Kelly Foundation Board of Directors

Shawn Devlin, Chairman

Shawn Kelly Devlin, daughter of the founder of the Kelly Foundation and River City Bank, Jon S. Kelly, has served as the Chairman of the Kelly Foundation since 2010 stewarding it to become the third largest charitable foundation in Sacramento. She has been the Chairman of the Board of River City Bank since 2009, and member of the Board of Directors since 2001. Under her leadership, the bank’s assets have increased by over 500% and is the largest locally owned and independent bank in Sacramento. Born and raised in Sacramento, she is proud to be a 6th generation Sacramentan.

Steve Fleming, Board Member

Since September ’08, Steve has been President & Chief Executive Officer of River City Bank. He has over 40 years of banking experience, including over 20 years with Bank of America in Sacramento and London, England. Steve has been a leader in a variety of charitable activities over the years, including currently serving as a board member for the Kelly Foundation, Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council, a member of the Sacramento Host Committee, the Sacramento chapter of Lambda Alpha, the honorary society for the advancement of land economics, and the Capital Region Family Business Center.

Mike Newell, Board Member

A resident of the Sacramento area for over 50 years, Mike has a degree in Economics from UC Berkeley (’87) and a MBA from the Wharton School (’91). Between 1987-2007, Mike worked in Operations, Sales, and Marketing at Crystal Cream & Butter Company and served as the company President from 2003 until its sale to HP Hood in 2007. Presently Mike is the Sales Director for HP Hood. In addition to the Kelly Foundation, Mike currently serves on the Boards of the Dairy Council of California, the California Milk Processor Board, the Dairy Institute of California, the Sutter Davis Hospital Foundation, and River City Bank.

Scott Nichols, Board Member

Scott Nichols graduated Phi Beta Kappa from U.C. Davis receiving a B.A. in Economics in 1972 and later received a M.B.A. in accounting and finance from UCLA in 1974. Upon graduation he served in the U.S. Army until 1979 as a Captain in the Finance Corps with tours in Germany and the United States.

Scott passed the CPA exam in 1982 while working for Arthur Young & Co. as an audit manager. He went to work for the Kelly family in 1984 as the Business Manager of KCRA-TV, Sacramento, CA. In 1992, Scott was promoted to the position of CFO of the Kelly Broadcasting group. He also served as CFO of River City Bank, the family owned bank in Sacramento, when Jon Kelly was serving as the bank’s President and CEO.

The Kelly family sold the TV broadcasting properties in 1999 at which point Scott was chosen to run the Kelly family office in Sacramento, CA. He did so until January, 2020 when he retired. Scott continues to serve as a Trustee of certain Kelly family Trusts and consults for River City Bank. He also serves on the Board of Directors and is the Treasurer of the Kelly Foundation and volunteers at non-profit entities.

Stephen Johanson, Board Member

Stephen Johanson, a 4th generation Sacramentan, attended local schools and graduated from the University of California, Davis, (BA) and University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (JD, LLM). He has been practicing law in Sacramento since 1974 with an emphasis in estate planning and corporate law. In his spare time he enjoys woodworking and playing with his three grandsons.

Riley Gardner, Board Member

Riley Gardner, grandson of Jon Kelly, is a Vice President and Business Development Officer for River City Bank. He was born and raised in Sacramento, and is a seventh generation Sacramentan. Riley is a graduate of UCLA, with previous experience working in the tech, agriculture, and international trade in both China and California. Riley enjoys hunting, fishing, running, biking, and walking his dogs on local trails, and is particularly passionate about the outdoors and conservation.

Max Kelly, Board Member

Max Kelly, grandson of Jon Kelly, grew up in Sacramento, and attended Jesuit High School. He graduated from Seattle University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. After spending six years in the Pacific Northwest, Max returned to Sacramento to work in commercial real estate.

In 2021, he joined the board of the Kelly Foundation, where he aims to give back and to support the city he grew up in. In his spare time, Max enjoys traveling across the country, and golfing.

Eric Johnson, Board Member

Eric Johnson is the Director of Corporate Development for Meriplex, a national provider of managed IT services to small and mid-market companies. Prior to joining Meriplex, Eric was a partner at GNT Solutions (acquired by Meriplex in 2021) and the Chief Information Officer for River City Bank before that. Besides the Kelly Foundation Board, Eric’s philanthropic board activities include The First Tee of Greater Sacramento, Easter Seals of Superior California, and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. Eric currently resides in Davis with his wife and two daughters and always enjoys an excuse to play a round of golf.

John Mezger, Board Member

John Mezger was born and raised in Sacramento. John currently works at Tower Investments – a family- owned commercial real estate investment company. He earned his B.B.A in Finance from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. Outside of his professional life, John loves exploring the outdoors, running marathons, and spending time with his family.