Executive Committee

Chair, Director of the Year Awards Committee

Sara Bennett

Sara joined Marsh & McLennan Agency in 2003 and is a Principal in the Business Insurance Division. Sara is currently the Leader of MMA’s largest industry vertical, and specializes in structuring property and casualty programs for her clients that enhance coverage and drive down insurance costs.

In 2012 Sara was honored with the “Women to Watch” award from Business Insurance Magazine. This international award honors 25 women annually for their professional achievements, influence on the marketplace, and contributions to the advancement of women in business.

Most recently in 2018, Sara was honored by the San Diego Business Journal and named one of San Diego’s Next 40 Top Business Leaders Under 40, by San Diego Magazine as a “Woman of the Year” finalist, and again by the San Diego Business Journal as a “Business Woman of the Year” finalist.

Sara proudly serves a number of associations and non-profit organizations, including the San Diego Women’s Foundation, where she currently serves as Board President. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Sharp HealthCare Foundation Board, is on its Executive Committee, and is Chair of the Sharp Mesa Vista Philanthropy Council. She is the former Chairwoman and Women’s Health Sub-Committee Chair of GROW, MMA’s internal women’s initiative which helps to advance the role of women at MMA and serve as a springboard for leadership opportunities.

Sara also enjoys serving as Mentor to two MMA associates and volunteering for Mended Little Hearts of San Diego, a volunteer-led program providing hope and support to children, patients, and families affected by congenital heart disease.

Sara graduated from the University of San Diego with a major in Political Science and Business Administration. She holds the professional designations of Accredited Advisor of Insurance (AAI) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC).

Director, American Gene Technologies International; fmr. Director, Various Companies

Julia R. Brown

Julia R Brown is a member of the board and past chair of Corporate Directors Forum. She is a member of the board of directors of American Gene Technologies International and previously served on the board of directors of nine other development stage pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical companies. She has chaired the compensation committees of five public companies. She also serves on nominating and governance committees.

Julia is chair emerita of the board of trustees of the UC San Diego Foundation. She is a former member of National Association of Corporate Directors and Women Corporate Directors, and currently serves as a member of the board of Cleantech San Diego, an industry association, and a member of the National Advisory Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

From 2000-2003, Julia was executive vice president of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and served as advisor to the CEO until 2008. Prior to joining Amylin, Julia was executive vice president of Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Julia spent over 25 years with Eli Lilly and Company in progressively more senior roles. From 1992-1994, Julia was senior vice president of IVAC Corporation and general manager of its Vital Signs Division (a Lilly subsidiary). She was vice president of Worldwide Marketing for Hybritech (another Lilly subsidiary), and led global marketing from 1986-1992.

In 2016, Julia received the Hugh Friedman award for the Corporate Directors Forum Director of the Year awards. In 2014, UC San Diego’s Alumni Association honored Julia as Honorary Alumna of the Year. In 2012, she received UC San Diego’s Chancellor’s Medal for distinguished service to the university. In 2010, Julia received CONNECT’s award for “Distinguished Contribution to the Life Science Innovation.” She was a winner of the San Diego Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” award in 2006. In 2005, Girl Scouts San Diego named Julia one of “San Diego’s 10 Cool Women.” Julia has twice been honored in San Diego’s “Tribute to Women in Industry.”

Chief Executive Officer

Christina de Vaca

Ms. de Vaca is the CEO at the Corporate Directors Forum (CDF) and has been in this role since May 2017. The organization’s mission is “to help directors, and those who support them, build more effective boards through continuous education and peer-networking.”
Before joining CDF, she served as the Director of Corporate Relations and Business Development for the Graduate School of Business at the University of San Diego (USD). In that role she was responsible for building and strengthening USD’s School of Business relationships with the business community as well as customized executive education programs for corporate clients.
Prior to that, Ms. de Vaca served as the Chief Governance Officer and Corporate Secretary for Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, an approximately $1 billion publicly-traded specialty pharmaceutical company in Aliso Viejo, California. During this time she was instrumental in defining the new role of a governance executive to focus on strategic planning and move beyond compliance. She was actively engaged with governance affairs at a time when burgeoning changes in corporate governance began to impact boardrooms on an international scale.
Before Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Christina served as Operations Vice President at Premier, Inc., a publicly-traded group purchasing organization, currently based in North Carolina. While at Premier she also identified entrepreneurial opportunities and brokered innovative and highly successful partnerships for the benefit of shareowners.
Prior to Premier, Ms. de Vaca served as the Corporate Secretary at American Medical International, a $2.5 billion publicly-traded hospital organization in Dallas, Texas. In that role, she was highly effective in managing complex relationships with international healthcare entities and other constituencies.
Ms. de Vaca is Six Sigma black-belt trained. As a professionally qualified instructor, she has taught governance in the Forum of Corporate Directors Education Program at the University of California, Irvine and other local universities. She also taught Business Communication at MiraCosta College. She continues to be engaged in a variety of efforts to improve governance practices and is the Vice President, Membership Chair for the Southern California Chapter of the Society for Corporate Governance based in New York City and currently serves on their Advisory Committee as well. She has served on the boards of Just In Time for Foster Youth, the Ronald McDonald House and the Corporate Directors Forum in San Diego, California.
Ms. de Vaca has a Bachelor of Business Studies degree from Dallas Baptist University and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.

Chair, Membership Committee

David Lang

David Lang serves as the Senior Development and Community Relations Officer for Bastyr University’s California campus in San Diego. In this role, Lang connects philanthropy and organizations to the university in support of its vision to bring “health and wellness to the human community” as the nation’s leading natural health arts and sciences institution. Lang also advises early stage companies focused on environmental agriculture, natural health and wellness, and alternative and renewable energy in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. Earlier, he was the founding executive director of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, the collaborative body and collective voice for 26 cultural institutions in San Diego’s historic Balboa Park. Prior to joining the partnership, he was director of government affairs for KSA Industries, parent company of a diverse group of businesses (including the NFL’s Tennessee Titans) in Houston, Texas. Lang serves on the YMCA of San Diego County Board of Directors, Corporate Directors Forum Board of Directors, Association of Fundraising Professionals Board of Directors, and USA Triathlon Foundation Board of Trustees.

Chair, Programs Committee

Steve R. Martin

Steve R. Martin is an experienced Chief Financial Officer for publicly-held reporting companies. He has managed all aspects of investor relations, financing activities and Board of Director matters, and has extensive mergers and acquisitions experience.

Currently, he serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial officer of Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly-traded biotechnology company pioneering the development and commercialization of therapies for antibiotic-resistant infections using bacteriophage-based technology. In 2019, Armata was formed by the merger of AmpliPhi Biosciences and C3J Therapeutics in a stock-for-stock transaction.

In April 2018, he was appointed to Board of Directors of Dthera Sciences, a publicly-traded, digital therapeutics company, where he serves as Chairman on the Audit Committee.

Prior to his current position, Steve served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Apricus Biosciences, Inc. and BakBone Software Incorporated. He also served as Interim CEO at both organizations. At BakBone Software Incorporated, he lead the Board of Directors, investment bankers and executive team through a 7-month strategic sale process, leading to the eventual sale of the Company to Quest Software, an all cash $56M transaction.

Chair of the Board

Phillip H. Rudolph

Phil Rudolph is a strategy, ethics, and corporate responsibility consultant based in San Diego, California. Previously, Phil was Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Jack in the Box Inc., where he worked from 2007 until March of 2020. Prior to joining Jack in the Box, Phil was Vice President and General Counsel for Ethical Leadership Group, where he also provided ethics and corporate responsibility consulting services for companies and trade associations primarily in retail industries.

He was previously a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Foley Hoag, LLP, and a Vice President at McDonald’s Corporation where, among other roles, he served as U.S. and International General Counsel. Before joining McDonald’s, Phil spent 15 years with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, the last six of which he spent as a litigation partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. In addition to his service on the Corporate Directors Forum Board, Phil is on the Board of Directors of The Alliance for Children’s Rights in Los Angeles, where he serves as Secretary and a member of the Executive Committee.

Treasurer

Daniel Schreiber

Daniel Schreiber has extensive business development and accounting system design experience with manufacturing and wholesale business concerns, along with special emphasis in law firm consulting. He is a qualified professional in solving tax and business problems for small to mid-sized closely held concerns. He currently services clients in the manufacturing, electronics, wholesale, legal, medical and service industries. He is also a frequent lecturer on microcomputer consulting and accounting software implementation. Prior to joining JGD & Associates in 1983, Mr. Schreiber spent four years with a regional Wisconsin accounting firm where he managed a branch office.
Dan has conducted various seminars on management information systems and has many years of hands-on experience, one-on-one and group training of client personnel on accounting systems and microcomputer procedures. He has written various articles on microcomputer system design issues, accounting software implementation and training issues. He is responsible (hands-on) for user training, system design, hardware and software implementation for JGD & Associates LLP’s wide area network.
Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of Wisconsin
• Extensive and ongoing continuing education in various tax and consulting courses
• Accountants’ Boot Camp participant

Member, Mintz

Scott M. Stanton

Scott is a corporate attorney with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. His experience includes: structuring and negotiating M&A deals of all sizes; leading public and private securities transactions; serving as primary outside counsel to public and private companies; and advising clients on SEC compliance and other governance matters. He represents companies, boards of directors, and board committees in a wide variety of industries, including software, medical devices, life sciences, semiconductors, manufacturing, consumer products, insurance and financial services.

In the M&A side of his practice, Scott handles public company mergers, tender offers, hostile takeovers, and many other types of strategic acquisitions and divestitures. His capital markets capabilities include representing issuers and underwriters in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities. He also guides clients through initial public offerings (IPOs), private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions, registered direct offerings, bond offerings, private placements, and venture financings.

Prior to joining Mintz Levin, Scott was a partner in the San Diego office of a global law firm, where he served as chair of the firm’s global corporate practice group from 2010 to 2013. Earlier, he practiced at a California law firm that focused on serving technology and biotechnology clients.

Recognitions & Awards

• Recommended by The Legal 500 United States (2012–2014)
• Best Lawyers in America: Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2007-2018)
• Best Lawyers in America: Securities / Capital Markets Law (2013-2018)
• Included on the Super Lawyers list: (2007-2016, 2018)
• Hugh Friedman Director of the Year award, Corporate Directors Forum (2015)