Board of Directors
Mike Rayfield – Board Chair
Retired Business Executive. Mr. Rayfield was in the semiconductor industry for 35 years. He held sales and marketing positions initially and the last 20 years held Senior Operating positions at Cisco Systems, NVIDIA, Micron Technologies, and AMD. He has been active in Achieve Tahoe for more than 10 years as the father of a student, PSIA instructor, and recently a Board member. Mike graduated from University of Vermont after studying Electrical Engineering and Pre-med. Mike, his wife Gina, and their two children reside full time in Truckee.
Robert J. Byrne – Vice Chair
Retired Business Executive. Mr. Byrne enjoyed a 27 year career with Anheuser-Busch in a variety of brewery operations and information technology roles, including as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Bob also served as Senior VP and CIO for St. Louis based Spartech Corporation and has managed a business optimization consulting practice. His undergraduate degree is in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and he has an MBA from Pepperdine University. Bob is a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and has served Achieve Tahoe as a snow sports instructor and summer program volunteer since 2016.
Hannah Sullivan – Treasurer
Co-founder of Emerald Bay Wealth Management. Ms. Sullivan brings deep experience in financial analysis, portfolio management, private equity, venture capital, and entrepreneurship. She holds a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from Hass School of Business at the University California at Berkeley. Hannah is a CFA® or Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder as well as CFP™ or Certified Financial Planner™ certificant. She holds the Series 65 FINRA license. She has taught skiing to people with disabilities at Achieve Tahoe for 10 winters, and is certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America in various disciplines.
Jessica Hickingbotham – Secretary
Philanthropist and Tahoe Enthusiast. Ms. Hickingbotham has helped many non-profits, such as the League to Save Lake Tahoe, achieve success. Her personal experience as the mother of a son with a disability uniquely qualifies her to provide insightful guidance to Achieve Tahoe. Jessica is a graduate of UC Davis. Her family has been enjoying and supporting Lake Tahoe for many generations.
Stuart Bryan – Director
Vintner Ambassador. Born and raised in Manistee, Michigan, Stuart moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1980s, beginning his wine sales career, meeting his wife, Suzanne, and settling down to raise their family. He first started in national sales as a national sales manager for Chalone Vineyards and was the first national sales manager for Shafer Vineyards in the 1980s. In 2005 he sold his company to focus exclusively on Pride Mountain Vineyards, where he was Director of National Sales and is now their Vintner Ambassador. In this position, Stuart travels extensively with his wife and winery co-owner, Suzanne Pride Bryan, to further the winery’s philanthropic efforts at the nation’s finest and most prestigious charity wine events, while bringing awareness of Pride wines to new fans. Suzanne and Stuart live full time in Truckee at Donner Lake.
Wilma J. Gray – Director, Past Chair
Lawyer and Partner with McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP. Ms. Gray has extensive experience in all aspects of civil litigation, with an emphasis on personal injury, wilderness recreation law, sports injuries, scaffold construction injuries, and mold injuries. Wilma has an undergraduate degree from Queen’s University and is a graduate of New College of California School of Law in San Francisco. Born in Canada, she grew up living with winter sports. Today, personal activities include traveling, outdoor recreation, hiking, canoeing, rowing, skiing, cycling, and golf. She is also a volunteer snowsports instructor.
Rene Picazo – Director
Head of Wealth Client Group. René Picazo is head of the Wealth Client Group at Allspring Global Investments. René and his teams are responsible for the distribution of Allspring investment products through national, regional, and independent broker-dealers; private banks; insurance companies; retirement platforms; and registered investment advisers. He also oversees some of Allspring’s largest and most complex client relationships. He is a proud member of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and he also serves on the national board of the Wells Fargo Foundation, an organization that donates over $400 million a year to non-profits that support underserved populations
Greg Scileppi – Director
President of International Staffing Operations at Robert Half International. Mr. Scileppi has been with RHI, the world’s largest specialized (professional sectors) recruitment firm since 1988. Greg is an outdoor enthusiast and has a passion for flying (taildraggers to jets). He is Past Board Chair of Notre Dame Girls High School of San Jose, CA. His educational background includes a B.A. in Business Administration.
Doug Pringle – Chairman Emeritus
Doug is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (BS Engineering) and CSU Sacramento (MBA and MPA). He is a disabled Vietnam Veteran who has been a leader in the adaptive sports movement since 1970. Doug lost a leg in Vietnam and learned to ski on one leg in 1968. He won three national slalom championships and was one of the first amputees certified as a ski instructor by the Professional Ski Instructors of America in 1972. He was inducted into the Ski Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Disabled Ski Hall of Fame in 1997 for contributions in the development of adapted skiing nationwide. We are proud to consider him our founder.
Link to Board of Directors Resources and Documents