Katrina Foley

OC Supervisor, Second District

Frank Kim

County Executive Officer,

County of Orange

Frank Kim was appointed county executive officer (CEO) by the Orange County Board of Supervisors on May 12, 2015. Frank brings to the CEO role more than 25 years of experience in planning, organization and direction; team leadership and supervision; program development and management; and financial services.

In his role as CEO, Mr. Kim, in collaboration with the Board of Supervisors and executive management, is responsible for the County’s $7.6 billion, 23-department, 18,000-position budget. Prior to serving as CEO, Frank has served the County as CFO, Director of Administration and Finance for the Orange County Probation Department, CEO Budget Team Manager and
interim reuse manager at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. He joined the County in 1995 as a staff accountant. Frank held positions in private industry and higher education before embarking upon his County career.

Frank currently serves as the President of the California Association of County Executives (CACE). He holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Accountancy from California State University, Long Beach.

Jennifer Ward

Sr. VP of Advocacy & Government Affairs,

Orange County Business Council (OCBC)

Jennifer is Senior Vice President of Advocacy & Government Affairs for Orange County Business Council (OCBC). In her position, Jennifer advocates locally, in Sacramento and in Washington D.C. on behalf of OCBC’s diverse business and industry leaders to reinforce Orange County’s economic strength and influence.

Jennifer brings more than 10 years of experience leading public affairs and policy for communities across Southern California. Prior to OCBC, Jennifer served as Director of External Affairs for Clean Power Alliance, the nation’s largest community choice energy provider. There she led the outreach campaign for Clean Power Alliance’s transition of three million people in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties to new electricity supply service, working alongside 32 local governments, legislators, and regulators.

Prior to that, Jennifer worked on regional planning and economic development issues for 18 communities in Riverside County, serving as Director of Government Relations for the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG). At WRCOG, Jennifer partnered with key stakeholders from the private and public sectors, higher education, and non-profits to generate cross-sector initiatives that enhance the future quality of life for inland Southern California. She has served on the Board of Directors for the US Green Building Council – Inland Empire, and was a member of Orange County’s inaugural cohort for the Coro Women in Leadership program. Jennifer graduated with a degree in Environmental Analysis, Society Development, and Policy from Claremont McKenna College.

John Ehlenfeldt

Executive Vice President,

Visit Huntington Beach

With over 25 years of combined leadership, sales and destination marketing organization experience, John has represented Visit Huntington Beach, Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Long Beach Convention Center and Canadian Tourism Commission. He is currently the Executive Vice President of Visit Huntington Beach and is responsible for the leadership and development of the sales and service departments, annual budget management, strategic planning, benefit administration, product development, and staff hiring, development and evaluation.

John has served as President of MPI Southern California Chapter, President of SITE Southern California Chapter, an MPI RISE Awards committee member for 6 years, and he is currently on the Meeting Professionals International Board of Directors in the role of Diversity & Inclusion for the association. He is a frequent speaker, and an ongoing mentor to students of the hospitality industry at several Southern California universities.

He is a recent graduate at Cornell University completing an executive program in Diversity and Inclusion. John also holds the accreditations of CDME (Certified Destination Management Executive) and CMP (Certified Meeting Professional)

Sarah Kruer

Executive Director,

Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District

Prior to joining the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District as Executive Director, she amassed more than two decades of distinguished marketing and development experience at some of the best brands in hospitality including Visit Newport Beach, South Coast Plaza, and Preferred Hotel Group.

Born and raised in Orange County, Kruer graduated from Vanderbilt University. She has traveled to more than 20 countries and remains passionate about travel, culture, and the value of shared experiences.

Craig Carlyle

Chief Executive Officer,

STACKED Restaurants

Craig's restaurant career began back in 1981. He worked as a bus person in his first position and continued on to serve tables, cook and bartend while attending school. Craig entered restaurant management in 1990 and quickly moved through promotions. Craig became a General Manager in 1992 and moved through the ranks in the following roles: Regional Manager, Vice President of Operations, EVP and President.

Craig was with Yard House Restaurants from 1998 through 2018 becoming President in 2014. During Craig's 20 years at Yard House, he helped the brand grow to over $500 million in sales. In 2019, Craig joined Stacked Restaurants as COO. He became President of Stacked in February of 2020.

Craig and his family reside happily in Orange County, CA.

Iosefa Alofaituli

Executive Director &

Co-Founder,

CIELO

Iosefa “yo-se-fah” Alofaituli recently joined CIELO as it’s Executive Director in 2021, after having helped to incubate the organization in 2015.  Iosefa is leading CIELO through its next phase of growth and impact, as the organization advances their mission to launch successful entrepreneurs by unleashing innovation, creativity & passion. 

Prior to CIELO, Iosefa served in leadership roles at Opportunity Fund, the nation’s leading nonprofit CDFI lender to small businesses. As Regional Director in Southern California, Iosefa led the organization's regional expansion through fund, brand and partnership development. Before transitioning from Opportunity Fund, Iosefa helped drive the development and national scale of the organization’s newly formed business advising and support programming.

With a background in social entrepreneurship, Iosefa previously helped launch two nonprofit organizations focused on community and economic empowerment.  From an innovative place-based organization creating systems change in a low-income Latino community in Orange County, to an entrepreneurship center focused on young, minority and underserved entrepreneurs (which became CIELO), Iosefa has led with humility and passion to back those who lack opportunities. He was also a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic where he served as an Economic Development Advisor to a community of miners and artisans.

Iosefa grew up in Southern California before graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, where he captained their Ivy League championship football team. He’s a proud father of two boisterous boys, and he and his wife, who he met in the Peace Corps, live in northeast Los Angeles.