Since 1983, Bill has been a part of Brandenburg Properties, a generational San Jose-based real estate investment firm. He oversees daily operations for investments in 7 states. He is a 4th generation San Josean and has served his community on a number of fronts. Bill is also the recipient of numerous distinctions and recognitions from a variety of organizations over the years, but what’s most important is his commitment to advancing stroke awareness. Bill’s experience with stroke was as a result of his mother suffering one in the fall of 2006. A nurse by formal training and always in excellent health, Bill’s mom suffered a stroke while at home. Not fully realizing what was happening to her other than being dizzy and suffering a headache, she went to lie down and rest, thinking that would help—never thinking “stroke”. Four hours later, Bill and his brother found themselves at the ER with their mom—who had initially suffered a mild stroke, but grew over time in intensity and impact. She never recovered, was unable to manage herself and 15 horrible months later, she passed as a result. Bill pledged then that he would do whatever he could to spread the words “stroke awareness” more diligently and meaningfully than ever before so no family would have to experience what his did. It is with this passion that he shares his thoughts, time and talent with the Stroke Awareness Foundation in bettering our community, saving lives and the functionality of lives.

John Cantlen brings nearly three decades of leadership and management experience from his roles at Swenson, a multigenerational real estate development and construction company headquartered in San Jose. Since joining the firm in 1996, John has played a pivotal role in helping shape the Silicon Valley landscape, supervising complex residential, commercial, and mixed-use construction projects.

John’s journey into the world of stroke hit home in 2019, when his mother, Carol Cantlen, suffered a life-altering stroke. Thanks to the swift and expert care provided by Dr. Harmeet Sachdev and the team at Good Samaritan Hospital, Carol survived with her cognitive abilities largely intact, though she faced lasting physical challenges including paralysis. In parallel with this event his mentor and employer, the legendary Barry Swenson, was rehabilitating from an equally debilitating stroke.

These deeply personal experiences gave John a profound understanding of the multifaceted nature of stroke recovery, the clinical intricacies, the emotional strain, and the importance of community support. Through his mother’s six-year journey, he witnessed firsthand the strength, humor, and resilience required to face such adversity. Both Carol and Barry inspired John with their tenacity and grace to persevere through there advertises.

Now, following the recent passing of both his mother and Barry, John is committed to honoring their lives by advancing stroke awareness, prevention, and support for survivors and their families. He joins the board with humility, a full heart, and a desire to give back to the community that once supported him. His goal is to contribute meaningfully to initiatives that increase education, drive advocacy, and bring compassionate care to those impacted by stroke.

Noemi Conway assumed the position of Executive Director for the Stroke Awareness Foundation in 2015. As a marketing and sales professional, Noemi has dedicated the past 20 years to helping companies and organizations become leaders in their industry. Her work with local publications, Los Altos Town Crier, Silicon Valley Newspaper Group and the Bay Area Parent Magazine encouraged her passion for community involvement and her interest in community outreach. She holds both a Bachelor’s degree and MBA from San Jose State University. Noemi was born and raised in Slovakia, has two grown sons and two step sons and currently lives in San Jose with her husband.

Greg Davies is a longtime business and community leader in Silicon Valley. He has been active in the commercial real estate industry for nearly 45 years. Greg became interested in SAF after suffering a major stroke in 2003. He believes strongly that if educated about the symptoms of stroke, more people can survive them, and live long healthy lives. Given rapid treatment, it is his belief that complete recovery is likely. Greg has previously volunteered with the Downtown San Jose Rotary Club, as well as served on the boards of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, the San Jose State Alumni Association, and the Montalvo Association, and the Association of Silicon Valley Brokers. Greg lives in Los Gatos with his wife, Carolyn, and has two grown children and five grandchildren. He holds both a bachelor’s degree and MBA from San Jose State University.

Shea Johnson suffered a stroke when she was 40 years old in 2014. She was a lieutenant at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and had nearly 20 years of service under her badge and she was aspiring to be promoted to chief deputy when her stroke occured. As a survivor who narrowly escaped stroke’s worst outcome, Shea is adamant when she cautions people to seek help immediately. She is passionate about educating the public on stroke signs and symptoms and calling 911.

Matthew Stein has been an engineer with 25 years of experience in the healthcare space, specifically how to use technology to improve care experience, hospital operations and reducing costs. In addition to being a board member with SAF for past 10 years, Matthew has been on the executive board member with the Red Cross FAST Group (First Aid Services Team) that provided medical services to over 200 community events throughout the greater Bay Area as well as Chairperson of Freedom Fest an organization that puts on July 4th celebrations for Santa Clara County. Matthew lives with his wife and two young kids, two dogs, two horses, and two bunnies in Morgan Hill. He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Case Western Reserve University and minors in English, Economics and Computer Engineering.

Charles Toeniskoetter is Chairman of TBI Construction & Construction Management, Inc., which has constructed more than $750 million of buildings, and Chairman and CEO of Toeniskoetter & Breeding, Inc. Development, which has developed 2.5 million square feet of buildings and manages a portfolio of two million square feet. He co-founded both companies in 1983 in San Jose. He also heads the partnership that owns resort properties at Bear Valley in Alpine County. Mr. Toeniskoetter is a director of three publicly held companies, Heritage Commerce Corp., SJW Corp., and the Redwood Trust, Inc. His volunteer work has included University of Notre Dame, San Jose Development Review Committee, Downtown San Jose Rotary Club, O’Conner Hospital Board of Directors, Valley Medical Center Foundation, Archbishop Mitty High School and the Children’s Discovery Museum. Mr. Toeniskoetter graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1967 with a BS in mechanical engineering, and from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1973. He served in Vietnam with the Marine Corps.

Chris Wilder was the Executive Director of the Valley Medical Center (VMC) Foundation until a stroke in 2021 forced his early retirement. The VMC Foundation solicits donations from individuals, corporations and foundations in order to support the growing needs of patients served by the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System. Chris led the VMC Foundation in raising millions of dollars and starting many new programs in his 20-years at the helm. Chris’s 40-year career in the Public Benefit Sector began as a consumer activist (Fund for Public Interest Research, 1990-1996), running the Vanished Children’s Alliance (1996-1999) a national missing children’s agency, leading City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley – the nation’s premiere AmeriCorps program (1999-2003), then joining the VMC Foundation. Chris served as Chairman of San Jose Jazz and has performed music of many genres in over two dozen nations. Chris has hosted and produced two award-winning cable TV talk shows, and spent 9 years on Santa Clara County’s Child Abuse Council. Chris lives in Los Gatos with his wife Kate and many, many animals. He proudly serves on the boards of Norcal SCI and the Stroke Awareness Foundation.

Pat Dando passed away July 17, 2017 from lung cancer. She led the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce as Chief Executive Officer and President from 2005-2011. Ms. Dando also served in Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration as the Director of Local Government Affairs providing leadership for such initiatives as the San Joaquin Partnership, the Governor’s decision to pay Proposition 42 money to Cities and Counties and the coordination with the State office of Emergency Services and local electeds of Cities/Counties across California to provide outreach for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Pat previously served as a San Jose City Council Member and Vice Mayor from 1995-2005. Ms. Dando received a bachelor’s degree in elementary Education and English from North Texas State University, and in 2002 she graduated from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy’s School of Government in Leadership for Elected Officials & Public Executives. Pat lived in San Jose with her husband Bob. They have three grown children and nine grandchildren. Pat enjoyed golf, bridge, hiking and travel.

Charles (Chuck) Edward Hoffman passed away December 9, 2014. He served in the Armed forces during the Korean War and worked in the food industry for over 50 years. Chuck was a co-founder for the Stroke Awareness Foundation and was an active member of the Rotary Club and Small Business Association for San Jose.

Dr. Gregory W. Albers is the Director of the Stanford Stroke Center, a position he has held since co-founding the center in 1992. Under his guidance, the Stroke Center has trained more than 40 clinical stroke specialists; many of these individuals are directing stroke centers at academic institutions throughout the world. Dr. Albers’ primary research focus is the diagnosis, management, and prevention of ischemic stroke. Dr. Albers was instrumental in the development a medical imaging platform called RAPID that allows physicians to identify stroke patients who have salvageable brain tissue. RAPID was used to select patients for enrollment in the EXTEND, EXTEND-IA, SWIFT PRIME, DEFUSE 3 and DAWN studies. These studies, which have all been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, led to landmark changes in both intravenous and endovascular stroke therapy- substantially more stroke patients can now be successfully treated.

Dr. Albers completed his medical training with a neurology residency and cerebrovascular disease fellowship at Stanford. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1989, and the following year won the Lysia Forno Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2011, Dr. Albers received the American Heart Association’s prestigious David G. Sherman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Stroke Research. He has been named among the “Best Medical Specialists in North America – Cerebrovascular Disease” and the “Country’s Best Heart and Stroke Doctors” in national surveys of physicians and department chairs. Dr. Albers has authored more than 400 articles on topics related to cerebrovascular disease in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Gregory W. Albers is the Director of the Stanford Stroke Center, a position he has held since co-founding the center in 1992. Under his guidance, the Stroke Center has trained more than 40 clinical stroke specialists; many of these individuals are directing stroke centers at academic institutions throughout the world. Dr. Albers’ primary research focus is the diagnosis, management, and prevention of ischemic stroke. Dr. Albers was instrumental in the development a medical imaging platform called RAPID that allows physicians to identify stroke patients who have salvageable brain tissue. RAPID was used to select patients for enrollment in the EXTEND, EXTEND-IA, SWIFT PRIME, DEFUSE 3 and DAWN studies. These studies, which have all been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, led to landmark changes in both intravenous and endovascular stroke therapy- substantially more stroke patients can now be successfully treated.

Dr. Albers completed his medical training with a neurology residency and cerebrovascular disease fellowship at Stanford. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1989, and the following year won the Lysia Forno Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2011, Dr. Albers received the American Heart Association’s prestigious David G. Sherman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Stroke Research. He has been named among the “Best Medical Specialists in North America – Cerebrovascular Disease” and the “Country’s Best Heart and Stroke Doctors” in national surveys of physicians and department chairs. Dr. Albers has authored more than 400 articles on topics related to cerebrovascular disease in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Harmeet Sachdev joined Good Samaritan Hospital as a practicing neurologist in 1986 and has been director of the Stroke Center at Good Samaritan Hospital since 1997. Dr. Sachdev was the first to render t-PA treatment for stroke in the San Jose area. He created the first stroke team in a community hospital and demonstrated that acute stroke treatment can be done successfully outside the academic centers. Prior to that, he had been in private practice as a neurologist in San Jose since 1980. Dr. Sachdev has been a clinical assistant professor of neurology at Stanford University Medical Center since 1993. He has published two dozen papers, presentations and studies regarding stroke treatment and prevention. Dr. Sachdev has also been the principal investigator in six different neuroprotective studies for stroke and has been honored several times by the American Heart Association and by the American Academy of Neurology for his achievements in stroke education. He completed both his residency and chief residency in neurology at Stanford University Medical Center and affiliated hospitals. Dr. Sachdev also completed other internal medicine residency programs at Sinai Hospital at Wayne State University, hospitals associated with the University of Wales U.K, and Post Graduate Institute of India. He is an affiliate of the Western States Consortium and a member of the Stroke Council at the national level.