Board of Advisors

Jane Skeeter is CEO and Founder of UltraGlas, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of all facets of designed architectural and high performance glass and glass tile. An entrepreneur, designer, artist and engineer since childhood, Jane founded her stained glass and glazing company in her garage in the early ‘70’s. Since then it matured into the global leader in its industry, serving a variety of OEM, construction, and designed building material markets. The largest project to date is 125,000 square feet of UltraGlas to clad the exterior of a hospital in Kuwait.

Prior to UltraGlas, Ms. Skeeter owned a clothing design and dressmaking business, and a Porsche restoration business. She is Past President of NAWBO-LA (National Association of Women Business Owners); has been named San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s Women in Business CEO of the Year, and was one of ten to win their Business Woman of the Decade award. She was the LA SBA’s Women in Business Champion of the Year; was named Small Business of the Year from the 23rd State Senate District (2012), and was recipient of the Pioneer Woman Award from the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women, as well as the NAWBO/Wells Fargo National Trailblazer Award, along with a variety of others.

Jane is a highly regarded consultant, popular lecturer and community activist, currently serving on the Advisory Board of Woodbury University School of Business, and on the boards of The Valley Economic Alliance, VICA, Val*Pac, The Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley, The Valley Group, NAWBO-LA Foundation, Promerica Bank Advisory Board and as a Trustee of West Hills Hospital.

Ms. Skeeter received her California Lifetime Teaching Credential, holds licenses as a General and Glazing Contractor, and is a Certified Interior Designer. She is a graduate of UCLA’s MDE program, the NAWBO-LA Peak Leadership Academy, and is a LEED AP, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, by the USGBC. Jane has been a West Valley resident since 1959. She lives in West Hills with her husband of 39 years, Barron Postmus, who is an award-winning fine artist. They have four children and six grandchildren.

Ahdee’s objective is to use his entrepreneurial and leadership experience to empower and inspire high school and college aged students to create and develop their ideas so they can achieve their ultimate life and career goals.

Ahdee Abramson is the Founder and President of Pet Ventures, a manufacturer and distributor of natural dog treats and chews under the Pet ‘n Shape brand. Abramson began the company selling dog treats store-to-store from the trunk of his car, and over the past thirteen years, has nurtured it into a nationally recognized business that continues to be a trendsetter in the pet industry. Today Pet ‘n Shape is sold nationally through a network of regional and national retailers and distributors across multiple retail channels including pet specialty, farm & feed, hardware, food drug and mass and online.

Ahdee graduated magna cum laude, spent a year teaching English overseas, and has his Master’s Degree in Business Administration. He is well traveled, multilingual (English/Spanish/Hebrew), and enjoys cycling and competitive sports when he is not working. Abramson is a proud husband and father of a 6-year-old boy and 4-year-old daughter, and counts family time as his favorite pastime. Ahdee’s ultimate goal personally and professionally is to achieve balance and prosperity, and he works diligently every day to achieve both.

Mary Akpovi is the founder of her accounting firm, Mary O. Akpovi, CPA, Inc., which branched out in May 2021.   She is a  co-founder of the accounting firm, Martini Akpovi Partners in Encino and was a partner in that firm for 30 years. She is known for devoting significant time to local and foreign charities that serve women, orphans and the homeless.

She has sat on the boards of Exceptional Children Foundation and Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission.  She recently joined the Woodbury University, School of Business Advisory Board.  Akpovi received the Volunteer of the Year award from the Business Journal as well as the Business Journal’s Award for Lifetime Achievement.

She is also proud of training and mentoring future leaders. “To walk along with others as they come into their own professionally, is exceptionally rewarding,” she said. Akpovi is a certified public accountant with a focus on tax and consulting. She holds a doctorate in business administration and a master’s degree in business taxation from the University of Southern California, along with a master’s in business administration from Santa Clara University.

Michelle Azrialy is a Senior Vice President of Finance at CBS Studios. In this role, Azrialy oversees the Studio Production Finance Operations, including treasury, accounting, systems, and information security. She’s worked at CBS for eleven years having started as a freelance employee in Production Finance at CBS Studios.

Azrialy started her career at PriceWaterhouse Coopers in Boston, focusing in the Financial Services Industry where she was hired to participate in an accelerated MBA program for liberal arts majors. She continued her work in Financial Services with ten years in SEC and IRS regulatory compliance and financial operations. Prior to joining CBS Studios, she held the positions of Chief Compliance Officer and acting Chief Operating Officer for an investment adviser.

Azrialy earned an AB in Government and an International Relations Certificate from Cornell University and an MBA from Boston University. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her 17-year-old daughter, Rachael, and has volunteered for Rachael’s schools, having managed school-wide community service days through the Big Sunday organization. Azrialy serves as her home owners’ association Treasurer and is co-Chair of ViacomCBS’s Parenthood ERG.

Myfa Cirinna is a business strategist with a concentration in product/service positioning, business development and business retention. He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Strategic Account Management at Entertainment Partners. In that position, he manages a multibillion dollar sales portfolio of entertainment content production clients. Since he stepped into this position in 2013, Myfa has introduced and developed a Strategic Account Management program to focus on client retention while successfully pursuing multi-year exclusivity programs with many that now includes several dozen top producing companies including most of the major Hollywood studios. Prior to his current position, Mr. Cirinna served as Sr. Vice President of sales at Entertainment Partners, managing East Coast sales in New York City, and building the business from a start up in the early 1980’s to over $600MM in annual sales. Mr. Cirinna is very knowledgeable and experienced in subjects such as entertainment unions, guilds, and their related contracts, and at a variety of institutions on production scheduling and budgeting. He is a regular guest speaker for film programs at The School of Visual Arts, The New York Film Academy, The Independent Feature Project, and Columbia University, and a guest speaker at numerous entertainment industry-related forums.

Michael Cusumano is the Managing Director of the Cusumano Real Estate Group, a Burbank, California based real estate development and investment firm. He is responsible for the current development of the $200,000,000 “Premier on First” mixed use development in Burbank California, as well as the $200,000,000 “Talaria at Burbank” mixed use development project, in addition to approximately $1,000,000,000 in other developments throughout southern California.

Cusumano is very active in philanthropic and civic endeavors. He is the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center Foundation, Member of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of the Verdugo’s, the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, Burbank Business Partners, Leadership Burbank, and several other civic organizations. Cusumano holds a California Real Estate License and California General Contractor’s License, and is a graduate of UCLA (BA-Economics-1984) and the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business (MBA-1994).

Paul Herman is President of The Herman Company, located in Burbank. The Herman Company is a commercial real estate brokerage specializing in sales, leasing, property management and development of commercial real estate in Southern California

For the past sixteen years, Paul has developed comprehensive expertise in the real estate industry gaining knowledge and experience through my positions with an industry-leading corporate giant, Countrywide Home Loans, a small, well-respected family business, S. D. Herman Co., and a boutique commercial real estate brokerage, Commercial Asset Group (CAG). He has handled over 350 real estate transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $225,000,000.00.

The Herman Company is founded on three guiding principles:

Integrity = Transactional Honesty

Respect = The Golden Rule

Trust = The Final Piece

Mr. Herman is also a respected board member of Burbank Water and Power, Board President of the Boys and Girls Club of Burbank & the Greater East Valley, Board member of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, and serves as an Expert Witness since 2008.

He holds a BA in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is an alumnus of Leadership Burbank Class of 2015 and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker.

Tracy Hernandez is the Founding CEO of the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), a nonprofit, massive grassroots alliance of 160 top business network with more than 325,000 business members, representing a diverse demographic, industry sector, and geographic array of small and large employers of nearly 3 million people in Southern California.

Tracy further oversees the BizFed Institute – A Project of Community Partners, and the BizFed Political Action Committee (PAC), which seeks to elect public officials with job creating focus and ability.

Ms. Hernandez is also President of IMPOWER Group, Inc., a business advisory company specializing in startups or strategic transition utilizing unlikely partnerships to achieve greater impact.

In 2003, Tracy served as the first female publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News in the paper’s nearly 100-year history. A 20-year veteran of the newspaper business, she held chief executive positions in a variety of major markets across the country, including the Journal Register Company of Trenton, New Jersey, as Publisher and CEO of four award-winning newspapers in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. She formerly owned/operated a group of newspapers and websites in Walla Walla, Washington.

Tracy has served on the Board of Directors of MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity), LA’s Best after school program, Valley Presbyterian Hospital, The American Institute of Architects, and Project Grad, and is currently active on the Board of Advisors at Woodbury University Business School, the Valley Economic Alliance, and the Long Beach Symphony.

Among her many honors: listed on the LA Business Journal’s 500 Most Influential Leaders list (2016), earning the USC Dornsife/Lee Cerrell “Trailblazing Women” award, and the South Bay Assoc. of Chambers of Commerce’ “Shaun Lumachi” award, Valley of the Stars award for Leadership by the Valley Economic Alliance (2014), and Woman of the Year by the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (2012).

A native of Twin Falls, Idaho, Ms. Hernandez is a graduate of the College of Southern Idaho. She currently resides in Seal Beach, California, with her husband, two teenage daughters, and a step-son.

Melissa Lintinger has spent her career leading the digital transformation of the entertainment industry. In diverse environments from start up to legacy, she has been engaged by media companies when they are at an inflection point and in need of an impactful leader to effect thoughtful change.

Melissa is currently Senior Vice President, Production Finance for NBCUniversal’s television studios where she manages an over $4B content investment across scripted and unscripted programming. Over the last five years, she has created a more nimble structure with innovative systems to support the growth and complexity of the production slate.

Prior to NBCUniversal, Melissa held leadership roles at Viacom’s BET Networks,  Oxygen Media and Lucky Duck Productions.

Melissa was CFO of Bombo Sports & Entertainment, a production company specializing in sports programming, from 2003-06. In that role she secured funding and negotiated distribution deals for Bombo’s releases. Melissa was responsible for Bombo’s financial and operational management and reporting to its partners and investors in the US and UK.

Melissa is active in her community. In 2019, she was an LA Women of Influence Honoree. She is on the Board of the Hollywood Food Coalition acting as Treasurer and Executive Committee member, and  Co-Chair of the LA Chapter of the Comcast NBCUniversal TECHWomen organization. She is also a member of Advancing Women Executives (AWE), Women in Cable Television (WICT), Media Financial Management Association (MFM) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Melissa is an alumna of New York University’s Stern School of Business where she earned an MBA in Finance and a BS in Marketing and International Business with an Art History minor.

Formerly a Venture Partner with OurCrowd, Mr. Noam Lotan is an investor and a mentor to several privately held technology companies.  He has 25 years of public company CEO and board experience.

For 20 years, Noam served as CEO of MRV Communications, (Nasdaq: MRVC), a global telecom equipment manufacturer.  He led the company from a startup to a public company with 4,000 employees worldwide and $500 million in revenue, with peak valuation exceeding $5 billion. Light Reading magazine listed him as one of the “top ten movers and shakers” in Optical Networking.  Light Reading magazine listed him as one of the “top ten movers and shakers” in Optical Networking.  Under his leadership, MRV was recognized for eight consecutive years as one of the fastest growing public companies in Southern California.  Some of the more significant products developed by MRV were the first 100Mb Ethernet Switch (licensed to Intel) and the optical transceiver that enabled the deployment of Verizon FiOS® to more than 10 million homes in the USA.

After MRV, Noam was CEO of Resonate Industries, a startup company in the clean energy sector.  He also held a variety of management positions at Hewlett-Packard and at Fibronics, working in the US, UK, France and Israel.

Mr. Lotan has been the Chairman of Source Photonics, Inc. (Also known as Luminent Inc.) since June 2007. He has been an Independent Director of Capstone Turbine Corp. Mr. Lotan has been a Director of Optical Access Inc. since its incorporation in December 1999. He served as a Director of US Seismic Systems, Inc., since May 2012 and MRV Communications Inc. from May 1990 to June 30, 2010. Mr. Lotan further served as a Director at Zaffire, Inc. He is also a Member of NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors).

Mr. Lotan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, and an MBA from INSEAD, the European Institute of Business Administration, Fontainebleau, France.,He has served five years as an officer at the IDF.

Gerard Mekhsian has an innate ability to find optimal financial solutions for clients and ensure tax savings. He has an IT background, and more than 30 years of experience in accounting, tax and consulting services. Gerard uses business understanding and financial acumen to help domestic and international clients with financial statements and tax compliance. Within his global practice, Gerard focuses on taking care of his client by listening, explaining the impact of tax, and collaborating to reach the identified financial goal.

In 2012, Gerard joined Hutchinson and Bloodgood LLP, where he serves as Director. He was previously with a public accounting firm in Woodland Hills, California.

Mr. Mekhsian’s areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, Financial Reporting and Assurance, Business Planning and Consulting, Estate Planning, Exit Planning for Business Owners, International Taxation, and Tax. He has experience in a wide variety of industries such as Construction, Entertainment, Family Business, Franchises, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Distribution, Real Estate, Sports Franchises, and Education.

Mr. Mekhsian holds a B.Sc, in Business and Accounting, and an MBA with a concentration in Computer Information Systems from California State University of Los Angeles. He is a member of numerous organizations and boards, such as the Advisory Board for Woodbury University Business School, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, California Society of CPAs, Finance Committee Member of Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) M.D. School, and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Armenian Catholic Church in Glendale.

Nick Mitchell is the Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Counsel at Logix Federal Credit Union, a $5 billion financial institution serving over 185,000 members headquartered in Southern California.  In addition to managing the company’s legal affairs, Nick oversees the Compliance, Policies & Procedures, and Bankruptcy & Loan Services departments.

Nick pursued his formal education almost entirely while working full time, completing his Associate of Science degree at College of the Canyons, his Bachelor of Science in Business and Management at Woodbury University, and his Juris Doctorate at Southwestern Law School.

Nick has managed teams in sales, learning and development, service quality, customer loyalty, and project management.  As a proponent of continuing education, Nick also completed his National Association of Federal Credit Unions Certified Compliance Officer designation, his Association for Talent Development Certified Professional in Learning and Performance credential, and his Satmetrix Certified Net Promoter designation.

Outside of work, Nick serves as the Vice President of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation’s Board of Directors, and he is also passionate about traveling… particularly to Europe and Costa Rica.

Shawn Morey is a Realtor and Principal Broker at Dwell Real Estate group. He has over 10 years of experience in real estate and development. His passion for this field has led him to experience all aspects of the industry including architecture, multi-family brokerage, property management, development and investing. Being a real estate investor and developer himself, he is confident in knowing what it takes to get a deal done.

An entrepreneur at heart, Shawn is involved in multiple business ventures. He is managing partner at NutriShop, Northridge, which is part of a national retail nutrition chain, and owner of the Paid to Play Media Group, a diverse nightlife and entertainment group, encompassing all aspects of the nightlife industry. In addition to specializing in nightlife and event production the Paid to Play Media Group offers a wide variety of services in its consulting division.

Prior to his current professional involvements, Shawn held a variety of positions, such as Event Coordinator at the California Fight Syndicate, a promotional company licensed by the California State Athletic Commission, and specializing in sports entertainment, in conjunction with community involvement; Project Manager at Better Shelter, an LA based boutique real estate development company; Associate at Marcus & Millichap, and Architectural Draftsman at Stitch Design Studios and Zimmerman Architects.

Shawn was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. He gained a passion for architecture, construction and development at a young age through his father and grandfather. After high school he attended Santa Barbara City College to study architecture and drafting. Shawn studied Business Finance and Real Estate at Woodbury University and holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development of the University of Southern California.

As a lifelong supporter of entrepreneurship, Shawn has been asked to speak at the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization’s National Conference multiple times around the US. He enjoys giving back and mentoring undergraduate entrepreneurs on their way to creating their own business.

Dr. Walter W. Mosher, was born in Los Angeles and has resided in the San Fernando Valley most of his life.  He was a co-founder of Precision Dynamics Corporation, a company manufacturing and distributing products in the health care field, and served as its President from 1957 to 2002.  Since 2002 Dr. Mosher serves as a Director for Precision Dynamics Corporation.

From 1956 till 1971, Dr. Mosher was a student and faculty member at UCLA.  He served as Director of the Urban Ecology and Transportation Group at the Institute of Transportation and Traffic Engineering.  After serving on the committee that established the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA, he became a lecturer in this School.

Additionally, Dr. Mosher was a consultant to the Federal Government associated with setting up the National Highway Safety Bureau in the Department of Transportation, and to Systems Development Corporation on their traffic flow theory research program.

In 1971, Walt received his degree from UCLA’s School of Engineering, specializing in applied mathematics, computer technology and transportation flow theory. He subsequently assumed full-time management of Precision Dynamics Corporation.  Dr. Mosher holds several patents in the patient identification field and has numerous publications in the field of highway safety and traffic flow theory.

Dr. Mosher serves on the Boards of various organizations including, Board of Directors and Past Chair of the Valley Industry Commerce Association (VICA), Board member of Valley Economic Development Center, Board Member Health Industry Business Communications Council (HIBCC), and Board member of the San Fernando Police Advisory Council. He was a founding member and Director for the Health Industry Manufacturers Association (HIMA), now AdvaMed, for 15 years and was a member of the Technical and Regulatory Committee from its inception until 2008.  Dr. Mosher has been the recipient of many awards for distinguished community service and volunteerisms throughout his illustrious career including the Nelle Reagan Award from Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Foundation (1996), the prestigious Fernando Award (1998), and the Harmon Ballin Community Service Award from VICA (2001).   In 1996 he was honored to be an Olympic Torch Runner.

Dr. Mosher holds an exemplary record of community involvement, and still actively supports MEND, Hathaway-Sycamore Child and Family Services, Tierra del Sol Foundation and the Valley Cultural Center.

Sunder Ramani is an active member of the surrounding communities for over thirty years.  Sunder has had various careers including: commercial printing; construction; aviation; real estate; business consulting; and media. He is President of Westwind Properties.

He serves on several boards, including National Federation of Independent Business’ Leadership Council in California, Burbank Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation of the Verdugos, Burbank Healthcare Foundation, and Woodbury University Business School Board, to name a few.

His previous service includes: Burbank Community YMCA; Burbank Rotary Clubs; Oakmont Country Club; and, Burbank Chamber of Commerce; He has held board positions for: American Red Cross; Verdugo Hills Boys Scouts; Salvation Army; Providence St. Joseph Medical Foundation; and, Glendale Adventist Medical Foundation;

He is married to Dr. Mandy Ramani, M.D. – and has two adult children. He is a graduate of California State University, Northridge, with a degree in Accounting.

Neil Sherman is the owner of Industrial Metal Supply located in 6 locations throughout Arizona and Southern California with headquarters in Sun Valley, Calif. IMS is a 70 year old family run metal distribution company with a combined warehouse space of over a half million sq. ft. and over 450 employees. IMS has retail stores within each warehouse location where they wholesale, distribute, import and export metals of all kinds to the entertainment, automotive, aerospace, construction, marine, defense, welding and manufacturing industries.

Neil just developed a 30 acre, 220 hangar space parcel of land at the Van Nuys Airport called the Park at Van Nuys which caters exclusively to propeller aircraft.

Neil grew up locally in Burbank and attended Notre Dame High School, Valley College and then went on to USC and Harvard University to get his degrees.

He is currently on the Advisory boards of the USC Roski School of Art, Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, Children’s Cancer Network in Phoenix, Woodbury School of Business and the Metal Service Center Institute. He is past president of the National Association of Aluminum Distributors, the Metal Service Center Institute, Juvenile Diabetes Association and co-founder of the Calif. Winter Special Olympics.

Neil is an avid golfer, snow skier and sailor.

Dr. van Niekerk’s field of expertise lies in both Higher Education and the Corporate world.  He is an expert at strategically positioning organizations through well-defined planning and marketing.  During the past forty-six years his attention has been focused on Education (Schools of Business) and International Consulting, with major assignments in Advertising, Automotive Branding, Entertainment, Telecommunications, Health Care Technologies, Health Care Associations, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing, and Foreign Governments.

Dr. van Niekerk’s services are often sought by major corporations before, during, and after mergers.  He specializes in successfully molding often disparate cultures into cohesive and highly productive organizations.  He has been a college Dean and Vice President and has held positions in business and industry as Associate Director of UCLA Medical Center as well as the UCLA Medical Group.

Dr. van Niekerk currently oversees International Recruitment at Woodbury University. Prior to this, he was the Dean of Woodbury’s School of Business (2005 – 2016), leading the School to initial AACSB accreditation; Associate Dean for Executive Programs and Executive Professor of Marketing at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School; and taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Andrews University, Michigan State University, and the University of Southern California, where he was also a lead faculty for the Center of Excellence in Health Care Management.

Dr. van Niekerk served as Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Planning for both National Medical Enterprises (Tenet) and UniHealth America, and as General Vice President for the Adventist Health System in their Sunbelt Division.  He is considered to be one of the nation’s foremost Strategic Positioning specialists with numerous nationally and internationally recognized brands in his portfolio. His further expertise is focused on Luxury Brands – especially in the automotive industry where major clients include Mercedes-Benz, smart, BMW, and Volvo.

He holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, an M.A. from Andrews University, and a B.A from  Pacific Union College. He has also done post-doctoral work in Marketing/Luxury Brands.

Dr. van Niekerk is very active in philanthropic endeavors and has a strong interest in corporate governance, particularly serving on corporate boards.

Wayne Ward has more than 30 years of leadership experience in driving revenue growth and profitability in both sales and commercial banking organizations. He has successfully led strategic planning and implementation, as well as organizational transformation, for commercial and mortgage bank start-ups and retail branch networks for commercial banks. As senior vice president at California Bank & Trust, Wayne manages business banking throughout West Los Angeles, the South Bay, and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys.

With a passion for leadership, teamwork, and winning, and a unique perspective on values based leadership, Wayne has developed and executed growth strategies at top community and regional banks, significantly improving performance for shareholders, clients, and communities.

A known industry expert, Wayne has broad and extensive leadership experience in financial services in both government and private sectors. His early experience as a National Bank Examiner in the U.S. Treasury Department gave him strategic insight and a deep understanding of the banking industry.  Wayne joined private industry as senior vice president and credit administrator for a Monterey Park community bank. He later served commercial banks, as senior vice president, managing credit administration, mortgage banking, and numerous other business lines including sales and business development. As an entrepreneur, Wayne joined investors, taking an executive role to form, organize, and manage a California de novo bank. Wayne led the growth and expansion of the bank, where he significantly improved the bank’s revenue and fee income performance, making it one of the most profitable community banks in the nation as measured by return on assets.

Wayne’s genuine love of community and desire to give back has driven him to non-profit participation with organizations such as Junior Achievement Finance Park in Los Angeles and the Pediatric Therapy Network in Torrance. Wayne enjoys adding value for others and proudly serves as a mentor and coach in both his professional and personal endeavors.

Wayne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and accounting from the University of San Francisco. He is a lifetime member of the International Business Fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and serves on the Los Angeles Chapter of the University of San Francisco Regional Alumni Council. Wayne resides in Palos Verdes Estates California with his wife and has two grown children.