. In 2004 he led the formation of the Synergetic Enterprise Development Group, whose purpose is to create new forms and models of cooperatives and to facilitate expansion and stabilization of existing cooperatives.
Karen Tiedemann, A.D., J.D., M.C.P., has extensive experience with cooperatives. She is a partner in Goldfarb and Lipman LLP with an emphasis of practice in affordable housing, redevelopment and environmental law. She has special expertise on both stock and limited equity cooperative housing structures, as well as with co-housing communities. Karen is co-author of Between the Lines: A Question & Answer Guide On Legal Issues In Supportive Housing and A Legal Guide to California Redevelopment.
Karen's education includes an A.B. from the University of California, Berkeley. J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, Order of the Coif honors. She is Associate Editor for Ecology Law Quarterly. She also holds a Masters in City Planning from University of California, Berkeley.
Frank A. Van Konynenburg, JD is a partner in Tuttle & Van Konynenburg, LLP and has practiced law for more than 40 years. Frank's experiences growing up on a farm sparked a love of agriculture and his dual career as attorney and fruit farmer. His ability to balance these diverse roles is apparent by his successes in both arenas.
Frank has been involved with cooperative businesses for more than 30 years and is the author of A Home and A Price: 75 Years of History with the California Canning Peach Association. He has served on the boards of Allied Grape Growers, United Vintners, Diamond Walnut, California Freestone Peach Association, and California Freestone Peach Association. He also served on a number of related committees including Policy Advisory Committee for the U.C. Davis College of Agriculture and the Ag. Advisory Committee for the Great Valley Center, a futurist think tank for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley.
Joe Marriffino is a Cooperative Developer for the Association of Arizmendi Cooperatives, a network of worker-owned bakeries in the greater San Francisco region of California. In the last nine years, the association has launched three award-winning new bakery cooperatives. As part of the Association’s Development & Support Cooperative, Joe provides business support to member bakeries and training in democratic business management for worker-owners.
Joe is also a worker-member of the Arizmendi Bakery in San Francisco. He is former director of the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives and remains active in the organization. He has a Master’s degree in Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community and previously worked in business management and education positions related to that field.