Elias Terman
Director of Community Fundraising Programs
Elias is the Managing Director of TERMAN CONSULTING GROUP, a marketing strategy consulting firm with offices in San Diego, California and Monterrey, Mexico. Mr. Terman is co-author of How to Sell Your Product in Mexico (AmCham 1993) as well as the author of various articles and publications on business and technology. He was a co-founder of Designet, a web development firm based in Mexico City where he managed 35 employees and was the creator, founder and CEO of etrato, Inc., a bilingual trading community and auction site. He sold etrato to Quepasa.com, Inc. in December of 1999 – at the time, the leading Internet portal for the US Hispanic Community. He holds a B.A. in Economics from San Diego State University and a Masters in Pacific International Affairs from the University of California at San Diego and is fluent in Spanish.

Matt Thoene
Director of Technology
Matt has spent over 10 years in the IT and networking industry. He is a veteran of multiple successful start-up companies and has obtained a significant knowledge-base of hardware and software principles in Internet technologies, E-Commerce and IT architecture, Enterprise network integration, Security, and operations. He has served as Director of Regional Systems for a major telecommunications company where he oversaw $25 million in IT infrastructure projects per year. Prior to that, he was Director of IP Services for Colo.com, an international Data Center company. He also served as Director of Operations for Verio where he managed the San Diego Network Operations Center, engineering staff, as well as the provisioning and installation of a broad range of technical solutions. While at Verio, he was responsible for the design and build of Verio's 10,000 square foot state-of-art Co-location facility. Matt holds a B.A. in Economics from San Diego State University.

Nathan Johnson
Director of Business Solutions
Nathan is the President of Allegiant Mortgage and Real Estate Corporation, a full service real estate and mortgage brokerage firm with locations in San Diego and Huntington Beach, California. He founded this company in July 1999 and now has 22 employees collectively. Mr. Johnson has a proven track record in building a profitable business from scratch, to a recognized market leader. He is also a very active member of the San Diego Better Business Bureau, the California Association of Realtors and the California Association of Mortgage Brokers. A father of three, Mr. Johnson and his wife met while attending San Diego State University – where he received his B.A. in Economics.

Patrick Shea
Director of Business Affairs
Patrick is the managing partner with the law firm of Mitchell & Shea. With two offices in the San Diego area, the firm represents hundreds of clients throughout the State. Mr. Shea is a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He is an active philanthropist, raising money each year for the California Sheriff's Association, The Boys and Girls Club of San Diego, and San Diego Professionals Against Cancer. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University and a Juris Doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law where he graduated summa cum laude.

Founding Partners | Join Our Team