Interested in being a speaker at Niles Rotary?
If you or your organization have something that you would like to share or present at a future Niles Rotary meeting, please contact Craig Steckler at [email protected].

Paul and Jerrie will speak about Paul Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy condition and how he is working to find cures.

Paul Lore is a retired Federal agent with 32 years of experience within the Offices of the Inspector General and the FBI.  During his time in the Federal government, Paul specialized in investigating fraud schemes against Government programs, including health care fraud and public corruption.  After retiring, Paul began a second career as a Senior Investigator for Kaiser Permanente in their National Compliance Office in Oakland; a role he continued until becoming affected by a rare mitochondrial condition, Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) in 2019, which left him with bilateral legal blindness.  Since his diagnosis, Paul has become a passionate advocate for the entire Low Vision/Blind community, sharing his time between commitments to the LHON community, the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and a Bay Area Low Vision Support and Advocacy group affiliated with the University of California Berkeley’s School of Optometry’s Low Vision Clinic.  His various “hats” include creating informational materials regarding Bay Area resources, peer-to-peer support to members of the LHON community who are struggling with their own diagnosis and serving as the LHON “expert on Charles Bonnet Syndrome, a side-affect to vision loss.

Most recently Paul was asked to become an official Ambassador for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) and has served as the LHON “Voice of the Patient” representative at the 2022 UMDF Mitochondrial Medicine Symposium.  He also was selected as a patient member of the UMDF’s Clinical Trial Readiness Committee Paul has been married for 35 years to his wife, Jerrie, whom he met when they were both working for the FBI.  Jerrie Lore is a retired Vice President for Wells Fargo Bank.  During her 25 years in banking, Jerrie oversaw Credit Card Fraud Investigations, Security, Purchasing, Network Administration, Contract and Inventory Management, and Statement Operations for the West Coast.  Upon her retirement from Wells Fargo, Jerrie began actively volunteering within her community at Stanford Valley Care Hospital, the Dublin Senior Center, and the Oakland Zoo.  Her volunteer work eventually led her to a second career within the Public Works Department for the City of Dublin.  A position she gave up after her husband’s diagnosis so that she could focus her energy on volunteering within the LHON community.  She currently serves as the leader of the global Spouses/Partners support group, as well as the System Administrator for the LHON Collective, a newly formed non-profit whose goal is to create a global contact database, tracking LHON patients, doctors and researchers around the world.

Both Paul and Jerrie will be speaking on the topic of how a medical issue ignited a shared passion for service to others.

David Bonaccorsi will be speaking about his journey to a significant weight loss.

Carissa Flores will be speaking about the Ohlone Humane Society

Ohlone Humane Society has been serving the Tri-City community for 30 years. The Kitten Fostering and Adoption program cares for hundreds of kittens each year, providing needed medical care and placing them into forever families. OHS also helps manage the community cat population through a TNR program and educating our neighbors.

Carissa Flores has been fostering kittens with Ohlone Humane Society since spring 2020 with her husband Adam. Together, they have fostered dozens of kittens, including bottle babies and kittens with serious medical complications. In addition, she teaches high school English full time in Fremont.

Lindsay Knight will be speaking to us about Leadership Fremont

Leadership Fremont is a program of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. Leadership Fremont empowers individuals to assume leadership roles while developing a collective resource and problem-solving network to address community needs today and in the future.The future of our community is closely tied to the quality and commitment of our next generation of leaders. Leadership Fremont increases the base of informed, capable leaders willing to volunteer their talents to meet community needs. A diverse group of individuals, representing all sectors of our community, build their personal leadership skills while increasing their understanding of the complex issues facing the region and how various governing bodies interact and affect solutions. Each year, program participants select a project to improve and support our community. This year’s cohort chose a project to support unhoused families. We are working with the nonprofit Abode and their transitional housing shelter, Sunrise Village, to renovate and transform the shelter’s family housing recreation and learning areas, both their outdoor play space and indoor learning and activities area. We are raising $30,000 to fund brand new equipment and furniture for these spaces.

Lindsey Knight is the Membership Development Director at the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. She moved here 10 months ago to join the team at the Chamber. Raised in Monterey County, she previously worked at the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce during the pandemic and was successful in growing their membership and increasing their marketing revenue. Prior to the pandemic, she was the Events & Community Engagement Manager at a startup nonprofit, AIM Youth Mental Health. Prior to moving back to Monterey County, she spent a year doing a fundraising residency program through CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) at an independent primary education school in a Chicago suburb. She moved to Chicago from Portland, where she lived for 9 years after college, working in Early Childhood Education, Business Development, and Nonprofit Advancement. She is a graduate of San Jose State University and Cabrillo College and holds a Bachelors of Science in Sociology.

Christina Briggs will be speaking to us about the State of the City

This discussion will provide an overview of key initiatives taking place within the City of Fremont. It will include updates on the City Council’s established priorities, including financial sustainability, enhancing public safety, addressing homelessness, and enhancing commercial district vibrancy. In addition, it will provide information regarding the City’s Economic Recovery Strategy and how Fremont is adapting to a post-COVID economy.

Assistant City Manager Christina Briggs oversees Economic Development, Communications / Legislative Affairs, City Clerk, Human Services, and Information Technology Services for the City of Fremont. Christina has spent a majority of her career in Economic Development, including serving as Fremont’s Economic Development Director prior to her current role. For nearly 20 years, she has lead efforts in business recruitment, job development, and business retention strategies. She also provides economic health analysis, including development of industry cluster strategies for manufacturing and emerging technology. Christina takes particular pride in serving as an interface between business and government to create “win win” collaborations.Prior to Fremont, Christina worked for the City of Anaheim as a Redevelopment Agency Project Manager, where she managed mixed-use, retail, and hotel development projects. Christina is a member of the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance, International Council of Shopping Centers, and Urban Land Institute. She received her B.A. in Language Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her Master of Public Administration Degree from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.