President, Mitchell Bailey
Before launching MBailey Advisors, LLC, Mitch worked in higher education for a dozen years, striving to make college more accessible and affordable for students. He served as chief of staff at two well-respected college districts in Ohio and California respectively. His California service included expanding housing opportunities for faculty and staff of his district by developing a new housing complex for employees. He also authored and worked with the district’s legislative delegation to pass through both chambers of the California legislature and get signed by the governor SB 893, which enabled his district to make community college free for local residents.
Mitch is active in the community and currently serves on the board of directors of Chamber San Mateo County and as president of the board of Directors of Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County. He is a graduate of Leadership San Mateo County, has been honored as a “Forty Under 40” awardee by the Dayton Business Journal, and received a commission as a Kentucky Colonel.
Having grown up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky, Mitch values the opportunities made available by education. While working full-time, he received an associate degree in communication from Sinclair College, a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Capital University and a master of public administration (MPA) degree from Wright State University.
Vice President, Monika Lee
Monika Pleyer Lee joined the board of OSSMC in 2015, after
volunteering as a field ombudsman beginning in 2009. Monika is an advocate for the rights of older adults through her roles in the San Mateo County Commission on Aging, the Senior Citizen Commission of the City of San Mateo, the San Mateo Age Friendly Coalition and Villages of San Mateo County.
Before retiring in 2022, Monika practiced law as a corporate litigator for 38 years. She also represented various constituencies on a pro bono basis, including women prisoners, tenants, minors and guardians. For many years she was active in the high school mock trial program sponsored by the San Mateo County Bar Association.
Monika grew up in Germany and came to the US in the early 1970s.
She did her undergraduate and graduate (Ph.D. Economics) work at the University of Kansas and worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington D.C. before studying law at UCLA.
Monika and her husband have a small vineyard in the foothills in Calaveras County where they grow Malbec grapes. She likes to read and to travel, particularly to Europe. Monika takes classes in yoga and Pilates, and tries to keep physically active going for walks and riding her bike.
Treasurer, Bob Montevaldo
Bob Montevaldo, MBA, BSEE, is currently a program management and business consultant. He worked for many years with Hewlett Packard and Tandem Computers as a program manager. He also serves on the board of the Project Management Institute’s Silicon Valley Chapter and is the chapter’s vice president of Finance.
Eloisa Briones, CPA
Eloisa M. Briones served as the Vice President, Administrative Services and Chief Budget Officer at Skyline College for 27 years. She was responsible for maintaining effective and efficient administrative operations, providing leadership and oversight in all areas of Finance, Budget & Operations, Human Resources, Facilities and Capital Improvements, Transportation and Public Safety on the college campus. As a key member of the President’s Executive Leadership Council, she worked as part of the team that set the overall direction of the college. She actively participated in various governance committees at the college as well as districtwide. She co-chaired the Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee and the Health, Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Eloisa gained extensive experience in community college finance and operations for over 25 years. She shared her expertise as a team evaluator for several accreditation site visits for institutions in the state of California and in Hawaii. Prior to joining the San Mateo County Community College District, Eloisa served in various roles in for profit and non-profit sector organizations, including the United Way of the Bay Area where she served as Accounting Manager.
Eloisa earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accountancy degree from the University of the Philippines. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California. She was an active member of several statewide organizations, namely, the Association of Chief Business Officials (ACBO), the American Council of Community College Administrators (ACCCA), and the National Asian Pacific Islander Council (NAPIC).
Eloisa retired from Skyline College in December 2021. As a long-time resident of San Bruno, she continues to support the college’s programs as a mentor, an advocate and volunteer.
Susan Houston
Susan Houston has been a leader in San Mateo County aging services for more than 20 years. Her last position was VP of Older Adult Services with Peninsula Family Service. In this position she developed and oversaw a variety of programs to meet the emerging needs of older adults in the San Mateo County community.
Susan has a BA in both Social Work and Spanish and has completed Master level courses in Counseling Psychology. Susan studied abroad at the University of Granada to perfect her ability to be fluent in Spanish.
Susan has been active in a variety of committees from the Sequoia Hospital Community Advisory Committee, the New Beginning Coalition Steering Committee, The San Mateo County Age Friendly Core Committee, the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Older Adult Advisory Committee and a founding member of the San Mateo County Age Forward Coalition.
Susan has presented at a variety of conferences on older adult issues on topics such as employment services, peer counseling, prevention of hospital readmission.
Susan lives in Burlingame with her husband, a dog and a cat and enjoys yoga, gardening, travel, cooking, and flamenco music. She is happy that her daughter, son in law and new granddaughter live nearby.
Rev. David J. Cowell
David is the executive responsible for the Bay Area Center for Clinical Pastoral Education, and has provided system leadership for the work for the Healthcare Equality Index and other programs aimed at addressing healthcare disparities.
Before joining Dignity Health, David worked as a staff hospice chaplain and manager of Spiritual Care at Pathways Home Health and Hospice. While at Pathways, he was part of a team that presented at the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2016, and has more recently been guest lecturing on healthcare leadership. David received his Bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley and his Mater’s degree in theology and ethics from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He lives in San Francisco with his spouse Peter, a Burn-ICU RN, and their three rescue dogs.
Diane Leeds, Volunteer Rep (Advisory Role)
Diane has been a Field Ombudsman with Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County since December 2017. She previously spent 5 years helping seniors and others prepare and submit their taxes as part of the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program.
Expanding participation in voting is a passion for Diane. She has co-chaired San Mateo County’s Voter Education and Outreach Advisory Committee (VEOAC) since its inception in 2018. The VEOAC has been recognized by the County Elections Office, Board of Supervisors and others as a model for increasing voter participation in underrepresented communities.
While older voters tend to turn out in large numbers, residents of long-term care facilities are an often overlooked portion of this population.
Diane has made presentations in assisted living facilities about the different ways to vote in San Mateo County, and has helped residents to update their voter registration which is often not done when they move into a facility. She educated residents about the voting process and provided non-partisan information about items on the ballot. Her continuing work in this area was cited as one reason why she received the OSSMC Volunteer of the Year award in 2021.
Diane served as a member of San Mateo County’s Complete Count Committee for the 2020 Census, providing a channel for information and literature to Ombudsman Services and the residential facilities in the county about the importance of completing the Census.
Diane has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati. Diane held a variety of marketing positions in the computer industry including 20 years at Hewlett-Packard Co.