Staff

Jessica Penman took over the President & CEO position of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce in October 2022. As President & CEO she has been actively involved in making sure the Truckee Chamber continues to be the voice of business and a champion for our community. Before coming to Truckee, Jessica was the Director of Community Relations at the Yountville Chamber of Commerce, in Napa County for five years.

Jessica has extensive experience in marketing, sales, membership relations, community development, and workforce issues. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in Anthropology and Classical Civilizations and a MA in Egyptian Archaeology from University College London. In addition to her chamber work, she has taught at community colleges for the past eight years. Jessica has lived in Italy, Egypt, and England and loves to travel to new places.

Jessica grew up spending her weekends and holidays in Truckee and could not be more thrilled to be make Truckee her permanent home. When she is not working, she loves hiking with her boyfriend and paddle boarding and playing with their puppy, Auggie, and reading far too many books.

Ruth Geresy has been with the Truckee Chamber of Commerce since 2001. Ruth is the Manager of the Truckee Welcome Center in the historic train depot downtown. The Truckee Welcome Center assists more than 220,000 visitors annually. Ruth also serves as the Director of Operations for the Chamber. Ruth graduated from CSU, Chico with a BA in Social Psychology and Business Administration. Her passion for skiing landed her in Truckee in 1980 where she met her husband, Don Geresy of Don Geresy Construction. Their daughters, Katie and Jenny, were both born and raised in Truckee, only leaving Truckee to obtain their college degrees.

Prior to joining the chamber, Ruth worked at the Truckee Tahoe Airport for 19 years. In that role, she produced the annual Air Show that attracted thousands of spectators. Ruth was the guiding force creating Relay For Life of Truckee Tahoe for ten years. Ruth has been recognized on numerous occasions for her significant contributions including 2010 Volunteer of the Year Award by the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce; honored in 2011 by Rotary Club of Truckee and the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International with a Paul Harris Fellow; and in 2013 named Truckee’s female Citizen of the Year by Truckee Interclub.

Melissa is responsible for writing and producing Chamber publications, including the Truckee Chamber Biweekly News, New Jobs This Week, Community Connections and Chamber Members Only monthly e-news, as well as daily social media and informational and event emails. She develops and edits content for Truckee.com, including monitoring and promoting member events and news. She also writes articles and serves as managing editor for Truckee Magazine, our quarterly magazine.

Melissa helps connect job seekers and employers through the Truckee Jobs Collective. She has been with the chamber since 2016 and brings more than 30 years of experience writing, editing, and building teams. After receiving a BS in Communications and English, she was an AP reporter, then worked in hotel/travel-related and political public relations in Washington D.C. She moved to San Francisco in the early ’90s and worked for book publishers, becoming managing editor of a team of 40+ for the national McGraw-Hill Higher Education Humanities and Social Sciences list. From 2012-2016, Melissa worked as a freelance writer and editor for TTUSD and Truckee businesses.

Melissa was a volunteer founder of Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, has served on nonprofit boards, and volunteered for the North Tahoe-Truckee Homeless Services and at many nonprofit events. Melissa loves being a part of the Truckee-Tahoe community, especially dancing to great local music, mountain biking, skiing, and paddle boarding with her family and friends.

Trisha Stickney joined the Truckee Chamber of Commerce team in November 2024 as Membership and Programs Manager. She has lived in the Truckee area since 2004. Originally from Massachusetts, she graduated with her BA degree in Communications in 2004, then moved straight to Tahoe. Although she had never skied, she knew Tahoe was a special place and was ready for a new adventure. Learning to ski immediately and falling in love with it, Sugar Bowl became home, where she worked and skied for years.

In 2011, becoming a mom and changing career paths led her to become the General Manager of Grateful Gardens Landscaping, where she stayed for 10 years. With her daughter, now 14, and partner of 10 years, Marc, they bought a house on Donner Summit in 2019, bringing her back to her beloved Sugar Bowl. Trisha has volunteered for many organizations, including the Shane McConkey Foundation and Donner Trail PTO, where she served as president of the PTO for 3 years. When she's not working, she is skiing and hiking with her partner, Marc and their dog, Louie, having a girls' night out with her friends or driving her daughter to sports activities.