Governing Board

The California Exposition & State Fair (CE&SF) is an independent state agency established by law and governed primarily by the California Department of Food and Agriculture codes. Governed by an appointed Board of Directors, daily operations are managed by a permanent staff of 100. During the State Fair more than 2,000 temporary employees are hired for the event’s duration. The CE&SF is a self–sufficient operation receiving no government funding and yet has an estimated economic impact of more than $250 million on the region.

The governing body of the California Exposition & State Fair is an 11–member board of directors. The directors are residents of California . Nine (9) directors are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. One director each is appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules Committee. Ex–officio members are Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assembly member Dave Jones. Current members of the board and their place of residence are listed below.

Meet the Board

Governor Jerry Brown

Director Rick Stacey (Chair) of Visalia, has served on the Board of Directors since 2008. Since 1985, he has worked for the Visalia Citrus Packing Group of companies, where he currently serves as vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer. Mr. Stacey previously was a partner with the agribusiness consulting firm, Stacey & Stacey, from 1981 to 1985 and vice president and controller of Western Farm Management Company and Western Farm Commodities from 1979 to 1980. Before that he was involved in the restaurant industry in Arizona and Massachusetts. He currently serves as treasurer of Visalia Fruit Exchange and is a member of the Western Growers Association Board of Directors, Trustee of Western Growers Assurance Trust and The Sunkist Pension Plan. He received graduated from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Director Cynthia Bryant (Vice Chair) of Elk Grove, is Senior Vice President at the California Charter Schools Association. Ms. Bryant served as a member of the senior staff of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his entire term, first as Chief Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary and then as Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of the Governors Office of Planning and Research. She concluded her service as Chief Deputy Director, Policy for the Department of Finance, and at the Governors request served the final month of his administration as Director of Finance. She is a graduate of University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Director Sonney Chong, of Sacramento, is a practicing dentist in Sacramento for the past 30 years and was previously on the Cal Expo & State Fair Board of Director from 2001 to 2005. Sonney is the Chair of CAPITAL ( Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy & Leadership ), and on the CSUS University Foundation, Asian Resources Inc. Board of Directors, CAPITAL Foundation Board of Directors, American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow Mountain Valley Chapter, FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Assoc., Wells Fargo Bank Community Advisory Board and UC Med Center Leadership Council. He also serves on the Sacramento Police Advisory Committee to Chief Rick Braziel and Sacramento Sheriff Outreach Committee Advisory Board to Sheriff Scott Jones. He participates in activities of other organizations in CAPITAL such as OCA (Organization of Chinese Americans), SCCF (Sacramento Chinese Cultural Foundation) CACS (Chinese American Council of Sacramento).

Director Richard Cuneo, of Sonoma, has served on the Board of Directors since 2008. He previously served on the board of directors from 1997 to 2002. Mr. Cuneo has served as chair of the board of Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery since 1974. He is a member of the Sonoma Valley Grape Growers Association, California Farm Bureau, Audubon Society and Ducks Unlimited. Mr. Cuneo served 5 years as an elected member of the Sonoma Valley Public School Board. Mr. Cuneo is past president and current member of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce and a former member of the U.S. Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee.

Director Cornelius Gallagher is the Sr. Vice President and Global Agribusiness Executive for Bank of America. He is a member of a national team that coordinates management of the Bank’s $26 billion agribusiness and food products portfolio. Corny is the Bank’s key representative in dealing with government agencies and elected officials on agribusiness and food system issues. He leads the Bank’s Ag Appraisal team that provides appraisal and evaluation services for the Bank. Corny represents Bank of America on numerous state and national agricultural leadership boards and committees. He was recently reappointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Exposition and State Fair Board of Directors and currently serves as Chair of this board. He is a commissioner on the UC President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources and member of the CSU Chancellor’s Agricultural Advisory board. Corny joined the Bank 42 years ago and has served the agricultural industry for all of his life. He is a co-owner of his family’s six-generation Iowa farm. He and his extended family live in Fair Oaks, CA.

Director Rex Hime of Loomis is president and chief executive officer of the California Business Properties Association, serves as a member of the UC Board of Regents, and as the Chair of the Greater Sacramento Valley Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He is a past President of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and has served on the Cal Expo Board since 1995.

Director Kathleen Nakase, of Huntington Beach, has served on the Board of Directors since 2004. Ms. Nakase has served as executive director of the Orange County Farm Bureau since 1994 and is currently serving on the board of the Centennial Farm Foundation. From 1988 to 1993, she served as executive vice president of Master Tag West and, from 1982 to 1988, was president and owner of NLC Plastic Graphics, Incorporated. Prior to that, Ms. Nakase was assistant director and marketing analyst for Southwest Regional Training Center from 1980 to 1982. From 1974 to 1980, she was a teacher at La Habra High School and, from 1970 to 1974, was a teacher at Bassett High School. Ms. Nakase is a past board member of the Orange County Harvest.

Director Willie Pelote, Sr. has served as California Political and Legislative Director for the 1.4 million members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) since 1995. Prior to coming to AFSCME, he served as Consultant to former California Assembly Speaker Willie L. Brown, Jr. from 1987 to 1995. During that time, he was the Speaker’s liaison to labor, community, business and other interest groups. He also developed for legislators, legislation on such subjects as affirmative action, health care, education, and small business development and consumer issues. In his current role with AFSCME, Pelote oversees statewide political and legislative affairs for the nation’s largest union of public employees and health care workers. He is responsible for all aspects of AFSCME’s legislative program in California, and for developing and implementing the union’s political strategy for campaigns at all levels of public office. A 1977 graduate of California State University, Sacramento, Pelote has served on numerous boards and committees. A veteran of Vietnam, Pelote also served as Sergeant-At-Arms for the California Legislature from 1980 to 1987. In 1999, Pelote was appointed by former Governor Gray Davis to the State Task Force on Diversity.

Director Amparo Perez–Lemus, of Davis, has served on the Board of Directors since 2004. She is the VP/General Manager for Adelante Media Groups KBBU La GranD 93.9 FM, Modestos Premier Spanish Radio. A native of Bogot, Colombia, South America, Ms. Perez–Lemus begun her media career in 1985. She has been part of four major Hispanic Broadcasting Companies in which she held senior sales and management positions. In 1999, together with two partners she founded Aztec Media Inc. and launched KTTA Ke Buena 97.9FM and KLNA Power 105.5FM. She is a Trustee for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and sits on the board of the Los Rios Community College Foundation. In 2009 she received Radio Inks prestigious General Manager of the Year award, the first Latina to receive such an honor. Amparo also received the American Women In Radio & Television Example of Excellence Award. In 2002 she was the recipient of the Sacramento Hispanic Business Woman of the Year Award. In 2003 she received the California Hispanic Business Woman of the Year Award as well as the Ana Maria Arias Entrepreneurial Latina Business Owner Award.