Silicon Valley FACES Announces New Executive Director

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon Valley FACES, formerly
known as the Silicon Valley Conference for Community & Justice, today
announced that its board of trustees has named Pat Mitchell, the former
Director of the Office of Parish and Planning of the Catholic Diocese of San
Jose, to serve as executive director of the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit
effective immediately. Mitchell, a member of the Sisters for Christian
Community, currently serves as a committee chair for the National Leadership
Roundtable on Church Management and serves on the National Advisory Board of
the Center for the Study of Church Management, Villanova School of Business.
"Pat brings a new breed of leadership that will galvanize our talented and
dedicated staff and provide visibility to our organization's Victim Witness
program and our unique educational programs focusing on youth," said board
chair Gordon Yamate, the former vice president and general counsel of Knight
Ridder. Echoing these thoughts, "Pat's experience in guiding more than 50
parishes, all having diverse challenges, will catapult Silicon Valley FACES to
a new level in delivering critical services to the Silicon Valley community,"
commented Don Watters, Emeritus Director of McKinsey & Co. and former board
chair of United Way Silicon Valley, who worked with Mitchell on projects for
the Diocese. "Pat is a proven leader and communicator-Silicon Valley FACES is
fortunate to have recruited an individual with her talents and credibility,"
Watters said. That sentiment was echoed by Patricia Gardner, Executive
Director of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits. "Pat is an excellent
choice to lead this organization that has served this community so well on
issues of diversity and fighting discrimination and bias," Gardner said.
Mitchell replaces Bart Charlow, who informed the board in mid-June of his
plans to retire from Silicon Valley FACES. "We want to publicly acknowledge
our appreciation for Bart's contributions and work on behalf of the
organization over the last six years," Yamate said.
Silicon Valley FACES has been bringing people together to build a better
community for more than 43 years. Originally founded as the Silicon Valley
regional office of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Silicon
Valley FACES is a non-profit human relations organization that has led the
fight against bigotry, racism and exclusion in the Bay Area and Northern
California. Silicon Valley FACES became an independent organization in 2005,
incorporated at that time as the Silicon Valley Conference for Community &
Justice. The organization empowers people of diverse backgrounds to build
just communities where each person is treated with respect and understanding.
SOURCE Silicon Valley FACES

Kate Torkaman of Silicon Valley FACES, +1-408-286-9663, ext. 327