Lois Cole | Board Chair
Lois brings both a broad and deep understanding of the internal workings of both for-profit as well as non-profit organizations. She co-founded Wealth Architects in Mountain View, Ca, a comprehensive wealth management firm and retired as the Executive Wealth Manager of the firm. She currently chairs the Finance Committee of Students Rising Above, a non-profit in San Fransisco, and is the Immediate Past Chair of the same organization.
She is a Certified Financial Planner (Tm), received her B.S. in Business Administration from San Jose State University, where she also minored in Japanese and graduated summa cum laude.
Her passion for tennis came late in life and this has only added to her dedication to the game. She is married to Michael and lives on the Trinity River is Lewiston, Ca.
Michel LeClerc | Treasurer
Michel’s background and experience is ideally suited to serve the needs of Ascension. He currently is Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel for North State Grocery, Inc., a Northern California, employee-owned grocery chain, where he oversees finance, corporate governance, legal, compliance, fiduciary and risk management matters.
Currently, he is also serving on the Board of Directors of the California Grocer’s Association as well as the Association’s Government Relations Committee.
Michel earned a doctorate of jurisprudence from the University of Oregon School of Law, after completing his undergraduate studies at CSU Sacramento and Universite Laval in Quebec.
He is married to Jeana and the father of three grown daughters, Madeleine, Mahalia and Celine.
John Kelley | Secretary
John grew up playing tennis in Northern California and we call him the “pied piper of tennis”‘because of his passion and love of the game. He currently teaches 4th grade at Grant Elementary School. He has 23 years of teaching experience along with administrative experience. For 31 years, John has been involved in tennis instruction and currently is a part-time instructor at Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness, and is also the tennis coach for the Grant School tennis team.
He attended Cedarville College in Ohio and earned a BA in Elementary Education. At Cedarville, he played college tennis for three years.
John is married to Cindy and they have twin daughters, Elizabeth and Jayci, who participate in the Ascension program and are pursuing collegiate tennis opportunities.
Steve Kinder
Steve brings a plethora of business management and tennis experience. His tennis playing began in North Virginia and then he went onto play collegiate tennis for two years in Honolulu, Hi, where he was ranked in the Men’s Open Top 100 in both singles and doubles.
Steve was the Head Coach for the Men’s Tennis Team at Leeward College in Hawaii, and subsequently was the Head Coach for the Boys and Girls teams at Foothill High School, in Redding.
His business experience includes being Operations Manager at the Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association, Sales and Marketing Manager at Best Western Hilltop Inn/CR Gibbs American Grille and General Manager of Gaia Hotel and Spa and Woodside Grill.
Steve is married to Mindy and the father of two sons, Gabe and AJ
Carlos Miranda
Carlos Miranda is a Financial Advisor who joined Merrill Lynch/Bank of America in 2004 in the Redding office. In 2010 he earned his Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) designation from the College for Financial Planning, and is also designated as a Personal Investment Advisor (PIA) through Merrill Lynch. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, he worked 16 years for United Parcel Service as an Operations Manager. Carlos has been actively involved with several non-profits over the years, serving as Vice-Chair for the Northeastern California and Northern Nevada Make-A-Wish Foundation through 2014 and as a board member for Ready for Life through 2014, a private non-profit, faith based agency committed to providing safe and loving homes for hundreds of children in Northern California.
Carlos is married to his wonderful wife Tami, and together they have raised 3 great children. His two daughters have graduated from Simpson University, and his son is currently a Junior at Simpson University and also plays on the University’s Soccer team. Carlos enjoys playing competitive tennis, reading, and hunting down vintage and antique treasures.
The Ascension Project 