Mountain View Executives Honored by Commonwealth Club

The following was written with information supplied by the Commonwealth Club of California about distinguished local residents being honored Wednesday night.

The Commonwealth Club of California presented its prestigious Distinguished Citizen Award to an impressive set of sisters, Susan Wojcicki, Senior Vice President of Advertising, Google; Janet Wojcicki, Ph.D., M.P.H., Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF; Anne Wojcicki, Co-Founder, 23andMe; plus the man who is the new face of the rejuvenated San Francisco 49ers, Jed York, 49ers CEO, at this year’s 25th Distinguished Citizen Awards Annual Dinner.

And there was more for the formidable Wojcicki family. Esther Wojcicki, founder and Senior Vice President, ClassBadges; Vice Chair, Creative Commons and her husband, Stanley G. Wojcicki, Ph.D., Professor (Emeritus), Department of Physics, Stanford University, who received the William K. Bowes, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Awards.

"Thank you @cwclub for the humbling honor tonight," Tweeted York shortly after 11 p.m., in his usual custom of sharing his thoughts. "So proud to share the stage with the Wojcicki family." 

It is the Commonwealth Club's 110th anniversary and the assemblage includes "California’s most pioneering thought leaders in the arts, academia, business, philanthropy, and other fields," the organization said in a written statement.  The annual dinner is the Club’s paramount fundraising event, providing resources to support its critical nonprofit public forum mission throughout the year.

The Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes individuals and their noteworthy contributions to local and global society. This is how the Commonwealth Club described its selection of the Wojcicki family:

Susan Wojcicki is being recognized "for the outstanding achievements and contributions of exemplary California visionaries," The Senior Vice President of Advertising at Google, Wojcicki was named one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women" by Forbes in 2012. She is responsible for the invention of all of Google’s advertising platforms, including AdWords, Google Analytics, DoubleClick and AdSense, which brings relevant ad content to consumers online.  Her developments have revolutionized online advertising, making Google a primary source for the future of the advertising and technological industry. The Palo Altos resident graduated with honors from Harvard University, holds a master's in economics from the UC Santa Cruz, and an MBA from UCLA. 

Janet Wojcicki, Ph.D., M.P.H., Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF, was honored for her work in pediatrics. As a fellow in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and nutrition, Wojcicki has performed groundbreaking research on childhood obesity, HIV and nutrition. Her research analyzes the relationship between sociocultural background, behavioral practices and health outcomes. Wojcicki is involved with the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment (COAST) at UCSF. There she has focused on factors that develop at an early age in specific populations which contribute to pediatric obesity.  She recently recruited a mother-child Latino cohort to evaluate the relationship between exposure to maternal prenatal and postnatal depression and risk for obesity at age 2, 5 and 7. In addition to obesity, Dr. Wojcicki is also interested in how pediatric malnutrition can contribute to HIV progression and infection with HHV-8. Currently, Dr. Wojcicki serves on the San Francisco Unified School District Physical Activity and Nutrition Task Force where she hopes to pursue research regarding student nutrition.   Dr. Wojcicki received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Stanford University, a master’s degree in African Studies from UCLA, another master’s degree in Public Health from Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from UCLA in anthropology.  She did her postdoctoral training at UCSF in epidemiology/nutrition, and also received a master of science degree from UC Davis. 

Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, the personal DNA analysis company, has led a distinguished career in the biotech industry. Through its use of genomics, the 23andMe kit she has developed, allows the individual to see personal ancestry, lineage, and gene data. The DNA analysis uncovers one’s likelihood of contracting certain genetic diseases.  The individual can then cater his/her health to specific genes.  In 2008, 23AndMe’s personal genome testing kit was named TIME’s “Invention of The Year.”  Through analysis, 23andMe have identified the gene associated with Parkinson’s disease, as well as, the discovery of the gene that reduces the risk of one contracting Parkinson’s. Wojcicki’s company brings this technology as means to inform and impact the world with groundbreaking discoveries in health research. Ms. Wojcicki, a Los Altos Hills resident, received her B.S. from Yale University in biology.

Jed York, CEO of the San Francisco 49ers, is recognized as the driving force behind the team's new stadium in Santa Clara. And he the team's biggest booster. "As this year’s contenders at the 47th Super Bowl, the 49ers gained momentum and a multitude of praise," the Commonwealth Club statement said. York spearheaded a successful ballot measure, in 2010, to develop the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified NFL stadium.  The structure is currently being built in Santa Clara, and is expected to open with the 2014 season. A LEED- certified building confirms that the architectural design was completed with sustainable and societal benefits such as water and energy efficiency.  The Los Altos resident currently sits on the board of the Tipping Point Community, a poverty-fighting organization, and the board at The Commonwealth Club. York graduated from Notre Dame with degrees in Finance & History.

Esther and Stanley Wojcicki, the parents of the Wojcicki sisters, are honored with the William K. Bowes, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. The Commonwealth Club celebrated "their overwhelming dedication to education and research which have enriched the lives of so many here in the Bay Area and beyond. " Esther Wojcicki is creator and Senior VP of ClassBadges, Vice Chair of Creative Commons, and a longtime educator.  ClassBadges is a revolutionary website for teachers which allows them to award their students customized badges for their various accomplishments. As Vice Chair of Creative Commons, a nonprofit that advances knowledge and creativity by giving access to copyright licenses, Wojcicki addresses education and learning. She currently teaches at Palo Alto High School where she launched their first journalism program. Additionally, she regularly blogs for the widely read Huffington Post (a part of the AOL, parent company of Los Altos Patch).  

Stanley G. Wojcicki, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, Stanford University has completed research in the area of experimental particle physics. He has sat on numerous advisory committees to the American Physical Society and the U.S. government. He was head of the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, which advises the United States Department of Energy.  Wojcicki most recently was awarded by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research for his work with the MINOS detector and neutrino oscillations. 

The Commonwealth Club has held a gala dinner celebrating its anniversary since 1903, and since 1988 has presented its Distinguished Citizen Award to one or more individuals, recognizing their noteworthy contributions to local and global society. 

The 2012 Distinguished Citizen Award recipients were Dr. Steven Chu, Ron Conway and Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann.  Nancy Hellman Bechtle received the William K. Bowes, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award.  Prior honorees have included The Honorable George P. Shultz and Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, Brad Bird, Jack O’Neill, Dr. Bill Rutter, Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock, former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, David Packard, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chris and Warren Hellman, the Lane Family and Sunset Magazine, the Honorable William H. Draper, III and Stephen D. Bechtel, Sr. 

For more information, visit www.commonwealthclub.org. 

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