Our Team

Michele Linse

Michele began her professional journey as an editor in the graphics department of a nuclear engineering company in Chicago, Illinois. Following her college graduation, she expanded her horizons by traveling extensively throughout Europe, the Soviet Union and the Middle East.

In 1987, Michele returned to Chicago to establish herself in commercial and feature film production. Driven by a passion for the evolving entertainment industry, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1992, where she carved out a specialized niche in visual effects and computer animation. Over the years, she collaborated closely with digital artists and technical crews to deliver visual effects for cinematic box-office hits, including The Rock, Con Air, Something’s Gotta Give and Spiderman 2. Her deep expertise in the field also led her to co-publish “The Little Black Book of Visual Effects” in 1999, a resource manual tailored for industry professionals.

Michele relocated to Temecula, California, in 2017 to care for her mother and aunt. Eager to connect with her new community, she joined the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, where she actively contributed as a Chamber Ambassador. She quickly became a familiar face at regional non-profit events. In 2018, she completed a personal and charitable milestone by taking on the Temecula Park District challenge to swim 100 miles within a year, raising funds to support local organizations Michelle’s Place and Rancho Damacitas.

Expanding her creative talents into authorship, Michele self-published a children’s book about foster care and adoption titled “Doodle Finds His Family”.  Published through Squeaky Wheel Publishing, the story follows a resilient little bug who learns that love is what truly defines a family. Michele has shared this inspiring narrative with local families through community readings, including events at the local Barnes & Noble.

As a step-mom to 2 and foster mom to 10, Michele has always been motivated to empower children to thrive with confidence and joy. The Joshua Project is an exciting culmination of seeing those dreams come to fruition.

FOUNDER

Tate Parker

A longtime resident of Temecula, Tate Parker is a dedicated community advocate, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Originally from Las Vegas, where she lived for 38 years, Tate has called Temecula home for the past 18 years.  For 15 years, Tate owned and operated a successful franchise of Nothing Bundt Cakes from 2010 to 2025, building not only a thriving business but also strong relationships throughout the community.  Tate has demonstrated a deep commitment to service through her leadership with Hospice of the Valleys.

Over the years, she has served on the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees, and she currently serves on the Advisory Board, continuing to support the organization’s mission of compassionate care.  Beyond her work with Hospice of the Valleys, Tate is also a member of the advisory board for Michelle’s Place Cancer Resource Center and a member of 100+ Women Who Care Temecula Valley, organizations dedicated to supporting individuals and families in the community through compassion, resources, and philanthropy.  In her spare time, Tate enjoys going to the beach, listening to music, and staying active through regular workouts—activities that help her recharge while continuing to live life with energy and purpose.

John Kelliher

John Kelliher is co-founder, along with his wife Kim, of two Temecula-based businesses: Grapeline Wine Tours, and Stryder Transportation.  Grapeline, a three-time Temecula Business of the Year, provides wine tasting tours in Temecula, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Sonoma and Napa.  Stryder Transportation provides executive and group transportation throughout Southern California, operating a fleet of 30 vehicles ranging from executive SUV's to 56-passenger buses.  

Since May, 2016, John has served as a State Commissioner on the board of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, publicly known as Visit California. For the past two decades, John also served on the board of Visit Temecula Valley, including two years as Chairman.  

Over the years, John has been active in many community organizations, including the Murrieta Temecula Group, the Wine Country Entrepreneur Group, the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, and Rotary International.  In 2022 and 2012, he was named Temecula's Hospitality Professional of the Year, and was named Temecula's Citizen of the Year in 2014.  

John has been married to wife Kim for 34 years  The couple moved to Temecula in 1997 and raised their three boys in the community.

Colton Telford

Colton Telford is a serial entrepreneur and operator whose career spans financial services, medical devices, technology startups, and consumer platforms. Born in a small Mormon colony in Mexico and raised with a bias for hard work and creative problem-solving, he went on to serve on executive communications teams at JPMorgan Chase and Washington Mutual before spending nearly a decade in high-stakes medical sales — including work alongside the U.S. Army's Institute of Surgical Research supporting troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. After years of founding, advising, and operating companies across multiple industries, Colton co-founded Oili, Inc. in 2021 — a venture-backed mobile services platform he's scaling toward a national IPO.

Joel Silverthorn

Joel Silverthorn was born and raised in San Diego. He and his wife Meghan, moved to Murrieta in August of 2014 after purchasing a brick and mortar business focused around automated wellness services. After moving to Murrieta they quickly got involved in the community and made a name for themselves. In 2015, Joel and his wife both received the Forty Under 40 Award from the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce and were nominated for both Small Business of the Year and Entrepreneur of The Year. Faith and family are most important to Joel. He is a loving husband and father of 3 beautiful kids. He has served as an usher at his church since 2015 and he and his wife led and organized the first Marriage Retreat for their church in 2017. He has been an active real estate agent since 2015 and has a heart serve others. In his free time he enjoys spending time with family, riding dirt bikes, hiking, camping, playing golf, and most importantly watching his kids play soccer.