June Mclvor is an accomplished executive with extensive leadership experience across diverse industries, including renewable energy, wine, law and sports. She currently leads community engagement efforts for Invenergy’s Even Keel Wind project, focused on offshore wind energy off California’s Central Coast, driven by her commitment to addressing climate change. We are excited for her to serve as the 2025 Chamber Board Chair.
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
I’d like to think it would be Jodie Foster or Reece Witherspoon, although people have always told me I look like Bonnie Hunt.
How long have you been on the Central Coast? What brought you here?
Although I grew up on the East Coast, I moved here from LA with my husband, Duane Hall, in 2003 when our daughter Kaylie was 8 months old. We wanted to raise her in a true community. It’s been a great place to raise a family and to make a home.
Tell us about your career history. How did you get to where you are today?
Oof, that’s a long story! I’ve been fortunate to have a varied career. I’m a lawyer by training, but soccer has been a lifelong passion. Studying for the bar exam after law school, I was watching the World Cup on TV with some friends I played pick up with. One of them mentioned that the World Cup was going to be held in the U.S. in 1994 and that they would need lawyers. That had never occurred to me, but it set me on a path of adventure: from volunteering for the World Cup organizing committee while an associate at an international law firm, to getting a full-time job with them as VP and Legal Counsel to becoming the first General Counsel of Major League Soccer to being Chief Operating Officer of the 1999 Women’s World Cup. All true dream jobs. Then our daughter came along, and I got the opportunity to join the Sinsheimer law firm here in SLO, practicing business law for 12 years. And then off on another wild and unexpected ride: running Tolosa winery for 8 years as President & CEO as well as creating the corporate structure for Tolosa and its sister wineries in Napa and Spain and then serving as CEO of the parent company. It was the sustainability work we were doing at Tolosa that really opened my eyes to the plight of the planet in the face of climate change. It led me to the decision that dedicating my time and energy to fighting climate change is the most important thing I can do. With renewable offshore wind energy coming right here to our region, I really wanted to be a part of that. I was fortunate to get a position leading community engagement for Invenergy’s Even Keel Wind project. Invenergy is a U.S. clean energy company with over 200 projects around the world and a commitment to true engagement in their host communities. It’s a privilege to be able to work to make this renewable energy project happen and benefit not only the planet but the community I love.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?
I would like to say my daughter, but she gets all the credit for how amazing she is! So, I would have to say that going from being a high school student in Connecticut who had to fight for 3 years just to get a varsity girls’ soccer team at my school to standing in the VIP box of the 1999 Women’s World Cup final at the Rose Bowl surrounded by 90,000 delirious fans would have to be a highlight.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Make your own luck and seize the opportunities that come your way! And it’s more important to be the kindest person in the room than the smartest.
What gets you excited about going to work each day?
The opportunity to serve my community and to contribute even in a small way to preserving our environment from the ravages of climate change.
What do you do to unwind?
Hang out with friends and family, including our entertaining black cats; read a book; or watch Ted Lasso for the gazillionth time.
Do you have any favorite pastimes?
Exercise – whether a hike or trail run in our beautiful hills, a workout at Orangetheory, a game of pickleball with friends, or refereeing youth soccer for AYSO.
As the 2025 SLO Chamber Board Chair, what are you hoping to focus on?
Our big undertaking for 2025 is the updating of the Chamber’s economic vision. I’m fortunate to be working with the visionary Christine Robertson on this effort, along with the rest of our amazing Executive Committee, dedicated Board of Directors, and incredible staff led by the incomparable Jim Dantona.