We are sad to say goodbye to our colleague, Joe Pon, who has ably served as Vice President for Programs for the past two and a half years. Joe will be returning in early June to his prior employer, Applied Materials, a global high-tech company headquartered in Silicon Valley where he will serve as Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, with responsibility for a range of functions including the Applied Materials foundation.

For Joe, this was a compelling professional opportunity to return to a great company, having spent 18 years at Applied before he joined us at Irvine. As much as we are sorry to be losing Joe as a colleague, we share in his excitement as he assumes this important new leadership role, which will also offer a broader, international portfolio of activity.

Joe has made many contributions to our efforts at Irvine, both in the leadership for our program work as well as the managerial acumen he brought to our institution. We have valued his strategic mindset, his effective communications skills and his quick wit. We will certainly miss having him as a colleague, but he will remain part of the broader Irvine family and an important ally and friend for philanthropy in general. Congratulations to Joe and best wishes upon his return to Silicon Valley!