Board of Directors
Wendy Mattes, Chair/Executive Director, Riley’s Place. Wendy earned her BS degree in Animal Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She has her Assistant Instructor's Certificate from the British Horse Society, and has earned her Bronze and Silver Medals from the United States Dressage Federation. After graduating from Cal Poly, Wendy worked as Barn Foreman/Assistant Trainer in the Thoroughbred racing industry. She then managed the Training Program for 60 young horses on a farm in Virginia, before moving back to California. Here she founded her own Executive Search consulting firm for the high technology industry, and has been in this role for 21 years. But a natural love for children and passion for horses drew her to her current "side job" as Riding Instructor and Trainer at Webb Ranch in Portola Valley, a role in which she has taught many children to ride over the past 7 years.
Wendy was elected to, and currently serves on the Executive Board of the California Dressage Society (CDS). She also served several terms on the San Francisco Peninsula (SFP) Chapter of CDS, in various capacities, including Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Horse Show Committee Chair. She also founded the SFP Chapter Junior/Young Rider Committee, and organized fund-raising activities and educational opportunities for the juniors riders in the Bay Area. Wendy lives in Los Altos, with her husband of 23 years, John, and with two of her three sons. She also has three horses, two cats and a dog.
Michele Jackson, Secretary. Michelle has been serving as Executive Director of Shelter Network since 2001. She began working at Shelter Network in 1994, and previously served as Program Director, Director of Programs and Services, and Associate Executive Director. She has over 20 years of experience in the development and management of programs serving low-income families and individuals. In 2003, she was awarded the Heart of Social Work Award from the National Council on Social Work Education for excellence in field instruction. She serves on the Housing Endowment and Trust Board of San Mateo County, the Local Emergency Food and Shelter FEMA/EHAP Board, and is the Chair of the Executive Committee for the San Mateo County Continuum of Care. She also serves on the Interagency Council for HOPE, San Mateo County's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. Michele has a BA and Masters in Social Work from San Francisco State University.
Claire Edwards - Chief Financial Officer. Claire was born and raised in California. Her love of animals, especially horses, became evident early in life. She attended UC Santa Cruz and received her Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics. During her undergraduate years, Claire raised a Canine Companion for Independence puppy that went on to become a skilled Companion Dog for a young boy with a cervical spinal cord injury. After college Claire worked as an EMT in Santa Clara County. She then attended Santa Clara University where she completed her MBA with an emphasis in Finance and had a short career in the financial services industry. Although Claire enjoyed the high stakes and fast pace of the financial industry, she decided to follow her passion for medicine and serving others. Claire has recently returned to school to pursue a career as a Physician's Assistant.
Andrea Church, Riley's Mom, was born and raised in Livonia, Michigan and attended Western Michigan University. In 1980, Andrea moved to the Bay Area to further her education in the "School of Life". For ten years she worked in various administrative capacities in San Francisco and Oakland with the commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, eventually becoming the Branch Administrator for their Oakland office. She and her husband, Marty, were married in 1988. In 1990 Andrea left her position to become Mom to her first child, Sam, who currently attends Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. As Riley's Mom, Andrea enjoyed happy times with Riley at Webb Ranch. Riley passed away in 2006 at the age of 14 from brain cancer and is the inspiration for Riley's Place. Andrea supported Riley's passion for riding horses and shared her love of all animals. Andrea currently works for Cashin Company in San Carlos where she and her husband have lived for 20 years. Andrea enjoys tutoring through the Healthy Cities Program, walking, reading, gardening and spending time with her friends and family.
Marty Church, Riley's dad, is a native of the San Francisco Peninsula and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Senior Vice President at Grubb & Ellis Company, where he advises clients on lease and sale transactions involving office and industrial properties throughout the U.S. Marty's commercial real estate experience encompasses 35 years as an advisor, broker, appraiser and asset manager. He has a strong interest in sustainability and is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Accredited Professional. During Riley's illness Marty was always amazed and moved by the compassionate and giving people he met along that difficult journey, and the institutions that supported them in their efforts. He is thrilled to have an opportunity to become a part of that wonderful community through his support of Riley's Place.
Paul Fisher, MD is Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and by courtesy, Neurosurgery and Human Biology; Division Chief of Child Neurology; and the Beirne Family Director of Neuro-Oncology Stanford University and Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital. Dr. Fisher received his B.A. at Stanford and M.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, before completing residencies in pediatrics and neurology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and then a fellowship in neuro-oncology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Johns Hopkins. He also obtained a master's degree in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University.
After starting out on the faculty at Hopkins, Dr. Fisher was recruited back to Palo Alto in 1997, where he started the pediatric neuro-oncology program at Stanford University. His clinical work and research focuses on epidemiology, therapy, and late effects of childhood brain tumors, and he has authored over 80 scholarly articles on these and other neurology topics. At Stanford he directs the popular undergraduate class "Cancer Epidemiology" in Human Biology.
Dr. Fisher is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, for which he serves as Chair of the Executive Committee for the Section on Neurology. He is a member of the Editorial Board for both The Journal of Pediatrics and Journal of Clinical Oncology, and a previous question writer for the AAP's PREP Self-Assessment. He is also an active member of the Child Neurology Society, American Academy of Neurology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Society for Neuro-Oncology, Children's Oncology Group, Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium, and other professional associations. In addition to being a Board Member of the National Brain Tumor Society, he has served on the Board of Directors for Greater Bay Area Make A Wish and continues on their Advisory Board.
Dr. Fisher's personal interests are his wife Joy and three children Christopher, Graham, and Zoe, along with downhill skiing, lacrosse, bad golf, travel, and anything baseball.
Russ Peterson, DVM went to Claremont for undergraduate work, Michigan State for graduate work getting an MS in Nutrition and finally to UC Davis where horses and vet medicine became my focus. When I began practicing in 1978, I knew I wanted to have my own practice. I started Peninsula Equine in the early 80's and realized that the area needed a 24-hr. emergency clinic that also offered "state of the art" diagnostics. At the time, very few practitioners had anything more than a portable x-ray unit and the closest surgery center was UC Davis...a 2.5 hr drive! It took quite a few years to find a location, sift through the red-tape and navigate the permitting processes, but my dream finally came true and in 1992 the Clinic opened its doors for business. I guess I'd have to say that one of the best things about my job is having a "state of the art" facility to practice in. Keeping our facility technologically current has always been important to me so we can offer our clients the best diagnostic tools available. The other part of what I really enjoy is the client interactions. We are very lucky to have such an enthusiastic & knowledgeable client base to work with and know that some of our clients have been using our practice for over 20 years is amazing to me! Now, on a more personal note, when I do have spare time I really enjoy racing cars! I've had several successful seasons and must add that Bayer Animal Health has been a long-time sponsor of STAR Performance Team. I have found that my passion for keeping the horses running during the week is balanced by my passion for keeping my car running on the weekends - both require I stay sharp, stay technologically on top of my game and never forget that in order to do either well, I have to have my heart in it at all times!
John Mattes was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in 1968. John joined the United States Marine Corps and served one tour of duty in Vietnam. For the last 38 years John has been involved in law enforcement. John's law enforcement career has spanned being a Reserve Police Officer to a Deputy Sheriff with San Mateo County. While a Deputy, John was a K-9 Deputy for 10 years. Medically retired he open his own "pre-Starbucks" coffee, latte, mocha store where he also sold customized coffee mugs. After 2 years John missed law enforcement and put himself through the 9-1-1 Dispatch Academy. John has been involved with 9-1-1 Communications and police records for the last 16 years. He is currently the Communications/Records Supervisor for the Atherton Police Department. John holds a B.S. in Public Administration. John lives in Los Altos with his wife of 23 years, 2 sons, 2 cats and a dog.
Glenn Nielsen was born and raised in South San Mateo County. He is a graduate of Sequoia High School and Menlo College. Glenn spent 34 years with the Atherton Police Department where he started his career as a police cadet and retired from service as the Chief of Police. He has been a board member of a number of charitable organizations, including the Atherton Police Activities League, the Redwood City Police Activities League and the San Mateo County Chaplaincy. He serves on the Board of Directors and Development Committee of Riley's Place.
Glenn is currently employed by the Sequoia Health Care District where he places life-saving defibrillators in South San Mateo County. He resides in San Carlos and is an avid tennis player.
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