Advisory Board

Formerly the publisher of SPIN Media and president of Observer Media, Mike Albanese began his San Francisco–based publishing career at 7×7 and now lives in New York City and Miami. As CEO of Galore Media, a women-focused online hub for young, creative professionals, his expertise in publishing and consumer behavior informs his approach to storytelling across all platforms. Albanese also co-founded GRAND, a financial technology company that was acquired in 2020, and is now a partner at Show Ventures, a startup studio focusing on gaming and financial technology.

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 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 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 & Marketing Director and original Community Manager. Today, he’s a restaurant investor (Foreign Cinema, Noosh) and a Commonwealth Club of California board member.

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.

Zahid Sardar is a San Francisco–based editor, writer, educator, and curator specializing in architecture, interiors, and design. Currently, he co-produces 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.

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.

A true authority on the Bay Area’s design community, Stacy Williams serves as the Executive Director of AIA San Francisco and the Center for Architecture + Design. Over the past nearly 20 years, she has directed architecture-and-design initiatives by partnering closely with city agencies, public utilities, and numerous professional groups. Stacy believes in harnessing the power of community and civic engagement and implements policies and programs to create better environments through design.