Welcome to our 20th Anniversary Trustees!
This prestigious group of ambassadors, who serve by invitation, have made a commitment to assisting people who face daunting challenges and to enhancing quality of life in our community. Trustees serve a 2-year term, advise our executive committee and help secure our future.
Keith and Judy Swayne, Laguna Beach
Keith Swayne is the former President/CEO of Case Swayne, a California firm serving the food service and industrial markets. During his tenure, the company grew seven-fold and was ultimately acquired by Bestfoods. He retired from active management in 2000. He has served on the Board of Directors of several trade associations and private companies. He has served as a personal coach. He is past-president of the Laguna Beach Boys and Girls Club and is a board member of the Yosemite National Institute. In 1997, Keith was named regional winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year and received a statewide award from the California Association of Human Rights Organizations [CAHRO] for his work with the Orange County Human Relations Council, where he continues to serve. He holds a BA degree in Economics from the University of Oregon and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He served as an officer in the Navy in Vietnam. Keith is an avid hiker and backpacker, and proud parent of two children.
Judy Swayne, a long-time community activist and philanthropist, was founder [1989] and CEO of the Orange County Community Foundation. She retired in 1999, at which time OCCF managed assets of more than $72 million, granting over $4 million to charitable causes. While President of OCCF, Judy was asked to represent the interests of community-based organizations during the 1994 county bankruptcy. Prior to her work with the foundation, she served as an Executive Assistant with the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Judy was named Visionary of the Year, 2000, by Coastline Community College, and Woman of the Year, 1999, by the 70th Assembly District, California, and has been named One of Ten Women Making a Difference in Orange County by OC Metro. She also received the “Glass Ceiling” Award from the Red Cross, Orange County, in 2000. Judy serves on the Board of Trustees of Whittier College and Law School, the Laguna Art Museum, and Arts Orange County. She holds a BA from Whittier College and is the proud parent of a son and daughter.
Bill and Cindy Shopoff
 William A. Shopoff is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Shopoff Group and Shopoff Securities, Inc., and Chairman of the Board of Directors and President/Chief Executive Officer of Shopoff Properties Trust. The Shopoff Group is a private real estate investment firm offering qualified high net worth clients strategic investment opportunities in land, residential and commercial properties, mortgage products, and pooled funds. His extensive experience includes a wide range of real estate transactions in residential, multi-family, and commercial properties, and numerous parcels of raw land that he and his team have taken through the entitlement process. Bill co-founded Asset Recovery Fund in 1992, which acquired properties offered through the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). Since August 1999, he has also served as President of Eastbridge Partners, L.P. Bill is also founder and president of Real Estate Mastery, a mentoring program created for select real estate investors committed to the advanced study of real estate investing. Bill is active in many community and professional organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, several trade organizations, and the Global Energy Network International. He is the former Chairperson for the Laguna Beach School District Citizen’s Oversight Committee for the renovation of all district schools and a top fundraiser for AIDS LifeCycle. He is a member of the Southern California Public Affairs Association and the UC Irvine Chief Executive Roundtable, and a trustee of Laguna Beach School Power. Bill earned his BS in biology and MBA in finance/accounting from The University of Texas at Austin.
Cindy Shopoff has been an owner and operator of various businesses since 1976, and has worked extensively with various non-profit agencies. Cindy embarked on a real estate career in 1981, specializing in investment properties. She owned and operated a commercial real estate company and a property management firm, in addition to managing the Shopoff family’s personal investments. Since moving to California from Texas in 2000, she has been extremely active in organizations focusing on education, such as SchoolPower and the PTA. Cindy also serves on the South Coast Medical Center Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Cindy has a passion for fine arts and travel, and values quality time with her friends and family, including their two children. She says she is proud of the achievements and successes of Friendship Shelter.
Bill Witte and Keiko Sakamoto
 Bill Witte is President and Managing Partner of Related California, one of the largest developers of urban and affordable housing in the state. Prior to joining The Related Companies, Mr. Witte served as Deputy Mayor for Housing and Neighborhoods under Mayor Art Agnos in San Francisco, and as Director of Housing and Economic Development under Mayor Dianne Feinstein. He also served as an appointed Commissioner of the San Francisco Housing Authority. Bill received a BA in Urban Studies and a Masters in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a founding Advisory Board member of the Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence (C.U.R.E.) at Penn, an Advisory Board member of several statewide housing organizations, a member of the Board of the California Community Reinvestment Corporation,and a member of the Community Partner Advisory Board of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. Bill also sits on the Boards of the Center for Creative Land Recycling and Shelter Partnership, a homeless services provider in Los Angeles. In Laguna Beach, he coached youth basketball for seven years and served on the Little League Board of Directors.
Keiko Sakamoto is a former corporate attorney for the San Francisco law firms of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen (now Bingham, McCutchen) and Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin. She later served as corporate counsel for Builders Emporium during its liquidation and then DaVita Inc. (formerly Total Renal Care Inc.) where she engaged in asset acquisitions and supervised corporate litigation. Keiko received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and her law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law. Prior to entering law school, she received an International Rotary Scholarship to study Japanese at the International Christian University in Tokyo and international law at the University of Tokyo. She is the founder and president of the Laguna Beach Chapter of Teen Korps USA and has served as an alumni interviewer for Harvard. She is active in fundraising efforts for the Great Park Conservancy, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernadino Counties, and Sage Hill School. She and Bill have three children.
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8.5 Jazz FM Friendship Shelter Interview
