Fred Bates

Fred Bates began his career as a real estate developer and builder in 1976 and has been successful in developing residential, commercial and golf course communities in California and throughout the United States. Bates Homes is owned by Fred and five of his six children, where they are developing homes in the Mountain West including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Nevada. Fred served on the board at Notre Dame High School and Santa Catalina School in Monterey. Fred has 6 children and 10 grandchildren, and his wife Becky has 3 children and 2 grandchildren.

Mia Benedict

Mia is a retired corporate communications executive, business consultant, and executive coach for challenging problem solving. She worked for the Wilson administration in California examining mandates and creating strategic plans. She is highly involved in Idaho education looking for ways to improve academic results and growing future active citizens. Her goal in co-founding the Sun Valley Policy Forum is to ensure citizens have access to different points of view when deciding how to vote, how to govern and how to have productive discourse with each other. She and her husband Tim Miller have three children and seven grandchildren. They are full time Sun Valley residents with a foot still in California.

Joan Boren

Joan Boren is a native Idahoan. She and her husband, Mike split their time between Boise and the Sawtooth Valley. They have value Central Idaho: its natural beauties and the energetic, engaged people in our area.
Joan has worked with many organizations that help preserve American values. She currently manages the Obsidian Foundation, serves on the board of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation and the Inspire Excellence organization and is glad to help the Sun Valley Policy Forum bring interesting people and their ideas to the Wood River Valley and surrounding area.
Joan and Mike, along with Sun Valley residents Pam and Bruce Johnsen, sponsor the Calvin Coolidge Foundation Idaho Invitational Debate Tournament. This program provides high school students the opportunity to learn both sides in depth and practice how to debate ideas civilly.
She and Mike enjoy the outdoors with their three children and eight grandchildren. She performs as part of a piano quartet and is the author of Silent Stars and The Shepherd.

Christina Erland Culver

Christina Erland Culver is President and CEO of EdNexus Advisors LLC, an Idaho based government affairs and business strategy firm. A native of Kansas, she has worked on every Republican presidential race since Senator Bob Dole ran for president in the 1988 primary, and successfully continued working for President George H. W. Bush’s race and followed him to the White House. She served under five Education Secretaries and at the White House for President George H.W. Bush. In 2022, she co-founded the Sun Valley Policy Forum to bring conservative policy thought leadership and programming to Idaho so that Idahoans become more engaged in policy that impacts their futures. Ms. Erland Culver has a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Kansas. She resides in and operates out of Sun Valley, Idaho.

Ray Lombard

Over the past fifteen years, Ray and his wife Michelle have established themselves as committed residents of Blaine County. Ray’s professional journey, which began in Manhattan Beach and later in Huntington Beach, has been primarily focused on real estate development and construction. In the early nineties, Ray founded a construction consulting company specializing in expert analysis of deficient construction, serving clients across the Western U.S. This experience has given him a deep appreciation for the values of running a business in a heavy regulated state. Ray and Michelle are now transitioning to full time residents in Idaho. Ray’s commitment to smart local growth and policies that grown sound, safe communities is valuable to building the Sun Valley Policy Forum into a long-term presence in the Wood River Valley.

Don McGrath

Don is an Illinois native and joined Bank of the West in San Francisco in 1975 and spent 35 years with the Bank and its parent company Bancwest Corp, before retiring as Chairman and CEO of both in 2010. He has served on numerous Boards over many years including The Pacific Stock Exchange from 2001-2008, and the Financial Services Roundtable. He continues to serve on the Boards of Deluxe Corporation and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where he was Chairman in 2013 and 2014. He was appointed by President Bush in 2009 to The President’s Council on Financial Literacy. Other previous non-profit boards include Operation HOPE, Inc., the Resources Legacy Fund, the Commonwealth Club of California, and Dominican University of California.

James Reid

James A. Reid is the Co-Founder and CFO of Supply and Equipment Foodservice Alliance (SEFA), a nationwide network of leading foodservice equipment dealers and suppliers that serves as the industry’s leading buying, marketing, and training group. Prior to joining SEFA in 1989, Reid was a Senior Vice President for Planmetrics, Inc., a national management consulting firm servicing electric and gas utilities.
Reid and his wife Tedde are deeply dedicated to numerous charitable organizations. In 1999, the Reids worked with World Vision in Zambia to build and open a small hospital in a community of 21,500 people severely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the establishment of sustainable feeding programs and the development of housing for students. Reid was also the Chairman of the Dream Big Capital Campaign to benefit Breakthrough Urban Ministries, an organization on Chicago’s West Side dedicated to serving the homeless, teaching life skills, and helping equip youth for the future. The campaign will fund a $15 Million “Family Plex” being planned for an impoverished and gang laden community.
His more recent, non-profitable contributions include serving as the governing board and executive committee at Living Water International, in addition to serving as the Vice President for Sun Valley Museum of Arts. The Reids reside in Hailey, ID.