John Byers

John graduated from the University of Oregon in Real Estate/Finance and is the co-owner of a commercial real estate development company with offices in Costa Mesa and San Antonio, Texas.  He has served on several local boards, most recently on the school board of Mariners Christian School, chairing its facilities committee during the addition of a multi-purpose auditorium/gym, locker rooms and eight classrooms.  He also served on the Advancement Council for Mariners Christian School in its successful effort to raise funds for its phase 3 facility improvements and the formation of its current endowment fund.  John and his wife Mary, have two sons, one a 2007 graduate of Brethren Christian, the other in the class of 2009.  John’s family attends Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa.”

Bruce Eien 83'

Bruce Eien is the Head Football Coach and Teacher at Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School.  A 1983 graduate of Brethren High School he has been involved with the school for over 29 years as a student, coach and teacher.  He and his wife, Brenda, attend Cottonwood Christian Center in Los Alamitos.  He is a graduate from Cal State Long Beach in 1995 with a degree of Speech Communication.

Gil Hess 77'

Gil Hess is Divisional Director and Senior Vice President of the Western Division of CITI/Global Wealth Advisory Services.  He is responsible for managing the Advisory Planning Centers located in Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County.  Planning Centers are staffed with an Estate Planning Attorney, a Planning Analyst, a CPA/Tax Specialist, Investment Analytic Specialist and administrative staff.   Also in Gil’s role, he is responsible for overseeing the evaluation and development of advanced wealth transference and wealth management strategies for high net worth individuals and families. 

Before joining CITI, Gil was Vice President and Senior Regional Wealth Management and Estate Planning Consultant with Fidelity Investment Co. for the high net worth market in California, Honolulu, Arizona and Colorado.

Gil has been in the Estate Planning and Financial Services industry for over 20 years and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, emphasis in Finance and Investments, from California State University Long Beach, and later earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Western State University School of Law. He is a member of the legal fraternity Delta Theta Phi.

He was selected for Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities while in law school and is also a member of Who’s Who in American Business.  He has been a featured speaker at the Morningstar/Los Angeles Times Investment Conference, the Ernst & Young CEO Conference, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association to name a few.  He has also taught at the graduate and undergraduate level and holds a lifetime teaching credential in Banking, Finance and Law from the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

Kathy Hess

Kathy Hess is a 1983  graduate of  Cal State Long Beach with a B.A.  in Economics. Kathy was employed by Northrop Grumman Corporation for 16 years where she served in the capacity of Major Subcontracts Administrator on the B-2 Stealth Bomber Program. For the last seven years Kathy has been a substitute teacher for Elementary and Jr. High and parent volunteer. Currently, Kathy serves as the BCHS Baseball Booster Treasurer, BCHS Varsity  Football  Team Mom Coordinator, and BCHS Foundation Treasurer.  Kathy is married to Gil Hess, BCHS class of  ‘ 77, and they have one son who will be graduating from Brethren in 2009.   Kathy and her family attend St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, where she also volunteers in the drama department of Children’s Ministries.

John Howard 90'

Noemi Kanouse

Noemi Kanouse is a graduate of the National University of Mexico and has done post graduate work in Business Administration. Noemi has been involved in Public School Finance Administration for the last 20 years. Ten of those years were with Long Beach Unified School District . The last ten have been with Rancho Santiago College where she is the Executive Director of Fiscal Services. Noemi has been a member of Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach for 23 years. She is involved in the Spanish Ministry of the Church. Noemi and her husband Daniel have two children who have graduated from BCHS.

Rick La Pierre 75'

Rick Niswonger

Rick Niswonger is the Principal of Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School. He attends the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton and was a long time member of Los Altos Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach where he served as Elder and Sunday School Teacher. Rick is formerly the Director of Education for Epicor Software Corporation in Irvine . He is also involved with the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Rick is a graduate of John Brown University . He taught at the Southern California Military Academy for 10 years. His wife, Janet, teaches English and Bible at Brethren Christian. They have a son and daughter who are graduates.

Robert Ransom

Bob Ransom is the Chief Financial Officer of Brethren Christian Junior and Senior High School. He is also the Principal of European Pianocraft. Bob was formerly the Vice President of McFarland Energy Inc. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Independent Oil Producers Agency. Bob is a member of Grace Community Church of Seal Beach. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley, and is a former BCHS School Board Member.

Paul Rosa

Paul Rosa has retired from Mattel, Inc. where he was Vice President Finance. He and his wife, Jean, are members of Grace Brethren Church Long Beach, where he serves as elder. Paul has served on the BCHS School Board as Chairman, as well as well as on the finance committee.  Retirement has allowed Paul to volunteer with Meals On Wheels; serve on the Executive Steering Committee with Hope For Long Beach; and is President of the Board of Directors of the ACH Foundation. Paul has two grown children who graduated from BCHS and is blessed with four grandchildren. 

Phil Specht

Tom Winn