Introducing the Newest Members of SMC's Board of Trustees

Their backgrounds and skill sets are varied, but there’s no mistaking the commonalities between the newest members of Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees.

The new Board members bring with them a range of expertise that includes banking and finance, situational analysis and problem-solving, executive leadership, and business. They also offer a clear-eyed view of the current higher education landscape and challenges facing Saint Mary’s, and ideas that they hope will help build a strong foundation for SMC.

Here are the newest members of the Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees:

David Jochim MBA ’92

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David Jochim MBA ’92 possesses a rare combination of business acumen, industry experience, and financial savvy. He plans to leverage that expertise in his new role as an SMC Trustee.

After earning his MBA from Saint Mary’s, Jochim went on to complete graduate management programs for Organizational Behavior and Management at Stanford University, and for wine studies at the University of California, Davis. His business career reached an apex when he was appointed Senior Vice President and Senior Credit Officer in Northern California for Flagstar Bank. 

“My background in banking and finance, where I’ve worked with hundreds of diverse businesses and nonprofit organizations, is directly applicable to my work on the Board,” he says. Jochim is well-versed in budget reviews, cash flow issues, capital investment projects, and the returns on those projects. As a senior credit officer at several banks, he notes that he has reviewed many private schools' financial plans and can apply those same skills at Saint Mary’s.

At First Republic Bank in San Francisco, Jochim approved credit commitments to bank clients and prospects, including vineyards and wineries, nonprofit organizations, professional service firms, general commercial businesses, and investor real estate. In addition to credit underwriting, financing, and wealth management, Jochim is a past judge of the University of California, Irvine’s annual business plan competition and the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” program.

“My background in banking and finance, where I’ve worked with hundreds of diverse businesses and non-profit organizations, is directly applicable to my work on the Board.”

Jochim also has a strong connection to Saint Mary’s student-athletes, having completed several Ironman distance triathlons, endurance swims, and marathons. He’s a sailing enthusiast who also served as a longtime board member for a successful charity that serves the needs of physically challenged children and adults.   

His initial priorities as an SMC Board member, Jochim says, will be to assist in the search and selection of a new President; focus on fiscal discipline and a balanced budget; and assist in the development of the school’s educational programs to attract and retain students.

Kathy Littles ’94, PhD

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For Kathy Littles ’94, PhD, joining Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees is a homecoming on multiple fronts.

Littles earned a BA in Anthropology and Art from Saint Mary’s and holds an MA in Anthropology from San Francisco State University and a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of California, Davis. As part of her 20-year career in higher education, she served at SMC as Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Senior Diversity Officer. She is currently the Provost at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco.

“My motivation for becoming a Saint Mary’s Board member is, primarily, to be in a position to advance the Lasallian, Catholic liberal arts heritage of the College,” she says. “This is grounded in my experience at Saint Mary’s as a student of color who had, overall, a very good experience.”

In addition to her academic achievements, Littles’s areas of expertise in leadership, interfaculty collaboration, diversity, inclusion, and social justice initiatives all provide her with a firm understanding of SMC’s Lasallian heritage. Her experience includes faculty positions at CIIS, UC Davis, Berkeley City College, and the College of Marin. Before launching her academic career, she served as the arts education coordinator for Monterey County and as the Cultural Funding Program coordinator for the City of Oakland.

“My motivation for becoming a Saint Mary’s Board member is, primarily, to be in a position to advance the Lasallian, Catholic liberal arts heritage of the College.”

Littles says that being a successful Board member means earning the trust of the College community. She hopes others will see the traits and characteristics she brings to the position as positive attributes that can help move the College forward.

“I consider myself to be a good leader, collaborator, and listener, and someone who is firmly grounded in equity, transformation, inquiry, problem-solving, love, and respect,” she says. “I also believe that my personal leadership style, which I would characterize as ‘group collaborative,’ values listening and assessment in a way that ultimately leads to sound decision-making.”

Littles says one of her goals is to ensure that all Gael students are seen and heard, and that they have a meaningful, engaging, and inspiring experience at SMC. “I want to help them to graduate from the College whole, then work to get them excited to be part of the alumni community and to continue their work out in the world.”

Roderick (Rod) Roche ’85, MBA ’92

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Rod Roche’s road to becoming a Saint Mary’s Trustee started as a Gael undergraduate, where he earned a BS in Economics and Business Administration before going on to obtain an MBA from SMC. A student-athlete who played baseball as a Gael, Roche’s pitching exploits earned him a spot in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor league system. The lessons he learned as an athlete and teammate remain with him today, years after hanging up his cleats.

“As a former athlete, I’ve learned the inherent discipline of putting in the hard work and, as a team member, the ability to work with others and set and accomplish specific goals together,” he says. Blending the collaboration and teaming skills he learned on the baseball field with the business know-how gained in the Saint Mary’s classroom, Roche carved out a successful career in commercial real estate development, construction, and project management.

He began his commercial real estate career working on the Rincon Center development in downtown San Francisco as an assistant construction manager for Perini Land and Development, the first of many mixed-use projects that he’s been instrumental in building over the years. Another early highlight was his construction of what’s now known as Everline Resort & Spa in California’s Olympic Valley.

“As a former athlete, I’ve learned the inherent discipline of putting in the hard work and, as a team member, the ability to work with others and set and accomplish specific goals together.”

Other notable commercial development projects he has played a key role in include the Pacific Bell Park development (now Oracle Park), various architecture and construction projects for Gap, Inc., and Banana Republic brand stores nationwide, and capital improvement projects and public housing maintenance for the Oakland Housing Authority. Roche is currently a partner at G&M Realty Ventures, LLC, a mixed-use real estate development consulting firm in San Francisco.

Roche says his initial priorities as an SMC Board of Trustees member will be to “listen, listen, and listen,” which he hopes will lead to learning.

“Many have been here before us, so understanding where we are as a College—with a focus on learning where we need to go—will be my primary focus,” he says. As the College looks ahead to the launch of a new Campus Master Plan later this spring, Roche also says he looks forward to “providing an additional lens for supporting the continued growth of the campus and the maintenance of its assets.”

Anthony Scolini ’87

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Like others on the SMC Board of Trustees, Anthony Scolini parlayed a Saint Mary’s education into a highly successful business career and feels a deep connection to his alma mater. But Scolini has an even more personal reason for wanting to see the College grow and thrive into the future.

“As an alumnus and with two of my three children attending the College, I would like to see the College prosper and provide more of our alumni children with inspiration to carry on the legacy of SMC for generations to come,” he says. 

Scolini has, for years, held a variety of leadership positions with global information technology services giant Accenture and currently serves as senior managing director. As the global client lead for one of the company’s largest and longest-tenured communications and media clients, Scolini leads more than 5,000 Accenture professionals. 

Previously, he led the company’s Communications, Media, and Technology (CMT) business within the southwest United States. He also led global sales initiatives for the company’s CMT business—overseeing a $7 billion annual sales plan—and served as client account lead for a large tech client in Silicon Valley. A professionally trained mediator, Scolini has helped clients work through complex contract negotiations and issue resolution.

“As an alumnus and with two of my three children attending the College, I would like to see the College prosper and provide more of our alumni children with inspiration to carry on the legacy of SMC for generations to come.”

Though quick to acknowledge that he’s “no expert” in higher education, Scolini says colleges can benefit by using similar leadership principles used in running a successful for-profit business enterprise, something he’s been doing for 36 years.

“One of the key strengths I bring to the Board of Trustees is the ability to analyze problems, separate symptoms from root cause, and develop plans to address issues,” he says. “I apply an ‘appropriately impatient’ style when it comes to solving problems that inhibit achieving the desired outcomes.”

Scolini says his first priority as a new Board member will be to listen and learn to understand the fundamentals of higher education and the “inner workings” of Saint Mary’s.

“I care deeply about the College and its longevity,” he says. “Even as a new Trustee, I plan to respectively challenge certain aspects of how things have worked and question how we might evolve and improve our practices to make prospective students interested in attending, and to help current students thrive during their collegiate experience.”

LEARN MORE about Saint Mary’s College’s Board of Trustees.