Board of Directors

Tom Pankow assumed the Chair role at Pathways on January 1, 2020. He has served continuously on the Board as Treasurer since October 2011. Tom is a retired financial executive, having worked in the supermarket industry in Southern California for over twenty-five years. Tom and his wife Carol have deep roots in the Fullerton community. Their children grew up in Fullerton and attended Fullerton public schools. Tom and Carol are both active in many local community organizations. Tom believes strongly in giving back to the community. Serving on Pathways Board provides opportunities to help address the challenges of homelessness and food insecurity in North Orange County.

Eric Higuchi served at Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. He is on the Board of Directors for HomeAid Orange County, and the Advisory and Management Committees for the Urban Land Institute Orange County District Council. Eric supports Pathways of Hope because he believes that we, as a community, have the resources to end homelessness in Orange County.

Tim Carey is a Technical Sales Leader for IBM with over 30 years of working in Analytics and Information Technology to help organizations reach greater analytical capabilities within their businesses. Tim grew up in the Fullerton area and graduated from University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the Business School and a Master’s Degree in Information Management Science from California State University of Fullerton. Tim follows in the footsteps of his mother, Fran Carey, who was a tireless champion of helping people less fortunate with her many years of service at Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services (FIES) and Pathways of Hope. He believes in Pathways of Hope’s mission which is dedicated to ending hunger and homelessness for people who are struggling in North Orange County and to work together with other community members to further this important cause.

John was the Emeritus Dean of Library and Learning Resources at Fullerton College. He serves as a Chairperson of Fullerton College Friends of the Library, Chariperson of NOCCCD Chancellor’s Latino Advisory Committee, Member of the School Advisory Board for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Habra, Member of the Catholic Diocese of Orange County and OLG Parish Immigration committees, Member of Los Amigos of OC Education Committee, former Chairperson of Rosie’s Garage After School Learning Center in La Habra, Docent tour ministry (bilingual) for Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, and a Member of REFORMA OC Spanish Speaking Library services professional group. John’s belief in helping the poor and less fortunate is faith and family-based. That’s why he serves as a member of the Pathways of Hope Board of Directors.

Bev Gunter worked as a realtor before becoming a teacher of social studies at Fullerton Joint Union High School District. She has retired from teaching and now spends her time volunteering for Pathways of Hope, St. Mary’s Church, and several other community organizations. She serves as a member of the Assistance League of Fullerton, the Muckenthaler, the Needlework Guild of Fullerton, and the CSUF Music Department guilds and Friends of Jazz. Bev is grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Pathways Board of Directors. She enjoys seeing first-hand the tremendous work of the Pathways staff and community of supporters in North Orange County, who make it possible to help struggling people back on the road to achieving housing, employment, and independent living.

Tim Houchen is formerly homeless, having lived at the Santa Ana Civic Center between 2011 and 2015. In 2013 Tim was a co-founder of the grass roots organization known as the Civic Center Roundtable which consisted of homeless persons there with the purpose of representing the homeless community and bringing important resources that previously were not available to homeless persons there. In 2015, Tim was placed in Permanent Supportive Housing and soon founded the nonprofit organization, Hope 4 Restoration, where he now serves as the Executive Director. Tim served as co-chair of the CoC’s Homeless Provider Forum in 2018. He now lives in Anaheim and serves the City of Anaheim as a Commissioner of the Housing & Community Development Board. Tim has been the lead organizer in events recognizing National Homeless Persons Memorial Day since 2014. Tim believes that it is important to share his personal lived experience to further solutions to end homelessness.

Darren Jones is a technology executive at The Walt Disney Company where he has worked for the past thirteen years. At Disney, Darren manages the Enterprise Technology Client Engagement organization that provides technology solutions, services, strategies, roadmaps, investments and relationships in support of all Disney business Segments. Darren and his wife Tanya have raised their family in Fullerton and they support many community and educational endeavors in the city. Darren is a proud 1991 graduate of Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelors in Business Administration and he also holds a MBA in Marketing from Wayne State University in Michigan. Darren is honored to join the Pathways of Hope Board and support its important mission to end hunger and homelessness in our community.

Sonny Kothari graduated in 1990 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch since 1990. Sonny has been a resident of Fullerton since 2001. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 26 years, and the couple have three daughters together. Sonny believes in Pathways of Hope’s mission to lead a community effort to end hunger and homelessness in North Orange County and is proud to serve on the board of directors.

Jeanette Reese has a passion for helping the homeless. Her interest in the homeless began as a teenager when she watched her grandfather share part of his Thanksgiving dinner with a homeless man. Now, she keeps blankets and socks in her car to share with homeless individuals in need.
Through her life, Jeanette demonstrated an interest in causes and the communities in which she lived. She was the Executive Director of the Reproductive Health Network, and the Board President of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Appointed by the Governor, she served as the Vice Chair of the California Family Planning Advisory Board. She also served on the board of the Forum for Corporate Directors.
Jeanette has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco, and was an adjunct professor in the School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.