Celebrities
Fun! Chat with stars from the hit Reality TV series, Survivor and Bay Area Radio and TV personalities while enjoying appetizers, desserts and wine in our tasting tents.
Below are some of the special guests who will make the event a huge success!
Cecilia Mansilla, Survivor Cook Islands
Born and raised in Arequipa, Peru, Cecilia Mansilla moved to the San Francisco area when she was 15 years old and learned English when she was 16 years old. She secured college scholarships to all the schools where she applied and ultimately received her Bachelor's Degree in international relations with a double minor in Japanese and Spanish literature from the University of California, Davis.
Mansilla currently works as an Advisory Services manager at Ernst & Young in San Francisco. She has previously worked as a management consultant.
Mansilla's hobbies include black and white photography, dancing and working out regularly. Her heroes are her parents for having sacrificed a comfortable life in Peru to allow their children greater opportunities in the U.S. She is actively involved in community service work and always looking for opportunties to mentor young girls on pursuing higher education and career goals.
Sonja Christopher, Survivor Borneo
Sonja Christopher was an excellent choice for the cast of the first season of CBS's phenomenal "Survivor": She had survived a brain tumor, breast cancer, a divorce and was a successful single parent. When she joined the show, this newly recovered 63-year old cancer survivor challenged herself to present a positive image of aging with grace and vitality, which she accomplished, despite being the first "voted off" the Island of Pulau Tiga.
Sonja was born and raised in Olympia, Washington, and attended Whitman College, the University of Oslo, Norway, the University of Washington where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, and the University of California, Berkeley from which she got a teaching credential. A self-described "jack of all trades", she has worked in business, taught elementary school and been an investment counselor and a tennis teaching pro. She is an award-winning actress in community theater, is active in her church, and, with her banjo or ukulele, regularly brings music and laughter to local Alzheimer Centers.
Sonja found her celebrity status enabled her to pass on a message of hope and inspiration for those dealing with life-threatening disease. She has traveled throughout the country to lend her voice to the battle against cancer. As the result of her appearance on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", $50,000 was donated in her name, which she directed to the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and her local Wellness Community.
Sonja donated her “Survivor” earnings to her church to start a building fund for a new Fellowship Hall that was finished in January, 2008: Ironically, “the loser” of that first season of Survivor saw her seed money result in a campaign that caught fire and raised 1.3 million dollars, whereas the million dollar “winner” is served 54 months in federal prison on charges of tax evasion.
Such is the grace of Sonja Christopher from Walnut Creek, California, a 12-year breast cancer survivor, who has been able to re-channel her life's challenges into a national example of encouragement and meaning for others.
Sylvia Kwan, Survivor Fiji
Sylvia Kwan has headed the renowned firm of Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning since 1980. Her awarding-winning firm has designed such notable projects as the interiors of AT&T Park, Moscone West Convention Center in a joint venture and Arterra, the first LEED Silver high-rise residential project in San Francisco. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and is on the board of numerous civic, professional and corporate organizations. In 2007, Sylvia appeared on Survivor Fiji as a contestant. When she was scouted in an LA restaurant, she turned down the offer because of a fear of deep water, remnant of a childhood accident. However producer Mark Burnett insisted on casting her, because unbeknownst to her, she would be utilizing her architectural expertise by overseeing the building of a village for the tribe the very first episode. After an intensive crash course on swimming and wilderness survival, she left her husband and two teenage boys for 6 weeks with no communication whatsoever. Sylvia survived this separation by envisioning the dream house that she and her husband Denis had just designed, and how it was being built as she was on the island. After the filming was over, she returned to civilization 12 lbs lighter and quite a bit wiser in her understanding of how the world really works, especially when there is no civilization and no rules.
Yau-Man Chan, Survivor Fiji and Survivor Micronesia
CBS Survivor is the pioneer of the Reality TV genre and is now in its 10th year. Of the 300 plus contestants who have appeared in the last 20 seasons, Yau-Man Chan is one of a handful who has appeared in two seasons – Survivor Fiji in 2007 and Survivor Micronesia in 2008.
Born in the Hong Kong, his family moved to the British Colony of North Borneo (now Malaysian Borneo) when he was very young. He grew up in the jungles of Borneo, educated in a mission school. In 1970, Yau-Man came to the United States to attend college which was not available in Borneo then. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Master of Science degree in Scientific Instrumentation from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Currently, Yau-Man Chan is the Chief Technology Officer of the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In this position, he manages and runs the information systems infrastructure for administrative, research and teaching units of the college. This includes setting up networks, computers and managing business database systems. He has worked as a computer programmer, software designer and as a scientific instrumentation specialist, designing instruments for research labs to collect data.
Chan enjoys playing table tennis, bicycling, woodworking and reading. He is a member of the USA Table Tennis and is a USATT certified Coach and Umpire.
Since his appearance on the CBS Survivor seasons, he has spent time sharing his experience at fund-raising events for local community and charity groups. He is passionate about science and science education and has given talks to libraries, Rotary Clubs, Scouts and teachers on various subjects of interest related to development of modern science.
He has been married to his wife Jennifer for 27 years and has two daughters Penelope and Ione. They have called Martinez home for the last 26 years where they live with a Maltese dog named Tucker, 3 rabbits, Ruby, Cupid and Ginger, 8 egg-laying chickens and 2 hives of honey bees.
Heather Holmes, KTVU Channel 2
Emmy award winning journalist, Heather Holmes, is co-anchor of KTVU Channel 2 Weekend News. She joined KTVU in 2006 after working several years in New York. Holmes can also be seen during the week reporting for The Ten O'Clock News.
She has covered breaking news events including anchoring coverage of the Great Blackout of 2003, traveling to Pennsylvania for the Mepham High School Hazing Scandal and reporting from Boston on the Catholic Priest Sex Abuse Scandal. She covered the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center while working at a New York station.
She graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Holmes lives in the Bay Area with her husband and their young daughter.
John Young and Don Potter, KUIC
John and Don, co-hosts of The KUIC Hometown Morning Show with John, Heather & Don, have two main games they play with listeners: “What Do You Think?” and “Spinning The Wheel of Fun.” Celebrity gossip can be heard in the relatively new feature “Potter’s Entertainment Rewind” twice per show. John interviews comedians that perform at Pepperbelly’s about once per week, including notables like Daman Wayans, Jim Breuner and Tommy Davidson. Once a week John talks to Jeff Connor, the Crime Prevention Specialist at The Fairfield Police Department; Jeff offers Crime Prevention Tips to listeners.
Both John Young and Don Potter acknowledge that their respective wives are smarter than they are; Don is getting ready to celebrate 20 years married to wife Sue in June. John’s wife Meg often calls into the show; she is a dedicated school teacher and mother to John’s three kids Nicole (age 16), Jake (age 11) and Brett (age 9). All of John’s kids have been on the air with him at various times during the last ten years, with Jake logging the most air time. Don’s wife Sue, or “Nana Sue” as she is referred to on the show (that’s what the couple’s grandchildren call her) is talked about often, and Don’s mother calls the show frequently.
Renee Richardson, KFOG Morning Traffic
Renee Richardson doesn't just provide Fogheads thorough traffic reports for their morning commutes, she also scours the Bay Area for what's fun and cool, from movie reviews to rock shows.
Renee is also instrumental in creating and developing KFOG's Local Music Scene, aiding in the production of the Local Scene CD (Volume 7 released August 2010) and helping unsigned bands get a little closer to hearing their songs on the radio. You can often catch her out and about in the Bay Area, enjoying all things KFOG.
Officer Vic / Tom Benner, KSFO
Officer Vic, AKA Tom Benner, KSFO’s morning traffic reporter, doesn’t recall much of his early life. He remembers the happy chittering of the prairie dogs at the ranch his Ma and Pa ran; the rest is a blur. Deputy Vic, as he was then know, began his radio career in 1969 when a blow to the head as a result of a brawl over a bag of prairie dog chow at the local feed shop resulted in Deputy Vic gaining the uncanny ability to mimic people’s voices. Realizing that with great power comes great responsibility, Deputy Vic packed his bags, said good-bye to Ma and Pa Vic, the prairie dogs and left his hometown of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico for the bright lights of San Francisco.
Upon arrival in San Francisco, Officer Vic hosted several radio shows for KSAN/KNEW in a variety of time slots. In 1997, Officer Vic had the good sense to audition for the KSFO morning show. He joined the staff of the morning show as a traffic reporter, guiding hundreds of thousands of Bay Area drivers around the parking lots known as the Northern California freeways.
His ability to mimic voices has brought numerous politicians, celebrities and newsmakers to call the KSFO morning show, including Al Gore, Bob Dole and President Reagan, Clinton, and Bush (both of them).
Officer Vic also has hosted Muscular Dystrophy telethon segments, radiothons for St. Jude’s Children Hospital, stunt broadcast fundraisers for Oakland’s Children’s Hospital and the Bay Area food banks. His interests include Internet exploration and development, spending time with his family, and golf . . .
lots and lots of golf.
Jan Loomis, Master Cake Decorator, Sugar Garden Cakes
Jan Loomis grew up in the artist community of Monterey, California where she aspired to be a potter or jeweler. Creating art has always been a part of her life; her grandfather was a chef and her mother owned a quaint gourmet food shop. Although Jan's professional career has been in emergency medicine administration, she considersjherself primarily and artist whose medium is cake, icing and gumpaste. With her family's culinary history and inspiration from the beautiful surroundings of her coastal home, it was only natural that she would create Sugar Garden Cakes."
Jan is honored to be named one of the "Interesting People" featured by Albert Uster Imports. Learn all about Jan and her work at www.sugargardencakes.com.
Marla Erojo, Pastry Chef, Cakes Made by M.E.
Marla is a 1995 graduate of California Culinary Academy. She is a Pastry Chef with her own business, Cakes Made by M.E., located in Oakland, CA. She is knowledgeable in the baking arts as well as cake decorating. Marla is always happy to answer questions and assist customer with their projects. She is a member of the Contra Costa Cake & Sugar Art Society (CCCSAS), the California Cake Club and the International Cake Exploration Society (ICES).
Check out her web site at www.cakesmadebyme.com
Mitchell Hughes, Executive Pastry Chef, Spun Sugar
Mitchell is a San Francisco native. He trained at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, graduating in 1997.
2000 - After chefing at Creightens in San Francisco, Mitchell came to work with Linda Moreno and Bettye Travis at Spun Sugar. Mitchell over sees the production of baked goods and confections, including his locally famous scones and truffles, which are sold at in our Berkeley, CA. retail store. His cookies and confections are also available at several local establishments under the Spun Sugar label.
Mitchell teaches baking and chocolate classes at Spun Sugar and is a guest instructor at Cake Art in San Rafael, CA. He often demonstrates his skills at Bay Area events. Learn more about Mitchell at www.spunsugar.com.
Tracy Wirta, Master Cake Decorator, Spun Sugar
After retiring from a career in the High Tech world Tracy combined her love of cake decorating with teaching. She teaches cake decorating, decorating with chocolate, sugar art, petite fours and various other specialty classes at Spun Sugar and for the City of Walnut Creek’s Recreation Department. Tracy trained at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating in Chicago, IL., completing their Masters Cake Decorating program as well as courses in chocolate decorations, gum paste flowers and Poured and Pulled Sugar. Tracy has taken classes with top decorators Collette Peters, Susan Carberry, Kathy Scott, Debbie Brown and Roland Winbeckler.
In May 2006, Tracy founded the Contra Costa Cake & Sugar Art Society (CCCSAS) & currently serves as President. CCCSAS is a local cake decorating club that welcomes anyone with the love of all things sugar. The CCCSAS web site is www.contracostacakeclub.org. She also demonstrates her skills at Bay Area events and supports local organizations such as The Contra Costa and Solano Counties Food Bank.
Tracy is a member of the California Cake Club and the International Cake Exploration Society (ICES). Tracy has traveled to the country of Honduras to teach sugar art to people in need of a vocation to support their families. “It is not everyday cake decorators have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people in need. “ – Tracy Wirta
Online reservations are now closed.
Please call 925-771-1310 to purchase your reservations or for more information.
