A couple of changes in command coming up at organizations that operate outside the private sector but nevertheless play key roles in OC’s community of business … Start with Orange County United Way, where Max Gardner is expected to announce his retirement “once a worthy replacement is secured.” The nonprofit has retained McDermott & Bull to search for a president and CEO to fill the shoes of Gardner, the one-time head of Irvine Company’s Apartment Communities who came out of retirement five years ago and is being lauded for setting the stage for a “compelling and sustainable path forward” at United Way … Then there’s the UC-Irvine Foundation, where FivePoint Holdings boss Emile Haddad is getting set to wrap up his three-year term and hand the reins over to Julie Hill, an outlier of a female exec who’s made quite the career hanging with the fellas on their turf, establishing herself in the upper ranks of the homebuilding industry, as well as corporate boardrooms from here to Down Under. The 60 or so members of the foundation board can expect Hill to get in touch in coming weeks as she starts a listening tour in advance of her term … Look to the upper-right for our story about Blue Gate Bank, which is expected to open in Costa Mesa this week with another outlier, Molly Gallaher Flater, as chairperson. A recent check indicates she’s the only woman in the top board spot at any of the 20 or so banks based in OC … You can’t expect an insurance company to like anything about kaboom, a bit of onomatopoeia that typically indicates something has gone wrong. Then there’s Pacific Life, whose foundation makes a virtue of the term by supporting KaBOOM, a nonprofit that builds “safe and accessible playgrounds” in communities in need of such spaces. That’s one tidbit from last week’s Pacific Life Foundation Grants Reception, which saw 130 nonprofits get awards to kick off philanthropy that will come to $6.25 million by the end of the year … Quick takeaway from the presentation of the “OC Model: A Vision for Orange County’s Future” by Chapman U. duo Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky during the recent OC Forum at the Pacific Club: Keep an eye on underused strip malls and other excess retail space as potential problem solvers if OC expects to rise to the challenge of housing affordability and business recruitment and retention. The full report is available at
newgeography.com … There’s a reason the image pictured here—the centerpiece of a full-page ad on the back page of the Washington Post on the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration—looks familiar. It’s similar to the “Hope” poster created during Barack Obama’s first campaign for the White House. There’s a reason for the similarity, too—both were created by Shep Fairey, the street artist-turned-founder of Irvine-based Obey Clothing … Sullivan says: Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center might sound impressive, but it sure lacks the charm of the little gem of a train station at Santa Ana Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue.
