Derek grew up in the desert region of Los Angeles, California in a family of 8 kids. He spent his younger years heavily involved in football, baseball, soccer, skateboarding, surfing, racquetball, and any other sport he could get his hand on. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology, and then went on to get his Master’s degree in Business Administration in 2000. Derek had initially worked in the high tech industry as well as the aerospace industry, but he realized early on that he wanted to establish and run his own business. Over the last 22 years, Derek has founded numerous real estate and construction companies from which he has gained an extensive amount of experience in the hospitality industry. Derek has been happily married to his high school sweetheart for over 25 years and now has two wonderful kids named Sarah and Eliana. He continues to enjoy sports including triathlons, hiking, biking, running, and swimming. He loves watching college football and enjoys traveling in his free time with his wife and kids.
Zohar moved here to America when she was 6 years old from Israel when her father was brought here for his technical expertise in the solar industry. She still is able to speak fluent Hebrew despite not having lived there for almost 40 years. Zohar knew early as a child that her love in life was taking care of people. She volunteered as a medical candy striper helping hospital nurses when she was 12 years old, and continued that career path by obtaining her master’s degree in Nursing from UCLA, and is now a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner working at a local hospital with newborns. She enjoys her work, but her biggest priority in life is being a mom to her two kids. She makes it a priority in her life to always spend her precious time with her family and friends. Zohar enjoys the beach, the mountains, dancing, singing, and most of all giving to others.