Board & Staff

Director since 1985.

Lee W. Salter was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He earned a degree in accounting at CSU, Chico and began his career as an IRS agent, which led to his receiving his CPA certificate. Lee then attended McGeorge School of Law and in 1977 went to work at Carr, Kennedy, Peterson and Frost, where he became an equal partner.  In 1985 he began representing Leah McConnell, joining the Board the same year. Leaving the law partnership in 1989 he became an employee of Mrs. McConnell and the Foundation. After Leah’s death in 1995, he became the full-time President & CEO of the Foundation. In 2017 Lee semi-retired and began working part-time on Foundation special projects, and in 2018 he fully retired.  Lee and his wife Judy enjoy traveling and spending time with their grown children and grandchildren.

Director since 1991, President and CEO since 2017.

John A. Mancasola was born and raised in Redding, where his family owned a chain of grocery stores. John attended Stanford University and earned a law degree from USC. While working for the law firm Carr, Kennedy, Peterson and Frost in Redding, John represented Mrs. McConnell and the Foundation. In 1992 John joined the Foundation Board. In 1993 he became an employee of Mrs. McConnell and of the Foundation. John became a full-time employee of the Foundation upon Mrs. McConnell’s death in 1995. In 2017, upon the semi-retirement of Lee Salter, John became the Foundation’s President & CEO. John and his wife Molly enjoy family activities with their five grown children, and are excited to welcome their first grandchild in June.

Director since 1993.

Doreeta J. Domke was born in Henryetta, Oklahoma. She and her husband, Donald, moved from Southern California to Redding in 1956 when the population was just 12,000. In 1957 Doreeta “Dee” went to work for Redding’s first, and then only, television station where she met Carl and Leah McConnell, who were principal stockholders in KRCR Channel 7. She joined the Foundation Board in 1993, and retired as the General Manager of the television station in 1995. The Greater Redding Chamber of Commerce honored Dee as the 2013 Citizen of the Year. She’s active in the nonprofit community, and enjoys traveling and spending time with her grown children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Director since 2012.

William W. “Bill” Cox was born and raised in Redding. He has been a real estate consultant and broker since 1974. When Leah McConnell was alive, Bill managed her real estate, and he represented her in property acquisitions and sales. He served as a 2000 founding board member of the Community Foundation of the North State.  Bill retired from Cox Real Estate Consultants in 2007. He joined the Foundation Board in 2012. Bill and his wife, Juanita, have two grown children and three grandchildren.

Director since 2021.

Eva Valdivia Jimenez was born in Mexico. At the age of six she immigrated to Dunsmuir, California. She attended College of the Siskiyous, in Weed, California, then transferred to Sacramento State University where she ultimately earned her MBA in Business Administration. Eva began her journey at Shasta College as a business instructor in 2002. For the past decade she has served as an administrator, forging programs and partnerships in business-related areas. Eva serves on several community boards, and joined the Foundation Board in 2021. She beat breast cancer in 2018, loves to hike, and is married to Kris Koeberer. They have five young adult children together.

Director Emeritus.

Richard J. Stimpel, Director Emeritus, was born in Norman, Oklahoma. In his twenties, he was a rodeo cowboy and rode horses and bulls. In 1958 he moved to Redding from Idaho for a highway construction job. In 1969 he started his own construction company, Stimpel Wiebelhaus and Associates. He retired in 2000, the same year he joined the Foundation Board. In 2012, Dick retired from the Foundation Board.  He and his wife Mary enjoy traveling and spending time with their grown children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.