Henning Institute Board of Advisors

James M. Wood

Jim is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College of California Integral Program Major (’70) and was Chair and Member of Saint Mary’s College Board of Regents (2011-2015) . While in College Jim was ASMC Student Body President, a columnist for The Collegian, and a member of SPAN that was organized to bring co-education to the college as well as other educational changes.

He attended the University of San Francisco School of  Law (’73) and began his practice as a  Litigation Attorney with over 35 years of civil trial, litigation management and pro bono experience as a partner in an AmLaw 100 global law firm and California based predecessor. Following retirement from Big Law Jim has devoted his time to providing pro bono legal services to clients with a variety of legal issues.

His honors have included the AIDS Legal Referral Panel Clint Hockenberry Leadership Award 2014 - named for ALRP’s first Executive Director and is “ALRP’s highest honor—given to individuals whose work reflects a lifetime of service to the HIV/AIDS community” and the California Lawyer Angel Award (2007) as one of the state's outstanding Pro Bono attorneys for representation of California school children with diabetes to ensure they received care throughout the school day.

Melinda Thomas, J.D.

Mindy Thomas is an attorney who has been a member of the Saint Mary’s College faculty for twenty-one years. She is currently Chair of the Politics Department and teaches courses in law and politics.

She earned her B.A. in English, with minors in French and Swedish, from the University of California at Berkeley (1967), lifetime teaching credential from California State University at Hayward (1969), and an M.A in Counseling from the University of Guam, Marianas Islands (1973). She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University School of Law (1979)). She practiced law for several years with a partner in the Law Offices of Baker and Thomas and has been both an Associate Dean and a Dean in two law schools. She is the sole author of Contract Law for Paralegals, a textbook for use in the United States (1974). She has presented her scholarly work at the Annual Fallon Memorial Lonergan Symposium, at the Catholic Theological Society, and at the Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology Conference, in Belgium.

Mindy is a tenured, full professor at Saint Mary’s College, has been Chair, and Vice Chair, of the Academic Senate. She has done pro bono legal work at a free clinic for the poor and has volunteered in the area of political asylum representation.

Rena L. Zellars

Rena L. Zellars has been serving the Saint Mary’s College Community for over 15 years. Her servitude includes the following; 9 years on the Saint Mary’s College Board of Regents including two years as the Board President, founding member of the Saint Mary’s College Women in Philanthropy Committee, and is a current Board of Regent, Emeritus member.  She earned a B.S. in Economics from Saint Mary’s College in 1999 and is a graduate of St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento (a four-year, all-female, Catholic college preparatory high school).  . Rena has held positions in Finance and Operations for the following companies: KPMG LLP in San Francisco, CA, PayPal Inc. in Palo Alto, California, eBay Inc. in San Jose, eBay International A.G. in Berne, Switzerland and Clarium Capital Management in San Francisco. Currently she is the Managing Director of The (A)Lyst Group, LLC; a boutique talent acquisition firm in the bay area. Rena currently serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento, is the Director, Operations and Board member for PINC Sacramento (a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding those individuals in the local community most in need of a helping hand), and she is a member of the Women’s Auxiliary for the Dante Club of Sacramento (a social philanthropic club dedicated to educating and preserving Italian heritage and traditions).  Rena lives in Sacramento, California with her husband William “Bill” Zellars and their dog Bailey.