Born and raised in Manhattan Beach, CA, Janice migrated to Northern California to attend San Francisco State University in the early 1980’s, earning her B.S. in marketing in 1985. As a co-owner of San Francisco’s oldest independently run branding and advertising agency, she has enjoyed an illustrious career developing media strategies for local, national, and international clients. When her oldest son enrolled at SF State, she became a leading advocate for parent engagement at SF State, bringing her business expertise and insight as an alumna to a new role at her alma mater as founding president of the Parents Council, serving as an advocate for other parents and encouraging them to stay informed and involved in their children’s education. She was instrumental in launching countless outreach campaigns to parents and families and helped establish SFSU’s first regional Parents Council chapter in Southern California. She also represented SF State throughout the California State University system at advocacy, alumni, and parent events. In 2016, SFSU presented her with the Alumni Service award. Janice is married to John Gumas, immediate past chair of the SF State Foundation Board and chair of the University’s first comprehensive fund-raising campaign. Together, they established a scholarship at SF State for students pursuing a degree in marketing. Active members of their community, they also support a variety of educational, political, social, and health care organizations throughout the Bay Area. They are the proud parents of Nicholas, SFSU grad (’16), Stephanie, Cal Poly Pomona grad (’19) and Alexander who is currently attending Chapman University (Expected graduation Spring ‘21).