Leadership & Staff
Brian Maas, President [email]
Brian Maas is the President of the California New Car Dealers Association representing over 1,200 franchised new car dealers in the state. Brian directed CNCDA’s political activities and served as the Association’s chief legislative advocate for twelve years before becoming President. Previously, he was a lobbyist with the California Bankers Association.
Jennifer Aragon, Chief Financial Officer [email]
Jennifer Aragon is the Chief Financial Officer of the California New Car Dealers Association. She is responsible for the financial and administrative functions of the Association and its four related entities. She manages all financial, budgeting, investment, tax, and audit activities. She also oversees operational functions including accounting, membership, and information technology.
Anthony Bento, Chief Legal Officer [email]
Anthony Bento is the Chief Legal Officer at the California New Car Dealers Association. As the Chief Legal Officer, Anthony serves as CNCDA’s chief legal counsel and advocates on behalf of dealer interests with California’s various regulatory agencies and Capitol policymakers. Anthony is also the primary architect of CNCDA’s member compliance resources, including webinars, alerts, and manuals designed specifically for California’s new car dealers.
Autumn Heacox, Director of Communications & Marketing [email]
Autumn has over 20 years of marketing experience for private companies and nonprofits. She’s worked for a commercial general contractor, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and has marketing agency experience. Autumn has a B.A. in Public Relations from Sacramento State University where she was President of the university’s competitive ballroom dance company. Additionally, Autumn helped found, and was the inaugural President of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s first young professionals’ program (Metro EDGE) and was recognized as one of the region’s “Top 40 Under 40” professionals by the Sacramento Business Journal.
Cathy Mason, Director of Operations [email]
Cathy Mason brings over 20 years of experience to the California New Car Dealers Association. She manages all office operations, The Showroom (CNCDA’s public meeting space), owned parking lot, in addition to providing building management. Cathy conducts all business operations, HR Management, offers expert administrative support, and fosters positive and lasting relationships with CNCDA’s membership. With her strong leadership experience, Cathy helps streamline the association’s processes, ensuring all staff and association members can meet their goals and desired outcomes.
Rebecca Matulich
Director of Education & Events
[email]
Kenton Stanhope, Director of Government Affairs [email]
Kenton brings over 10 years of experience in legislative and government affairs to the CNCDA team. He has worked in the California Legislature as a policy analyst for Senator Jim Beall. Stanhope also was a Committee Consultant for Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. More recently, he managed government affairs for the western states for Juul Labs.
Les Swizer, Legal & Regulatory Affairs Counsel [email]
Les Swizer is the Legal and Regulatory Counsel for California New Car Dealers Association. Les provides compliance guidance to the Association’s dealer members and their staff. In addition to monitoring and analyzing changes in the legal and regulatory landscape affecting dealers, Les also provides support to the CNCDA Scholarship Foundation to promote workforce development within the industry. Prior to becoming an attorney with the Association, Les worked as a technician, service writer, and service manager.
