Officers, Directors, Advisors and Committees

Charles A. Fracchia

Founder and President Emeritus

Charles Fracchia, a renowned San Francisco historian founded the San Francisco Historical Society in 1988. He was the Society's president prior to the merger with the Museum of the City of San Francisco, and served as the president of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society through February 2005. Charles continues to serve on the Board of Directors, chairs the Council of Advisors, and manages the Society's publications. Charles is a native San Franciscan who attended local schools; received his B.A. in history from the University of San Francisco; and did graduate work at the University of San Francisco Law School, University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Charles teaches at City College of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco, lectures extensively throughout the Bay Area, and has been an investment banker for over thirty years. He has written several books including Fire and Gold: The San Francisco Story and City By the Bay: A History of San Francisco 1945 to the Present. He has been a trustee of the California Historical Society, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce's Leadership San Francisco Advisory Board.

James L. Lazarus

President

He was the President of the Museum of the City of San Francisco prior to its merger with the San Francisco Historical Society, and has served on the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society's Board of Directors since the merger in 2002. Jim is an attorney and a fourth generation San Franciscan. He served as the SocietyÕs first Executive Director and continues as a member of the Board of Directors. A former Deputy City Attorney, Executive Deputy Mayor, and State Director to Senator Feinstein, Jim has served on the boards of numerous civic and charitable organizations.

John Lum

Vice President

John Lum was appointed to the Board of Directors in December 2003. He is an architect specializing in high-end retail spaces, restaurants, clubs and residential projects. He serves on the board of directors of the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority and has been on the board of the Friends of Recreation and Parks.

Thomas C. Escher

Treasurer

Escher is chairman and chief executive officer of Red and White Fleet, the company started by his grandfather in 1892. He learned the maritime-related tourism business beginning at the at of 13, working on the San Francisco waterfront.

After receiving his B.A. from Menlo College, he served as assistant to the president of Crowley Maritime Corporation; later was assistant to the chairman and president of Harper Group/Circle Airfreight International, and was chairman and chief executive officer of Reefco Manufacturing Corporation, Mill Valley.

In 1997, he obtained full ownership of Red and White, for which he now serves as chairman and chief executive officer.

Escher is active on many boards, including San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, Fisherman's Wharf Community Business District, San Francisco Port Commission, and Fisherman's and Seaman's Memorial Chapel. He is also a trustee of Menlo College and treasurer of San Francisco Municipal Railway Improvement Corporation. His wife, Paula, is Honorary Consul of Monaco for the western United States.

Edith L. Piness, Ph.D.

Secretary

Edith Piness is Secretary for SFMHS Board of Directors and has served on the board since 2002. Prior to that she was a Director of the San Francisco Historical Society. She is a retired historian with a specialty in British Administration in South and Southeast Asia. She served on the California Postsecondary Education Commission and chaired the California Student Aid Commission. She is a Life Trustee of Pitzer College and President Emerita of the California Historical Society. Currently she is the Secretary of that Society's Foundation Board. She also serves as Secretary of the California Missions Foundation Board and is a member of the Board of the Institute for Historical Study in the Bay area.

Erik C. Christoffersen

Executive Director

Erik Christoffersen was appointed Executive Director of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society in March 2006. Erik has 20 years of experience in strategy, sales, and business development for IBM and several technology-oriented start-ups as well as 6 years operational experience in the health and fitness industry. He has a MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelors degree from the University of Virginia. He currently sits on the boards of Summer Search, The Scandinavian School and Xpiron, a San Francisco on-line booking technology company, and the advisory board of Values Market, an emerging national performance monitoring / web brokerage service for successful sustainable development efforts across the U.S.

Directors

Daniel Bacon

Director

Daniel Bacon is the founder of the Barbary Coast Trail, one of the San Francisco Museum and Historical SocietyÕs most visible projects. Daniel was a Director for the San Francisco Historical Society and has continued serving on the SFMHS Board of Directors since 2002. Bacon is the head of Quicksilver Press and a freelance writer.

Patrick L. Banks

Director

Patrick Banks joined the Board of Directors in September 2005. Prior to moving to San Francisco in 2000, Patrick served as a senior trial attorney in the New Orleans Parish District AttorneyÕs office before moving into Historic Preservation work. Patrick serves on a number of business and City planning boards, including the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery Advisory Board.

Richard S. E. Johns

Director

Richard Johns served as President from October 2006 through June 2010. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2002. Prior to the merger creating the SFMHS, Rich was a Director for the Museum of the City of San Francisco. He an attorney at Kipperman & Johns and a major collector of early San Francisco music.

The Honorable Harry W. Low

Director

Judge Low has twenty-five years of judicial experience in civil, criminal and governmental law. From 1967 -1992 he served as a judge on the Municipal, Superior and Appeals Courts, for San Francisco and California. He has served on numerous civic committees and boards. He was elected to the SFMHS Board of Directors in August 2005.

Michael S. N. Ma

Director

Michael S.N. Ma was elected to the SFMHS Board of Directors in August 2005. He is currently the Business & Project Development Manager for CCI General Contractor in San Francisco. Michael is the Founder / President of: Asian Commercial Professionals (ACP), Commercial Interiors Contractors Awards (CICA), CICA Foundation and the Kappa Sigma SF Bay Area Alumni Chapter. He currently serves on committees for the Building Owners Management Association (SF), Corenet Global Northern California, Union Square Business Improvement District and LEAP Sandcastle Advisory. Michael has a keen interest in the arts and preserving the history of San Francisco. Check out his profile on Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/mikesnma.

Ink Mendelsohn

Director

Ink Mendelsohn has been a member of the SFMHS Board of Directors since 2002. She is a free-lance writer. Ink is a member of the Society's Executive Committee and chairs the Collections & Exhibitions Committee. Prior to the merger of the San Francisco Historical Society and the Museum of San Francisco, Ink served on the Museum board. Ink is the creator and curator of AMUSING AMERICA, the SFMHS's premiere exhibition at Pier 45. Ink was for many years a writer, editor and public affairs specialist with the Smithsonian Institution.

Anthony Miles

Director

Peter J. Musto

Director

Peter J. Musto is a native San Franciscan and attended Saint Joseph's School in Menlo Park, Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated with a degree a BA in Economics from Stanford University. He has worked with Coldwell, Banker and Company, San Francisco, and has traveled and worked with the Episcopal Sanctuary. Currently, he runs the operation of his family-owned real estate investments firm, Joseph Musto Estate Company. Mr. Musto's nonprofit activities include the California Civic Light Opera Association, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Episcopal Community Services, Bishop's Ranch in Healdsburg, as well as the Society of California Pioneers in San Francisco.

David Parry

Director

David Parry has been a full-time San Francisco real estate broker since 1986. He served as President of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS® in 2002. He is a Director of the California Association of REALTORS® and also of its technology subsidiary, REBT, and he represents San FranciscoÕs 5,000 REALTOR® members as a Director of the National Association of REALTORS®. David is a collector of San Francisco historical material and writes a column for the New Fillmore newspaper on the architects who shaped San Francisco. He was a board member of both the San Francisco Historical Society and the Museum of the City of San Francisco prior to their merger in 2001.

Cynthia Pevehouse

Director

Cynthia Pevehouse joined the Board of Directors in April 2006. She is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. She was a former director of the West Coast Chamber Orchestra in Portland, Oregon.

Reginald D. Steer

Director

Reginald Steer was elected to the Board of Directors in August 2005. Reginald is a senior partner of the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. He was a former director of the San Francisco Parks Trust, formerly the Friends of Recreation and Parks.

David Zisser

Director

An attorney, Zisser attended Lowell High School and received his B.A. and J.D. from University of San Francisco. He is currently with Bliss and Glennon, an insurance surplus line broker. He has also been a legal researcher for the California Public Utilities Commission; contracts administrator with Sprint Corporation; a founder of Paquebot Corporation, a ladies' clothing manufacturer; and a bankruptcy, tax and immigration attorney.

Zisser is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, Northern District Bar of California and the Pennsylvania State Bar. His memberships include the Olympic Club, the Commonwealth Club, the Titanic Historical Society and Sir John Soane's Museum Foundation. He also serves on many boards, including the English-Speaking Union of the United States and University of San Francisco Diamond Circle Society.

Council of Advisors