Leadership Type: Trustees

Stuart A. Tanz has served on the Sanford Burnham Prebys Board of Trustees since 2005.

He is president and CEO of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., a leading independent owner and operator of grocery-anchored shopping centers on the West Coast. Previously, he was CEO of Pan Pacific Retail Properties Corp. and has been a chief executive and leader at multiple companies.

Tanz is a member of International Council of Shopping Centers and the Young Presidents’ Organization. The Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto was founded by Stuart’s father, Mark Tanz (1931-2021).

He has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California.

Ted Roth has served on the Sanford Burnham Prebys Board of Trustees since 2024.

Roth is vice chairman of ROTH Capital Partners, a privately owned investment banking firm based in Newport Beach, CA, and chief executive officer of ROTH Canada, an affiliate of ROTH Capital.

Roth has served in many leadership and advisory roles in the San Diego community. He is currently a member of the board of trustees at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego (former chair), a member of the Board of Overseers of Scripps Research and an advisor to the Board of the National Conflict Resolution Center.

Previously, he served as chair of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the California Democratic Leadership Council. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Padres Baseball Team.

Roth has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iowa Wesleyan College, a Juris Doctor degree from Washburn University School of Law and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Lonna J. Williams Stolper has served on the Sanford Burnham Prebys Board of Trustees since 2023.

She is currently director of the Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, the UCLA Health Advisory Board and former CEO and director of Ridge Diagnostics, with previous experience in managing early-stage companies involved in early life cycle diagnostic and pharmacogenetic product and market development, and in collaborations with such companies as Glaxo-Wellcome and Eli Lilly. She assisted in the founding of Alastin Skincare, acquired by Galderma, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, in 2022.

Stolper previously served as a director of the International Bipolar Foundation and other for-profit and non-profit boards.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University and completed graduate studies at the University of Colorado and the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Katherine Chapin has served on the Sanford Burnham Prebys Board of Trustees since 2021.

A native of Champaign, Illinois, Katherine has held a variety of executive positions for Fortune 500 companies, including Mattel, The Limited, and General Mills. In her various responsibilities, she has spearheaded all aspects of creating new businesses, overseen product development for 325 specialty retail stores and helped re-position the beloved Barbie doll brand.

Currently, Chapin is co-founder and general partner at Chapin Ventures, a boutique private equity fund, investing in self-run and other start-ups.

Chapin has Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Illinois. She studied Japanese at Konan University in Kobe, Japan. She speaks both Japanese and Greek. She is also a former professional dancer and has performed around the world.

Other Areas of Involvement

University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Arts and Humanities
La Jolla Music Society, Chairman of the Board (formerly held)
San Diego Youth Symphony
Boys and Girls Club of Carlsbad (Honorary)

William A. Roper has served on the Sanford Burnham Prebys Board of Trustees since 2019.

He is president of Roper Capital Company, a private investment firm that provides management services and growth capital to help small-to-midsize businesses, offering significant leadership experience in operational and financial management, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and strategic restructurings across a broad spectrum of industries and markets.

Roper has held a number of executive positions throughout his career, including chief financial officer of Human Longevity, Inc., president of ADS, Inc, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Leidos (formerly known as SAIC) and president and CEO of VeriSign, Inc.

He has been board chair of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation and a trustee of the San Diego County Employee Retirement System.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Mississippi and graduated from Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. He also completed the Financial Management Program at Stanford University.