A forward thinker whose creativity and determination make him a visionary in the human capital management industry, Gary is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Nelson Family of Companies which has been providing innovative workforce solutions for nearly 50 years to global clients through its Nelson Staffing, Nelson Technology, Nelson & Associates, Nelson Interactive, Nelson Compliance and iWorkGlobal business units.

Throughout his career, Gary has distinguished himself as a staffing industry expert and innovator. He has a proven track record of building sustainable businesses focused on delivering personal service with excellence, integrity, empathy, and innovation as core principles. In 2000, Gary created WorkforceLogic and built it into a market leader in strategic workforce management and risk mitigation solutions which he successfully sold in 2012 to Snow Phipps, a private equity firm.

Gary stepped down as Chairman of the Nelson Family of Companies in 2011 in order to focus more of his attention on cultural, philanthropic and civic endeavors. Both he, and wife, Marcia, have a passion for giving back to the community, especially as it relates to healthcare, education, and performing arts.

In 2008, recognizing a significant need in the care of the uninsured in the Sonoma Valley, Gary and Marcia founded the Gary & Marcia Nelson Emergency Care Fund to support the Sonoma Valley Hospital’s improved and updated emergency room and related healthcare services. To this day, they continue as major supporters.

Believing strongly in the value of education -particularly early childhood education -Gary was instrumental in establishing the Sonoma Charter School in 1993; California’s 9th charter school, and one of the top performing in the Sonoma Valley School District.

Gary realizes the success of the youth in any community is also determined by the support available outside of school. In 1989, Gary, along with other local business leaders, launched the Sonoma Valley Field of Dreams initiative to create a major baseball, softball, and soccer complex near downtown Sonoma. He has also been an active supporter of the Hanna Boys Center, the Sonoma Mentoring Alliance, and the Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma Valley.

Gary is currently committed to the success of the K-3 Grade Level Proficiency Project dedicated to ensuring that every student attains or exceeds grade level proficiency in math and English Language Arts by the end of third grade.

Marcia earned a MS in Marriage Family Therapy from Dominican University after receiving her BA in Anthropology from UC, Berkeley in 1975. A lifetime learner, Marcia realized while raising her children that the standard of education they were receiving was not on par with the one she received as a child growing up in the Bay Area in the 60s and 70s. Aspiring to provide a higher standard school option to Sonoma Valley, she and her husband, Gary, worked with others to found the Sonoma Charter School (SCS) in 1993. In its first few years, SCS developed the Graduation Project (later used across the School District), offered an individually-paced read program, and now, the K-3 Proficiency Project.

In her words:

My hope has always been that the Sonoma Charter School be an incubator for innovative educational ideas to serve all schools and all students. I have dedicated my unpaid career to the needs of families, children, education, and healthcare in Sonoma Valley. Serving others has become my life’s mission and explains my passion for the work we are doing at Innovations in Education.

A Sonoma County resident, Shawn Harmon is an accountant with 25 years’ experience in a variety of industries including staffing, utility and construction companies. He is currently the CFO of a Family Office dealing with regional, national and international financial operations.

Craig Nelson is Chairman of the Board of Nelson Family of Companies and Higher Growth Search.

Craig joined Nelson in 2001 as General Counsel and subsequently served as CEO prior to becoming Chairman in 2015. He served for seven years as Chairman of Nelson’s sister company iWorkGlobal until it was acquired by Velocity Global in 2021. He has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Staffing Industry by Staffing Industry Review.

Admitted to the State Bar of California in 1990, Craig earlier spent seven years with the Criminal Division of the California Department of Justice and three years as a litigator with the Law Offices of Bowles and Verna.

Craig also serves an Executive Coach and Strategic Advisor to family businesses. He is a current board member of Overaa Construction and strategic advisor to Cartelligent.

Highly involved in the community, Craig served as Chair of the North Bay Leadership Council and is a member of the Executive Committee. He earlier chaired the Executive Leadership Committee of the American Heart Association’s 2011 North Bay Heart Walk. He was Chair of the Marin County Workforce Investment Board and is a former Board Member of the Marin Economic Forum. In recognition of his community service, Craig is the recipient of both the Spirit of Marin and Spirit of Sonoma awards.

Sought out for his expert commentary, Craig has been quoted by numerous news organizations, including National Public Radio, the Sporting News, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, Staffing Industry Review, and the Recorder. His expertise has covered employment trends, recruiting, family businesses, the San Francisco Medical Leave law, and California’s Three Strikes law.

Craig earned a master’s degree in law from the University of San Diego, a Juris Doctor from Hastings College of Law, and degrees in Business Administration and Economics from California State University, Chico.

Craig is the author of the novel GOD LEFT MANOR FARM, available at www.GodLeftManorFarm.com, Amazon.com, iBook, and other online retailers.

Remy spends his time between the world of biotechnology and real estate development.

Remy has successfully participated as both a real estate developer and investor since 1999 with transactions/managed portfolio value currently over $500 million dollars of completed projects and another 250M of starts in 2022 alone.  Remy co-founded RCP with Max Grelier in 2013 to take advantage of thoughtful, primary market placemaking into secondary markets, such as its core market Huntsville, AL. RCP has grown considerably in its short tenure with two in-fill master planned mixed-use projects CityCentre and MidCity, both in Huntsville.  These two projects alone will have a total developed value of 1.8Bn once completed.  Additionally, RCP is paving the way for new and novel ESG elements in Alabama and the southeast, including the first net zero multi-family development.

In addition to his real estate endeavors, Remy is actively engaged in new start-ups in the biotech industry. A chemist by training, Remy was instrumental in the building of Shearwater Corporation as its VP, Operations (sold to Inhale Therapeutic Systems, Inc. in 2001) for $161M.  Remy also is the part-time Vice President, Business Development at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, California, a rapidly growing non-profit institute. Remy took the Technology Transfer office at the Buck from having no licenses/partnerships to licensing out over 90% of its patent portfolio and creating an average of two capitalized start-up companies per year from the novel science being performed at Buck.  Remy brings in sponsored research for novel science in excess of 10M/year for the institute and done strategic licensing transactions with Astellas, Calico, Astera and many others.  He has founded or represented parties in multiple venture and angel-backed companies. He has advised and helped create multiple new biopharmaceutical startups at Buck, such as Unity Biotechnology (UBX), Aeovian Therapeutics (over 40M raised), BhB Therapeutics (over 40M raised) and multiple others.

Remy sits on the board of BhB Therapeutics, Napa Therapeutics and Selah Therapeutics.  Remy is also on several non-profit boards including MidCity Accelerator Foundation, Hatch HSV and k3innovation.  Remy acts as a strategic advisor to Serina Therapeutics, Inc.

Most importantly, Remy is married with three children who are all launched and in grad school or working on the east coast.  He enjoys fitness of any kind, reading and adding value wherever he can.

Catherine has been a K-12 educator for more than 25 years – as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and school board member.  She has a master’s degree in Psychology and completed doctoral work in Organizational Leadership. Catherine has worked in all types of schools and districts, and understands the differing dynamics of each. She found that the key to increasing student learning and achievement is to work closely with administrators and teachers to support teachers in their essential work. This doesn’t mean giving them a day or two of professional development every year, this means ongoing and sustained support and development for helping students learn.

In her words:

When I think back on my education, I always remember those teachers who got me excited about learning. I also think about my mother who instilled in us the importance of education. These two things underlie my approach to education. I want to help students get engaged with their education and to value it.  You can’t do that with teachers who aren’t supported in the art and science of teaching… and this is why I appreciate GLPP.  GLPP is not the latest sparkly gimmick or method in education.  Instead it is a way of supporting staff to weave the numerous threads of a school day into a beautiful tapestry of learning. It is a way of applying the best practices in education in a coordinated way that results in improved student learning and achievement.

With a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and more than 25 years of K-12 experience, Marc understands the value of starting kids with strong foundational skills. As Director of Sonoma Charter School, Marc was charged with the task of improving teacher practices and turning around student performance. Marc was able to achieve both tasks as the first school to implement The K-3 Proficiency Project.

Most recently, Marc led the K-3i team as K-3i Executive Director and successfully led the implement K-3PP across six Sonoma elementary schools; Sonoma Charter School, Apple Blossom Elementary, Two Rock Elementary, Cinnabar Elementary, Dunham Elementary and Yulupa Elementary . His leadership was instrumental in the K-3PP expansion and resulted in positive literacy impact to kindergarten through third grade students. We are thrilled to have his continued support on the K-3i Board of Directors.

Catherine Townsley, a seasoned educational leader with over thirty years of experience, held key roles including elementary and middle school teacher, principal, K-8 superintendent, director of leadership development, executive coach, and professional development director in a statewide California principal support network.  She earned a master’s degree in Education Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and was awarded Marin County Educator of the Year in her fifth year as a superintendent.  Throughout her career, Catherine has consistently provided direct support for teachers to collaborate using student progress data to enhance teaching and improve student achievement in reading and math.

In Her Words…

Being a member of the K-3 Innovation Board is a perfect fit with my belief about targeted data driven instruction with the goal of students being proficient in reading and math by the end of the third grade. In addition, the program supports teachers with on-going coaching, monitoring results and resources.   Few schools achieve this goal for all third graders.  The K-3 Proficiency Project has succeeded in reaching this goal for most of its students in the Sonoma Charter School, far above other like schools in Sonoma County.  I am dedicated to see the program expand to other schools and enthusiastically support its goals.

Taylor Serres Murnig of Sonoma Valley’s Serres Ranch, has deep roots in Sonoma County agriculture. As a sixth generation farmer, Taylor is proud to live and work alongside her family at the ranch, which has been owned and operated by the Serres family since 1924 where it originally operated as a dairy and row crop farm. Like many farming families in the area, the Serres’ are diversified in their agricultural endeavors, offering services not just in grape growing but in cattle raising, and blueberry farming in both Sonoma and Mendocino Counties.

When Taylor joined Serres Ranch after graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and after spending five years working to gain experience (a rule in their family business) she quickly got started having the vineyards certified Sustainable. The Serres’ believe whole-heartedly that using sustainably sound practices is the only option when preserving the longevity of their business.

Additionally, Taylor recently opened a wellness center in Sonoma called Sonoma Cryo, which offers specialty wellness treatments including whole body cryotherapy, infrared sauna and red light therapy. She is active in the local ag community, is an alumni of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, is active in Sonoma-Marin young Farmers and Ranchers and is a board member for the Sonoma County Winegrowers, among other organizations.

Taylor considers K–3 literacy critical because it lays the foundation for all future learning, academic success, and life opportunities. Children who master reading by third grade are far more likely to thrive in school and beyond. She is excited to join the K-3i board to contribute to the educational success of Sonoma County students.

Mike Haney is the General Manager of CIRQ and CHEV at Browne Family Wines, bringing over four decades of wine industry leadership to the role. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Mike Haney is a respected figure in the wine world. He joined Browne Family Wines in 2025 as General Manager for its acclaimed brands CIRQ and CHEV, founded by Sarah and Michael Browne. At Browne Family Wines, Haney oversees all aspects of the CIRQ and CHEV operations, working closely with the founders to advance their vision of crafting exceptional, small-lot wines that reflect the character of California’s finest vineyards. His deep industry connections and strategic leadership are instrumental in guiding the brands into their next chapter.

Prior to this, Mike served for 11 years as Executive Director of Sonoma County Vintners and the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation, where he played a pivotal role in elevating Sonoma County’s global reputation as a premier winegrowing region. During his tenure at Sonoma County Vintners, Mike led initiatives in political advocacy, international trade, and disaster response, including efforts during the pandemic and wildfires. He also expanded philanthropic partnerships and championed the region’s diverse vintners on the world stage.

Mike is a firm believer that reading proficiency is a silver bullet and a predictor of student’s future success. Education is the foundation for future learning and students who master reading by third grade are far more likely to succeed academically and socially. Without it, we see the challenges our students face in the community. Giving our students a fresh start in education and an education level to propel them forward in live is not a luxury, it is critical.