About Goodwill of Silicon Valley

oodwill Industries of Silicon Valley exists to assist people with disabilities or other barriers to employment to achieve their highest potential by providing a broad range of vocational, occupational and education services. Founded in Santa Clara County in 1926, Goodwill of Silicon Valley is part of Goodwill Industries International, a federation of over 200 autonomous, community-based Goodwill organizations worldwide. Taken together, they make up one of the largest social service organization in the world, dedicated to serving the disadvantaged. Goodwill's primary objective is to help those with disabilities, or those with other barriers to employment, find full-time employment.

In the past decade, Goodwill has trained and placed over 2,200 individuals at work throughout Silicon Valley. During their first year of employment, these Goodwill graduates earned over $42.6 million, based on entry-level salaries. Because they were employed, welfare, social security and workers' compensation payments were reduced by more than $6.4 million. The organization conducts all activities in support of this overarching objective.

Goodwill is organized into three operating divisions to facilitate the achievement of its mission. The divisions are the Institute for Career Development (vocational services), the Retail and Recycling Division (used goods and other recycling), and the Production Resources Division (turnkey services to business and industry). Goodwill of Silicon Valley provides employment for some 550 persons.

Goodwill derives nearly all of its income from the above divisions, using no taxpayer dollars, and with little outside fund raising. Goodwill's management is guided by professionals who volunteer their services on the Board of Directors and Governors, on professional employment advisory boards, on numerous fund raising activities such as Goodwill's Elegance of Yesteryear fashion shows and many other ongoing support activities.

Kent has 35 years in marketing and operations experience with United Airlines. Until leaving United to return to the San Francisco Bay Area, Kent was vice-president – North America sales at the company’s world headquarters in suburban Chicago. Named to this position in May 2001, he was responsible for all aspects of United’s sales organization in the United States including the company’s relationship with both travel agents and corporate customers. He was accountable for over $12 billion in revenue generation.

Prior to being named an officer of the company, Kent was United’s managing director – northern California, based in San Francisco. He was responsible for all of United’s operations at the Bay Area’s three primary airports: San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, in addition to overseeing the company’s sales offices, city ticket offices, marketing, and business services and reservations offices in Northern California.

Kent is a past-chairman of both the San Francisco and Denver Convention and Visitors Bureaus, and has served on the Board of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce as well as the Business School Advisory Boards of San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco. He has also served on a number of other business and community advisory boards.

Kent holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management from San Jose State University. He also served in the U.S Air Force

Board of Directors	Officers and Executive Committee Members	Principal Affiliation
Don Wolfe	Executive Committee Chair	Silicon Valley Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
Christopher Schumb	Executive Committee Vice Chair	Law Offices of Christopher Schumb
Louis Meunier	Executive Committee Secretary	Macy’s West
Michael La Tourette	Executive Committee Treasurer	Gallagher & Miersch, Inc.
Kate Coleman	Executive Committee Past Chair	Community Leader
Dale Achabal, Ph.D.	Executive Committee Member	Santa Clara University
Garry Beaty	Executive Committee Member	Chief Information Officer, City of Boise
Ed Mitchell	Executive Committee Member	Northrup Grumman
Karen Anderson	Member	Civic Leader
Linda Murray	Member	Retired Superintendent
Jeanice Owens	Member	Civic Leader
Robert Rodriguez	Member	Retired US Secret Service, RR & Associates LLC
Inder Sidhu	Member	VP Worldwide Sales Strategy

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