Alameda County Historical Society

Scavengers, Oakland

County Landmarks Historical Societies & Museums

ACHS Board at the Japanese Garden

Board of Directors

The ACHS Board of Directors consists of up to thirty members of the Historical Society elected annually at the membership meeting held each January. Directors serve three-year terms, and one-third of the directors are elected at each membership meeting. In addition to the January meeting, the Board meets quarterly to conduct the business of the Society.

Officers

President. Ralph Anderson is an Oakland native, graduate of Oakland High School and UC Berkeley, and retired proprietor of the family painting business. He is a member of the Prometheus Community Orchestra and a past board member of the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation.

First Vice-President. George Duncan is an Oakland native, graduate of Oakland public schools and UC Berkeley with a Masters in Architecture; his professional works include the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics facilities, Universal City in LA, the Bechtel building and Metreon Movie Complex in SF. He serves on the Waterfront Action Inc. and as a member of Measure DD Oversite Committee.

Second Vice-President. Robin Johnson was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon and moved to the Bay Area at age four. She graduated from Albany High School and UC Berkeley. She has resided in Oakland since 1964 and lives in the historic Fernwood District. She was an elementary school teacher in Oakland for 25 years. She served as a docent at the UC Botanical Garden for 15 years and belongs to Hillside Gardeners of Montclair, the Oakland Museum Art Council, OHA and BAHA.

Recording Secretary. Judy Torrison currently is in private practice as an educational therapist, providing assessment and remediation to students with emphasis on improving reading, writing and mathematics. She has a BA degree from UC Berkeley in Spanish literature, and completed Educational Therapy certification at Holy Names University.

Treasurer. Anne Woodell has served on the Oakland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission and on the boards of Children's Fairyland and the Dunsmuir Historic Estate.

ACHS Board meeting

Annalee Allen is coordinator of the Oakland Tours Program, a member of the Alameda County Parks, Recreation, and Historical Commission, the author of the weekly Landmarks column in the Oakland Tribune, a former member of the Oakland Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, and co-founder and past president of the Oakland Heritage Alliance.

Dr. John Bernard currently serves as the Interim Superintendent for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. Prior to this assignment he served as the State Administrator for the King City Joint Union HSD in Monterey County, now named the South Monterey County Joint Union HSD. John Bernard retired in June 2008, after more than 38 years in California public education, having served as Superintendent of Schools in Newark, Novato , and Bakersfield . Prior to becoming a superintendent, he was the Director of K-12 Instruction, and later the Assistant Superintendent, in Mt. Diablo Unified School District (Contra Costa County). John Bernard began his career at San Francisco Unified School District where he worked for twenty years as a classroom teacher, resource teacher, assistant principal, personnel administrator and principal. Prior to and overlapping his career in education, John worked eight years in data processing for Bank of America in San Francisco. A native of the Oakland, CA, John is a product of the Oakland Public Schools as are his three grown children.He earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from San Francisco State in Psychology and Education Administration, respectively; and earned his Doctorate in Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco.

Ernest Chann, former ACHS vice-president, is a veteran docent at the Oakland Museum of California and the Oakland Zoo as well as a former president of the Chinese Historical Society of America.

Ed Clausen, ACHS past president, is an Oakland native, retiree from the Oakland Fire Department, former president of the board at the Dunsmuir Historic Estate, and a renowned collector of historic postcards.

Robin Johnson was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon and moved to the Bay Area at age four. She graduated from Albany High School and UC Berkeley. She has resided in Oakland for 44 years and was an elementary school teacher in Oakland for 25 years. She has volunteered at the UC Botanical Garden, Hillside Gardeners of Montclair, the Oakland Museum Art Council, and American Decorative Arts Forum of San Francisco.

William Keep was born in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from Oregon State, majoring in History, he studied law at UCB Boalt School of Law. He worked as an Attorney in the Alameda County Public Defender's office for 45 years. He recently retired in July 2014 and makes his home in a 1907 house with his wife, Nancy, in the Adams Point area, Oakland.

Ken Lee has been a resident of Alameda County for 34 years and an Oakland resident since 2005. His career includes 36 years with Commonwealth Land Title and 14 years with the EastBay SPCA. He is the father of two and grandfather of four grandchildren. He is a member of Oakland Heritage Alliance and the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.

Marie Lothrop is a veteran member and former treasurer of ACHS and has served on the boards of the Alta Mira Club and San Leandro Historical Society. She has also been active in supporting the library and arts in San Leandro.

The Honorable Winton "Mac" McKibben is officially retired from the Alameda County Superior Court. He has been active with the Regional Park Association and the Oakland Museum of California locally, and with Earth Watch and Global Volunteers around the world.

Al Minard, a retiree from the NUMMI plant in Fremont, is secretary of the Mission Peak Heritage Foundation, a member of the Patterson House Advisory Board and Fremont's Historical Architectural Review Board, and treasurer of the Conference of California Historical Societies.

Betty Thomas is a retired social worker for Alameda County who has served as a docent at the Camron-Stanford House and on walking tours sponsored by the Oakland Heritage Alliance.

Karen Webb is a former staff member, and former president of the board at the Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate in Oakland. She is currently the treasurer on the board of two organizations; Friends of the Library San Lorenzo Area and Hayward Area Genealogical Society. She is a staff member at the Oakland Museum of California working as their controller.

Ellen Wyrick-Parkinson is a resident and long-time activist in West Oakland, where she has recently worked to have the Oak Center neighborhood declared a historic district by the city. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters and the Alameda County Parks, Recreation, and Historical Commission.

ACHS Board Meeting