Presidio School of Management has assembled a committed, passionate team of leaders to collaboratively build and manage the distinctive MBA and Executive Programs in Sustainable Management. The team consists of college administrators, leaders in sustainable business organizations and non-profit agencies, and a wide array of professionals from diverse fields.

Administration | Board of Directors | Advisory Council

Nicola Acutt, Ph.D., Director of Curriculum & Faculty Coordination
In addition to her administrative staff role, Nicola teaches the Business, Government & Civil Society course at Presidio School of Management. She received her Ph.D. in the field of corporate environmentalism from the University of East Anglia in the UK, and has a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Natural Resources at the University of California Berkeley. Nicola has worked as a consultant to the South African Government on natural resource policy and coastal management, a researcher at the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment in the UK, and a part-time consultant for the London-based Business Partners for Development initiative on tri-sector partnerships.

Seyed M. Amiry, Chief Executive Officer
Former dean of the School of Technology at Golden Gate University, Seyed is a graduate of West Coast University and participated in the MBA program of Cal State University at Los Angeles. He has been president and CEO of Core Microsystems in San Jose, CA, and for four years was Chief Operating Officer of the 13-campus system of Heald College in San Francisco. With wide financial and IT experience, he has also been Executive Vice-President and CFO of Tri-Valley Growers and COO/CFO of California Gold Dairy Products.

Seena Berg, Director of Admissions
As Director of Admissions, Seena Berg is often the first point of contact for prospective students. Prior to joining Presidio, Seena was Senior Assistant Director of Graduate Enrollment Services at New York University's Graduate School of Arts and Science. Prior to that, she was Program Coordinator for the School of Continuing Education at Columbia University. She received a Masters Degree in higher education administration as well as a BA (with honors) in economics, both from Columbia University.

Dwight Collins, Ph.D., Director of Project Oriented Learning
Dwight Collins teaches the Operations & Production course and directs Project Oriented Learning at Presidio School of Management. He also provides consulting services in supply chain design and optimization, and sustainable business through his company, Colbridge and Company, and runs the Collins Family Foundation, which sponsors retreats and conferences on profitable sustainability. As an early principal in Chesapeake Decision Sciences, a pioneer provider of supply chain optimization and consulting services, Dwight helped build the company from seven to 85 people generating annual revenues of $20 million. At Chesapeake, he implemented supply chain optimization applications at many companies including BP Chemicals, IBM Microelectronics, LSI Logic, and Shaw Industries. He was also Director of Planning and Administration for several years. He holds a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Operations Research, all from Cornell University.

Saskia Feast, Senior Manager, Business Partnerships
Saskia is a Presidio MBA student as well as Senior Manager of Business Partnerships for Presidio, where she links companies with student teams as part of the Project Oriented Learning curriculum. A recent immigrant from the Netherlands, she holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and an M.S. in Catalysis and Surface Science. Her diverse professional background has involved developing new business for electronic noses, including sensors for chemical warfare agents, hog farms and food quality; creating a website for a tea room; and developing catalysts for removing pollutants.

Nora Ganey, Admissions & Student Services Coordinator
Nora joins Presidio most recently from Valparaiso, Chile, where she taught college-level English classes for WorldTeach, the Harvard Center for International Development. Her experience in South America developed her interest in higher education, and outside the classroom, she enjoyed working with her students on their career paths. Before leaving for Chile, she worked as an Event Coordinator for Robert Mondavi Vineyards in Napa, California. She received her B.A. in History and Theology from Boston College.

Allison Guerin, Academic Affairs Coordinator
Allison joins the Presidio School of Management from her previous role as a Merchandise Planning Analyst with GAP, Inc. She recently moved to the Bay Area from Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Ursinus College with a Bachelors of Arts in Business & Economics with honors. After college, Allison interned with New Leaders for New Schools, a nonprofit organization committed to training successful teachers as principals and placing them in under-served schools. For the past eight years, she has also volunteered with FIRST Robotics, an organization devoted to inspiring students to become leaders in science and technology.

Wilbur Lam, IT Manager
With over 8 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Wilbur specializes in project management, pre-sale engineering, implementations and maintenance operations. Wilbur has trained hundreds of end-users, IT administrators and technicians on telephony products. Nortel Networks Certified Support Specialist (NNCSS) and Nortel Certified Technology Specialist (NCTS) are just a few of Wilbur's certifications. He successfully designed and implemented telecommunication projects for Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Costco, Vodafone, Verizon Wireless and Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP.

Alexander Laszlo, Ph.D., Co-director of Research
Co-teaches the Strategic Management and Evolutionary Leadership, Collaboration and Systems Thinking courses at Presidio. He is co-founder and president of Syntony Quest and former Director of the Doctoral Program in Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration & Leadership, Mexico. He also teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Saybrook Graduate School, Touro University International, and Bainbridge Graduate Institute. He has worked for UNESCO, the Italian Electric Power Agency, and the U.S. Department of Education, and has held visiting appointments with the London School of Economics and the European University Institute. Recipient of the Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award as well as of the "Förderpreis Akademischer Klub" for work in social innovation and sustainable development, he was a finalist for the 2003 Beyond Grey Pinstripes award for educational work in sustainable business.

Kathia Laszlo, Ph.D., Co-director of Research
Co-teaches the Strategic Management and and Evolutionary Leadership, Collaboration and Systems Thinking courses at Presidio. In addition, she serves as Executive Director of Syntony Quest. She is also adjunct Professor and Dissertation Advisor in the Organizational Systems doctoral program at Saybrook Graduate School and has served as instructor and facilitator of courses on systems thinking, strategy, organizational learning, educational change, and sustainable development. Kathia has conducted action-research and consulting with organizations in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada and has published in the areas of knowledge management, future trends in education, learning technologies, and systems thinking. She completed her doctoral work as a Fulbright Scholar from Mexico at Saybrook Graduate School in the area of Human Science with a focus on social and institutional change. She received the Sir Geoffrey Vickers Memorial Award in systems science, and holds a Masters Degree in Education with specialization in Cognitive Development, and a B.A. in Marketing.

Diane Mailey, Vice President for Business Development
Diane has nearly 20 years of development and marketing experience on behalf of social causes working with a range of organizations on both coasts and in communities located in Africa and Asia. She most recently served as fund development and communications director for BRIDGE Housing Corporation, California's largest affordable housing real estate developer. Prior to BRIDGE, Diane worked with World Learning, General Foods, the Global Security Institute, and the State of the World Forum where she developed and implemented fundraising, business development and marketing strategies. She holds a BS in Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston.

Rebecca Bell Massoud, Director of Marketing
As a founding member of the team that launched the Presidio School of Management MBA program, Rebecca has more than 17 years experience in marketing and public relations in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. For five years she was at one of the largest software companies in the Bay Area, Autodesk, where she managed the user group program and then served as a direct marketing program manager. Rebecca has also held positions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Southland Corporation. Earlier she was a political consultant and a public relations account executive in Dallas, Texas. She holds a BA in History and Public Relations from SMU.

F. Byron (Ron) Nahser, Ph.D., Provost
Former chairman, president, and CEO of The Nahser Agency/Advertising of Chicago, Dr. Nahser is an MBA graduate of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He also holds an MA in Religious Studies from Mundelein/Loyola University and a Ph.D. in American Business Philosophy from DePaul University. Author of Learning to Read the Signs: Reclaiming Pragmatism in Business and Journeys to Oxford: Nine Pragmatic Inquiries, he has developed a values-driven business model known as Pragmatic Inquiry®, which, in addition to Presidio, has been used by 3-M, Levi-Strauss, Time, Inc., Stanford University Graduate Business School, Notre Dame, Kellogg School of Management and many other organizations.

Jean Santullo, Director of Student Services
After a 17-year career in operations and supply chain management at Nestlé Foods, Jean entered the field of higher education while receiving her B.A. in cultural studies and psychology (summa cum laude) and M.A. in Integral Psychology at John F. Kennedy University. Jean received the American Association of University Women Outstanding Achievement Award and her personal experience in pursuing her education made her realize how much she wanted to assist other students with their educational and personal goals. Jean worked at the University for six years as the chair of the grant award program for the Diversity Affairs Council, as an Enrollment Advisor and lastly as the Administrative Director for continuing education.

Steven L. Swig, J.D., President
A graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Santa Clara School of Law, Steven Swig was formerly with the Law Office of Joseph Alioto. He has also been Partner and Managing Director of Titchell, Maltzman & Mark; Executive Vice-President of Swig, Weiler & Dinner; and Counsel with Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin. A long-time San Francisco resident, he has served on many boards including the University of Oregon, the ACLU, and the American Conservatory Theatre.

Paula Thielen, Ph.D., Chief Financial Officer
In addition to her CFO duties, Paula teaches Managerial Accounting at Presidio School of Management. As a Certified Public Accountant, she has over 25 years of experience in the accounting profession, in both private industry and public practice. Past positions have included Vice President of Finance of a consulting firm and Corporate Controller of an industrial equipment manufacturer and distributor. Paula's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University, an M.B.A. in Finance from Santa Clara University, an M.S. in Organizational Behavior and Development from Golden Gate University, an M.A. in Human and Organization Development from the Fielding Graduate Institute, and a B.S. in Business Administration and Management with an Accounting Concentration from the University of Phoenix.

Jonas Wright, Operations Manager
A native of Buffalo, New York, Jonas recently moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles, were he worked for the American Film Institute (AFI) for five years. With a BA in Film History/Theory, he first traveled the 50 states working as a film festival gypsy in areas ranging from programming to development. He eventually settled into a full-time operations position at AFI. Having lived the surreal experience that is Hollywood, he found that he really loved working with the graduate students there, helping and challenging them to get the most of their education. He hopes to do the same at Presidio.

Dani Yamamoto, Administrative Coordinator
Dani comes to Presidio from Veritable Vegetable, the country’s oldest organic produce distributor. As the communications director there, she wrote the company’s newsletters, managed website content, and assisted executive staff. She had the privilege of knowing many farmers and learning about sustainable agriculture from the people who grow the food we eat, and she remains extremely interested in the politics of food. Dani has also worked for Open Enterprises, a local women-owned cooperative, and for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Originally from the Mojave Desert of Southern California, she received a BA in English and a Secondary Education Teaching Credential from California State University, Northridge.