|
|
I
was raised in San Francisco, Saratoga and Sacramento, California.
I graduated from Pomona College and Harvard Law School. After
working briefly in New York and Tokyo, I practiced land use and
real estate law in San Francisco in the early '70s. In 1976 I
joined Hewlett Packard Company in the Government Relations Department.
I became Director of Government Affairs in 1981 and retired in
2000 as Director of Government and Education Affairs. I am married
to Edie Dorosin Kirkwood. I have three sons and four grandchildren.
Edie has three children and four grandchildren.
In San Francisco I was active in the Republican party and in local politics. Then and later I worked on a number of local and statewide campaigns for candidates and ballot propositions. For six years I was a member of the Woodside Town Council. I staffed the creation of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, led the deputies of the California Roundtable, and initiated creation of the Computer Systems Policy Project. During my years with HP, I was a member of five or more business or public affairs oriented association boards and committees simultaneously, and usually chaired two or more.
I have been interested in planning, conservation and environmental issues since my college days. My first active role was working on the Williamson Act ballot proposition with People For Open Space in 1966. I was on the POS Board from 1969 to 1976 and have continued on its advisory committee under its present name -- Greenbelt Alliance. I chaired the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research regional committee, became a member of the SPUR Board and served as its President for four years until 1977. During that time, I was active in the Bay Area Council and chaired its first steering committee. I have been on the Board of the California Council For Environmental and Economic Balance since shortly after its inception. In the 1970s I was on the Board of the Planning and Conservation League and now am on the Board of the PCL Foundation. I was a founding member of the California Environmental Dialogue. In the 1990s I was on the Board of the California Coastal Conservancy and was its chairman for two years. Currently I am on the Board of the Peninsula Open Space Trust and have recently joined the California advisory board of the Trust for Public Land.
My return to education began in San Francisco in 1975 as a member of the Riles/Roth Commission. In 1990 I created within HP a K-12 Affairs Department and a University Relations Department. I chaired a Joint Venture Silicon Valley task force which shaped their eventual K-12 education efforts. On the Board of the Peninsula Community Foundation for ten years and as chairman in 19978, my focus turned more toward the emotional and social issues kids bring to school which impede their development and burden their teachers. Today my interest in early childhood emotional, social and intellectual development centers on my roles on the Board of Kids In Common and as President of the Bella Vista Foundation.