91·çÃùÄñ³ª

Arnie Glassberg, President

Arnie Glassberg serves as the president of the Honors College CAB.  Arnie spent his entire 37-year professional life serving students in K-12 schools in California. Starting as a junior high school teacher and counselor, he progressed through the ranks as a special education program specialist, principal, director of instruction, assistant superintendent, business services, and superintendent. Along the way, he was an assistant professor at the graduate schools of education at four California universities including the University of California, Berkeley.

Once retired, Arnie served as an appointed member of the Board of Directors of the San Leandro Boys and Girls Club; the Master’s degree program for the acting school of American Conservatory Theater (San Francisco); and most recently, the Reno Philharmonic. In addition, he was an elected member of the Coastside County Water District Board.

Arnie earned a B.A. at UCLA in Microbiology, an M.A. in Counseling at Cal State University, Northridge and was a candidate for a Ph.D. in Educational Administration at the University of California, Riverside.

His passion since retirement has been travel. He has explored all seven continents and traveled in over 85 countries around the world.

Bill Parsons, President-elect

Bill Parsons serves as the chairperson for the Student Actualization and Engagement Committee of the Honors College CAB. Bill Parsons is a business leader in FinTech, WealthTech, Data Intelligence and Analytics Sectors both in the U.S. and internationally.  He currently serves as the group president for Data Analytics and International for AdvisoryCloud.  He is a global and strategic technical team leader with expertise in Saas, enterprise software,  integration. He is focused on hyper-personalized Wealth Management solutions for Advisors. He served as G.M. and S.V.P AI/Analytics and Products of Envestnet Yodlee for bank and wealth sectors including IPO, M&A, and acquisition. Bill has additional experience in global alliances, partnerships and channels. Bill also has experience in company mergers and integration of product, sales, and marketing organizations. Bill's experience spans cloud-based enterprise Software Platform sales, online banking solutions,  , and CRM solutions. Bill enjoys connecting with friends, family and traveling.

Caroline E. Neuhaus Wesley, Ed.D., Past President

Dr. Caroline E. Neuhaus Wesley served as the president of the Honors College CAB.  She has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and executive director/superintendent.  She currently serves as the president and founder of Saphira Education Associates, LLC focusing on supporting schools on numerous aspects of management including expertise on facilities, budget, operations and academic accountability.

Dr. Wesley has been an educator for over 30 years in traditional public and charter public schools. Dr. Wesley has also served as an adjunct instructor at the university level.

Dr. Wesley holds three degrees including an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California; M.A in Educational Administration; and a B.A. in English Literature.

Tom Hovenic, M.D., Treasurer

Dr. Tom Hovenic serves as the treasurer of the Honors College CAB.  Dr. Hovenic is an infectious disease specialist based in Reno, NV. With extensive expertise in infectious diseases, antibiotic stewardship, and wound care, he currently serves as medical director for Tahoe Forest's Infectious Disease Department and Antibiotic Stewardship Program, and as lead physician in wound care and infectious diseases at the Skin Cancer and Dermatology Institute. He also provides telemedicine services with VeeOne Health in Washington, California and Michigan. Dr. Hovenic was previously a partner with Sierra Infectious Diseases and a hospitalist physician at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Missouri. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and his fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases through the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is proficient in Spanish and committed to local and international medical outreach. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, skiing and soccer with his family.

Olivia Spargur, Secretary, Ex-Officio Representative

Olivia Spargur serves as the secretary of the Honors College CAB. Olivia is a sophomore at the 91·çÃùÄñ³ª, from Las Vegas, majoring in Journalism and Marketing with an emphasis in Public Relations and Advertising. She also works with the university Marketing and Communications Social Media team and is the editor of the Arts and Entertainment section for the Nevada Sagebrush.

Olivia is a presidential scholar and is an active member and participant in the Honors College Student community. She plans to use her opportunities at the 91·çÃùÄñ³ª to enhance student experiences, especially within the Honors College.

Kimberly Kalkhoven, Chair, Membership Committee

Kimberly Kalkhoven is a seasoned IT executive with a distinguished career that includes her pivotal role as IT Director of Financial Systems at JDS Uniphase. During her tenure, Kimberly was instrumental in taking Uniphase public through a secondary transaction, a key achievement that laid the groundwork for the company's subsequent merger. Her leadership in financial systems has been a driving force in the success of numerous high-tech initiatives.

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from San Jose State University. She is also the co-founder of The Kalkhoven Foundation, reflecting her commitment to philanthropy. Beyond her professional endeavors, Kimberly is deeply dedicated to her family, being a mother, grandmother to six, and great-grandmother to two boys.

Judi Kosterman, Ed.D., Chair, Student Actualization and Engagement Committee

Through local, state and national programs in prevention, intervention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, Dr. Judi Kosterman has contributed to education, healthcare, workforce development, criminal justice, military and Veterans efforts. An educator, Judi confronted the problem of kids and drugs. This barrier to learning catalyzed her commitment to finding solutions, serving as Washington State drug control executive and, subsequently, three Washington, DC, positions: Executive VP of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), director of the National Center for the Advancement of Prevention (NCAP), White House policy advisor and team member directing the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, and as a consultant to National Guard Bureau’s Counter Drug Office. Following national service, she helped create the world’s first live, online treatment programs as Senior VP of CRC Health and as executive VP of Newport Brain Research Lab, she began her work with neuroscience.  Additionally, Judi helped facilitate the creation of and contributed as a national board member of All Rise (National Association of Drug Court Professionals and Justice for Vets), as well as the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). Currently, she leads the Brain Health Leadership Foundation “promoting brain health through science education and treatment.”

Larry Barber, Member

Larry Barber serves as the past president of the Honors College CAB. He started his career as a United States Air Force officer where he held a top-secret EBI clearance, before spending thirty years in Silicon Valley high technology companies.   He was instrumental in the development of numerous high-tech products. He is a serial entrepreneur and a member of the selection committee of the Sierra Angels, one of the oldest Angel investment groups in the U.S.

He is a successful initial investor in numerous high-tech companies including Rotten Tomatoes, Tom’s Hardware Guide, and many others. His sites serve over 45 million users per month. Mr. Barber was also the founder of a data mining start-up that was the 14th largest data collector in the world. It supplied and still supplies real-time data to set pricing at Sears, Best Buy, Samsung, Seagate, Disney, Micron and others.

His education consists of a B.S. in Chemistry from the State University of New York and a M.S. in Management and Informational Systems from the University of Southern California.

Juston Berg, Member

Juston Berg is the vice president of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, leading efforts to build Northern Nevada’s startup ecosystem. His primary focus is to drive entrepreneurial development, working closely with the EDAWN team and community partners.

With over a decade of experience in tech and software, including AI, blockchain development and emerging technologies, Juston brings extensive knowledge to the table. As the co-founder of a local startup accelerator, he is deeply immersed in the startup scene and enjoys collaborating with new ventures.

Juston is also an investor, advisor and advocate, specializing in growth, product development and go-to-market strategies. He offers personalized guidance and strategic planning, helping entrepreneurs leverage EDAWN’s resources to drive innovation and create tech jobs.

Chris Castel, Ph.D., Member

Dr. Chris Castel serves as the CEO and CTO for Carewear Corp., which is wearable therapeutics and digital health for pain and injury recovery for professional and consumer markets.  He is also a managing partner for Maison Castel LLC.  Previously, he was the chief scientific and technology officer for Accelerated Care Plus Corp.  Dr. Castel holds several patents and has received several honors and awards including the 2019 Finalist IoT/WTInnovation World Cup, the 2018 SPIE Startup Challenge Award, and the 2012 J.E. Hanger Award for Pioneering Innovation.  He lives in Reno with his wife and enjoys the mountains.

Corrado DeGasperis, Member

Mr. DeGasperis brings over 35 years of industrial manufacturing, financial, governance, operational and project management experience in the metals, mining and recycling industries. Mr. DeGasperis has served as Comstock’s chief executive officer since 2010 and executive chairman since 2015.

Bianka Dodov, J.D., Member

Bianka Dodov is a native Nevadan, born and raised in Reno. She attended UNLV where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with honors. During her time at UNLV, she was an active member of the Honors College. Following her time at UNLV, she lived in Washington, DC where she spent three years advocating for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. government. She earned her law degree at Seton Hall University School of Law and spent the next 10 years living and working in New York City in securities finance and legal compliance. She moved home to Reno in 2019 and currently works as a senior attorney at Sierra Crest Business Law Group, where she heads up the firm's Corporate and Business Transactional practice.

Chuck Dowd, Member

Prior to retiring, Chuck Dowd was group president of the Architectural Products Group for the multi-billion dollar Masco Corporation.  He has served as a member of the Boards of Directors of Sierra Nevada College, Fortifier, and Buck Knives Corporation to name a few.

Mark Friedler, Member

Mark is the CEO of technology, Web3/blockchain, and games consultancy, Gigex, Inc. He’s a serial entrepreneur in games, digital assets, SaaS and enterprise services. He is an advisor and investor in several Web3 and fintech projects and is the blockchain expert for Dundon Advisers, a financial restructuring firm.

Mark led business development for Swarm fund security token marketplace, and has advised several projects including Apollo Art, Mobaso Games, Cappasity, Vertex Market, and several NFT projects. His focus is on building valuable business communities through business development, sales, strategic partnerships, marketing and fundraising. He is the co-founder of the world’s largest fintech and blockchain meetup CryptoMondaysSF with chapters in 55 global cities.

He is a frequent speaker, keynote and panelist on blockchain at global events including Davos WEF, CoinAgenda, CES, E3, GamesBeat, GDC, ESports Summit and other events. He and his family are based in the Reno, Nevada Area.

David Garcia, J.D., Member

David Garcia is a strategic advisor who draws on his three decades of experience as a corporate, finance, and merger & acquisitions attorney to bring a measured, pragmatic approach to his advisory engagements. In addition to his deep knowledge and experience in acquisition and financing transactions, companies and law firms throughout the U.S. and abroad have also relied on David as an authoritative resource on Nevada corporate law and practice. He practiced at Wilson Sonsini and Venture Law Group in Silicon Valley and later practiced in Reno at Hale Lane and then at Holland & Hart. During his time in private practice, he was recognized as a leading attorney in the mergers & acquisitions, finance, and corporate practice areas by various national and regional publications.

David is also an angel investor and has been a member of the Sierra Angels investor group since its inception in the late 1990s.

David received his B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in organizational behavior from Stanford University, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Ross Golding, MD, Member

Dr. Ross Golding serves as the chairperson for the Membership Committee of the Honors College CAB.  Ross has lived in Reno for 41 years and is committed to the success of the Honors College students.  Dr. Golding served as the chairman of the Radiology Department at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center for a decade before serving as the medical director at Reno Diagnostic Centers for nearly 25 years.

Dr. Ross Golding earned his B.A. in Pre-Medical Studies from Florida State University and his M.D. at Emory Medical School. Following medical school and an internship at Emory. Dr. Golding spent two years in Germany with the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He then returned to the United States where he completed his training in radiology at the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado. He then spent two years at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, as an assistant professor of radiology before moving to Reno. Dr Golding was an assistant clinical professor with UNR Medical School during his time as medical director of Reno Diagnostic Centers.

Anna Martin, Member

Anna has more than 28 years of experience in insurance law, including life, accident, disability, property and casualty, liability, reinsurance, key man, ERISA and bad faith.

Anna dedicates her time and energy to advocating for those whose insurance claims have been improperly denied. Before joining Kantor & Kantor, Ms. Martin spent her career as a defense attorney. She began her career as an associate at Adams, Duque & Hazeltine, then operated her own law firm, Rimac & Martin, for 19 years.

Bryan McArdle, Member

At the forefront of Reno's transformation, Bryan McArdle serves as the Revitalization Manager for the City of Reno. With a commitment to breathing new life into neighborhoods and driving economic development, Bryan's goal is a strategic vision and innovative approaches to revitalize areas within the city. From spearheading comprehensive revitalization programs to forging collaborations with developers and community stakeholders, he combines his expertise in urban placemaking, economic development and community engagement to create vibrant spaces that inspire growth, attract investments and enhance the overall quality of life for Reno residents.

In his previous role as vice president of entrepreneurial development at the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), Bryan McArdle left an indelible mark on Reno's startup landscape. For more than a decade he empowered aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into reality, providing invaluable support and guidance throughout the startup journey in the Biggest Little City. As an organizer of Startup Weekend Reno, Bryan played a pivotal role in shaping the thriving entrepreneurial community, including the establishment of Startup Row on First Street. Moreover, his leadership of the Summit Venture Mentoring Service fostered the growth of high-potential startup companies, catapulting them toward success.

Lin Nelson, Member

Patrick Spargur, Member

Patrick Spargur currently serves as the client coordination manager for Bridge Counseling Associates, Southern Nevada's longest operating Behavioral Health Agency. Preserves and restores families through individual, couples and family therapy, and offers substance abuse and addiction counseling through various programs provided in a safe environment.

He is the co-founder of Project 150, a nonprofit serving over 10,000 homeless, displaced and disadvantaged high school students in Nevada. Project 150 provides food, clothing and school supplies to help provide stability and to help keep these students in school. Its goal is to help these students stay in school, to graduate, and to maximize their full potential.

He is also a volunteer & advocate-ALS of Nevada, with a mission to improve the experience of living with ALS for those who have been diagnosed and their loved ones. The objectives are to empower those living with ALS to continue to interact with the world and increase visibility of the ALS condition.

He is a former volunteer big brother for Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles and served as a big brother for seven years to a young boy who was navigating middle school and high school in South Central Los Angeles.

Patrick’s career has spanned credit, finance, hospitality, manufacturing, and nonprofit. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, watching soccer and serving others.

Chul Yim, Member

Chul Yim graduated with honors from the College of Engineering at the 91·çÃùÄñ³ª, in 2004 with a B.S. in Computer Science. While at the University, he served as President of ASUN and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Chul is a seasoned technology executive who helps technology startups with growth, strategy and market expansion. He is currently the sales director for the US Public Sector for Socure, the leading identity and trust provider based in Incline Village, NV. Previously, he led sales teams at cybersecurity startups Virsec, Zimperium, and Mandiant / FireEye. He credits much of his success to the rigorous academic coursework in the honors program, leadership opportunities and lifelong friendships built during college.

Today, he remains actively involved with the University, having served on the Alumni Council for the past six years. Outside of work, Chul can be found advising and investing in civic-tech startups, golfing, skiing, fly fishing, or globe-trotting the world. Chul splits his time between San Francisco, North Lake Tahoe and Reno.