Santa Monica-based CLARE Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing effective and compassionate treatment, recovery, and prevention services for alcoholism and substance abuse, has welcomed two new members to its board of directors: consultant Christine Gard and lawyer Jeffery McFarland.
The new directors were inducted at CLARE’s board meeting last month.
CLARE Foundation’s board of directors is responsible for providing organizational and fiduciary oversight and ensuring that CLARE continues to successfully serve its mission.
CLARE Executive Director Nicholas Vrataric said the professionalism and dedication that the pair bring to its board was inspiring.
“We look forward to working with them and our entire board of directors as we continue our work of saving lives through our effective and compassionate treatment and recovery services,” Vrataric said.
Gard and McFarland join CLARE’s 18 current board members, who include leaders from the financial, civic, entertainment, and philanthropic realms.
Christine M. Gard is an independent consultant for a handful of privately held companies. She began her career in the banking industry, transitioning to consulting with the birth of her first child.
She has a BSBA and an MBA from Creighton University, and is the proud mother of an 18-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.
In addition to volunteering at her Parish as well as her children’s schools, Gard has also been a board member of the Specialty Family Foundation, established in 2006 to ensure the long-term sustainability of inner city Catholic schools in distress and to support recovery programs. Gard first became involved with CLARE in 1996, the year of her brother’s death from a drug overdose.
That tragedy, combined with CLARE’s excellent reputation, made CLARE the “charity of choice” for Gard’s extended family, which founded the Specialty Family Foundation, a long-time supporter of CLARE’s work.
Jeffery McFarland is a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP.
His practice focuses on general business litigation with an emphasis on entertainment industry disputes and class/representative action matters in the computer hardware and consumer electronics businesses. He represents production companies, television networks, talent agencies, actors/producers/directors, computer hardware manufacturers, and consumer electronics companies in litigation matters around the country.
McFarland became involved with CLARE through his role as administrator for The Timmins Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization established in memory of Bob Timmins, whose work in alcohol and drug rehabilitation changed countless lives.
