Staff & Board of Directors

Consuelo Meux, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Meux holds a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems with expertise in organizational behavior and development, women’s leadership styles, and issues of diversity and inclusion. Most recently, she served as a nonprofit executive director in San Luis Obispo County. Consuelo has been a Professor of Business and Faculty Chair, managed a Small Business Development Center (SBDC), served as  Director of Development and Public Relations for a California Psychology University, and taught at the Nonprofit Support Center of Fresno County. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, West Africa, has traveled internationally assisting small business development, and recently did a missions trip to Haiti. Consuelo served 8 years on the SLO County Commission on the Status of Women.

Howard Olvera
Membership & Marketing 

Howard will be working in membership services with all current and new Spokes members and will help increase our visibility so we can serve even more nonprofits throughout the County. Howard has a BS degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Business Entrepreneurship as well as Communications and Marketing from Antioch University in Santa Barbara. He serves on the board of the Rotary Club of Paso Robles Sunrise and is the President Elect Nominee for 2020-2021. He was the Membership Director for the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce for two years and previously worked in the broadcasting industry for more than 10 years. If you have any questions about Spokes membership activities or benefits, please feel free to call him at (805) 547-2244 or email him membership@spokesfornonprofits.org

Our Consulting Team

• Adrienne Harris
• David Feldman
• Kathleen Marcove
• Lesley Santos
• Leslie Jones
• Michael Simkins
• Yvon Gresser

---

Board of Directors

Jeff Franklin
President

You could say that Jeff is a kid at heart — he loves anything that he can do with his girlfriend, Jessica, and their four awesome kids. But Jeff has another side as well – a superstar techie side. At 15, he built his first computer system and later went on to study electrical engineering in college where he worked as an automotive installation technician.  And now, as CIO, he brings not only technical cred but also excellent customer service skills to his role at CIO Solutions. Jeff appreciates that Spokes supports many of the nonprofits that he works with every day. Serving Spokes helps him give back to several of his own customers, while at the same time, making a bigger impact than he could do on his own.

 Erika Schuetze

With 15 years of experience in public relations and communications, Erika currently promotes companies in the technology and sustainability industries. Erika has worked with Fortune 100 companies and pre-IPO start-ups and also has experience in the education and nonprofit industries. Erika grew up on the Central Coast and moved back to raise her children here. With close family leading local nonprofits, Erika understands that our nonprofit organizations do not always have the resources needed to fulfill their missions. She is excited to work with Spokes in order to help the nonprofits in the area that make this community she loves even stronger.

Jim Dorf

Jim is a native New Yorker. Before moving to San Luis Obispo, he was a Senior Attorney at New York City’s largest municipal union. Among his diverse law experience, he devoted a large portion of his time to the nonprofit and public interest sectors. He & his family moved to San Luis Obispo (his wife’s hometown) for quality-of-life reasons. He has previously managed the Human Resources departments at a few organizations (including two nonprofits) and is currently working as a consultant. In his free time, Jim enjoys his family, the outdoors, sports, and volunteering in the community. Jim feels Spokes’ success impacts many important local nonprofits and he is honored to serve on the board.

Lesley Santos

Lesley began her career as a development officer and grant writer for the California ScienCenter and Menlo College. She continued her work as the Community Relations Manager for Adobe Systems, Inc., where she was responsible for the company’s corporate philanthropy and community relations programs including their cash, in-kind and employee volunteer grants programs. After moving to San Luis Obispo and taking a career hiatus to focus on her young daughters, Lesley joined Spokes’ predecessor organization, the Nonprofit Support Center (NSC), and founded Spokes in 2011. She is presently the Agency Business Consultant at Farmers Insurance. Lesley earned her undergraduate degrees from the University of Southern California.

Mark Corella

Mark Corella graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo’s School of Agriculture in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation Administration. Mr. Corella has been in the field of Banking Management on the Central Coast for 25 years and is currently the Vice President and District Manager of the Central Coast for Wells Fargo. Current Community involvement includes Board Member for the YMCA of San Luis Obispo County, Committee Member for the Five Cities YMCA Advisory Committee, Advisory Board Member for the Children’s Resource Network of the Central Coast, and Advisory Board Member for the Lucia Mar Foundation for Innovation. Mark is the past Chair of the Latino Outreach Council and past Board Member of the Workforce Investment Board (WIB), also serving on the Youth Council. Mr. Corella has a passion for sports and youth and has been a youth basketball volunteer for over 20 years and continues to assist the 5 Cities Youth Basketball Program.

Michelle Starnes

Michelle is a partner and operations manager at Verdin, a marketing company committed to helping nonprofits and businesses in the community succeed. Michelle’s focus is on communications and efficiency, which is driven by a background in print production and the desire to do things the right way and make a big impact. Michelle fell in love with San Luis Obispo when she moved here to attend Cal Poly and is dedicated to helping others and making a difference in our community. The more she learns about Spokes, the more inspired she feels by the practical and effective support Spokes brings to so many nonprofits in the community. Michelle is excited to be able to contribute to the work that Spokes does and make an impact by strengthening these important nonprofit organizations.

Rachel Byrne

Rachel brings a problem-solving acumen to Spokes through her 15 years of managing the financial and operational matters of small-to-medium size businesses. She was born and raised in the greater San Luis Obispo area and is a graduate of Cal Poly where she studied Business Management. She maintains a great affinity for the area and now operates her own consulting business, the Klarheit Group where she is actively helping small business in all areas pertaining to finances. Rachel has a deep desire to give back to the very community that has granted her so much and looks forward to contributing to the philanthropic efforts of Spokes.