WHO ARE WE?

Palos Verdes Residents for Responsible Government (PVrrg) is a group of highly committed citizens who identify important issues confronting the City of Palos Verdes Estates.

PVrrg Steering Committee - Left to Right: John Harbison, Kate Greenberg, Patricia Kasschau, Rose Ramsay, Jenene Wilson, Renata Harbison, Michael Thiel and George Kay — PVrrg Steering Committee (2019)- Left to Right: John Harbison, Kate Greenberg, Patricia Kasschau, Rose Ramsay, Jenene Wilson, Renata Harbison, Michael Thiel and George Kay

Our Steering Committee:

Rose was born in China and lived in East Asia and the Middle East until she moved to PVE in 1974. She was raised in a family that was deeply involved in the work of local, national, and international governments during times of peace as well as war. She learned
firsthand what it is like to be stripped off one’s rights, and realized that all members of the community must contribute or else they risk losing their rights. Rose received a B.A. in mathematics and a M.S. in computer science from Penn State University. She had careers in computer science, business, spiritual retreat work, and personal counseling.

John has been a PVE resident since 1991, and led the successful CEPC legal challenge that reversed the illegal sale of Panorama parkland in 2012 by the PVHA and the City of PVE and validated our Parkland deed restrictions – a decision that was upheld on appeal. He has an MBA and a BA from Harvard, as well as a CPA and Masters in Accounting. His 44 years in business is split between strategy consulting and entrepreneurship (both as an operator and as an investor in startups). Most recently, he served as chairman of Tech Coast Angels (the largest Angel investor group in the USA) where he has invested in over 60 startups and has served on many Boards. His roles over the years have included Partner, CEO, COO or President at such firms as Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Raytheon Commercial Ventures Inc., SilentRunner, Techspin, and Next Autoworks.

Stacey grew up on the Hill and attended schools within PVPUSD before earning a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. She and her family have lived in Palos Verdes Estates since 2005. She has worked in technical marketing, sales, and consulting for start-ups and established companies such as Oracle, Informix, Tivoli Systems, Netscape, and eTime Capital. She then became the CEO of RemoteNet Corporation, a small consulting firm whose clientele included Northrop Grumman and Wellpoint. She changed her career direction and completed the Teaching Credential Program at Cal State Dominguez Hill to teach mathematics. While she did not pursue teaching as a career, she voluntarily taught science labs at Cornerstone Elementary for a decade, has tutored middle and high school students in mathematics, and homeschools her two children.

Kim volunteered to join the Pvrrg because she is grateful to live in PVE and would like to have a positive impact on our community. In addition to Pvrrg, Kim has served as a volunteer on the Parklands Committee, the PVHA Elections Committee and is currently a member of the PVIS Booster Board. She is the mother of 4, the 2 eldest have completed college, one is a student at LMU and her youngest is a student at PVIS. Kim earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from Villanova University. She has been a legal executive in the tech, fintech and health services industries and is currently the CEO and co-founder of a national charity campaign that benefits breast cancer research. She is also a fitness instructor in the area. In 2017 Kim and her husband purchased a home in Lunada Bay and planned to renovate over the ensuing months. The renovation actually took over 2 years, so she and her family moved to PVE from Philadelphia in 2019.

Michael moved to Palos Verdes along with his parents and brother in 1955. It was love at first sight! Palos Verdes was different back then- more dirt roads and open space, and less people, but the Palos Verdes of today is still surprisingly similar to the one he moved to 67 years ago. Michael would like to keep it that way. Specifically, he’d like to strengthen and nurture the things that work in this community, and help remedy the things that don’t. PVrrg gives him the perfect avenue to express his love for this city in tangible ways. His background includes 12 years at Chadwick School, followed by a BA in History from UC Irvine, and graduate work in education at CSU Fullerton. He began his career as a teacher in the public school system, and spent most of his career working at TRW/Northrop Grumman in the area of employee and organization development, where he retired as the director of learning and development for Northrop Grumman’s space business. Since retirement he has continued to consult in this field. He has two daughters, both of whom attended K-12 in the PV Unified School District and subsequently received their degrees from UC San Diego and UC Irvine.

Jenene is a long time Palos Verdes Estates resident, having first moved to Lunada Bay in 1978. This is where she raised her daughter, who attended PV schools from kindergarten through high school. Jenene enjoyed a forty plus year career in Human Resources management, working for such well known companies as Continental Airlines, Carter Hawley Hales Stores (parent company of Neiman Marcus and Broadway Department Stores at the time), Mattel, Pacific Data Images, a subsidiary of Dreamworks, and finally Edison Mission Energy, a subsidiary of Edison International. She retired from Edison in 2014 as Vice President, Human Resources. Her roots are in the Pacific Northwest (mostly Seattle) where she was born and raised. She attended the University of Washington and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioral Psychology with a minor in English Literature. She enjoys travel, the theatre, the opera, attending Los Angeles Philharmonic and Master Chorale concerts and staying physically active with Pilates, walking and a bit of Yoga.

It is PVrrg’s policy that elected City officials cannot be a member of PVrrg Steering Committee to avoid what might be perceived as a conflict of interest. When a fellow member decides to run for City Council or City Treasurer position, our consensus is that it is best if they resign from this committee.

Kate Greenberg was a member of PVrrg Steering Committee from April 2018 and resigned in August, 2020 to become a candidate for PVE City Treasurer so to avoid a conflict of interest.
George Kay moved to Manhattan Beach
We are grateful to Kate, George and our other past members who contributed their valuable time and talents to help make PVrrg the organization it is today and for their support to make our City a better place in the future. We wish them great success in their new endeavors.