About Us

Our History

The Cupertino Historical Museum is owned and operated by the Cupertino Historical Society, a private, nonprofit educational organization, established in 1966. Like most of the nation’s older historical societies, we have always been a private organization and derive virtually all our support from membership, donations, grants, and our endowment. The Cupertino Historical Society and Museum (CHSM) is the city’s oldest (and only) cultural organization whose purpose is to preserve and present Cupertino’s unique history. We have been bringing stories of our past to the community, our schools, and other organizations for over half a century.

Our hope is to share the richness of our diverse cultures while serving as the city’s repository of culture and history.

The Historical Museum was opened in 1990, as an integral feature of the Quinlan Community Center. History in Cupertino is being made every day and is constantly evolving.

We will continue our mission by collecting, preserving, and presenting the artifacts, ephemera, and oral histories that represent the past and present of Cupertino. Our collection spans over 100 years of Cupertino’s history and contains more than 5,000 items including manuscripts, graphics, photographs, books, artifacts, and other historically relevant objects accessible at our museum or on loan at other organizations.

Our Leadership

Board of Directors

Neeraj Mathur, President

Bio

Sharon Blaine, Past President

Bio

Darryl Stow, Past President

Darryl, a third generation Californian, moved to Cupertino with his wife, Dorothy, and two children in 1966 when transferred by his employer, Pacific Telephone. He retired from the company in 1994 as Regional Manager – Operator Services for the Bay Area. Darryl has been very active working with non-profit organizations in Cupertino, both before and after his retirement. He is currently serving his second two-year term as President of the Cupertino Historical Society + Museum. The first term was 2009-2011. His other community service includes senior level leadership positions with: Cupertino American Little League; Cupertino Kiwanis Club; Cupertino Chamber of Commerce; Northwest YMCA; and the Rotary Club of Cupertino. He also served as a board member for the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation and as a member of Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committees for both of our local school districts.

Bill Kerr, Treasurer

I’m a fourth generation native Californian and raised in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills. Obtained my degree at UC Berkeley and served in the Marine Corp for the next four years after graduation. Afterwards, moved to San Jose area in 1966 and purchased a home in Cupertino in 1967. I was always involved in Real estate industry serving with a Redevelopment Agency, a commercial – industrial brokerage firm and with my own company as a real estate appraiser in the in the public agency field for the next fifty years. I retired five years ago and have continued to involve myself in community activities. Shari and I have raised our two boys in Cupertino. Both families are located in the bay area and have a total of five grandchildren. Four of them are on their own living mostly out of state. The youngest is now a Junior in engineering and should graduate on time. I joined the Board of Directors in 2011 and took over the Treasurer’s job in 2012. Having an interest in California history, our local history always was fascinating and how it related to the early California development.

Bruce Parsons, Assistant Treasurer

Bio.

Valerie Abid, Secretary

Bio

Jane Alvarado

Bio

Kalpana Aroda

Kalpana Aroda is a first generation Californian resident married to a second generation Californian, moved to Cupertino in 2000. Kalpana is a founding member and President of the non profit “inAtalent.” inAtalent is an organization that helps bring communities together through talents. It is aimed at bridging the age gaps, providing opportunities to volunteers to gain leadership skills through community services. Kalpana is also active in the community and holds leadership positions through world known organizations such as Cupertino Rotary, and Toastmasters International. She is a co-chair of Workforce Development Committee in Cupertino Rotary. Kalpana is a current District Director of District 101 of Toastmasters International consisting of 149 clubs and over 2000 members. Being passionate in dancing, Kalpana has participated in many Bollywood dance musicals and folk dancing shows. She has learned different dance forms such as Bollywood, Folk and basics of classical dance from California Nupur Dance Academy. She works full time in a Software Company.

Donna Austin

Bio

Brittany Barnes

Brittany Barnes was born and raised in the bay area. She graduated from De Anza College and got a degree in marketing/advertising at San Jose State University. Brittany currently is a Realtor and specializes in the Cupertino area as well as bartends at a local bar called Paul and Eddies. Here grandparents started that bar in 1943 and it still stands today. Her roots run deep in this community and wants to keep the family tradition alive.

Meenu Devrani

Entrepreneur, Multidisciplinary Artist, Founder of Fyoli Fyoli USA- a purpose driven, fashion and accessories brand. Board Member at Agaati Foundation.

In addition to running her own purpose driven brand, Meenu is on the Board of Agaati Foundation, a San Francisco based 501 3c Non-Profit. Meenu has been helping with artisan partnerships and content creation for Agaati Marketplace and researching artisan impact projects and fundraising for the Agaati Foundation. Artisan communication steeped in deep understanding of ground realities is her strength, being an artist herself and working closely with grassroots artisans has given her a unique and radically empathetic perspective of motivations and challenges of craftsmen in underserved communities.

As a multidisciplinary artist Meenu loves to draw, design jewelry and textiles, paint, sculpt, move metals with hammer and heat. All her work derives inspiration from the boundless beauty of Nature and Earth. Enthused by ancient art, spirituality and cultures, her work represents fusion of contemporary and ethnic art mirroring her identity as a South Asian Indian and American woman.

Over the years, Meenu has been an active volunteer in the community including Project Cornerstone reader at local elementary school, helping establish a student wellness center at her public middle school and a volunteer trained tutor for ‘All Students Matter’ for ESL students at RCS district serving low-income communities.

She hopes to help grow CHSM in ways that fulfill its vision, help generate interest in the community about the significance of this organization and expand outreach and fundraising efforts.

Jason Foreman

Bio

Michael Foulkes

Bio

Gail Fretwell-Hugger

Bio

Sarini Kakkar

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Sunil Kakkar

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Janet Riddell

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Advisory Council

JR Fruen, City Council Representative

Bio

Helene Davis

Helene grew up in Cupertino when the area was still considered the “Valley of Heart’s Delight” but rapidly evolving into “Silicon Valley”. She attended local schools: Regnart, Kennedy, Monta Vista and De Anza College. She found herself back in Cupertino after marriage, living on the same street as her parents (her childhood home), raising her two children, and shepherding them through the same Cupertino schools she attended. She began her community involvement during this time with PTA and AYSO, and worked as a substitute teacher in the Cupertino Union School District. Motivated by her love of history and her upbringing in Cupertino, Helene joined the board of the CHS&M in the early 2000’s, serving as president from 2007-2009. To broaden her scope of involvement in the community, Helene joined The Rotary Club of Cupertino in 2006 and served as the President of the Rotary Club of Cupertino from 2018-19. In addition to Rotary and the Cupertino Historical Society, Helene served on the City of Cupertino’s Parks and Recreation Commission and currently serves as President of the Cupertino Copertino Sister Cities Association, and is a board member of Walk Bike Cupertino, a citizen’s advocacy group for cycling and walking infrastructure in the city. She received the City of Cupertino CREST award in 2012, and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce STAR Award in 2014. Helene graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Managerial Economics. She has been married to husband Jim, for 37 years. They have two daughters, Leah and Julie. During her free time Helene likes to cycle, hike, read, travel and learn about all things historical. She feels that what is special about Cupertino is the people and the collaborations between different organizations in the community. She is proud to be an active contributor to this vibrant place we call Cupertino.

Mark McKenna

Bio

Shannon Patrick Lee

Bio

Paula Quinterno

Bio

Crystal Tai

Bio

Steve Ting

Bio

Traveling Trunk Coordinator

Sonja Cook

Bio

Staff

Jennifer Furlong, Past Executive Director

Bio

Alecia Thomas, Collections Assistant

Bio

Anya Nazarova, Intern

Anya is a full time student in her second year at Foothill College majoring in Graphics and Interactive Design. She enrolled in the Humanities Mellon Scholars Program through which she became an intern at CHSM.

Her duties are helping Alecia Thomas (Collections Assistant) catalog the collection, being a docent, editing the MAP program workbooks, modernizing the website, and assisting Jennifer Furlong (Executive Director) in any other tasks needed.

The Board of Directors meets the third Wednesday of every month at 4:00 pm. Board meetings are open to all members in good standing.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming involved with our dynamic Board, please contact Donna Austin.

Our Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission Statement: The mission of the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum is to preserve and share Cupertino’s past, strengthen our sense of community, and make Cupertino history available for all.

Vision: We aspire to represent all Cupertino citizens as we meaningfully share the ever-evolving story of Cupertino with a broader audience.

Values:

We are dedicated to preserving the past, as we believe knowledge and appreciation of history matters.
We are trusted stewards, committed to telling an accurate and inclusive story of Cupertino.
We are service-oriented, and we are welcoming and respectful to all.
We operate as a team; we are clear about our goals, transparent, and collaborate for success.
We are purposeful; we are innovative and resourceful in the advancement of our mission.
We embrace partnerships, and we are a strong and active contributor to our community.
We are an educational resource and historic archive to scholars, students, and the public.
We pursue enduring financial stability and the best use of our resources.

Diversity and Inclusion: The Cupertino Historical Society and Museum respects and values the unique attributes, characteristics, and perspectives that make each person who they are. We strive to embed diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusionary policies and practices in every aspect of our organization. We believe that our strength lies in the broad range of people, cultures, and histories we represent.

Policies and Transparency

Associations and Institutional Memberships

Bay Area History Alliance

Founding member of the new association of Bay Area Historical Societies and Museums.

California Association of Museums

CAM brings together the individuals and institutions of the California museum community to further education and training, foster development, and provide support for museums and their staff.

Conference of California Historical Societies

The Conference of California Historical Societies (CCHS) was founded in 1954 as a federation of historical societies, museums, libraries, and other history-oriented groups and individuals.

CCHS helps historians, and others who are interested in California history, to connect and share information—joining efforts to preserve records, artifacts, sites, and buildings, throughout the State. CCHS also helps local societies and small museums learn about and put into practice the most effective management, acquisition, preservation, and restoration techniques.

Reciprocal Organization Of Associated Museums

(ROAM) is a network of museums in North America and beyond who extend the benefit of reciprocal free admission to one another’s members (as determined by each museum individually).

The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association®

The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association® network is a mosaic of 1,178 art museums and galleries, historical museums and societies, botanical gardens, children’s museums, zoos and more. When you sign up with your favorite participating NARM institution you can receive reciprocal membership benefits across the United States, Canada, Bermuda, El Salvador and Mexico.

American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward. Our Alliance of 35,000 museums and museum professionals seeks to better our communities, and our world, through collaborative human-centered experiences, education, and connection to histories, cultures, the natural world, and one another.

President's Volunteer Service Awards

We are a certifying organization with the PVSA. In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too.