Board of Directors

Mrs. Rothe began her career in credit unions in the late 1970s. She worked as the Office Manager of CSEA Credit Union in Burlingame. In the mid-1980s, CSEA Credit Union merged with Provident Credit Union and Mrs. Rothe transitioned in as a loan officer. In 1986, Provident's President, Mrs. Ludelle Morrow, invited Mrs. Rothe to become the Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors. After nine years of service she retired from her position with Provident due to family demands.

In April of 1995, the Board requested that Mrs. Rothe return. She was elected to serve as a volunteer on Provident's Supervisory Committee. Her unique position of having worked within the Credit Union's operation provided her with an advantage. She served on the Supervisory Committee for six years and served as the Committee's Chair for two years. In April of 2001, she was elected to serve on Provident's Board of Directors. She served as Chair of the Board from April 2007 to April 2009.

Mr. Johnson earned a BS in mathematics from Southern University in Louisiana and a MA in mathematics from Stanford University. He is Superintendent Emeritus of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD). He began his career as a mathematics teacher. His career spans forty-five years in service to Secondary and Higher Education.

His career includes Director of Human Relations, Principal, and Director of Personnel in the San Mateo Union High School District. Before his retirement, he led the passage of a $298 million bond measure to refurbish the district schools. The Board of Trustees voted to name the Capuchino High School Theater Complex in his honor.

He served for nine years as a member of the Board of Directors for the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. He served as the chair for two years.  He served as the Director of Administrative Services and Instructor at Notre Dame de Namur University, in Belmont, CA. He has chaired more than twenty-five Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation committees. He's served on many educational and community boards, locally and nationally. Mr. Johnson joined Provident's Board in April 2003 and previously served on the Credit Union's Supervisory Committee for six years.

Ms. Boland has been a member of Provident's Board of Directors since September of 2012. She previously served on the Supervisory Committee for seven years and is currently a consultant to several local government agencies. Ms. Boland worked for the City of San Carlos for nearly 20 years. She served as it's Director of Parks and Recreation, Director of Community Relations, and City Clerk.

Ms. Boland is a Certified Municipal Clerk. She was clerk of the board for the San Mateo County Transit District and San Mateo County Harbor Commission. She holds a Master's in Public Administration from California State University East Bay. She received a degree in Business Administration from Notre Dame De Namur.

Mr. Buckmaster has been in the interactive marketing and e-commerce field for more than 15 years. Currently, he is the Director of Sales for StrongMail, an industry leader in e-mail and marketing automation software. He has also held similar positions at ExactTarget and SilverPOP. He was a Director of Marketing at Insweb, an online insurance company. He was a lobbyist for the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, a public policy trade association representing tech companies.

Mr. Buckmaster served as Mayor of the City of San Carlos and at that time was one the youngest elected officials in the nation. He received his BA in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University. He served on numerous boards, task forces, and commissions that reflect his interest in education, government, business, and children. Currently he is the Co-Chair and Class Representative for Loyola Marymount University's Class of 1994. He's served on the Board of Directors of Provident Credit Union since 2003.

Mr. Pelzner has been a partner with Pelzner and Associates, a privately held firm in Burlingam, for the past 18 years. Before Pelzner and Associates, Mr. Pelzner worked four years at Deloitte and Touche, San Francisco, California. During his tenure, he was Senior Financial Auditor and Consultant.

Mr. Pelzner's educational background includes graduation from the University of California, Riverside with honors. He then became a Certified Public Accountant in 1999. Mr. Pelzner began his volunteer service at Provident in April of 2003 as an elected member of the Supervisory Committee. He was then elected to the Board of Directors in April 2005.

Mr. O'Brien holds a degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University. He currently works at Cushman & Wakefield in Palo Alto where he is a Director. Mr. O'Brien has worked in commercial real estate since 2002. He has developed key relationships with property owners and business owners along the Peninsula and South Bay. He has a strong knowledge base of the current commercial real estate environment. He previously worked in the technology industry in various sales and marketing roles. Mr. O'Brien was elected to the Provident Credit Union Supervisory Committee in April 2005. After serving in that role for 13 years, he was elected to the Board of Directors in 2018.

Mr. Lanzone holds a BA from Queens College of the City University and a JD from the University of Santa Clara. He served as Provident's general legal counsel from 1977-2005. He has volunteered his service as a member of the Board of Directors since 2005.

He was affiliated with the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce and Educational Foundation and Archdiocese of San Francisco. He has been practicing law for over 47 years and is a partner at Aaronson, Dickerson, Cohn, & Lanzone law firm. He is a past President of the San Mateo County Bar Association. 

Mr. Descalso is a Principal at Edgewood Partners Insurance Center (EPIC), a commercial insurance brokerage located in San Mateo, CA. He has been a broker since 1983. He holds a BS degree in accounting from St. Mary's College of California. He also minored in Health, Physical Education and Recreation, as well as playing baseball for the Gaels. Mr. Descalso served on the Supervisory Committee from 2009 - 2020 and was elected to serve on the Board of Directors in April 2020.

  Mrs. Kenter has been a member of the Provident Credit Union Supervisory Committee since April 2005. She holds a BS in Biology and a minor in Chemistry and German from the University of South Carolina. She also holds a BS in Nursing from Texas Woman's University in Dallas. After working in Labor and Delivery at Parkland County Hospital she transferred to Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. She ultimately settled in the South Bay, working in the Operating Room at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose.

In 1993, she left nursing and concentrated on community fundraising in Silicon Valley for the last twenty-four years. She currently sits as a non-affiliated member of numerous local institutional committees. She helps oversee the humane care and use of laboratory animals used in biomedical research and teaching.