Meet Our Board

Gregg Foster – President
Gregg Foster is executive director of the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission.  He was first appointed to that position in 1999.  RREDC is a county-wide Joint Powers Authority that operates a small business loan fund that supports higher-risk businesses in Humboldt County.

Foster is a Humboldt County native and a graduate of South Fork High School and U.C. Davis with a degree in Political Science/Public Service.  His career started in Sacramento, where he worked for the Local Government Commission. He has also been a Vice-President, Commercial Lending for Redwood Capital Bank and Director of Business Development for Lost Coast Communications. Other stints include working at the Humboldt Area Foundation and a local consulting firm, Gainer & Associates. Gregg is a 27-year Rotarian and is a past-president of the Rotary Club of Arcata, Sunrise.

He’s passionate about continuing the restoration of this community gem and looks forward to many more years of its serving the community.

Chuck Petty – Vice President
Chuck is a Eureka native, having graduated from Eureka High School and Humboldt State University. He is currently the Pathology Manager for St. Joseph Hospital. Additionally, he serves as the Historic Preservation Commission Vice-Chairman for the City of Eureka, as the Clarke Historical Museum treasurer, and as the Eureka Heritage Society vice-president. Chuck loves the Eureka Theater and wants to see it preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Wendy Petty – Treasurer
Wendy has lived in Eureka since 1968. She is a graduate of Eureka High School, and was educated further in business/accounting at College of the Redwoods. Currently the owner of Annex ’39 Antiques & the Cottage Annex, Wendy has been in the antiques business since 1998. She is a member of the Eureka Heritage Society and Historical Society. She has been on the Restoration committee and a board member at the Eureka Theater for 12 years. Her extensive restoration background includes three houses in Eureka, work on historic Sequoia Fire Station No.6 and the Eureka Theater. She is one of the mixologist/bartenders for the Theater and has fun creating specialty-themed cocktails for events. Wendy also enjoys fixing up antiques and collectibles, attending vintage flea markets and conducting estate sales.

Alex Stillman – Secretary

Alex has a passion for older buildings which bought me to the Eureka Theater which is a gem wanting and waiting to once again be in its 1939 glory. She has extensive experience in purchasing and restoring historic buildings, both commercial and residential.  She is also a member of the Arcata City Council.

Nate Adams

Nate is a ten-year resident of Humboldt county. Hailing from smack dab in the middle of Iowa, he made his way steadily westward over a couple decades. After a brief stint in Denver, he called Taos in the mountains of NM his home for nearly 10 years, where he ran successful tattoo and piercing businesses, promoted and DJed electronic music events, and co-hosted a popular radio show. Once he made the move to Eureka, he shifted careers to film after graduating from College of the Redwoods’ Digital Media program. Now working for the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission as their Marketing Manager and Assistant Operations Manager, he assists all types of productions filming here in the Redwood Region, and coordinates the popular Movies in the Park summer screenings in Sequoia Park. In addition to volunteering his time for community events here at home, he is a manager of Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR) in Nevada’s Black Rock desert. Nate brings his technical expertise, and passion for film and music, to the theater’s Board, Movie Committee, and theater events, as his way of giving back to the communities he has grown to love.

Charli Murphy

Charli is an Artist, Counselor, Foster Mother, and Rotarian. She has served in various organizations and on a multitude of community boards focused on improving the lives of Humboldt County Residents. To restore the theater is a project that aligns with her principles of values around the importance of community and community building.  “The restoration of The Eureka Theater not only beautifies our city, but also creates an opportunity to enrich the lives of our local business owners, community members, and families”  Charli fondly remembers visiting the theater with her family as a child, and the magic she felt stepping into the “entirely different world” of the Eureka Theater. “I hope that future generations of families are able to share that experience for years to come”.

Jason Cotter
I am a fourth generation Humboldt native; I grew up in Willow Creek on the Trinity River, what a great place to spend a childhood.  After high school I joined Safeway and spent 14 years up and down the coast from Crescent City to Fort Bragg and inland to Sacramento/Stockton as a store director.  In 2005 it was time for an adventure……I up and moved to Texas.  Yep Texas!!  Dallas and Cedar Creek Lake to be more specific.  I spent a fantastic 10 years making great friends enjoying the lake. I joined the auto industry, as a buyer, for CarMax then Drivetime/Carvana.  That career path led me to Phoenix in 2014 where I spent 3 more years buying and marketing wholesale vehicles at auction. But…. as we all know the mountains, ocean and redwoods have a way of calling us home.  I joined the Eureka Theater Board in 2021 and am honored to help in the restoration, preservation and community enjoyment this grand old historic building provides.

Lynette Mullen

Susan Doniger
Susan is originally from the Bay Area and left to try her luck in LA for college. While there she discovered a passion for architectural history and preservation which led her to volunteer for the LA Conservancy. She treasures memories of the events they held in the old movie palaces downtown. There’s nothing like walking into one of those amazing structures and watching classic films as they were meant to be seen, on the big screen. While in So Cal Susan completed her MA in History and Museum Studies and worked for several nonprofits and museums in the area. Susan then took a position with California State Parks where she served for 20+ years as an Educator and Historian—while gradually moving up to the North Coast. She is also on the Board of the Humboldt County Historical Society—and describes herself as a true history nerd. I feel very honored to help support the renovation of this Art Deco gem in our community!

 

Chris Hancock