About Us

General Manager since 2022, James comes to Fremont Hills with a wealth of experience and a vast collection of bow ties. Most recently Food & Beverage Director at Los Altos Golf & Country Club, he started his career at The Bagel Works as a kid, and between playing baseball through his 20s, has moved onto grander things, working in and managing fine dining establishments for 25 years. Originally from Rochester, Minnesota, but based in California since he was 9, plus a year playing drums in a punk band in England, James enjoys spending time with his wife, Christina, and his four adult children, Emily, Julianna, and Jay; plus Ava, technically a dog but still one of his favorite people. He still plays the drums but prefers to let the San Francisco Giants play the baseball.

A Bay Area native, Gary Zuniga has been in charge of all member needs since 2014. Gary’s responsibilities include organizing member events, promoting them, handling new membership inquiries and sales, club communications, and being in service of all and any questions and requests. The direct assistant to the General Manager, he has been working for private member clubs since 2005, coming to Fremont Hills after many years at Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club. Gary is also an accomplished artist and proud parent of three Maltese-Shih Tzus and two red canaries.

Fremont Hills’ Controller and head of human resources since 2022, the majority of Lillian’s career has been in Hotels, Healthcare, and recently pivoted to the Private Club industry. A passionate pickleball player, Lilly also likes to paddleboard in the summers and has started a Women’s Social Group with 120 members and growing. A California native based in Fremont, Lilly has been here to witness the Bay Area change from rolling fields into Silicon Valley.

Originally from Bremerton, Washington, Dana grew up swimming at her local YMCA before transferring to the Tacoma Swim Club after the 2000 Olympic trials. She then qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics, where she finished 9th in the 200-meter butterfly, and is a Pan American Games medalist. A graduate of Stanford University, where she competed on the Stanford Cardinal swimming and diving team, she received 17 All-American honors and eight Pac-10 Conference titles. She coaches the Fremont Hills Barracudas as well as serving as head coach for the Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics affiliate PASA-DKS program since 2008. Her work history includes the Greenmeadow, Los Altos Golf & Country Club, and has been Aquatics Director at Fremont Hills since 2011. Dana has coached young swimmers to the top of their levels in Pacific Swimming, Junior National Finalists, CCS Champions, Western Zone, North American Challenge Cup, and has sent swimmers to the Olympic trials in numerous years. With her husband Jason, also a former competitive swimmer, she enjoys raising the next generation of aquatics enthusiasts in her children Zoe, Lily, and TJ, and their two cats, Black Cat and Girl Cat.

Originally from Philadelphia, where he coached all levels of swimming from Rec League to Country Club and USA Swimming, in 2003 Paul decided to pass on the family lumber business and start his own USA Club at the William Penn Charter School. He founded and coached The Penn Charter Aquatic Club (PCAC) from 2003 to 2013, and coached the school’s high school swimming and water polo programs there as well. In 2013 he joined the Central Bucks Swim Team in Bucks County, and became the Middle Atlantic Senior Coaches Rep. During his time in Pennsylvania, Paul coached numerous Olympic Trials and Nationals qualifiers as well as National Age Group record-holders, and was named the 2012 Middle Atlantic Age Group Coach of the Year. Paul moved to the Bay Area in 2017 and to Fremont Hills in 2018, but still loves his Philly sports teams, his comic books, and exploring everything that the Bay Area has to offer in his black convertible Mustang.

Vinicius “Vinnie” Vieira is a native of Brazil. Although his first passion was soccer, and he swam, played volleyball, basketball, and handball, he’s been playing tennis since he was eight years old and it eventually became his focus. Having decided to take the sport to the highest level, he dedicated his youth to the sport. He was ranked nationally in Juniors and played on the ATP Tour from 1995 to 2000. In 1998, he accepted a scholarship to play for Lewis-Clark State College where he was ranked #3 in singles and doubles in the NAIA. He also earned three NAIA All American Players Honors and an NAIA Sportsmanship Award in 2002. Vinnie has a bachelor degree in Business from LCSC, and a Finance degree from UFMG in Belo Horizonte in Brazil. He speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Based in the Bay Area since 2003, his work experience includes the Summer Nike Tennis Camp at Stanford University, Los Altos Golf & Country Club, and Fremont Hills Country Club. Recent tournament experience includes the Norcal Open, the Sonoma State Open, and the Rio Del Oro Open finals. He is USPTA Professional Certified, ICI Level 1 and 2, three times 12’s Norcal USTA Zonals Coach, and Pickleball PPR certified. Since his childhood in Belo Horizonte, tennis shaped his life, and he’s passionate about using it to teach others, as it has taught him, about dedication, discipline, respect, sportsmanship, and persistence. Vinnie is also a keen cyclist, and enjoys traveling with Lorenna, his wife, and their daughter Naomi.

The Club’s head pro and running the Junior Program since 2019, Patrick has grown up at Fremont Hills and has worked here since 2007. Having worked with and learned from coaches and players such as Emilio Sanchez and Jim Grabb, he’s played on the Men’s 4.5, Men’s 5.0, and Mixed 8.0 teams, as well as our Boys 18 & Under USTA Junior League team. USPTR certified, Patrick heads up the Junior Tennis Clinics which run throughout the school year in the afternoons as well as the summer program in the mornings, coordinates the Junior Interclub Matches, gives private lessons to children as well as adults, and knows every kid at Fremont Hills who’s ever picked up a tennis racquet. A once-accomplished musician and passionate devotee to his fantasy football picks. Patrick enjoys food and travel, keeping his cat Lucy away from the snacks, and might someday get around to donating his hair to Locks of Love.

Lifelong player, teacher, and student of tennis, Jim grew up in Lafayette, California, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1970. He earned a masters in Sport Psychology from the University of West Florida in 1991, researching the use of an electromechanical teaching aid to teach the tennis serve. A writer and producer of numerous instructional videos over the years, Jim has worked with the Stanford Biomechanical Engineering Department, studying the efficiency of various footwork starting techniques. He is driven by a student-centered approach to teaching, as demonstrated by his 29 years as Tennis Director at Fremont Hills, and is also amazing with kids. He has held sectional and national rankings in men’s open and senior divisions, served as president of the Northern California division of the USPTA, and was USPTA NorCal Pro of the Year in 1989 and 1992. He has trained under coaches such as Blackie Jones, Tom Stow, Don Kerr, and Fred Earle. Over the years he has worked at clubs in Mandeville, Louisiana and Destin, Florida. Jim retired in 2018 with a new hip, but still coaches and finds new ways and new players to grow the game. He and his wife live in Los Altos, have raised two adult children, and he always welcomes the affections of his two cats.

California native Laura came to Fremont Hills in 2016 and as Windy Hill Equestrians, a full-time A-Circuit training barn, has been managing the stables, the horses, and the barn cats since 2000. At the beginning of her career, she worked for Linda Hough, Carleton Brooks, and her father, Larry Mayfield. With 50 horses on the property, including those privately owned and boarded, and the lesson horses which are owned by Windy Hill, Laura has been working since high school and started her own business at 23. With Laura and her partner, Dakoda Mower, both competing at the 1.50 level, Windy Hill has produced many top riders from the beginning levels through Grand Prix, and every year they have riders competing in various medal finals and team competitions. With lots of dogs and two adult children, including her daughter, who also works at Windy Hill, she’s proud of the big family she’s created at the barn: her three assistants, five grooms, two barn managers, three stall cleaners, and the other Laura, Laura Morishige, who heads up the lessons and camp programming and has worked at the Club since 2007. Windy Hill is a beautiful spot and Laura loves being such an integral part of Fremont Hills.

Chris joined Fremont Hills Country Club in 2022 to lend his considerable managerial expertise to running the Member’s Dining Room, banquets, and special events. A local from San Jose, Chris had his first job as a dishwasher when he was 16 and has worked in restaurants of excellence ever since, except for four years in the United States Army 3rd 11th Cavalry Regiment on the East/West German Border for four years in the late 1980s. After winning the Cold War, he returned to California and worked for such venerable institutions as Paolo’s, Le Papillon, La Forêt, and La Hacienda Inn. Chris is a certified sommelier and had that position at the Rosewood resort and golf club Cordevalle in San Martin, and was the Wine Director at Grasings in Carmel-by-the-Sea. He was most recently the Director of Restaurants at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay before joining Fremont Hills. He and his partner enjoy traveling and are always looking forward to exploring a new part of the world, and when at home with their two Chihuahua mutts, like to have grand dinner parties with all their chef friends of a minimum of eight courses.

Chef Steve has been crafting Fremont Hills’ famous menus since 2009. A dedicated foodie, Chef loves being creative with fusing different cuisines from around the world. A constant researcher of culinary styles, he’s a hands-on chef who takes pride in every dish from prep to presentation. San Francisco born and raised, he trained himself and worked his way up from his first job as a dishwasher. After establishing his name, he did an Old World Apprenticeship at the San Francisco World Trade Club and attended the Culinary Academy of San Francisco. He taught at the Culinary Academy of Sacramento, successfully competed in Culinary Arts competitions in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and San Jose twice. He appeared on television for the first time aged just 24 and was once a regular on the local news shows, all while working in fine dining for decades. Steve was most recently the Executive Chef-Partner of Martha’s in the Pruneyard before coming to Fremont Hills. When he puts his knives down, he has enjoyed exercising his creativity on arts and crafts projects, origami, and building custom motorcycles from the 50s and 60s. A passionate history buff, Chef is always looking for new challenges both culinary and personal, but has downsized his motorcycle collection to just one 2018 Triumph Bobber.

Since starting as an intern during the summer of 2022, Elaine has already moved up at Fremont Hills, and is now a full-time assistant to Food & Beverage Manager Chris Edmonds. Local to Mountain View, Elaine got her first taste of hospitality as high school intern with Bon Appetit at Google. This experience is what led her to realize that she wanted to study hospitality. Currently a student at San Jose State’s Business school majoring in Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management, while working here, she’s realized that her favorite thing to do, in addition to her other responsibilities managing billing and orders, designing menus, and assisting in the dining room, is running large member events. She finds the high-intensity pace of work extremely rewarding when, at the end, everyone is happy and having a wonderful time. Elaine enjoys working with people and helping them plan their perfect events, and she looks forward to seeing how far she can reach in her career after graduating in the Spring of 2023, at which point, she hopes, she can begin to focus on travel. Her first major trip she’d like to be to Korea, to see for herself just how well one can eat at a convenience store. Bilingual in English and Spanish, energetic and ambitious, Elaine has brought an enormous amount of talent to Fremont Hills, and is guaranteed to go far in life.

At Fremont Hills since 1998, Enio was here to launch dining at Fremont Hills with then Executive Chef Patrick Clark. Before that, the kitchen was only set up for catering private events, and with his cousin Heriberto, it was restructured for member dining six days a week. Coming from Michoacán State in Mexico, and living in the Bay Area since 1995, he, like his cousin, started as a dishwasher at an Italian restaurant in San Jose. He learned to cook watching the different chefs he’s worked with over the years, and with this expertise was instrumental in the hiring of Chef Steve Chan to take over the kitchen after eight years without an Executive Chef. Taking pride in every step of preparing meals for members or guests, and famous for his steaks, he’s passionate about food, and after over 20 years is incredibly loyal to Fremont Hills and his team. With three teenagers at home, including one daughter who works summers at the Barracuda Grill by the pool, Enio has spent more than half his life at Fremont Hills, and loves this place and the work he does.

At Fremont Hills since 1998, Heriberto worked with then Executive Chef Patrick Clark to launch dining at Fremont Hills. For eight years he ran the kitchen himself until he helped choose Chef Steve Chan to take over as executive chef. Bert started as a dishwasher at his first job in 1989, and learned from many chefs throughout his life. Originally from Michoacán State in Mexico, Heriberto has lived in the Bay Area since 1989, and Fremont Hills has been only his third job. He’s raised three children since working here, who enjoyed riding horses and swimming here. Members all know Bert, and frequently come to say hi to him. In charge of the mornings, and adept at everything from the daily soup to his famous shrimp tacos, Heriberto loves it here, loves the team he works with, and is proud of how much he’s accomplished in his long tenure at the Club.

Our bartender, unofficial maître d’, and confessor to every member at Fremont Hills, Dino has been at the Club since 2010. Originally from Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, Dino came to Louisiana as a 16 year old, and completed high school in Lafayette. He studied Fashion Merchandising at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he worked ten years in New Orleans as a fashion consultant, serving a high-end clientele, including Emeril Lagasse. After being inspired to take some time off and rediscover himself, he spent several months touring the United States, and found himself in the Bay Area to visit family members, when he met the mother of his eventual children. He found work for a short time at LuLu Restaurant on Folsom in SoMa which hosted such names as Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. While there, he discovered a passion for creative arts, and took a course in Marin where he grew a network of artists and became assistant to a successful decorative artist. Soon thereafter he opened his own business and moved his young family into a warehouse in Oakland with loft apartments above his studio. Over a decade later, with his three children grown and wanting to start another chapter in his life, he heard that Fremont Hills was in need of a bartender and took the job for a little while, but fell in love with the place, the members, the environment, everything. And he still paints.

Growing up in the Fiji Islands, Charlie came to the Bay Area when he was 20 years old. For years he had an auto electrical repair shop in San Francisco before moving into maintenance work at the University Club for four years. Since then, for 16 years he’s been in charge of the buildings, grounds, maintenance, landscaping, electrical, repairs, improvements, and all the tools needed for those things at Fremont Hills. In that time, he’s left his mark everywhere around the property. He completely overhauled the swimming pool from the inside out, added lighting in the parking lot, built decks around the tennis and pickleball courts, took control of the landscaping and built a beautiful crew of people to help manage the property. He’s passionate about bringing all projects, whether structural improvements or spring planting, to perfectly match his vision. He speaks English and Fiji Hindi, has traveled all over the world in all hemispheres, and with his wife has raised two children to add to his own large family of 10 siblings and their own families. In his spare time he loves to golf and tries to get back to the Fiji Islands at least every other year.

Priscilla has been swimming at the Club since she was ten years old, swam with Dana through high school, and has worked as a swim instructor since 2015. In the meantime, she’s graduated from Wheaton College with Bachelor degrees in English and Secondary Education and is currently a sixth grade English teacher at King’s Academy. With many connections with families through private lessons, summer league swimming, or Camp Fremont, she looks forward to seeing old friends and new this summer.

Emily, currently studying Communication Design at the Pratt Institute in New York, with a focus on illustration, was the Assistant Camp Director last year and a Camp Counselor before that. She’s worked as a counselor for DesignX, an art camp for young children, and has been helping put the Fremont Hills newsletters together with her graphic design talents.