Our Board
Elizabeth Shaughnessy , BCS Founder and Executive Director, is a former eight-year member of the Berkeley School Board and 1970 Irish Women’s Chess Champion. She has played in seven international chess Olympiads and is active in chess tournaments around the world. She served as President of CalChess and on the United States Chess Federation Executive Board.
For her leadership and outstanding service to the community, Shaughnessy received the 2011 Chess Educator of the Year award from the University of Texas at Dallas. She has been named a 2009 Bank of America "Local Hero", was a 2004 Rotary Club "Hometown Hero", and received a 2000 Avant! Magic award for her commitment to improving the lives of Bay Area children. In 2007 she received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Barbara Lee for her dedication to Alameda County's youth.
Queen Graham, chairman, has worked as Executive Assistant to the Berkeley Unified School District’s Board of Education and seven Superintendents, Church Clerk, President of the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council, and Director of the West Oakland Senior Center. Currently she serves as President of the Board of Directors of In Dulci Jubilo, Inc., as Director of Vacation Bible School, and is a Sunday School teacher.
George Koltanowski (1903-2000) set the world's blindfold chess record on September 20, 1937 in Edinburgh, Scotland, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously whiled blindfolded, and holds the current record with 56 games, set in 1960. He served as an important mentor to the Berkeley Chess School during the organization's foundational years.
Neil Levy, treasurer, is a visiting Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley and also a Professor of Law Emeritus at Golden Gate University. He is a published writer of prose and poetry. He has served on non-profit boards in the past, including Bonita House. He also served as vice president of Congregation Beth El. Neil has lived in Berkeley for 35 years. He is married to Jane Levy and has three adult children.
Roger Poehlmann, secretary, has been a National Chess Master since 1986 and a chess instructor for the Berkeley Chess School since 1995. Roger works extensively in the Berkeley Chess School's outreach programs for at-risk students in the Bay Area. Before devoting himself to chess full time, Roger earned a Physics degree from UC Berkeley and wrote software for fiber optic testing systems.
John DeWitt, board member, is a long-time member of the Berkeley business community as a certified public accountant for Rankine, Carlton & DeWitt Certified Public Accountants.
Tina Donovan, board member, is a Senior Manager with Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company. Based in San Francisco, Tina works to develop Accenture’s business locally in the Bay Area. Tina joined Accenture in 1995 after graduating with a B.S. in International Business from the University of San Francisco. While previously a resident of Kensington, Tina currently resides in Moraga with her husband and their two sons who are both avid chess players.
Christine Dover, board member, is Vice President of Professional Services for Perquest, Inc., a SaaS company providing workforce solutions for companies throughout the U.S. Her 20-year career as a software executive includes 13 years at Oracle Corporation managing the partner program, education, and professional services. Chris has a BA from St Mary's College of California and a MLIS from San Jose State University. Her husband, Robert Hamm, is a Chess Master and instructor for BCS. Chris is also a volunteer librarian and genealogist at the Family History Center in Oakland and President of TheatreFIRST, a professional theatre company performing at the newly restored Fox Theater in Oakland's Uptown district. When not working or volunteering, Chris can be found reading too many books, gardening, and training for the Oakland Marathon.
Cathy Scharf, board member, is the Manager of Women's Health at Kaiser Permanente's regional headquarters in Oakland, CA. She holds degrees from UC Davis and USC, and has worked in health care administration for over 25 years. Much of her current work involves creating and promoting women's health services via community and employee events. A native of Southern California, she is a 20-year resident of Berkeley, where she lives with her 12-year-old son (an avid chess player), husband, and energetic golden retriever.
Joseph A. Scherer, board member, is a partner in the Cooley Godward Kronish Business department and heads the firm's credit finance practice group and debt securities practice group. Mr. Scherer received a J.D. in 1982 from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Mr. Scherer concurrently earned an M.B.A. from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Davis, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Scherer is a member of the California bar; the San Francisco Bank Attorneys Association; the Equipment Leasing Association; the Turnaround Management Association; and the Association for Corporate Growth.
Stephen Shaughnessy, board member, is a Berkeley native. He attended Berkeley public schools K-12, and after attending UC Santa Cruz, Stephen became an instructor for the Berkeley Chess School. He has worked extensively in the BCS' outreach programs for at-risk students in the Bay Area.
Erich Tupper, board member, is a Berkeley native. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. During his studies at Cal he successfully balanced quality academics with a varsity gymnastics career. After graduating, and while still competing for the USGF, he became an assistant coach to the Cal men's team. Upon retiring from his athletic career, Erich spent more than 20 years in the technology industry as an IBM Premier Partner and an IBM Executive Technology & Sales Specialist. He recently returned to his athletic roots by way of becoming head coach for several local high schools as well as coaching a girl's youth soccer program. He is currently a special assistant coach for his daughter's middle school soccer team and serves on the Heads-Up Advisory Board. He is an ongoing member of the Head Royce School (HRS) Annual Fund Council and several other committees for HRS. He is pursing his interest in sustainable energy technology, products, and research and forging a next-career move into that arena. In his extra-curricular time he enjoys snowboarding and surfing, playing soccer and lacrosse with his children, feasting on delectable gastronomic concoctions with his lovely wife — and getting buried in a good novel or two.
Fong Wong, board member, is a neurologist who works on the clinical development of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease. After graduating from Harvard College and Yale Medical School, he completed his residency in adult and child neurology at Stanford University. Fong earned a doctorate in epidemiology at the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley and has a special interest in BCS' work on generating rigorous evidence of the value of chess instruction in inner city school settings as a means of improving school performance and test scores. He is married to Dr. Caroline Wang, a public health educator, and they live with their two children.
Honorary Committee
Grandmaster Alex Baburin
Grandmaster Walter Browne
Grandmaster Daniel King
Grandmaster and World U-18 Champion Sam Shankland
International Master David Pruess
W. International Master Beatriz Marinello
Former U.S. Senior Champion Neil Falconer
National Master Tom Dorsch
National Master Jim Eade
Master Emmanuel Perez
FIDE Master Andy Lee