Michael H. Lester

Michael H. Lester, 63, is an attorney and CPA licensed to practice in the State of California. During the past twenty-eight years, Mr. Lester has built and continues to operate a highly successful business management practice in Los Angeles. Mr. Lester represents some of the most recognizable names in the entertainment industry in all financial matters, including budgeting, production accounting, investments, financial planning, insurance, and tax planning and compliance. During this time, Mr. Lester successfully managed five apartment buildings in Los Angeles he acquired for clients and sold at a substantial profit. For seven years before that, Mr. Lester practiced law and worked for a "big 8" accounting firm, concentrating in the areas of taxation, corporate and partnership business formation and transactions, and securities law for both small start-up companies and publicly-held companies.

While maintaining his business management practice, in 1999, Mr. Lester co-founded an Internet new media company, served as its General Counsel and Chief Financial Officer, and directly assisted in raising over $1,000,000 in seed money. He also co-founded The Willows Community School, a highly successful private elementary and middle school in Culver City, California, and served as a Board Member and co-chairman of the Finance Committee for several years.

Since 2007, Mr. Lester has served on the Board of Directors of Friends of the Observatory, the non-profit support organization for the Griffith Observatory, has assisted in its fundraising efforts and Board member recruitment, provided valuable guidance and leadership, and is now its Treasurer and Chair of its Development Committee.

Mr. Lester attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting in 1971, and a Juris Doctor in 1974.