About Us
Vintage Hollywood Board of Directors
Annie Aft started on Madison Avenue as an ad exec and for the last decade has turned her abundant skills to the nonprofit world helping children with facial deformities; educating people about organ and tissue donation; and children about oral health, including a stint as the Tooth Fairy. Annie is a Smith College graduate and former restaurant manager and cabaret singer in NYC, where she admits to spending far too much time at Yankee Stadium. Annie loves scuba diving, hiking and traveling abroad with her husband. Trout fishing and picking wild mushrooms are her favorites when back home in New England. Her favorite foods are her father's chicken parm, her mom's meatballs and her favorite wine is pinot noir. Most of all, Annie treasures her family . fuzzy ones included.
Mike Alexander is a producer on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." A relative newcomer to the board of Vintage Hollywood, he stalked every executive in Hollywood last year to bring the organization a record-breaking auction. He is a serious collector of fine wines and a self-professed foodie, who counts his fiancée, Linda Daly, as one of the finest chefs in the Western Hemisphere. He lives in Los Angeles with Linda and her two children, and enjoys traveling, multi-course tasting menus, plot-deprived action movies and tending to the family's collection of goldfish.
Nancy Boxwell is a true blue Southern Californian, with a B.S. from USC and a J.D. from UCLA. And, yes, she is a Dodger fan! Nancy is currently the Managing Partner at the entertainment law firm of Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown, where she has been thrilled to practice law since 1993. Her perfect day would include a long walk, a good book, a new recipe and plenty of time with her husband of 19 years and her two large lap dogs. Nancy's favorite food (and guilty pleasure) is french fries and her wine of choice is Pinot Grigio.
Gracelyn Brown just loves movies, any kind of movie whether the biggest of blockbusters, a new wave foreign film or a sweet little indie. So it's a happy coincidence that she spends her days as a programming executive for a movie channel. When she's not sweating out the details of her latest schedule, she's hiking, biking, stretching or strengthening. Gracelyn loves a good mesclun salad (no nuts, no bleu cheese) and a nice rose.
Linda Daly is way too socially active for her own good. She is a contributing editor for Los Angeles Times Magazine, a nonprofit consultant and coordinates volunteers for her temple's food pantry. When she's not writing and telling people what to do, she's raising her 2 children and takes care of a ranch in Malibu. There she watches her tomatoes grow and sheep graze and dreams about a world where biodiversity is an every day practice. Linda has two dogs and four fish. Her favorite food is guacamole and her favorite wine is Sauvignon Blanc.
Hal Lampert joined the Vintage Hollywood board of directors in 2009. He's a partner in the accountancy firm of Lampert & Eskridge, and a longtime collector and lover of fine wines. He and his wife Sharon support many philanthropic causes in the Los Angeles area, and have co-chaired the successful "Evening with the California Winemasters," which benefits Cystic Fibrosis, several times.
Rick Shephard is a Los Angeles native who has attended six universities, but has degrees from only two: Stanford University (undergraduate) and UCLA (MBA). He has spent his career in financial services, beginning at Price Waterhouse, next as a partner of a mid-sized business management firm, and for the last twenty years at his own management firm, Shephard & Associates. Rick collects and enjoys fine wine, with a strong bias towards Napa Valley cabs, Russian River Pinot Noirs , Montelcino brunellos,
Arlene Wszalek produces feature documentaries, the most recent being "The Night James Brown Saved Boston" for VH1, and manages Tears for Fears co-founder Curt Smith. In addition to the fondness for wine, which led her to join Vintage Hollywood, she loves travel, cooking and watching Formula 1 races, and is a self-professed gadget geek who finally went Mac in 2008. She remains eternally grateful to the Master Sommelier who confided to her that the best pairing EVER is popcorn and Champagne. An East Coast native who moved to Los Angeles in 1983, Arlene currently lives in Sherman Oaks with her husband Tom (who prefers his pinot noir still, not sparkling) and their teenage son.
Advisory Board
Mark Beringer has worked in the wine industry for over 25 years. He spent 14 of those years making the wines of Duckhorn Vineyards in the Napa Valley, and is now the VP of Production and Winemaker for Artesa Vineyards and Winery in Carneros. In 2007, in partnership with several childhood friends, he created the Et Cetera Wine Company to make Napa and Sonoma wines.
Tracie Fiss is a fun-loving television producer who, more than anything, enjoys spending quality time with her family. When she is not plotting the destruction of the evil empire of tomato hornworms that threaten her beloved garden, she feasts on truffle cheese while sipping an elegant Turley Zinfandel. Tracie is best known for her grilled pizzas and kitchen dance parties.
Suzanne Goin, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author owns four of L.A.'s most lauded restaurants: A.O.C., Lucques, and Tavern, which she runs with partner Caroline Styne, and The Hungry Cat, where she shares duties with her husband, David Lentz. She was named one of Food & Wine Magazine's "best new chefs of 1999" and was nominated for James Beard awards in 2003 and 2005. In 2006 Goin won the James Beard award for Best Chef: California.
Cary Tamura
