Jane Barry, President

Jane Barry was born and raised in the Sunset District of San Francisco and spent all her summers in Cazadero then moved to the Russian River Area in 1989. Jane's passion for family and local histories led her to join the Monte Rio Area Historical Society, and later, to become President in 2003. She has been actively involved in the community of the lower Russian River for over 20 years collecting and restoring historical photographs.

John Schubert, Vice President/Editor

Native San Franciscan
River Community historian since 1960
Has written many short histories for the Sonoma County Historical Society
Had a column in several local papers called "Stumptown Stories"
Author of "Guerneville Early Days"
Charter member of Russian River Historical Society and Sonoma County Historical Society and one of its past presidents
Currently on the board of directors of both societies

Valerie Munthe, Secretary

Valerie was born in Burlingame, CA and moved to her Great Grandparent's summer cabin in Guerneville when her parents divorced. She attended Guerneville Elementary and El Molino High School and graduated from the Russian River Charter High School.

Ever since she was a small child, her own family's history fascinated her, and she was diligent in poking her elders for more interesting and spectacular stories. Her interest in her family's history coincided with her interest in Guerneville and Russian River histories and she spent many hours reading books on the subject, such as "The Russian River" by Simone Wilson and "Guerneville Early Days" by John Schubert, with whom she recently coauthored the book, "Then & Now: Russian River."

She is currently employed at the Russian River Chamber of Commerce and is a student at the Santa Rosa Junior College. She and her husband, Jesse, are raising their two children in Guerneville.

Brendan Coen, Treasurer

Brendan Coen was born in San Francisco in 1976.  He moved to Guerneville at the age of 5 and attended school at Guerneville Elementary School and graduated from El Molino High School in 1994.  He went on to SRJC and Sonoma State earning a BS in Computer Science.  Since 2004 he has been working at Frank Howard Allen Realtors in Guerneville as a Realtor.  He enjoys volunteering for local non-profits including Russian River Rotary, River to Coast Children’s Services and now the Russian River Historical Society.

Sarah Brooks, Membership

Born and reared in San Francisco
Moved to Sonoma County in the late 1950's
Worked for 32 years as a Judicial Assistant to Judges of the Superior Court
Enjoys history, railroading and all types of needle work

Cary Ostrofe, Sergeant At Arms

Cary Ostrofe has lived on the Russian River for 37 years and worked at Safeway for 15 years.  He was a volunteer for the Guerneville Fire Department for 16 years.  For the past 10 years he has coached multiple sports at Guerneville School. He is helping to preserve Russian River history for future generations.

Charlotte Ostrofe, Telephone Liaison

Charlotte was born in San Jose, California on February 22, 1931.  Her family moved to San Francisco in 1938 and she graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1948.  She worked for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph until 1958. She met and married Bob Ostrofe at the Oakland Naval Station and had their son Cary in 1960.  In 1972 they moved to Guerneville and were part owners of the River Mist Antiques until she retired in 1986.  She has been a collector of Russian River memorabilia for years and has many wonderful stories of the Russian River area.