Advisory Board

Gold Collective’s advisory board grants its collective members exclusive access to esteemed innovators and leaders who represent some of the brightest minds in business today. Our advisors are experts in their respective fields — from digital media to venture capital — who offer invaluable knowledge about the current business landscape, the demands of the modern consumer, and the scalability of small business.

Meet the Board

Gold Collective members gain direct access to these individuals through tailored members-only meetings and events. The Advisory Board also provides direction towards the Collective, assisting in shaping its membership curriculum, philanthropic endeavors, and member base.

Jak Churton

Jak Churton

As the San Francisco managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle, a global commercial real estate firm, Jak Churton has negotiated millions of square feet of leasing transactions for clients in industries ranging from technology to professional services to healthcare. His diligent, caring style is proof positive that there’s more to real estate than wheeling and dealing. “The most important aspect is the lasting relationships we build with clients,” says Churton. As a fourth-generation San Franciscan, he leverages his intimate knowledge of the city to find the best location and structure for his clients. He lives in Marin County with his family and enjoys cooking, swimming, and cycling.

Moustafa “Mous” ElBialy

Moustafa “Mous” ElBialy

Mous ElBialy is the chief information officer at Kleiner Perkins, where he leads all technology efforts. Prior, Mous was the director of technology at Social Capital and the technology services manager at Sequoia Capital. He is an active board member for VCPEIT, a nonprofit community for forward-thinking technology executives, CIOs, CTOs, and key decision makers from private equity, venture capital, and leveraged buyout firms.

A great book that you’ve read recently?
Measure What Matters by John Doerr.
Your favorite local hidden gem?
The corner of Francisco and Hyde Streets and the San Francisco Art Institute campus.
A Bay Area cultural experience that you find yourself revisiting?
An urban hike around Telegraph Hill. So much history, architecture, and stunning scenery to take in.
Go-to dining destination?
Rich Table or Kokkari.
If you had to describe yourself as a Bay Area neighborhood or city, which would it be?
Jackson Square: the mix of heritage San Francisco and modern San Francisco. Between the historic brick buildings and boutiques, it's a piece of SoHo in SF.
Louise Englehart

Louise Englehart

Curious, supportive, and a teacher at heart, Louise Englehart shines among top-echelon business consultants in the Bay Area. Her hybrid approach marries the formal principles of business management with the accountability, discipline, and planning techniques of professional coaching. “It’s a fantastic combination for getting powerful results,” says Englehart, who has vast experience in the building sector and specializes in helping design industry clients strategically grow their companies. About her motivation she remarks, “Success is when my clients begin to implement strategic business principles and surpass their goals.”

A great book that you’ve read recently?
I absolutely loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. It’s an impressive debut novel about women’s empowerment struggles during the 50s and 60s, but it’s done with lightness and humor. And a very smart dog is involved, so there’s that.
Preferred way to unwind?
A walk with my husband and our dog, Bodhi, or gathering in our front yard with our neighbors, their kids, and the dogs. I also hit the beach or call a friend for a leisurely chat.
Your favorite local hidden gem?
Mavericks Surf Company’s auxiliary store in Half Moon Bay. You can walk in and be outfitted with everything needed to enjoy a few delightful hours of surfing, kayaking, or paddleboarding.
A bay area cultural/outdoor experience that you find yourself revisiting?
I have a deep connection to the architecturally significant Filoli Historic House and Garden, which, features 654 acres of beautiful gardens, orchard, and wildlands.
What hooked you on the Bay Area and made you decide to make a home here?
Relocating from Southern California, I was awestruck by the diversity of people and geography in Northern California. Within a three-hour radius, you have beaches, mountains, sprawling vineyards, and ski slopes.
Heather Hebert

Heather Hebert

A Bay Area native, Heather Hebert’s career has centered on the intersection of design, wine, and writing. For over 25 years, she directed marketing for an international architecture firm specializing in hospitality design, where she guided the firm’s brand identity, wrote about the firm’s projects, and worked with their clients to develop their early brand concepts. In 2017, Heather left to pursue her love of storytelling and now works with numerous design, hospitality, and winery clients both large and small to help them develop and convey their stories. Her first book, The New Architecture of Wine, was published by Gibbs Smith Publishing in 2019. Her second, At Home in the Wine Country (Gibbs Smith), was released in 2021.

A great book that you've read recently?
I'm a voracious reader but as far as business books go, one of my all-time favorites is Everybody Matters, by Bob Chapman.
Your favorite local hidden gem?
Muir Woods, as it's hidden in plain sight. With most of my clients in the wine country, I make the trek from Marin up north often and love the drive through Carneros. The scenery changes with the seasons, from buds breaking in the spring to the vineyard leaves turning brilliant hues in the fall.
A Bay Area cultural experience that you find yourself revisiting?
My husband and I are devotees of local playhouses - Marin Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, and San Francisco Playhouse.
Go-to dining destination?
We are fortunate to live in the tiny town of Larkspur, which, I swear, has got to have the highest proportion of fabulous local restaurants to population ever: Rustic Bakery, Picco & Picco Pizzeria, Roma Antica, R'noh Thai, Bermatown, DJ's Chinese (our kids' favorite), Zinz Wine Bar (great appetizers too), to name just a few.
If you had to describe yourself as a Bay Area neighborhood or city, which would it be and why?
I feel like I'm right where I should be, so I think it would have to be Larkspur. It's everything I aspire to be–friendly, community oriented, supportive, sustainably minded, locally minded, and globally aware at the same time.
Nish Nadaraja

Nish Nadaraja

A branding and marketing consultant, Nish Nadaraja is deeply passionate about community management, brand evangelism, and customer loyalty. Nish is known for being one of Yelp’s first employees, serving as the brand and marketing director and original community manager. Today, he’s a restaurant investor (Foreign Cinema, Noosh) and a Commonwealth Club of California board member.

A great book that you’ve read recently?
A sweeping read of American history is Jill Lepore's These Truths. Really timely in understanding the context of our nation and current quagmire.
Your favorite local hidden gem?
I never leave without buying something from Karl the Store in Sausalito. A favorite recent purchase was an original Walt Disney comic panel.
A Bay Area cultural experience that you find yourself revisiting?
My son, Dash, and I enjoy meandering through the Exploratorium. Pro tip: it's dog-friendly.
Go-to dining destination?
I'm an investor in Foreign Cinema and Noosh, so I’m biased toward those two. I also love Kokkari and Cotogna as we live in Jackson Square.
If you had to describe yourself as a Bay Area neighborhood or city, which would it be?
The Mission, of course. In what other neighborhood can you find a dive bar, trendy boutique, dispensary, and fine dining on the same block?
Alf Nucifora

Alf Nucifora

Alf Nucifora is chairman and founder of LuxeSF, an influential sales and marketing organization known for its thought leadership and trend foresight in the luxury marketplace. The Australian-born, Harvard-trained professional brings more than three decades of experience in multinational advertising and Fortune 500 strategy to the respected Bay Area group, which specializes in real estate, wine, travel, home, style, and design. Additional expertise in brokered relationships, top-tier networking, and event programming have made LuxeSF a model in the industry.

Favorite book authors?
Anything by John le Carré and the work of entertaining and articulate business authors such as Michael Lewis. Stephen Covey also remains a mentor in spirit.
Favorite experience unique to the Bay Area?
My weekly visits to Napa and time spent with winery cohorts. My fealty to the Golden State Warriors is well known among my friends.
Preferred way to unwind and recharge?
My daily walk around Cavallo Point and under the Golden Gate Bridge leaves me a new man and a better person.
Go-to dining destination?
I always return to Slanted Door in San Francisco’s Ferry Building. My favorite lunch spot is Farmstead in St. Helena—the ham sliders and meatballs never disappoint.
Cassie Rosenthal

Cassie Rosenthal

Cassie Rosenthal is a third-generation stakeholder and the chief marketing officer of her family’s commercial finance firm, Rosenthal & Rosenthal—the largest privately held lending company in the nation. Before this, she co-owned and directed the New York City and Berlin art galleries of Goff + Rosenthal. Her thought leadership has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York TimesWWDFootwear NewsBBC Radio, and CNBC. A native New Yorker, Rosenthal received her BA from Colgate University and holds a master’s degree in art history from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. She and her husband are avid travelers and frequent visitors to California wine country.

Go-to dining destination in NYC?
Lately, it’s Golden Swan, but I also love Portale and Raoul’s.
Last art exhibition that inspired you?
An incredible presentation of Nicole Eisenman’s work that opened at Whitechapel Gallery in London and travels to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago this spring.
Preferred way to unwind?
A long walk or preparing a meal with my husband for friends and family at our vacation home in Sag Harbor. We love listening to music outdoors by a fire.
Last film that impressed you?
I enjoyed The Holdovers, starring Paul Giamatti—who never disappoints—and the limited series Drops of God, which is captivating and visually stunning.
Zahid Sardar

Zahid Sardar

Zahid Sardar is a San Francisco–based editor, writer, educator, and curator specializing in architecture, interiors, and design. Currently, he coproduces a webcast series, Spotlight with Zahid Sardar, featuring West Coast design personalities. In addition to serving as an editor at SPACES magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, Zahid has written several books and taught design history at the California College of the Arts. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Dwell, Elle Décor, and House Beautiful.

A great book that you’ve read recently?
Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love.
Your favorite local hidden gem?
The bar terrace at EPIC Steak.
A Bay Area cultural experience that you find yourself revisiting?
Zuni as a gathering place.
Go-to dining destination?
Foreign Cinema.
If you had to describe yourself as a Bay Area neighborhood or city, which would it be?
North Beach, for its global influences.
Melissa Wagner

Melissa Wagner

Melissa Wagner, founder of Wagner Creative, is a marketing and business development professional who has found her niche in the architecture, design, and construction industries. An important part of her bicoastal practice, she says, is “crafting an integrated, purposeful brand strategy for each client and promoting women in design.” Her full-service agency combines creative vision and intelligent networking and values the potential of collaborative promotion. Originally from Detroit, Wagner is also a fine artist, maintaining her creative practice at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Your favorite local hidden gem?
The eucalyptus forest at the Presidio is home to two Andy Goldsworthy installations.
Favorite museum, gallery, or cultural institution?
Alonzo King LINES Ballet and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Go-to dining destination?
San Francisco has so many great restaurants known for their food and architectural design—Foreign Cinema and Rintaro are at the top of my list. In New York City, you can find me at the bar at Balthazar!
Preferred way to unwind and recharge on the weekend?
Time in nature, like a run or hike outdoors, followed by creative time in the studio.
Last film that blew your mind?
Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.