Board of Directors

Laura Long, Chair
Bigfork, MT

Ms. Long is a former chief financial officer for a number of companies in the medical- and semiconductor-equipment industries. She served as Treasurer and board member of the American Association of University Women, and is currently a trustee of the Flathead County Library System. Ms. Long has an extensive background in business consulting, finance, and operations.

Stephen Bobko-Hillenaar, Vice Chair
Carefree, AZ

Mr. Bobko-Hillenaar spent 28 years at Morgan Stanley as a Financial Advisor.  After retiring, he and his wife, Joanna, left their Hawaii home of 35 years to be more involved in flying and governance for Angel Flight West.  As well as a board member, Stephen serves as Past Chair of the AFW Foundation Board.  He is a past member of the Rotary Club of Kona and served as the volunteer chair of the Kona Family YMCA.  Now based in Carefree, Arizona, he and Joanna fly missions for Angel Flight West in their Piper Saratoga.

Mark Wolper, Vice Chair
Burbank, CA

Mr. Wolper serves as the President and Executive Producer of The Wolper Organization, which has been responsible for over 500 films that have won more than 150 awards, including two Oscars, 50 Emmys, seven Golden Globes, five Peabodys, and recognition and retrospectives from Cannes and other respected international film festivals. The Wolper Organization is perhaps best known for creating the TV miniseries.

Joseph Shelton, Secretary
Watsonville, CA

Mr. Shelton writes for a number of aviation publications, including Plane & Pilot, IFR, and Pilot Journal. He was a member of the original Apple/Macintosh Development Team. Based in Paris , he was responsible for Apple's European professional publishing marketing. He was also Senior Vice President of a company developing a single-stage to orbit manned launch vehicle.  He has an MBA from Pepperdine University .  Mr. Shelton holds Commercial pilot licenses for single and multiengine, land and sea, and has an instrument rating.  He flies a Columbia 400. Mr. Shelton served as Angel Flight West's Northern California Wing Leader and is Chair of the Angel Flight West Safety Committee.

Fred Allen Leistiko, Treasurer
Kalispell, MT

Mr. Leistiko is the manager of the City of Kalispell General Aviation (GA) Airport and a member of the Montana State Aeronautics Board. A graduate of Capital University, Mr. Leistiko is a veteran military pilot who retired from a military career with the Ohio National Guard as a Lieutenant Colonel. In collaboration with Akron Children's Hospital, he helped develop one of the first Medivac programs in the country.

Stephen Danz, Immediate Past Chair
Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Danz is the Senior Partner and Chief Trial Attorney for Danz & Associates, one of California's leading and largest employment law firms. He is a member of all state and federal plaintiff-side employment groups. Danz has been a licensed pilot since 1974 and is among Angel Flight's most frequently flying pilots, having flown more than 240 missions in the past four years.

Charles Finkel, At Large
Anderson, CA

Mr. Finkel is an attorney with Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy, specializing in aviation law. A frequent lecturer and prolific author, he has written hundreds of articles for aviation and legal magazines and journals, and has taught aviation law at California State University. Mr. Finkel has been a pilot for more than 40 years and is currently president of the Lawyer Pilots Bar Association.

Kent Allebrand
Santa Barbara, CA

Mr. Allebrand is a commercial pilot and private investor.  He has flown over 200 Angel Flight West missions since joining the organization in 2005, and also serves as a Mission Orientation Pilot in Southern California.

 

Skip Armstrong
Monterey, CA

Info coming soon!

 

 

Roger C. Dunham
Santa Barbara, CA

Dr. Dunham is a private internal medicine physician and an AFW volunteer pilot who flies a Cessna. He also serves on the Board of the Angel Flight West Foundation, and heads AFW’s Santa Barbara Leadership Council.

John S. Ferrell
Menlo Park, CA 

Mr. Ferrell is a founder of the technology law firm of Carr & Ferrell, LLP, with offices in Menlo Park, Santa Monica, and San Diego.  In a addition to a passion for counseling growing technology companies in Intellectual Property, he is an avid pilot and a flight instructor. Mr. Ferrell additionally serves as the Chief Orientation Pilot for the NorCal Wing of Angel Flight West.

Ruben Gamerberg
Bel Air, CA

Originally from Venezuela, Mr. Gamerberg is a civil engineer and graduate of Stanford University. He is currently president and CEO of four companies: Caltron Construction, 1521 Group, Gamerberg Group, and Cocoa Enterprises.

 

Hugh Hunter Handsfield
Seattle, WA

Dr. Handsfield is a Physician and Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Washington. He also serves on the Board of the American Social Health Association. A commercially licensed and instrument rated pilot, Dr. Handsfield flies a Cessna and has been an AFW volunteer pilot for fifteen years.

Mark Lorenzen
Kalispell, MT

Dr. Lorenzen is a retired environmental engineer with over 30 years of experience as either President or Vice President of science and engineering consulting firms.  He also serves as President of the Flathead Community Foundation in Montana and is a Board member of Integral Consulting.  He is a former pilot and aircraft owner. 

Hal Morley
Lake Oswego, OR 

In the year 2000 Hal retired from a successful thirty year investment management career that included founding and building Morley Financial, a $12 Billion stable asset management firm, and its subsidiary Union Bond and Trust, a top rated Oregon Trust Company.  An Angel Flight West volunteer pilot, Hal serves on theAngel Flight West and Angel Flight West Foundation Boards.

Dean Myers
Tigard, OR

Dean Myers is retired from a career in the computer services industry. Dean's diverse experiences include working as an engineer for IBM, leading a Computer Technical College, starting his own computer service and repair company, and finally retiring from his IT leadership role at Nike, Inc.  He is a pilot and aircraft owner.

Leah Vriesman
Hermosa Beach, CA

Dr. Vriesman is on faculty in the Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management program at the University of California Los Angeles. She is also President and Founder of Excel Research, a strategic healthcare consultancy.  She has an extensive background in healthcare administration, business management, and strategic marketing. Dr. Vriesman is active in a number of professional and civic organizations, including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Healthcare Executives of Southern California, and Rotary International.

Warren Wood
Carmel Valley, CA

Warren Wood is the founder of Cabot Medical Corporation and served as the company's President and CEO until 1996. He remains active in business as an investor, advisor, and board member of numerous start-up companies. Mr. Wood is a licensed pilot and volunteer Command Pilot for Angel Flight West.