Board and Staff
Board of Directors
Do you want to see local businesses thrive in Nevada County?
Sierra Commons is seeking new members to join our Board of Directors.
Ean Price Murphy - President
After living in Brooklyn, NY for 30 years, Ean Price Murphy returned home to Grass Valley where she attended high school. Ean brings decades of experience with small business and non-profit finances as the founder of her company Moxie Bookkeeping & Coaching. She has served on several non-profit boards and is honored to be part of Sierra Commons.
Jean-Roux Bezuidenhout - Secretary
Jean-Roux is a long-time coworker and volunteer at Sierra Commons. He is a self-motivated Design Lead with over 10 years’ experience in a wide range of dedicated design functions. Specialized in Product Design and Strategy. Jean-Roux bring deep tech sector experience to the board and our community.
Leslie Kerns - Vice-President
Leslie works as the Registry Manager for the In Home Supportive Services Program at Connecting Point where she has worked for over 15 years. Before moving to Nevada City, Leslie worked at a non-profit children's agency in Pasadena. While working in the development department there, she honed her grants, fundraising, and volunteer recruitment skills. These skills have been put to good use in her role at Connecting Point where she oversees recruitment, enrollment and payroll for caregivers in the program. Inspired by the impactful work at Sierra Commons, Leslie aims to contribute her development experience to support the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs in our community.
Lars Ortegren- Treasurer
Experienced founder skilled in Electrical Contracting, Energy, Sustainability, Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Business. Over 8 MW hands on experience in designing, managing, training, and constructing residential, commercial, off grid and micro grid applications . B-corp driver, cooperative communication, and employee engagement in mission driven business.
Coryon Redd - Director
Coryon’s background includes being an executive, entrepreneur, consultant, teacher, speaker, and the CEO of both Batteries4less.com and Coryon.com Internet Marketing. As a Solar Design Consultant at SunPower by Alternative Energy Systems, Coryon is currently focused on changing how people get their power.
Tom Larsen - Board Advisor
Over a diverse career, Tom has a developed skill at connecting dots and finding continually improving clarity in communications and systems. He lives by a principal that change is everywhere and success comes to those most adept at recognizing and embracing it. He has created 4 businesses and built multiple consumer product brands, in which he sold assorted products to many of the largest and smallest retailers in the U.S., as well as developing and nurturing global product distribution systems.
STAFF
Robert X Trent - Founder and Executive Director
Robert has been consulting with Nevada County businesses for twenty years. His marketing communication company Velocity7 assisted local "mom and pops", corporations, government, and NGOs with planning, marketing, and public relations. At Sierra Commons, Robert has consulted with and taught hundreds of entrepreneurs - helping them launch, grow, and sell their businesses. Robert was also Executive Director of the Nevada County Economic Resource Council and has launched and sold several small businesses. With a broad understanding of what it takes for companies to survive and thrive, Robert is dedicated to helping Nevada County build a thriving and sustainable local economy.