Our Officers and
Board of Directors

R.Timothy Philen
President
A native of the city of Los Angeles, Tim Philen graduated cum laude from Loyola Marymount University in 1972 and began a lifelong career in the arts.
For 38 years he was Chief Creative Officer of Philen Advertising, and received the Program Length Advertisement of the Year (P.L.A.Y.) award in 1993 for “The Thinking Man’s Guide….”
Mr. Philen also wrote Harper & Row/Lippincott’s “You CAN Run Away From It!” and composed “The Last Noel,” a Warner Chappell/Word Music Christmas anthem for orchestra and choir which has become a yuletide standard in Christian churches around the world.
Today, he is an opinion writer for several Washington, D.C.-based newspapers and websites and serves on the advisory board of the Louis Zamperini Foundation.
Mr. Philen is also a member of the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles and has served as a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
Email: laphilanthropic@gmail.com

William E. Nassour III
Vice President/Secretary
William E. “Tripp” Nassour is a Managing Principal of United Security Investors, a private mortgage lender based in Beverly Hills, California.
Mr. Nassour was born and raised in Los Angeles and is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
In addition to his work with United Security Investors, he is actively involved in the community, including serving on the board of directors of the Pacific Palisades Baseball Association.
Mr. Nassour lives in the Pacific Palisades with his wife Kelly and their three children.

Sherwood C. Kingsley, c.p.a.
Vice President/Treasurer
A past President and a Director for more than three decades, Sherwood Kingsley today serves as LAPF’s Vice President/Treasurer.
Mr. Kingsley received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California, and then earned his licensure as a Certified Public Accountant. For more than 30 years he has been a prominent tax and estate planning Consultant to Southern California businesses, and is now enjoying a second career as a Teacher, helping individuals and families learn wealth-building and management strategies.
His most consuming passion, however, is serving as a Legislative Ambassador in Washington, D.C. for the American Cancer Society, promoting laws and policies that fight cancer through education, prohibition of cancer causing substances, and funding for research.
Sherwood Kingsley and his wife Rona call Culver City their home.

James N. Cantrell
Vice President/Finance
A past President of the Los Angeles Philanthropic Foundation, Jim Cantrell brings more than 40 years of professional financial experience to the LAPF Board of Directors. As Senior Vice President with the Cantrell Wealth Management Group at UBS Financial Services Inc. in Seal Beach, California, Jim advises institutional and individual investors on investment policy, estate preservation strategies and portfolio management. His clients include major labor organizations, foundations and other nonprofit corporations.
Mr. Cantrell frequently speaks with business groups on current trends in the U.S. economy and serves as an Instructor in continuing education for the Society of California Accountants.
He has served as a Director of the Los Angeles Philanthropic Foundation since 1994 and has also received the designation Director For Life.
Jim Cantrell lives in Long Beach with his wife, Marjorie Cantrell, Psy.D., MFT.

Nicholas R. Hutzler, ph.d.
Director
A physics Professor at California Institute of Technology, Nicholas Hutzler holds the distinction of being not only the first faculty member of a university that LAPF serves to sit on our Board of Directors, but also the first former recipient of LAPF scholarships to do so.
Professor Hutzler went on from his undergraduate studies in mathematics at Caltech to receive his A.M. and Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University in 2009 and 2014 respectively.
He returned in 2017 to Caltech as Assistant Professor of Physics and namesake of the new Hutzler Lab, a state-of-the-art experimental laboratory that will develop techniques to “control cold molecules for a variety of applications, in particular, precision measurement searches for physics beyond the standard model.”
His wife Mary holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Harvard. She is a Data Scientist for Microsoft, developing cloud-based artificial intelligence solutions for conservation science. Mary is also a former LAPF scholarship recipient who met Nick when they were students at Caltech.

Wolfgang V. Kupka
Past President
Born in Germany and raised on the East Coast, Wolfgang Kupka relocated to Southern California in 1970 after serving honorably in the United States Air Force in Okinawa and Japan.
He studied at UCLA, and then received his Bachelor’s degree in business, with an emphasis in real estate, from California State University Los Angeles.
Mr. Kupka was a prominent financial services investment Real Estate Broker with Cushman and Wakefield before founding Vista Realty Advisors in 1998, a commercial real estate acquisition, disposition and consulting firm. Today, he serves as its Chairman Emeritus.
He is also active in the community, as a member of the Jonathan Club, the American Legion, Masonic Lodge and Al Malaikah Shrine. Mr. Kupka also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for the Shriners for Children Medical Center in Pasadena.
He and his wife Gari, and their daughter, Kristina, are longtime residents of Pasadena.

Michael T. Okabayashi, c.p.a.
Director
Michael Okabayashi is a Business Executive, Investor and Philanthropist. Michael retired as a Senior Partner from Ernst & Young in 2020 to pursue a second career in Philanthropy, Investments and Entrepreneurship. At EY, Michael served both VC/PE-backed growth companies and large multi-national public companies. He held several leadership roles, including Growth Markets, Entrepreneurial Services and Japanese Business Services.
Michael is active with non-profits and serves on Governing Boards for Pepperdine University, Japanese American National Museum, Long Beach Grand Prix Foundation and Long Beach Century Club. He also serves as an Advisory Board Member at the Long Beach Accelerator, the Japan American Society of Southern California, the Boone Center for the Family and California State University Fullerton Entrepreneur Center.
Michael supports entrepreneurship as an Advisor and Angel Investor. He is also focused on Social Entrepreneurship in the Mental Health & Wellness area, including advising start-up companies and supporting Pepperdine RISE, California State University Long Beach Wellness, UCLA Center for East West Medicine and USC Center for Well-Being.