SENIOR ADVISORS
Mark Pitchford
Senior Partner, JLMP Performance – marketing, digital transformation, and operations management consulting
Mark Pitchford is a Senior Partner at JLMP Performance, a marketing, digital transformation, and operations management consulting company. Mark also currently serves as an Executive Advisor for Afiniti, the world’s leading applied artificial intelligence and advanced analytics provider and is the Chief Strategy Office for E.A. Buck Financial Services, whose focus is to make comprehensive financial planning accessible to people of all income levels and backgrounds. Pitchford received an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Harvey Mudd College.
Prior to joining JLMP Performance in 2019, Mark was the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Esurance, the pioneering online Property & Casualty Insurance company that became part of Allstate in 2011. He was responsible for Esurance’s strategy, advertising, performance marketing, digital transformation, and customer contact activities, including inbound and outbound sales and customer service. Prior to moving to Esurance, Pitchford spent three years leading Allstate’s direct business, including leading Allstate’s ten call centers that directly support both customers and Allstate agencies and Allstate’s on-line sales & service functions.
Before his time with Allstate, Pitchford spent three years in South Korea as CMO for Hanarotelecom and Hanaromedia, a leading provider of broadband and IPTV. In these roles, Mr. Pitchford led teams responsible for all of the product management, product development, advertising, and programming. In addition, Mr. Pitchford led the inbound call center operations for Hanaro. Prior to joining Hanarotelecom, Pitchford spent six years in senior marketing and customer service positions at CenturyLink/Qwest and spent more than 15 years in various senior-level marketing, sales/service, and product management positions at AT&T/Pacific Bell, as well as multiple roles in marketing, engineering, and operations.
Brenda Taussig
Senior Advisor – government and community relations
Brenda Taussig has worked in healthcare, public policy, and government and community relations for over twenty-five years. She served as Director of Government and Community Relations for El Camino Health based in Mountain View, California, a nonprofit community health system with two comprehensive acute care hospitals, multiple primary care clinics, and an extensive community benefit grants program. Her work included creating and leading the public policy and legislative agenda, maintaining productive and positive relationships with local, state and federal officials, and collaborating with community leaders on initiatives to improve access to the highest quality hospital, community health, and mental health services.
She has been a member of many nonprofit, professional and public organizations, most recently serving on the board of the Los Altos Community Foundation and as a member of the Governing Board of the Santa Cara County Health Authority, which provides oversight of public funds for health coverage. Brenda was a frequent speaker at civic leadership programs throughout Santa Clara County on health services and challenges, and how the Affordable Care Act and other health policy affects residents and providers.
Prior to her hospital work, Brenda was staff for two members of the California State Legislature, a Senator and an Assemblymember, advancing their legislation, representing them in the community, and providing constituent services. Earlier in her career she was an executive with nonprofit health clinics in Arizona and Illinois and taught at a community college.
She has a BA and a Masters Degree from the University of Arizona. Brenda lives in both Los Altos, California and Bend, Oregon.
Cynthia Nakayama, CPG
Deputy Director Emeritus
Cynthia is a Credentialed Professional Gerontologist whose career in the field began at the Stanford Geriatric Education Center, where she focused on ethnogeriatrics. Her early work emphasized educating healthcare professionals on cultural competence and promoting the well-being of diverse aging populations. She later joined the Center for Age-Friendly Excellence (CAFE), where she played a key role in helping to guide all fifteen cities in Santa Clara County, along with the County itself, to achieve Age-Friendly designation under the World Health Organization. At CAFE, Cynthia continued to be inspired by the dedication and motivation of her colleagues and community partners, through the organization’s collaboration with San Mateo County.
Before entering the field of gerontology, Cynthia built a robust career in the corporate sector. Her background includes experience in finance, biometric security, technology, and telecommunications. While at Google, she managed mission-critical, often confidential, international data center contracts. This blend of corporate and nonprofit experience uniquely positioned her to contribute to both the community outreach and operational aspects of CAFE’s mission. At CAFE, her responsibilities spanned a wide range of functions, including leading cities to achieve Age-Friendly certification, guiding the development of formal action plans, and managing grants to ensure compliance with contractual and financial requirements. Her expertise also includes financial aspects including budgeting and cash flow management.
Cynthia has been deeply committed to supporting age-friendly community development. She is honored to have co-authored a publication with Pauline DeLange Martinez, Ph.D. in the Journal of Gerontology: “Age-Friendly Communities in a Time of COVID”. She has been (remains) dedicated to fostering livable environments that empower older adults to thrive and remain engaged in their interests for as long as possible. Her advocacy for enriching living environments was further strengthened by her personal experience supporting her father through his aging journey.