Steve's involvement with Heart to Heart began in 1995, while serving as President of the Rotary Club of Berkeley. Pate Thomson, MD, then Chairman of the Board of Heart to Heart, proposed that the club raise money to buy a heart-lung machine for one of Heart to Heart's sites as the club's International Service Project: Steve quickly rose to the challenge. A key aspect of the fund-raising campaign was the decision not to accept gifts larger than $1,000, to build broad support within the club for the project. They achieved over 90% participation, and in June 1995 Steve traveled to St. Petersburg for the ceremonial delivery of the heart-lung machine. The device is still in use today.

Rotary is very committed to hosting international visitors for cultural and vocational exchange. Steve and his wife Laurie have hosted several Russian houseguests, including a real estate agent named Nikolai from Tomsk, Siberia, who spoke no English. One of the highlights, both for Nikolai and for Steve, who speaks no Russian, was Nikolai's first view of an ocean. Steve recounts in vivid detail Nikolai's progressive shedding of his backpack, jacket, shoes, socks, as he ran across Ocean Beach and into the chilly water. Invigorated by his dip, Nikolai then asked if they might see "sequoia," and so Steve took his guest to Muir Woods for a hike. Steve finds such visits and memories personally enriching and a reminder of how much people, regardless of their birthplace or language, share in common.

Steve was pleased to join the Heart to Heart Board in 1998. He has been the Chairman since 2002. His people skills, business acumen, and can-do approach have been invaluable during Heart to Heart's evolution as an organization, and he looks for ward to guiding us further Into the Heartland. Steve has also served on the Board of the Alta Bates Summit Hospital Foundation for the two years. He is President and majority owner of Fidelity Insurance Service, recently recognized as one of the top 25 property and casualty insurance agencies in the East Bay (by the East Bay Business Times). Steve has been with the firm since 1987, and has been involved in the insurance industry since 1972.