Welcome back to the Sunstone Way, and a very merry early Christmas to you!
Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on a Thursday this year, so this will be my last message to you in 2025. I have so many holiday wishes to convey, I’ll just start right away (see what I did there?).
Prosperity for Partners
We have worked with many old friends and met many more new friends in 2025, and I’m grateful for each and every one. Whether it was Bill Beverly and Jakson Alvarez at the fast-growing Evolectric whom we’ve supported since the beginning, to my old friend Jeff Fullerton – a true guru in the world of public-private partnerships at Fullerton Consulting Partners LLC and partners with me in Public Private Partners, LLC, we couldn’t do what Sunstone does without them.
Our roster of public partners continues to grow as well. It’s been said that our future rests on our educational institutions, and Sunstone continues to expand relationships with the California State University system, the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University, and the University of California system in the persona of UC Irvine.
I’m particularly proud of the collaborations we’ve created with municipalities, especially in Southern California. Being able to help governments big and small improve their communities through economic development and better infrastructure at an affordable cost is core to my mission and the mission of Sunstone Cities.
2025 has seen Sunstone create really strong partnerships and friendships at state agencies including IBank and GO-Biz, along with state representatives of the Small Business Administration. Business and government organizations are key as well, including Chambers of Commerce, CalEd and more. Together, we make a much bigger difference than we could apart.
Then there are our many partners working with Sunstone Investors LLC. It is fair to say that Sunstone wouldn’t exist without you! We are so very grateful for your friendship.
I hope you all have a great holiday season and a prosperous new year.
Our Leadership
Our holiday season at Sunstone wouldn’t be nearly as joyful without John Shen, Stella Zhang and Queena Zhao, the founding partners. Their generosity and love is nothing short of amazing.
Personally, their friendship means a great deal to me. Our philosophies and values are aligned – invest in our communities to make them better. That makes it easy to be thankful for my friends.
I might be the Sunstone CEO, but this ship would be rudderless without our dynamic leadership team. I’ve introduced them to you before, but please indulge me as a wish them all a very merry and meaningful Christmas.
There’s Mike Stone, a partner and our Chief Investment Officer. Jasmine Jiang runs the investment team as Senior Vice President of Investment Operations. Heather Lewis keeps us in line as the Chief Compliance Officer, and Jennifer Huang lets everyone know about us as Marketing & Communications Manager. Jayro Sandoval leads Sunstone Cities as our Economic Development Manager. And things would quickly turn to chaos without the steady hand of Jessica DeLa Rosa, the Administrative & Finance Officer.
In reality, every member of the Sunstone team is part of the leadership team. Each and every one takes leadership in projects where they are experts. We couldn’t do all we do without every one of them.
I love this Sunstone family.
Creating Community
I hope you understand by now what we mean when we say we improve our Community through Investment in Entrepreneurship. We come alongside our partners, working together to find new ways to make our world a better place.
That, my friends, is goodwill to all mankind – the reason for this holiday season. And it’s the Sunstone Way!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. We’ll see you in 2026.
Remember, always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2025