Luncheon Society

The Luncheon Society "is a series of private luncheons and dinners, where big ideas are discussed over great food at a wonderful restaurant.

"Since this informal organization was founded in 1997, we have gathered with political, business, legal, artistic, sports, scientific, and cultural opinion makers and thought leaders. All of our gatherings are quiet and off the beaten path; there is no schedule and gatherings happen when they happen.

"The Luncheon Society meets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Manhattan in small groups around the table in a private room of an upscale restaurant or private club."

History
"The Luncheon Society ™ began quietly, as most fun things do, as a small gathering around a tiny café table among good friends. Back in 1997, Bob McBarton, along with Tim Farley and Tom Koch, wanted to understand how a 1960’s Berkeley radical, who later ran as a left wing Third Party Presidential candidate in 1976, could end up as an investment banker.

"Tim Farley discovered he lived locally, Bob McBarton reached out, and Tom Koch picked up the lunch tab. We sat down around small outdoor table at one of Berkeley’s historic hotels and we heard a tale of his life. Besides, not many people could actually say, “After Jimmy Carter beat me in the general election, I had to get a job.” At that point, The Luncheon Society was born.

"Soon after the first gathering, Bob became the Executive Director of The Luncheon Society.  For the first couple of years, these luncheons occured sporadically, perhaps one every quarter. Sadly they petered out by 2000 and there were none in 2001.  However, at the end of 2002, Bob decided to revive The Luncheon Society to coincide with his 40th birthday.

"With that, The Luncheon Society was back in business. In 2003 and 2004, it grew in San Francisco. In 2005, The Luncheon Society expanded to Los Angeles and two years later, it grew to include Manhattan. 2010 represents our 13th season and Bob has organized over 200 Luncheons Society gatherings since our initial foray long ago in Berkeley."

Advisory Board
Accessed June 2010:


 * Bob McBarton, Co-Founder, The Luncheon Society
 * Tanya Acker, Lawyer, television commentator; Panel of Experts on SheSource.org.
 * Rucker Alex, consultant; sits on the board for the Harvard Women’s Leadership Project.
 * Fred Altshuler, Partner, Law firm of Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain.
 * Richard Bangs, founding partner and long-time president of Mountain Travel-Sobek, America’s oldest and largest adventure travel firm.
 * Karen Bartenstein, Telecommunications Specialist, world traveler.
 * Anne Beatts, Emmy Award winning writer and producer.
 * Hale Boggs, Partner with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, and Philips
 * Gwyneth J. Borden, Manager of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, Northwestern United States, IBM.
 * James J. Brosnahan, Senior Partner, Morrison and Foerster, San Francisco.
 * Mary Buffett, consultant, speaker, and best selling author.
 * Brian Bunch, Executive Director, Tara Trask and Associates, a full service trial consulting practice.
 * Betsy Burroughs, President, FocusCatalyst, a San Francisco marketing group.
 * Barbara Bylenga, Founder and President, Outlaw Consulting.
 * Christy Carpenter, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Paley Center for Media.
 * Joe Conason, Senior Fellow at the Nation Institute, writes his popular political column for The New York Observer and the Salon.com.
 * Gina Cooper, Partner, Middle Coast Strategies and Founder, former CEO, Netroots Nation
 * Marc Danziger, Writer; Chief Technical Officer, Long Beach Network for Health.
 * Bert Deixler, Trial lawyer; Partner, Proskauer, Rose LLP.
 * Naomi Epel, Author, literary consultant, co-host of Booktalk on San Francisco radio station KALW.
 * R.J. Eskow, healthcare consultant; Huffington Post contributor.
 * Tim Farley, Director, Community and Government Relations, St. Mary’s College; Co-Founder The Luncheon Society.
 * Lisa S. Firestone, Treasurer, The Roger S. Firestone Foundation.
 * Donnie Fowler, Principal, Dogpatch Strategies, a communications and public affairs firm serving green technology enterprises.
 * Laura Galloway, President, Galloway Media Group.
 * Mera Granberg, San Francisco non-profit executive.
 * Garret Gruener, Co Founder and Director Alta Partners, a leading venture capital firm in life sciences.
 * Carole Henmi, Principal, San Francisco based leadership development practice.
 * Jim Hurd, Executive Director, NanoScience Exchange.
 * Jeff Joseph, President of SabuCat Productions
 * Bennett Kelley, Founder Internet Law Center, columnist with the Santa Monica Daily Press, regular contributor to Huffington Post and Politics Magazine.
 * Loren Kieve, Principal, Kieve Law Offices, San Francisco.
 * Tom Koch, Governmental consultant; Co-Founder, The Luncheon Society.
 * Cynthia Koehler, Senior Consulting Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund; Member, Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors.
 * Jeff Lawrence, President & CEO of Clivia Systems; Trustee, Lawrence Family Foundation.
 * Laurie L. Levenson, Professor of Law and William M. Rains Fellow at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.
 * Barbara Lindsey, Director Multimedia Language Center, University of Connecticut.
 * Richard C. Mallory, Founding partner of the law firm Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP.
 * Steve Mayer, Director with the San Francisco-based law firm Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin.
 * Felicia McBarton, Editor, The Luncheon Society.
 * Jamie McGurk is Co-Founder, SeaChange Communications.
 * William L. (Scotty) McLennan, Jr., Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University.
 * Dan Miller, Managing Director of the Roda Group, a venture capital group.
 * Amanda Neville, founding partner of Thinkso, a Manhattan based marketing, communications, and public relations group.
 * Lisa Norton, Los Angeles marketing executive.
 * Yolanda “Cookie” Parker, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Management Systems.
 * Pamela M. Reynolds, Senior Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, MGM.
 * Thomas Rigler, Filmmaker; Vice President of the Board for the International Documentary Association.
 * Wanda Rudd, House in the South Productions
 * Ian Sobieski, Founder and Managing Director of the Band of Angels Fund, L.P., a venture fund.
 * Marya Stark, Board Chair and a Founder of Emerge America, the premier national training program for Democratic women.
 * Nancy Stephens, Boardmember, Union of Concerned Scientists, Actress.
 * Blair Tindall, Grammy-nominated musician, journalist, and memoirist.
 * Tara Trask, President and founder of Tara Trask and Associates, a full service trial consulting practice
 * Colleen Wainwright, writer, speaker, branding developer; editor of Communicatrix.
 * Wendy Wanderman, Associate Program Director at The Commonwealth Club, San Francisco.
 * Barbara (Bobbie) Wasserman, President of Wave2 Alliances, political and corporate sector consultant.
 * Martha Whetstone, San Francisco Non Profit Executive.
 * Kalika Nacion Yap, CEO of Citrus Studios, an interactive design agency in Santa Monica.

Contact
URL: http://theluncheonsociety.wordpress.com