Tim Busch has been a practicing attorney in Orange County for more than 35 years and is the founder of The Busch Firm, an Irvine law firm established in 1979 which specializes in estate planning, asset protection, tax, real estate, corporate law litigation and the representation of religious organizations.  He also has various affiliations in private operating and real estate companies, including Pacific Hospitality Group, a company that owns and operates twelve hotels throughout the United States, including The Meritage Collection, an exclusive collection of six lifestyle hotels located in Napa, La Jolla, Newport Beach, Santa Barbara, Kauai and Huntington Beach. He is also a partner in Busch’s Markets, which operates 16 high-end grocery stores in southeastern Michigan.

 

Tim and his wife, Steph Busch, are extensively involved in various Catholic organizations and charities. Since 1990, Tim has been an active member of the Orange County chapter of Legatus, an organization for Catholic CEOs and their spouses, where he was named Ambassador of the Year in both 1994 and 2009, and was named a Founder in 2005, an honor that is given to only four people in an organization of more than 2500 CEOs. 

 

With Fr Robert Spitzer, S.J., Tim and Steph co-founded the Magis Institute, which administers the Reason and Faith Center using modern astrophysics to prove the existence of God. In 2010, Tim was accoladed with the First Leadership Award by Magis Institute and Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J. and in 2016 was given a special Spiritual Entrepreneur of the Decade Award. In 2011, together Tim and Fr Robert Spitzer, S.J. co-founded the Napa Institute, which holds intellectual apostolic conferences and pilgrimages intended to prepare Catholics for the Next America.

 

As long time advocates of private Catholic schooling, Tim and Steph co-founded St. Anne School in Laguna Niguel in 1992, a private Roman Catholic School under the Diocese of Orange with an enrollment of 850 students, including their two children, both of whom are now graduates of the school. Tim served as Chairman and CEO of the school for 18 years while Steph ran the school as COO for 14 years and is currently on the Board and Executive Committee. Continuing their tradition of supporting quality Catholic education in Southern California, they also co-founded JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, a private Roman Catholic school, where Tim serves as Chairman and Steph directed the construction, which was completed in 2006.  JSerra opened in September 2003 with 160 students and has a current enrollment of over 1,200.

 

Tim serves on Boards for The Catholic University of America, The Catholic University of America Board of Visitors for the Busch School of Business and Economics (Chair), the Board of Visitors of the Institute for Human Ecology, Magis Institute, Napa Institute (Chair), the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, EWTN, and JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, CA (Chair).  He served on the Executive Committee of the Papal Foundation, where he also served on the Board for 12 years.  In 2016, the Catholic University of America, a Pontifical University in Washington, D.C. named its business school the Tim and Steph Busch School of Business and Economics, in recognition of Tim and Steph’s generous support of the school.

 

Tim, age 62, was born in Michigan and relocated to California in 1982 upon meeting his wife, Steph, to whom he has been married for 31 years.  They have two children, Garrett, age 29, and Mackenzie, age 26, and three grandchildren. Garrett graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in Business Entrepreneurship and an M.B.A. in Financial Investments and is now the CEO of the family winery, Trinitas Cellars, founded in 2002. He married Betsy O'Neill Busch in June 2014, also a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Accounting, and is now a CPA. Betsy and Garrett have three children (triplets) Jameson, Reagan and Remington.  Mackenzie graduated from Kaplan University with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Health and founded her own health coaching company, Holistic Umbrella.  She is married to Collin Vath, a graduate of Cal State Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in business, who runs his family’s contracting business.

 

In 1998, Tim was the founding chairman of Boy Scout Troop #872, sponsored by St. Timothy Catholic Church.  Garrett, along with seven other boys, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

 

Tim enjoys traveling, golfing in Indian Wells, and fine wine.  In 2002, his passion for wine led him to found Trinitas Cellars, LLC, now located in Napa, CA. Tim is a part-owner and member of the Board of the Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert, CA, and is a member of the Reserve CC in Indian Wells, CA; Newport Beach Country Club; Rock Creek Cattle Company in Deer Lodge, MT.; Pacific Club and Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, CA.