Dr. Hughes served as president of the University of San Diego from 1971 until June 1995, and previously served as academic vice president and dean of the School of Business at Northern Arizona University. Following his retirement from the University of San Diego, he served as program director for higher education with the James Irvine Foundation, and on the board of directors of the Thomas Ackerman Foundation.

Dr. Hughes has served many business and community enterprises, including the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, Union Bank, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and the American Cancer Society. In addition to his business and civic activities, Dr. Hughes has been heavily involved in professional activities at the state and national levels. Dr. Hughes was a commissioner on the White House Fellows Commission, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and the California Commission on Improving Life Through Service.

Dr. Hughes is a recipient of the National Conference of Christians and Jews Regional Brotherhood Award and the San Diego World Affairs Council International Citizen Award. He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Chapman College, Dominican College, Eastern Illinois University, and the University of San Diego.

Dr. Hughes has a B.S. in business education from Eastern Illinois University, an M.A. in business education from Northern Colorado University, and a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Hughes joined the College Access Foundation of California board at its founding in February 2005 and served as founding Chairman.  

Jim Canales is president and chief executive officer of The James Irvine Foundation, a private Foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California. Prior to his appointment as president in May 2003, Mr. Canales served as vice president and corporate secretary at the Foundation from 1999 to 2003, providing oversight for Irvine’s grantmaking programs and communications and evaluation functions.

A graduate of Stanford University, with an undergraduate degree in English and graduate degree in education, Mr. Canales is active on the boards of various nonprofit organizations. He currently serves on the board of trustees of Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

His professional affiliations include current service on Independent Sector’s Building Value Together Steering Committee and membership on the Management Committee for Southern California Grantmakers in Los Angeles. He is a cofounder and past board chair for Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), a philanthropic affinity group concerned with maximizing philanthropy’s impact by advancing the effectiveness of grantmakers and their grantees.

Mr. Canales joined the College Access Foundation of California board in November 2005.

Ms. Ellis is a 23-year veteran of Intel Corporation. Appointed Vice President of Corporate Information Systems in 1987, Ms. Ellis was the first female vice president of Intel. She was appointed a corporate officer of in 1989. Ms. Ellis was the first CIO of Intel, serving in that capacity from 1993 to 1998. In January of 1999, she was selected to lead Intel Innovation in Education as the Director and Vice President of Education. Ms. Ellis retired from Intel in May 2003 to focus on family, board work, and philanthropic activities.

Ms. Ellis received her B.S. degree in mathematics and statistics from the University of Georgia in 1969. She pursued postgraduate work in operations research and computer science at the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia. Ms. Ellis moved to California in 1976 and joined Fairchild Camera and Instruments. She held several technology positions there before joining Intel in 1980.

Ms. Ellis has received numerous honors during her 35-year career. She was admitted to the YWCA's Academy of Women Achievers in 1985, recognizing her solid record of corporate achievements and contributions to the community. The San Francisco Chronicle named her one of "The Bay Area's Most Powerful Corporate Women" in 1995. In June of 2003, Ms. Ellis was one of four women receiving the "Women Who Mean Business" award from the Sacramento Business Journal.  She has served on the boards of Merix Corporation, 21st Century Insurance, Chela, and the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.  She is currently on the board of EdFund and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, Mountain Valley Chapter.

Ms. Ellis joined the College Access Foundation of California board at its founding in February 2005.

While he has particular experience in the area of higher education, Mr. Hansen is committed to improvements at the elementary and secondary school levels as a means of increasing access to post-secondary education. A 12-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Education, Mr. Hansen served as deputy secretary from 2001-2003 during the Bush administration, in addition to a number of earlier posts in the department from 1981 to 1993. From 1993 until his appointment as deputy secretary, he served as the president and CEO of the Education Finance Council.

Mr. Hansen has also served on several state and national boards and commissions on reforming elementary and secondary schools and increasing access to higher education, including the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige praised Hansen by saying he "is a powerful advocate for carrying out (the Department of Education's) core mission of providing our most disadvantaged citizens access to a quality education-from kindergarten through college. He is a passionate voice for our children and for making sure our resources are invested in programs that will help them achieve their dreams."

Mr. Hansen joined the College Access Foundation of California board upon its founding in February 2005.

Mr. Matthews retired in 1992 from J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc., where he had served as senior vice president and managing director. He had also served as a director with J.P. Morgan California.

Mr. Matthews spent his entire 37-year career with the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York and J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc., both subsidiaries of J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. During his career he worked in the Corporate Finance Division and in the Public Finance Department, which he established and ran for 15 years. In 1989, he came to San Francisco to form J.P. Morgan's West Coast Municipal Underwriting Group. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, he served in the U.S. Army.

Mr. Matthews actively participates in community organizations and is an Elder and trustee of Calvary Presbyterian Church. He has served as a member of the Business Councils of the California Pacific Medical Center and the Fine Arts Museums, San Francisco. Mr. Matthews holds a B.S. in business administration and an M.A. in economics from Rutgers University. Mr. Matthews pursued additional postgraduate education at New York University and the University of Chicago.

Mr. Matthews joined the College Access Foundation of California board upon its founding in February 2005.

George W. Rowe retired as Managing Director of J.P. Morgan & Co.’s West Coast Private Client Group and as President of J.P. Morgan California, a California-chartered trust company with offices in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Mr. Rowe joined Morgan in New York in October 1962 and was appointed Vice President in 1970 and Managing Director in 1981. Beginning in 1985, he managed the worldwide financial institutions group until moving to London in 1987 to head all Corporate Finance activities in the UK and Scandinavia. In 1990 he moved to California to head the management committee and to build the West Coast Private Client Business. He also served as Chairman of Morgan Guaranty International Bank with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Houston from 1983 until 1987.

Mr. Rowe also holds board positions with the Garden Conservancy, Episcopal Charities and Dominican University of California. He formerly served as a trustee of the San Francisco Ballet, the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, the California Historical Society and the Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens. He is a past President of the San Francisco Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Mr. Rowe joined the College Access Foundation of California board in August 2006.

Mr. Shanahan is a retired audit partner of KPMG, LLP, a global accounting and professional services firm. He joined KPMG's New York office in 1960, was admitted to the partnership in 1969 and retired in 2000. At the time of his retirement, he was a professional practice partner of KPMG's financial institutions practice.

Mr. Shanahan is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and he is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA). Mr. Shanahan holds a B.S. in accounting from Brooklyn College.

Mr. Shanahan joined the College Access Foundation of California board at its founding in February 2005.

After 41 years at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Watson retired in 2007 as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Professor of Chemistry.

Dr. Watson obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the City College of New York in 1961 and his doctoral degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1966. He also pursued postdoctoral studies at UCLA. He attended the Harvard University Institute of Educational Management - Executive Development Program in 1983.

Dr. Watson joined the faculty of the University of California, San Diego as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1966 and was promoted to associate professor in 1970 and professor in 1988. In 1970, Dr. Watson was named the first provost of Thurgood Marshall College and served for 11 years. In 1981 he was appointed Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.

As an administrator, Dr. Watson has held numerous posts on various committees on behalf of the University of California, most notably on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) (1985-1989) and on the California Student Aid Commission (Chair 1990-1992 and 1999-2001).

Dr. Watson joined the College Access Foundation of California board in November 2005.

Ms. Wilson’s career has primarily been as a community volunteer, a role in which she has been recognized as a leader and innovator. Ms. Wilson’s dual concentrations have been on improving early childhood health and encouraging those who show potential in math and science. As California’s First Lady from 1991-1999, she shared the Governor’s vision of a California in which every child has the best possible start in life. Ms. Wilson also served as a catalyst for the establishment of an excellence-based state summer school for math and science in 1998.

Ms. Wilson currently serves as chairman of the board of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and as a member of the board of directors of Gilead Sciences, Inc. She is a member of the board of trustees of California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and its Jet Propulsion Lab committee. She is chairman of the Advisory Board for COSMOS, the California State Summer School for Math and Science.

Ms. Wilson has a B.A. in biology from Stanford University. She also attended the University of San Diego’s Graduate School of Business as well as the Director’s College of Stanford Law School.

Ms. Wilson joined the College Access Foundation of California board at its founding in February 2005.