Board of Directors
Cornell NorCal is managed by a committed group of volunteer Cornellians who are elected annually by our membership. Cornellians serving as board members for the 2023-2024 term are as follows:
Laura Bloch, President president@cornellnorcal.com
Laura Bloch, A&S '88, works as an attorney, property manager, and manager of two kids. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in San Francisco. In addition to serving as General Counsel and Secretary for Cornell NorCal, her Cornell volunteering includes serving as a Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador as well as a Class of ‘88 officer.
Bill Roeschlein, Vice President and Treasurer
Bill Roeschlein, MBA '00, works as a Chief Financial Officer in the Bay Area and has served on the Cornell NorCal Board of Directors since 2020.
Chuck Wong, Secretary
Shrut Kirti, General Counsel
Shrut Kirti, PhD '10, is an intellectual property attorney in the Bay Area. He enjoys tennis and dark chocolate.
Peihua Ku, Director of Technology
Peihua Ku, A&S '94, started on the Board during the Pandemic. He continues to work with the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network after almost 20 years and also volunteers with CoastPride, Coastside Hope, and the Half Moon Bay Library.
Ash Vaidya, Director of Marketing and Membership membership@cornellnorcal.com
Ash Vaidya has been in the technology industry for over 20 years as an entrepreneur/operator, investment banker, and investor. He is a co-founder of Sanctum Capital, an alternative investment platform focused on making debt and equity investments in high-growth technology companies. Mr. Vaidya is a frequent guest lecturer at Cornell’s Johnson School of Management on venture capital finance and related subjects. He currently serves on the Boards of the Advisory Council of Entrepreneurship@Cornell, Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network, and Cornell NorCal. Mr. Vaidya received a BA in Computer Science and Economics in 1999 as well as an MBA in 2007 from Cornell University, where he was the recipient of the Fried Fellowship.
Claudia Choi, Director of Social Media and Communications
Claudia Choi, SHA'19, will be on her second year on the Board. Prior to joining Cornell NorCal, she had served as the Secretary of the Cornell Club of Los Angeles in 2020. She has lived her whole life in California, only to move to Texas for a couple years to set up her own skincare manufacturing factory there. Now she has moved back to SF and is excited to meet with and connect both students and alumni. Claudia enjoys participating in philanthropy and taking food and nature pictures during her free time.
Anthony Asta, Director of Events
Anthony Asta, MBA '04, has more than 16 years of experience in software engineering management, software design & architecture, distributed systems, business intelligence, storage systems, data warehouses and financial management at several companies including Corning, Google, Twitter and Uber. He is currently a Director of Engineering at LinkedIn, where he leads a group of Software Engineers within the Core Engineering division. Anthony has been involved in Cornell Norcal activities for many years and has served on the Board of Directors for over 15 years with a passion for organizing outdoor and athletic events.
Mae Lum, Director of Events
Mae Lum, A&S '84, has worked in program management and educational publishing after earning an MA in International Relations. She also volunteers with CAAAN and various animal rescue groups. She is serving her fifth term on the Cornell NorCal board as an Events Director.
Peter Rodway, Director of Events
Angshuman Rudra, Director of Events
Angshuman Rudra, MBA '15, has more than 16 years of experience in product management and software development management. He is joining the Board for the first time. He enjoys teaching product management and consults in marketing/strategy/analytics. He loves soccer and loves to manage his 8-year-old son who loves Soccer.
Joy Liu, Director of Events
Joy Liu, SHA' 21, is joining the Board for the first time this year having just moved to San Francisco recently from the East Coast. She currently works in commercial real estate. Joy volunteers with CAAAN and is excited to work with the Cornell NorCal Board to organize future events.
Kira Dales, Director of Events
Kira Dales, BS Civil & Environmental Engr. ‘93, joins the Board and has nearly 30 years of experience at Silicon Valley tech companies, including executive roles at Adobe, Google, eBay, and PayPal. She has led large organizations for strategy, strategic and annual planning and portfolio allocation, business and product operations, and program management. She has a passion for driving business transformations and scaling operations. On the personal side she enjoys mentoring and traveling, and is a self proclaimed foodie.
Alice Zhou, Director of Events
David Ticzon, Director of Events
Reza Mahmoodshahi, Director of Events
Kate Van Dalsem, Director, West Coast Engagement and Cornell Silicon Valley
Are you interested in serving on the Cornell NorCal Board of Directors? Please contact info@cornellnorcal.com