Posted by Carrie Condran LaBriola on Apr 13, 2019
As he prepares to join the Board of the Rotary Club of San Francisco as Vice President for Club Service, Michael Petricca sees a natural partnership between his job as director of security for Academy of Art University and Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self.
 
“Both want to help kids and make the community better,” he says.
A Chicago native, Mike studied law enforcement and corrections on a football scholarship at Northeastern Missouri State University, leading to 20 years as a police officer and then chief in Webster City, MO. As chief, he was one of the first to implement the new 911 system, ultimately becoming president of the National Emergency Number Association, which develops policies and procedures for 911 systems and organizations nationwide. He was also instrumental in the development of wireless technology for law enforcement.
 
After he retired as chief, Mike spent 10 years working with Pacific Bell (now AT&T)’s public safety team, headquartered in Roseville, where he still lives with his wife, Linda, a retired middle school teacher. The couple has a daughter, two sons, and six grandchildren. They enjoy camping along the Coast, and Mike golfs and participates in cross-fit training.
 
While his daughter attended Academy of Art University, Mike had the chance to meet President Elisa Stephens, who recruited him to start the school’s first campus safety system, which he has headed for the past 13 years, spending the week in San Francisco and going home to Roseville on the weekends. He is in charge of safety and security for all buildings, students, and staff at nearly 50 locations in San Francisco and South San Francisco and has more than 100 employees. A lot of the work involves technology, including video, alarm, and identification systems. His job also includes building relationships with other organizations, such as police, fire, sheriff, Boys and Girls Clubs, City Hall, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and, of course, Rotary.
 
A former president of the Kiwanis Club of Webster City, Mike joined Rotary two years ago, “filling the shoes of Dr. Stephens,” a former member. “It’s a very prestigious organization,” he says. “I wanted to let people understand what we are, a great university, get back to our roots, and help Rotary from an artistic standpoint, reaching out to Interact students and offering a place to hold meetings.”
 
As Club Service VP, Mike wants to make sure “what we do every Tuesday is great.” To that end, he hopes to increase the number of volunteers helping to make the lunch meetings run smoothly and also ensure the high quality of speakers. And, based on his family history of running restaurants in Chicago, he hopes to “make sure we have a fantastic rapport with the hotel.”