Events

Doug Brent is a technology leader and strategist focused on the digitization of industrial business such as agriculture, construction and transportation. Doug served in a chief technology officer role at Trimble, a $3B+ revenue industrial technology leader. Doug is a Silicon Valley veteran – from start-ups to Apple and IBM. Doug is a Board member at industrial technology company Anova, and an advisor to Piaggio Fast Forward, a personal robotics company.

Doug is the 2024-2025 President of the Rotary Club of Los Gatos, where he also served as secretary for three years. Doug is a three year appointee to the Rotary International committee on technology.

Doug Brent is a Silicon Valley veteran, expert in the connection between the physical and digital worlds in a range of industrial settings--today’s digital transformation. In 2011, Doug became the first VP Technology Innovation (CTO) at Trimble, a leader in digitization for construction, transportation, agriculture and other industrial markets. At Trimble, Doug championed modern software platforms, cutting-edge technology and culture change that supported growth from $1.7B to $3B of revenue and a transition from a hardware-centric model to a deep software and solutions model.



 

Dr. Caicai Wu grew up in China in an intellectual family, with both parents obtained master’s
degrees from US. As she was about to finish junior high school, the cultural revolution started.
Like millions of millions of teenagers of that time in China, she was sent to the countryside,
1,200 miles away from her home town, Beijing, to be “Re-educated”. She worked in the field and
later worked as a “barefoot doctor” in a village for four and half years. After returning to Beijing,
she worked as a chemist in the waste treatment plant in a coking factory for five years. During
those five years, she self-studied high school curriculum and some college level chemistry
books. When the cultural revolution ended, she passed the competitive entrance exam to
college. Her mother, a senior translator in the largest news agency in China who held a Master’s
degree in Teaching English from Columbia University in US, trained her in English for over 15
years. In 1988, she passed the TOFEL and GRE exam and was accepted in the graduate
program at the University of Washington in Seattle. She received her PhD in Analytical
Chemistry in 1993 and completed two post-doctoral fellowships from the Departments of Lab
Medicine and Bioengineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Wu is a diplomate of the
American Board of Clinical Chemistry emeritus and was a fellow in the National Academy of
Clinical Biochemistry. From 1999 to 1981, Dr. Wu worked for Pacific Biometrics, Inc. (PBI), a
Seattle based clinical reference laboratory. Dr. Wu performed a number of duties with increasing
responsibility. She was the Associate / Technical Director for six years. Since 2011, Dr. Wu
worked as the Laboratory Supervisor in the Science Department at Northwest University in
Kirkland, Washington. Dr. Wu also teaches the laboratory courses for Survey of Chemistry in the
same school. She has published over 20 articles / abstracts in peer reviewed scientific journals
and held 7 patents. After retirement in 2021, Dr. Wu continued to teach online science courses
at Northwest University for 2 years. Now, Dr. Wu is the science instructor for College of Adaptive
Arts.

From 2010, Dr. Wu started taking voice lessons with an opera singer Pamela La Salle
Casella. The voice training has been strict and challenging. Dr. Wu loves to share such
gifts with others, especially for seniors in retirement homes. She was one of the
founding members of Gospel Choir at the University Presbyterian Church since 2005.
From 2011 to 2013, she participated in several chorus singing of opera productions by
Lyric Opera Northwest, such as La Boheme, La Traviata, Tosca. At school she sang
solo for her students and for visitors from China. She also sang at the wedding of the
chairman of the Science Department, Dr. Steinkamp. In 2014, she started to lead sing
along or singing solo for seniors at Merrill Garden, Columbia, Hearthstone and Crista
retirement facilities. In addition, she sang solos in the masses at Sacred Heart Church
in downtown Seattle and in talent shows for international students at University
Presbyterian in Seattle. After moving to CA, Dr. Wu continues to use the gift of singing
to serve senior communities.

In her spare time, other than singing, Dr. Wu enjoys writing and cooking.

It's a lovely program hearing the perspectives and history of all the past presidents of the Saratoga Rotary Club. 

Wrapping gifts for local schoolchildren in the community. 

Hors D'oeuvres, buffet dinner, dessert buffet, Tom Collins playing holiday tunes, entertainment

Dr. Kenneth Geisick began his role as Superintendent of Saratoga Union School District on September 3, 2019. Dr. Geisick most recently served as the Superintendent of Schools in the Orland Joint Unified School District in Orland, CA. 

“I am honored to be selected by the Board of Trustees to lead the outstanding Saratoga Union School District as the new superintendent,” Geisick said. “The district has a long tradition of excellence in providing students with an exceptional education and I look forward to building on the district’s strong foundation and many accomplishments. Coming to Saratoga will be something of a homecoming for me, I grew up in the area and attended nearby Union School District and Campbell Union High School District. And, my mother actually attended Saratoga Elementary School some years ago.”

Prior to his tenure as superintendent at Orland, Geisick held positions as Chief Educational Services Officer for THINK Together, an academically oriented after-school learning program that serves over 100,000 children each year; as Superintendent of Schools in Riverbank Unified School District; and as a high school and middle school principal.

Geisick began his career in education as a classroom teacher at Andrew Hill High School in San Jose, teaching social studies, English language development, and journalism.

Joyce Mercado, Rotary Club of Alameda President, is available to give Rotary Clubs a presentation on her new book “Save the Planet in Your Spare Time – A Climate Protection Handbook for the Busy Person.” The book chronicles Joyce’s journey to becoming a climate protection leader in Alameda so others can learn from her experience.  The book covers:

·         Reducing your emissions

·         Creating and distributing a checklist of 70 action items to protect the climate and a resource list to help individuals take action

·         Writing for the local press

·         Jumping at opportunities as they present themselves

·         Partnering with other organizations

·         Building leadership actions into your daily life

·         Taking political action

·         Presenting on climate change

·         Maintaining your optimism

Leaders influencing others in their communities to protect the climate, community by community, is an essential element in fighting climate change and Rotarians can be an effective part of the solution to the climate crisis with the guidance in this handbook. Anyone can be such a leader, even if you have a busy life. We need thousands of leaders like you in communities nationwide and worldwide to solve the climate crisis.  Together we can make a difference!

Joyce Mercado’s bio:

Joyce Mercado has been an effective climate activist in her community of Alameda for the last twenty years even while holding a full-time job as a Technical Sales Manager for IBM and raising two children with her husband David. Joyce is a monthly climate protection columnist for the local press, an Al Gore program-trained Climate Reality Project Leader who has given dozens of presentations on climate protection, a member of many climate protection organizations, creator of the Alameda Climate Protection Checklist and Resource List with 70 actions individuals can take and has been recognized by the City of Alameda for her climate protection leadership. The climate emergency prompted her to write this book when she retired so others could learn from her experience to become climate leaders in their communities. Joyce is a proud Rotarian having served as Community Service Chair and President of the Rotary Club of Alameda. Joyce has a Bachelor of Science in Physics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Joyce went to graduate school at Princeton University to study plasma (electrically charged gas) physics for two years.  Joyce decided plasma physics was not for her, attended her first on-campus interview, and got a job at IBM for the next 35 years. Joyce lives in Alameda, California with her husband David.

Mona Hrapkowicz is a Director of Strategic Accounts for ZT Systems.  ZT Systems is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of complex compute and AI solutions serving the top Cloud Services Providers based in North America.  She brings her clients nearly 40 years of high technology experience in both the semiconductor and hardware infrastructure industry.  She has worked for large multinational corporations including Intel, HP, IBM, Texas Instruments and NEC.  She currently works has influence on technology deployments in the world of AI and manages engagements with   companies such as NVIDIA and AMD. She holds a BSEE from Santa Clara University (1987) and an MBA from Columbia University (1991).  She is optimistic about the future of technology and its potential to transform lives globally in a positive way.

Dinner to celebrate Lunar New Year

Cousins Peter Teahen and John Ockenfels, piloted a single piston-engine airplane around the world in 2023 to raise awareness and money for Rotary’s End Polio Now program. The flight took 90-days, made 37 landings in 19 countries, and involved 24 fundraisers. Only 702 pilots in history have ever achieved this feat, and less than 270 are alive today! Both Peter and John are longtime Rotarians and members of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians. They are both recipients of Rotary’s two highest honors, “Service Above Self”, and the “Service Award for A Polio Free World”. As pilots, they have qualified for the prestigious Circumnavigator Diploma from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Peter and John departed Cedar Rapids, Iowa on May 5, 2023 in their 1977 Cessna T210M airplane, and successfully returned home 90-days later on July 30. Today Peter and John will share their powerful story of: “Around the World: Flight To End Polio”.

Alzheimer's is a global health problem with more than 6 million people
living with the disease in the US alone. Tremendous gains have been made in
the understanding of the science and basic biology underlying Alzheimer's
and other dementias. These advances are leading to great strides in
strategies for prevention, detection, diagnostics, and therapeutic
interventions. The Alzheimer's Association is a global leader in research,
mobilizing the field to advance the vision of a world without Alzheimer's
and all other dementia.

Xiaorong got her PhD in Neurobiology from University of Southern California, researched on the effects of aging on synaptic plasticity. Postdoc in molecular biology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, studied the structure-function of a mechanosensitive channel. Followed by research in neuroscience for aged related diseases at biotech companies, Genentech & Scios.  Joined the Alzheimer's Association in 2012, and I’m currently Community Engagement Manager, Research Champion of Alzheimer's Association, Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter.

Saratoga Public Library Children's Department

Assembling care kits for Cancer CAREpoint.

St Patrick's Day TGIF

Alrie Middlebrook Biogrpahy:

I am committed to educating the public and promoting sustainability through native gardening and regenerative organic agriculture. Over the years, my workshops and speaking engagements at diverse venues have provided key forums to promote systemic changes in urban land use. 

I believe the most expedient way to resolve our climate crisis is to reimagine cities where most of our life cycle needs will be met near where we live. Only by allowing “wild nature” and regenerative agriculture to thrive where more than half of the world’s population currently lives, can we be assured that the life we cherish will be sustained for future generations.

Alrie's website: https://alriemiddlebrookdesign.com/about-alrie/

Food Packaging Event with Rise Against Hunger at Prospect High School

Corodata, Inc. 

A son's untimely passing