The owner of a successful chain of pharmacies, a community advocate and a health care entrepreneur are the newest additions to the University of the Pacific’s Board of Regents.

Tony Chan ’77, Cindy Foster and Fa’tafa Jefferson ’97 began their three-year terms July 1.

“I am excited and tremendously grateful to have Tony, Cindy and Tafa joining the Board of Regents,” said Chair Mary-Elizabeth Eberhardt ’76. “They bring incredible expertise to the board and have a passion for Pacific. I look forward to working with them to make sure our students, faculty and staff have the best possible experience.”

The Board of Regents is a diverse group of volunteers who oversee the university’s finances, mission and strategic goals. They also are responsible for selecting the university president.

Tony Chan

One of the university’s most dedicated supporters, Chan is returning to the board having previously served from 2005 to 2014.

Chan was awarded the university’s highest honor, the Order of Pacific, in 2021. He received the alumni association’s Medallion of Excellence Award earlier this year.

Chan has had a transformative impact on the university. He and his wife, former Regent Virginia Chan ’77, chaired the “Leading with Purpose” campaign, which surpassed its $300 million goal by raising more than $317 million.

The Chans have given numerous generous donations over the years, including a gift providing significant support to the School of Health Sciences. The Chans were inducted into Pacific’s Gallery of Benefactors in 2007 and are part of the 1851 Society, which acknowledges the university’s highest-level donors.

Chan graduated from Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy in 1977 and went on to open numerous independent pharmacies in Southern California.

More than 12 of the Chans’ family members have graduated from Pacific, including their children Jonathan ’09 and Megan ’13.

Cindy Foster

After spending nearly 40 years as a nurse, Foster devotes her time to serving the community.

Foster created an endowed scholarship for Pacific’s Community Involvement Program (CIP) students and support staff to provide outreach and mentoring for local middle and high school students.

She is on several non-profit foundations in San Joaquin County, including the San Joaquin Community Foundation, where she is a director. The foundation supports marginalized communities in the area.

Foster also sits on the boards of Reinvent Stockton, Stockton Police Foundation and Foster Family Foundation. 

She is a committed advocate of educational opportunities for underprivileged children and volunteers as a nurse advocate for friends, family and acquaintances who need help navigating medical appointments and health issues.

Foster has a master’s degree in nursing from California State University, Dominguez Hills and previously worked at St. Joseph’s Medical Center.

She lives in Stockton with her husband R. Scott Foster. They have two adult sons and three grandchildren.

Fa’tafa Jefferson

Jefferson, a Pacific Tiger football player who went on to play in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, is the CEO of Amada Senior Care, which provides in-home care and assisted living options for seniors.

Jefferson founded the company in 2007 with Chad Fotheringham ’97, who he played football with at Pacific. The company has more 100 locations nationwide.

Jefferson also is a founding member of the American Board of Home Care, a nonprofit dedicated to educating the senior community and establishing standards in senior home care.

Jefferson joined the senior care industry after an injury forced him to retire from the NFL. He was inspired by his mother’s career as a caregiver. Jefferson became a certified nursing aide and started his first in-home senior care company in 1998.

He majored in business administration and graduated from the Eberhardt School of Business in 1997. He was honored with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award of Honor in 2022, which recognizes alumni who participated in athletics at Pacific and achieved distinction in their professional lives.

Retiring regents leave lasting impact

Four regents stepped down June 30 after serving on the board for nine years: Norm Allen '88, '94, Charles Berolzheimer, Virginia Chan ’77 and Janet Y. Spears ‘86.

“Norm, Charles, Virginia and Janet have directly contributed to our students’ success through their invaluable insights and generous gifts,” said President Christopher Callahan. “They have modeled what it means to be a Pacifican and have left their mark on this university for years to come. I am immensely grateful for the countless hours they have given to this university.”

Allen, senior vice president and partner at insurance brokerage firm Woodruff Sawyer, was chair of the board for the past three years. During his time as chair, Allen guided the board through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, spearheaded new social justice initiatives and led the search for the university’s 26th president, Christopher Callahan.

Allen created an endowed scholarship to support first-generation, Stockton-area and LGBTQ+ students and started the Lift Every Voice scholarship to support Black students.

He is the only person in the university’s 171-year history to serve as student body president, president of the Pacific Alumni Association and chair of the Board of Regents.

Berolzheimer, chairman and CEO of California Cedar Products Co., was chair of the Regents Finance and Facilities Committee. He has generously supported Pacific’s students through an endowed scholarship, innovation fund and other areas.

Prior to becoming a regent, Berolzheimer served on the Eberhardt School of Business Advisory Board, Athletics Leadership Council, Baseball Advisory Board and the Athletic Campaign Committee.

Berolzheimer and his wife, Ginger, established the Blackwing Foundation, which previously partnered with Pacific's Brubeck Institute. The foundation supports music and arts in schools.

Berolzheimer’s brother and two sons are Pacific alumni.

Virginia (Chang) Chan, a pharmacist and president of Covina Pharmacy, received the Medallion of Excellence Award alongside her husband, Tony Chan, earlier this year. The “Leading with Purpose” campaign they co-chaired was the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history.

Generous gifts from the Chan family have been used to renovate and expand facilities, including the Chan Family Health Sciences Learning Center, and create endowed scholarships for students.

Spears, chief executive officer at Metta Fund in San Francisco, has generously supported Pacific’s engineering students. In 2022, she donated to the School of Engineering and Computer Science’s new makerspace being developed on the south Stockton Campus.

She also led the effort to create a scholarship for minority students in the engineering program in 2014.  

Before joining the regents, Spears served on the dean’s council for the engineering school in the early nineties and was on the alumni board for two years.