The Sierra Forward Leadership
Today, across America, citizens of all stripes, civic and community leaders, businesspeople, workers, friends and neighbors, students and teachers, are disgusted with the current state of our political environment. But rather than turning away in despair, they are working to turn their aspirations for the future into action. This spirit of activism and engagement is evident in the Northern California counties that include the Siskiyou and Sierra Mountain ranges, adjacent foothills, and their nearby valley communities. Sierra Forward is an expression of that renewed spirit. Sierra Forward is reaching out to, engaging with and involving voters from across the region, and from across the political spectrum—left, center and center-right. We believe common ground can be found through conversations among those with open minds. Believing that no elected official, and no one seeking to become an elected official, should be immune from listening, responding, representing and ultimately reflecting the values and needs of their constituents, Sierra Forward’s leadership team is working to inform, register, engage, motivate and turnout voters who share our concerns and our commitment to makes ours “a more perfect Union.”
Corley Phillips
Chair
Corley Phillips is the founder of American River Ventures, a $100M venture capital fund investing in early-stage information technology companies. He founded the firm in 2000 and retired as Managing Director in 2008. From 1993 to the founding of ARV, Corley was an active private stage investor in Northern California start-up companies.
Jaron Bandon
Board Member
In a stirring 2020 victory, Jaron Brandon became the youngest currently serving county supervisor in the State of California, securing a place for his vision of rural leadership and proving that age is no barrier to public service.
Rick Miller
Board Member
Rick Miller is a principal and founding Partner with Capitol Impact, a Sacramento-based consulting firm that offers expertise and experience in developing, executing, and managing successful social impact initiatives.
Steve Smallcombe
Board Member
Steve got his first taste of politics in the Sierra Nevada when Rosemarie ran for Mariposa County Supervisor in 2014 and Steve served as her campaign manager. Rosemarie is now serving her 3rd 4-year term in that position after being reelected in 2022.
Les Francis
Co-Founder and Director
A resident of Camino, CA (El Dorado County), Les Francis brings a wealth of political and policy experience to the leadership of Sierra Forward, of which he was a co-founder (with Jim Hermann) in 2017.
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Mary Elliott-Kemm
Board Member
After showing great resolve and resilience—and success—in Sierra Forward’s voter registration efforts in 2018, Mary Elliott-Klemm was persuaded to become the organization’s El Dorado County Coordinator, where she worked with various local groups to Get Out the Vote. That, in turn, led to her becoming a member of the Sierra Forward Leadership Team.
Pete Minett
Board Member
An activist by nature, Nevada County’s Pete Minett declares, “Politics is not my first passion. I am involved because it is necessary. I was stunned by the rise of the tea-party movement in spring of 2009. Their tactics echoed the Brown Shirts in the early thirty’s – hauling weapons into public meetings, shouting down folks they did not agree with…. using the same bullying tactics. That was enough to get me involved in politics!”
Sara Rogers
Board Member
Raised in Northern California, Sara Rogers has been engaged in helping her communities and advocating for marginalized populations from an early age. Her perspective is in part informed by her experience as a disabled woman born with a hearing loss, and her educational background in Sociology, Comparative Literature and Art History from the University of California, Davis.
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Elizabeth Betancourt
Board Member
Elizabeth Betancourt does not just dabble in politics; she is an active and able leader. Currently the Chair of the Shasta County Democratic Central Committee, Elizabeth has also served as the Northern Region Chair of the California’s Democratic Party’s (CADEM) Rural Caucus since 2019 and has represented rural interests on CADEM’s Anti-Racist Organization Work Group (2021-22), and on the CADEM Platform Committee, as chair of the Energy and Environment Plank (2021-22).
John Friedrich
Board Member
John was elected to the South Lake Tahoe City Council in 2020 and serves on the Board of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, as well. John also works full time with Momentum, a small business based in Sacramento that works with a variety of corporations, municipalities, ports, and airports to design, develop and deploy renewable energy and zero-emission transportation projects.
Kathleen Mintert
Board Member
As a young social worker, with a Masters degree from St Louis University, Kathleen first learned the power of elections when the then- Illinois Republican governor, Jim Thompson, after campaigning on children’s services, redlined the budget for the successful children’s treatment program where she worked. That’s when Kathleen first became a community organizer and advocate. Politics was personal for those parents who had no place else to turn for help for their children.