Board of Directors

Olga Murray (President) In Nepal, the NYF kids call her "Olga didi," meaning "older sister." President of NYF's board, Olga Murray is living proof that getting older doesn't mean slowing down, not that she ever did. Born in 1925 in Transylvania, Olga Murray came to the U.S. as a six year old and eventually graduated from Columbia University and law school at George Washington University, where she was one of the few female students. She had worked her way through school by researching and writing for famed muckraking columnist Drew Pearson. With her law degree in hand, she found that no law firm would hire a woman. So Olga knocked on the door of the California Supreme Court, where she became a research attorney for Chief Justice Phil Gibson. When he retired, Olga joined the law staff of the new Justice Stanley Mosk. During her 37-year tenure at the Court, Olga helped to write important decisions in the areas of civil rights, women's rights, and environmental policy. She retired in 1992 to launch yet another career – helping impoverished children in Nepal. Olga spends most of each year in Nepal overseeing NYF's projects, and the rest of her time in Sausalito, California raising funds for NYF – redefining just what a didi can do.

Nick Prior (Board Chairman) was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. Educated at University College Dublin, Nick emigrated to the United States in 1989 with his wife, Jane. Based in San Francisco, Nick is an audit Partner with Ernst & Young and has over 26 years of audit and business advisory experience coordinating and serving global clients. Nick is a solutions-oriented decision maker with excellent communication skills and the ability to identify keys issues. Through his extensive international experience Nick understands many cultures and varying approaches to solving issues. Nick’s experience includes seven years working in Russia and China focused on advising clients regarding mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures. Nick currently works with large multi-national corporations and numerous start-up companies bringing solutions tailored to their divergent needs. Nick serves on a number of not-for-profit boards and enjoys golf, biking and skiing. He has been married for over 22 years and has one daughter, Alex.

Steve Fox (Treasurer) has more than 15 years experience helping companies operate more efficiently. He is the controller of EO products, a manufacturer of natural and organic body care products. Prior to joining EO, he was the controller of Zocalo, a furniture designer and wholesaler, as well as the president of Start to Finish, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trek Bicycle Manufacturer where he successfully implemented a corporate turn-around. Steve spent four years in international operations; two years with Premark International and two years with Fortune Brands. He began his career at Ernst and Young in Chicago. Fox received his bachelor's degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University. He holds a CPA license and is active in the California CPA society. Fox is involved in both the local and global community. He is on the board of directors of Imago Products, an emerging consumer products company. He has traveled extensively and performed volunteer work in Kenya, Africa and Nan Province, Thailand. He and his wife Christina live in Marin County, California with their two children.

Maria Román (Secretary) is a Senior Managing Consultant at IBM Corporation, where she assists management and a variety of clients in the areas of organizational and human performance analysis, learning strategy development, systems implementation and change management. After completing her earlier education in her native Philippines, Maria earned an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from NYU. Volunteerism has always been part of Maria's life, and she currently volunteers at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto. Selected to be part of the IBM Corporate Service Corps, Maria led a consulting project in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is keen on creating more opportunities to apply her experience in the non-profit setting.

Brian Ferrall (Director) first fell in love with Nepal when he travelled there with his family in 2006. He was captivated by the people of Nepal, and was thrilled to learn of NYF, which was founded in his own city. He is an intellectual property trial lawyer at Keker & Van Nest representing technology clients in litigation around the country. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School, and his undergraduate degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University. Brian lives in San Francisco with his wife and two daughters, and is also on the California Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land.

Chris Mumford (Director) grew up in Darien, Connecticut. He holds BA and MBA degrees from Stanford University, served as an officer in the Navy’s nuclear submarine program for 5 years. Beginning in business as an international banker with Wells Fargo in 1975, Chris’ career went on to include: Treasurer, and Chief financial officer of Arcata Corporation in San Francisco (1978-1994); Officer and Director of Triangle Pacific Corp. in Dallas (1986-1988); Director of Norton Enterprises, Inc. in Salt Lake City (1988-1990); and a general partner of the entities that controlled these companies. From 1994 to 2000, he was a managing director and then advisor to the general partner of Questor Partners Fund, L.P. in Southfield, Michigan. Chris also served at various times as a director of Ryder TRS, Inc. in Miami, Ockham Personal Insurance Agency, Ltd in London, and Impco Technologies, Inc. in Cerritos, California. Chris has maintained an affiliation with Calera Capital (formerly the Fremont Group) in San Francisco and, at their request, served as a director of Crown Pacific Partners L.P. in Portland Oregon from 1991 to 2004. He is also an advisor to the founder of Fundamental Capital, LLC, in San Francisco and has served on the Mill Valley Library Foundation Board. Chris’ non-profit interests include The Carter Center in Atlanta, Business Executives for National Security in Washington DC, and the Nature Conservancy. He is a private investor who lives in Mill Valley, California and Marlborough, New Zealand.

Haydi Sowerwine (Director) worked for IDEO in Palo Alto , a leading product design firm, while raising 5 children - a blended family - with her husband David. In 1991, she and David moved to Nepal , where David had a job with USAID. After that work terminated, they formed their own company, EcoSystems (www.ecosystemsnepal.com) in 1996.Their first product was an appropriate technology bridge for the rural areas of Nepal and to date they have installed 31 much-needed inexpensive and easily maintained bridges in remote areas of the country. Their innovative designs have won a number of awards - the San Jose Tech Museum award in 2003 for their bridges, and recently a grant from the World Bank for their newest project - a human powered generator and electricity distribution system. Haydi was active in a number of organizations in Nepal which helped women and children. In the summer of 2005, Haydi and David moved back into their home in California to be close to their growing tribe of grandchildren and Haydi's 92 year old mother. Haydi's relationship with NYF began very soon after it was established. She heard about J House from a friend, came for a visit, and from that day forward she and David have been enthusiastic supporters - from providing sage advice and referring donors, to helping to set up a data base for NYF scholarship students. NYF welcomed her to our board in 2006.

Tish Valles (Director) is the CEO of Strategic Stiletto, a boutique brand advocacy consultancy dealing with global strategic challenges with a contemporary view of conscious marketing. As an American born to a Filipino mother and a Spanish father, Tish possesses a rich multicultural perspective. She has lived in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, New Mexico and, currently, New York; has conducted business across Asia Pacific, in North America and in Europe; and speaks three languages. Tish is the co-founder and marketing director of the Worldwide Women’s Web, a platform that empowers women which is currently in development.

Saskia van der Stap (Director) has been in Hong Kong for five years, where she has worked with ING Asia-Pacific in Corporate Communications and with a financial executive search firm, catering to private equity, investment management and investment banking clients. In late 2009, she decided to make the switch to fundraising and consultancy for NGOs. She is a volunteer consultant with the Business Development team of Asian Charity Services where she is responsible for the Youth & Children sector. Saskia is one of a team of four Hong Kong residents who are forming a local charity, Olga’s Promise, to raise money exclusively to support projects of the Nepal Youth Foundation.
 

Advisory Board

Yale Jones was a partner in the law firm of Jones, Clifford, McDevitt and Johnson in San Francisco for thirty-three years. He continues to serve as counsel of the firm. Yale graduated from Stanford University in 1963 and UCLA Law School in 1966. In 1967 and 1968 he taught high school in Kenya with the U.S. Peace Corps. He has taught for the California Continuing Education of the Bar and other professional organizations, and served as Chairman of the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. Yale and his wife Barbara live in Taos, New Mexico.

Greg Rosston has been involved with NYF since its beginning. His father, Jack, was one of the original board members who was traveling with Olga on the infamous trek when she broke her leg. Greg and his wife traveled to Nepal in 1991 to trek and to visit Olga and the kids she was helping. Greg serves as the Deputy Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Deputy Director of the Public Policy program at Stanford University. As Deputy Chief Economist at the Federal Communications Commission, Greg work on the implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and helped design and implement the first ever spectrum auctions in the United States. He also serves as an advisory board member for Sustainable Conservation.

Renaud Samyn works for the Capital Research Company as an investment analyst. He graduated from Columbia Business School and has lived in Hong Kong for the last five years. Renaud has been an active supporter of NYF since 2006. He is working with others in Hong Kong to create Olga's Promise, a nonprofit organization based Hong Kong that raises funds for NYF's programs.