Location: San Diego, Calif.

Suzanne Afflalo is a retired Southern California Permanente Medical Group Family Physician who worked at Kaiser Permanente for 23 years. She currently serves as the medical director for the Alliance Health Clinic, which provides healthcare for the refugee population. She also serves on many boards, including the County of San Diego’s Health Services Advisory Board, the Multicultural Health Foundation Board, the Scripps Hub Academic Research Core Advisory Board, the San Diego Black Nurses Association Advisory Board, the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative-Healthcare Domain, the COVID-19 Equity Task Force, the Regional COVID-19 Task Force for Equitable Recovery, and the SDSU Community Advisory Board for Communities Fighting COVID.

Dr. Afflalo is passionate about working with minority and underserved communities, educating, encouraging and empowering people to obtain the best health possible. In Spring 2014, she designed and implemented A Healthier Me, a lifestyle change and health improvement program developed to decrease the morbidity and mortality of African-Americans with various cardiovascular risks. Dr. Afflalo’s goal is to spread A Healthier Me to numerous churches and other organizations in Southeast San Diego. In addition, she participates in several mentoring programs for middle and high school students, and has organized several health fairs, providing health screening at barbershops, churches and community events.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Jaymie Bradford leads the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s strategy and vision as the executive vice president and chief operating officer. She oversees the chamber’s day-to-day operations, directs public policy initiatives, and develops and implements long-term goals and strategies to ensure the organization is meeting its goal of making San Diego the most business-friendly region in California.

Prior to joining the chamber, Bradford worked in San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office as deputy chief of staff and chief of policy and served in a similar capacity for interim Mayor Todd Gloria. She was director of intergovernmental relations during Jerry Sanders’ tenure as mayor and worked in policy and public affairs for the city of San Diego for a decade. Bradford was appointed to the San Diego Convention Center board of directors in 2017 and was voted by her fellow board members to serve as chair in 2020. She earned her degree in political science at UC San Diego and was a member of the NCAA Women’s Soccer team.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Michelle Brega is the senior director, external relations with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. She is a UC San Diego alumna, has held prestigious positions on regional boards, and also has a background in the State Legislature as former chief of staff for UC Regent Charlene Zettel when she was in the State Assembly. Brega has strong ties to the San Diego community, having been involved in key civic initiatives in San Diego over the past twenty-five years. As an executive with the Downtown San Diego Partnership, Brega was at the center of major campaigns, including the last Convention Center expansion, the Padres “Yes on C” ballpark campaign, and the property owner vote to create a Property-Based Improvement District downtown. She also worked on the Balboa Park Transportation Master Plan and the Downtown San Diego Master Plan. Brega most recently spent a decade in the Bay Area, with Bank of America and U.S. Bank, leading philanthropic, marketing, public relations and community development initiatives in the San Francisco market.

Location: Walnut, Calif.

Sylvester “Sac” Carreathers is a retired academic and principal partner of the Trigon Business Solutions Group. As the chief operating officer, he oversaw the development of business solutions for the management of research enterprises at several academic medical centers in Los Angeles County. Carreathers currently serves on the San Diego Urban League Board of Directors and as a consultant specializing in proposal development, contracts management systems and analysis, and diversity and inclusion workplace implementation and management. He is a UC San Diego alumnus and a proud parent of an alumnus of UC San Diego. This is Carreather’s second time to be appointed on CCAB.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Grace Chui-Miller is responsible for the financial reporting of Correlation Ventures’ investment funds as well as day-to-day management of firmwide finance, operations and investment monitoring. In addition, she is responsible for investor relations and works closely with outside legal counsel on fundraising, operations and regulatory compliance matters. Previously she was the chief financial officer of DCM, a technology-focused venture capital firm based in the Bay Area with over $2 billion under management; she had oversight of global finance operations and advised portfolio company management teams, providing operational and financial guidance and assistance. She also spent seven years at KPMG LLP, working as an audit manager on various privately and publicly held clients in the financial services and information-technology industry segments (including several venture-capital funds and venture-backed portfolio companies). Chui-Miller received her Master of Business Administration from the Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts in quantitative economics and decision sciences from UC San Diego. She is a licensed certified public accountant in the state of California.

Location: Campo, Calif.

Michael Connolly is a member of the Campo Kumeyaay Nation. In 1990, he helped establish and direct one of the first tribal Environmental Protection Agencies in the United States. Connolly researched and implemented traditional environmental practices in contemporary land and resource management. He worked on environmental policy for the National Congress of American Indians, National Tribal Environmental Council, the Good Neighbor Environmental Board and several US Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees. His work on issues of taxation policy and impediments to sustainable tribal economies is nationally recognized. He has authored many papers on tribal economics, Kumeyaay history and resource management. He has three published books on Kumeyaay history and cosmology. Connolly’s formal education includes a bachelor of science in Manufacturing Engineering and a master of arts in Economics. He is an adjunct faculty in American Indian Studies at San Diego State University. He served 17 years in elected office for the Campo Kumeyaay Nation.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Dwayne Crenshaw is a native San Diegan and lifelong resident of southeastern San Diego. His deep knowledge of San Diego’s neighborhoods and his community activism are invaluable in his role as a nonprofit and community leader. As CEO of RISE San Diego, Crenshaw is responsible for the organization’s effective management and operation on a day-to-day basis. He previously served as the executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride and the Coalition of Neighborhood Councils, where he advanced issues of community development and social justice.

Prior to his roles in nonprofit management, Crenshaw had eight years of government experience as an aide to state and local elected officials, including former California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. Crenshaw began his public service career as one of eighteen James M. Unruh Assembly Fellows who are chosen from hundreds of applicants each year to serve in the California state capitol. While working in the state capitol, he completed the coursework for a masters in government from California State University, Sacramento.

Location: Bonita, Calif.

Clarissa Reyes Falcon has expertise in government, community and nonprofit arenas, and she serves the most disadvantaged and underserved communities in California with a passion. Prior to starting her consulting business, Falcon Strategies LLC, she served as district chief of staff for the 40th California State Senate District represented by Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny. Prior to working for Senator Ducheny, Falcon worked as key staff on public policy for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (SDREDC). Falcon received her undergraduate degree in political science and literature from UC San Diego (Thurgood Marshall College) in 1994.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

A Marine Corps veteran, Janessa Goldbeck served as a uniformed victim advocate, providing care to service members who experienced sexual assault, and co-founded No Exceptions, an advocacy campaign to repeal gender-based job discrimination policy. Prior to her military service, Goldbeck worked in Washington, D.C., as a human rights advocate, serving as the national field director for Genocide Intervention Network. She led a diverse coalition to build legislative and diplomatic efforts to protect civilians in conflict zones. After ending her military service, Goldbeck ran for an open congressional seat in San Diego, earning the endorsement of members of Congress and The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Goldbeck is a graduate of Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a master of public administration at the University of San Francisco. She is a member of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s Back to Work Task Force housing subcommittee and is an active Rotarian. Goldbeck is a board member of MANA de San Diego, the San Diego LGBT Center, and the Truman National Security Project. In addition, she serves on the Campaigns Board for Victory Fund, on the advisory board of Taking the Hill PAC, and as a delegate to the California Democratic Party for Assembly District 78.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Amón Gordon is the director of youth development at the Mural Music & Arts Project in East Palo Alto. He is responsible for managing the Youth Leadership Academy including programmatic strategic development and assessments. After graduating from Stanford University in 2004, where he concentrated in Urban Academic Mentorship and Diversity and played Division I football, he signed with the National Football League (NFL) and played professionally for eight years. Gordon founded the Amon Gordon Life Skills Football Camp/NFL Youth Camp in San Diego in 2009 where more than 250 local youth experienced a positive environment of encouragement, a youth network founded in physical education, and life skills encouraging them to grow athletically, personally and spiritually.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Maria Guasp is a veteran public-school educator who has been supporting students, families, and educators for more than forty years in both urban and suburban settings. Prior to her appointment as community superintendent in the South Bronx, Guasp held various critical positions including chief executive for instruction, executive director of the division of bilingual education, deputy superintendent, and elementary school principal. Upon her retirement in 2001, she accepted the position of assistant superintendent for instruction in the Chula Vista Elementary School District. From there, she joined the American Institutes for Research and managed Carnegie- and Gates-funded projects designed to improve student achievement. Guasp currently serves as a member of South Bay Community Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming communities to support the well-being and prosperity of children, youth, and families.

Location: Chula Vista, Calif.

J.C. Hurtado-Prater has extensive nonprofit executive experience and now serves as a leadership consultant, speaker and author. A community leader in the South Bay of San Diego County, Hurtado-Prater serves as the worship pastor for New Hope Community Church and is a member of the board of directors for both South Bay Community Services and the Southwestern College Foundation. Hurtado-Prater has sat on bond oversight committees for the city of Chula Vista, Southwestern College and the Chula Vista Elementary School District. In addition, Hurtado-Prater gives motivational speeches to hundreds of local youth each year as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers outreach team. Hurtado-Prater is also the founder and host of The Conversation Table, an online talk show, as well as an adjunct professor in the master of arts in organizational leadership program at Point Loma Nazarene University.

A veteran of the United States Army, Hurtado-Prater received his bachelor of arts from UCLA, his master in business administration from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Location: La Jolla, Calif.

Sue Kalish has been a community volunteer for more than 35 years, with most of her efforts focused on children and education. She has vast experience working on boards and committees organizing annual fundraising events. She has chaired or co-chaired events for the San Diego Center for Children, St. Germaine Children’s Charity, Barrio Logan College Institute, Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, Women Together and the National Conflict Resolution Center. She served as the fundraising co-chair for Project S.P.L.A.S.H. at La Jolla High School. She is also a founding member of the National Cheers Foundation, former president of Las Patronas, former president of the Foundation of La Jolla High School and served on the board of directors for the La Jolla High School Scholarship Foundation, the San Diego Historical Society and the Dan McKinney Family YMCA. Most recently, Kalish served as president of UC San Diego Town & Gown, whose mission is to integrate residents into the life of UC San Diego and support the university through student scholarships.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Al Korobkin currently serves as a facilitator for a biweekly political discussion class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC San Diego, where he and his wife are both members. Now retired, Korobkin served as a deputy attorney general, supervising deputy attorney general, and senior assistant attorney general for the California Department of Justice from 1965 to 2000. He then went on to work as a pro tem administrative law judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings, serving as a mediator for cases scheduled before the Special Education Division, from 2005 to 2015. Korobkin earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Occidental College in 1962 and graduated and from UCLA School of Law in 1965. Korobkin and his wife are Chancellor’s Associates.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Henry Krous served as the director of pathology, pathology research, and the San Diego SIDS/SUDC Research Project at Rady Children’s Hospital. He was a professor of pathology and pediatrics (now emeritus) at UC San Diego.

Dr. Krous has published more than 200 papers and given more than 100 national and international lectures. His media appearances include “Today,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “CBS Evening News.” Dr. Krous was an invited professor at numerous universities and is the recipient of several awards, including SIDS Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Advisory Council, International Society for the Prevention of Infant Death Distinguished Research Award, Research into SIDS Award (Norway) and SIDS and Kids Award (Australia). He was honored with a published symposium “Pathology Symposium in Celebration of the Career of Henry F. Krous, MD” at the International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS and Infant Survival. Dr. Krous has been a president of the Society for Pediatric Pathology.

Dr. Krous received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska and trained in pathology and pediatric pathology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Kent Lee is the executive director of Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts), one of the largest nonprofit media arts organizations in North America focusing on Asian American and Asian international cinema. Pac Arts is best known for presenting the annual San Diego Asian Film Festival as well as for providing youth filmmaking education through their Reel Voices program. Lee has over a decade of nonprofit management experience in San Diego and previously worked for the San Diego-Imperial Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is an active community volunteer, serving on boards and committees for various local and national organizations such as the Asian Business Association of San Diego; the Mira Mesa Community Planning Group; International Deaf Education Advocacy and Leadership (IDEAL); and Alpha Phi Omega, a national collegiate community-service organization. Lee earned his bachelor’s degrees in general biology and economics from UC San Diego.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Linda LeGerrette is blessed to have been dealt a life full of opportunities for serving others. Some of her achievements include confidant and organizer to the late United Farm Workers of America president, Cesar E. Chavez; working with Sol Price in building Price Club’s multi-million-dollar business delivery program; field office director and coordinator of San Diego City School’s successful $1.5 billion school construction bond; and numerous other political and neighborhood campaigns. LeGerrette has served on diverse boards such as the San Diego Civil Service Commission, Middle Class Taxpayers Association, San Diego Transit Board of Directors, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Mother’s Embracing Nuclear Disarmament (MEND), and Urban Corps of San Diego County. LeGerrette dedicated many years of her life to the campaign of home health care workers and their struggle for collective bargaining rights and respect. Today, as co-founder and executive director of the Cesar Chavez Service Clubs — an organization dedicated to inspiring young people to believe in themselves and to know that they can make a difference — you’ll find LeGerrette performing her many duties as an administrator while still finding ways to be in the classroom teaching leadership and organizational skills necessary to participate in a democratic society. Currently there are 37 Chavez Clubs in 22 of San Diego’s inner-city schools with 900 members (also known as Chavistas).

Location: Chula Vista, Calif.

Arnulfo Manriquez is president and CEO of MAAC Project, a nonprofit organization that provides programs, leadership development and advocacy throughout the county of San Diego. Arnulfo presently serves on the executive committee of the board of Housing California, a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization, and board member of UnidoUS, a national Latino advocacy organization. He is also the president of the board of Urban Council Development, Inc., a nonprofit affordable housing development organization. As a first-generation immigrant who grew up in San Diego, Arnulfo understands firsthand the challenges faced by underrepresented communities and is committed to ensuring opportunities for self-sufficiency and safety for families who need it most. Arnulfo is an alumnus of UC San Diego, earning a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies and planning in 1993. He earned a Master of Arts in leadership and nonprofit management from University of San Diego in 2005.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

As the Manager of Community Outreach for Southwest Airlines, Lidia S. Martinez leads a team responsible for local and regional community outreach across the country. She crafts strategic plans around regional relationship development and imparts relationship management techniques within emerging markets to her team. For almost twenty years, Martinez has worked with external stakeholders to ensure that Southwest Airlines maintains a visible leadership position within the community and sets the standard for outreach and corporate social responsibility in Southern California. Martinez has been honored by many local and national organizations for her impactful work in the nonprofit community. One of her passions is to personally support those organizations that advocate for equity, human rights, equality, and civil rights.

Martinez currently serves on the board of directors of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, The Campanile Foundation at SDSU, and the San Diego Food Bank. She is a champion for Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) and is also on the SDSU President’s Latino Advisory Council, the San Diego Center for Children Advisory Council, and the San Diego Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund Leadership Council Executive Committee. Martinez also co-chairs the newly created MANA de San Diego Advisory Council and recently finished her board service to the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Daniel G. Muñoz was recruited to UC San Diego’s Department of Counseling and Psychological Services in 1970, and he served as a psychologist for students, faculty and staff. During his tenure, he was a lecturer at Revelle College and in the Teacher Education Program. Muñoz also served as dean and acting director of counseling and psychological services at Thurgood Marshall College. He was elected to the Encinitas Elementary school board and served on the board of directors of Meals on Wheels. Muñoz received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Michigan State University.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Chris Nielsen is the current chair of the University Community Planning Group (UCPG) and a member of the UC San Diego Community Advisory Group (CAG). UCPG is recognized as advisory to the City of San Diego on planning matters and the CAG is a UC San Diego group comprised of local community members in University City and La Jolla, formed to collaborate with the campus on its 2018 Long Range Development Plan. Nielsen’s career has many connections to UC San Diego: as an undergraduate (BA, Mathematics, 1974); graduate student (MA, Applied Mathematics, 1977); staff member (Chemistry/Biology, 1977–1995); small business owner manufacturing products based on research done at UC San Diego; and with community planning activities, continuing as chair of the UCPG and whose plan area includes UC San Diego.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Sara Osborn is a senior planner for the City of San Diego Planning Department who has managed complex long-range planning and environmental planning projects for over fifteen years. Osborn managed the San Ysidro Community Plan update, a seven-year effort which re-envisioned growth and development opportunities in one of San Diego’s border communities; updated the Fiesta Island concept plan within Mission Bay Park, balancing regional recreation needs with habitat preservation; and was a member of the City of San Diego’s General Plan update team, a plan which received local and national recognition.

Osborn developed operational manuals for the Planning Department, has been a community planner for many communities, manages contracts and consultants, and provides environmental review and CEQA support for the city. She has been active in the San Diego American Planning Association section and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Ileana Ovalle is Global Strategy & Operations Lead on Google’s Procurement Responsibility team focused on driving responsibility, inclusivity and sustainability for Google and their supplier partners. Ovalle has led global initiatives at Google such as product marketing and international partner development for the UCSD | Google | Apple COVID-19 Global Exposure Notifications app; Regulatory Transparency for Google’s Trust & Safety and led government partnerships and policy development for Google Fiber. Her previous experience includes San Diego leadership roles in government, consulting, telecommunication, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

Ovalle is an avid volunteer in culture, education, diversity and the environment and serves as the Vice Chair of Trustees for the Museum of Us, Chair of the Board of Directors and capital campaign member of Ocean Discovery Institute, board of governors of The San Diego Foundation, and Advisory Board member of the University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Institute. Ovalle was an appointed official on both the City of San Diego’s International Affairs Board and San Diego Public Library Commission. She is a graduate of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality and was twice named Woman of the Year for California’s 80th Assembly District (2016 & 2017) In 2021, Ovalle received the Ring of Honor Award for MANA’s National Latina Leadership Organization.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Omar Passons is the director of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency’s Office of Homeless Solutions, an office within the Department of Homeless Solutions and Equitable Communities focused on collaborating to end homelessness in San Diego County. This work recognizes the voices of people with lived experiences of homelessness and requires collaborating across governments to help prevent people from experiencing homelessness, to make that experience brief when it happens and help people remain successfully housed.

Before transitioning into workforce and community development, Passons evaluated public health and neighborhood revitalization programs and was a construction and land use attorney. For the past 15 years, he has volunteered in the San Diego region to elevate issues impacting economic equity, homelessness, and creating opportunities for all members of the community to lead lives of dignity. Passons has a master’s degree in public health and a law degree. He grew up in San Diego County’s foster care system and is passionate about ensuring that every child gets a strong start in life.

Location: La Jolla, Calif.

Jane Potter has been active in San Diego and La Jolla community service and government for over 30 years. As a mayoral appointee, she has been a member of the La Jolla Shores Planned District Ordinance Advisory Board for the last 10 years. Potter also served on the La Jolla Shores Association board of directors and was a member of her neighborhood’s architectural committee. From 2005-2017, she was a director on the board of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center. As a volunteer for UC San Diego’s English-in-Action (EIA) Conversation Program, she tutored Korean and Chinese students. Potter served the city of San Diego for over 12 years as a legislative aide and chief of staff for two councilmembers and for Acting Mayor Toni Atkins. Previously, she was a curriculum writer-editor for San Diego City Schools in the English as a second language department and a public information officer for the national office of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. Over the last 15 years, she assisted in consulting and managing many local political campaigns. She has been a resident of La Jolla within walking distance of the UC San Diego campus for over 40 years and looks forward to more opportunities to foster relationships with the community and larger region. Potter earned her B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Sofia Salgado Robitaille is the executive director for the Southwestern College Foundation, whose mission is to develop and deliver resources for student needs through trusted stewardship of charitable giving and meaningful community partnerships. She leads the foundation’s strategic planning, marketing and operations efforts to promote student success through scholarships and leadership programs. Previously, Robitaille was the executive director for MANA de San Diego, a nonprofit organization that empowers Latinas through education, leadership development, community service and advocacy.

A daughter of immigrant parents, Robitaille was born and raised in El Centro, California, where one in four live in poverty. She is a first-generation college graduate of UC San Diego, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Jill Sherman-Warne is the executive director of the Native American Environmental Protection Coalition (NAEPC). She has been working on environmental issues with Tribal communities in Southern California for over fifteen years but holds a lifetime of tribal experience having grown up on the Hoopa Indian Reservation located in Northern California and serving as an elected Tribal Councilman for her tribe. She worked as the Tribal K–12 Director for seven years before moving to San Diego. For nine years, Jill served as environmental director of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. She is the former assistant government manager of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Sherman-Warne received support from the Southern California tribes to serve as a Governor Appointed Commissioner to the California Native American Heritage Commission where she was seated for over fifteen years. Sherman-Warne’s extensive grant writing experience has led to successfully funded projects from ten of the twenty-six federal agencies. A current project includes working with the California Air Resource Board in providing outreach to tribes and tribal communities about Clean Mobility and state offered incentives.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

With thirty years of experience in the life sciences industry, Linda D. Sierra places vice president and C-level executives into life science companies nationally, championing women and diversity candidates into new roles, including board seats.

As a Latina, and many times the only one at her company, Sierra is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and has held several symposia on the subject to raise awareness. She is also an unapologetic advocate and ally for people of color and women in executive leadership. Sierra sits on the newly formed BIOCOM Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force; BIOCOM Institute’s board of directors; Life Science Cares San Diego Advisory Board; and LifeHR Network Board. She is co-chair of the MANA de San Diego Advisory Council and is a member of Women in Bio and Women Give San Diego. Sierra is a founding member of MANA de San Diego’s Latina Success Leadership Program, which was created in partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership and National University and has had more than 250 women go through the career development program. Sierra is a subject matter expert on LinkedIn and networking and builds bridges between the life sciences and the Latino and underrepresented communities.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Teresa Stivers brings extensive cross-sector experience to her role as CEO of Walden Family Services, where she oversees administration, operations, public relations and fundraising. Under Stivers’ leadership, Walden became one of the first California agencies to offer transitional housing and support services for youth remaining in foster care. She opened visiting centers where birth families receive training and coaching to increase the likelihood they will reunify with their children.

Prior to joining Walden Family Services, Stivers held positions as the program director and executive director of the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation (now Promises2Kids) for eight years. During her tenure, she helped establish the Guardian Scholars Program and Mary’s House, a transitional living program for former foster youth. Stivers served as deputy chief of staff to San Diego Mayor Susan Golding and worked as an account executive at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker.

Location: La Jolla, Calif.

Jon Sundt is an expert in managed futures and alternative investment strategies and the founder of Altegris Clearing Solutions, LLC, a multibillion-dollar asset manager with over 130 employees. He has been the chief executive officer, president and manager since December 2008. In 2012, Sundt was a recipient of the Institutional Investor Mutual Fund Rising Star award and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year San Diego award. Sundt was named Investment Advisor magazine’s 2013 Top 25 Industry Leaders and he was honored as a Pioneer of Investing by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) association. Sundt founded Natural High, a drug prevention non-profit organization that serves over 12,000 teachers and 6 million students in the U.S. and is recognized as a game changer for drug prevention. Sundt was awarded the 2009 Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth Lifetime Achievement award for Natural High. He is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and Vistage. He is serving as the chair of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Gold chapter in Rancho Santa Fe. He serves on the boards of Friends of Bethany Hamilton and Addiction Pros. He attended the University of California San Diego with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Economics.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Vickie E. Turner is a partner at Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP and has thirty-eight years of experience in complex litigation matters filed against corporations, with extensive emphasis in the areas of product liability, class actions, general business litigation, and warranty. She was selected as one of California’s top women litigators by the Los Angeles Daily Journal and has been named one of San Diego’s top product liability defense attorneys by San Diego Super Lawyers each year from 2007–2020. She was chosen for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America each year from 2010–2020 in the area of product liability and named the Best Lawyers’ 2012 and 2018 Lawyer of the Year for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, San Diego. She has been selected as one of the top twenty-five women attorneys in San Diego numerous times. She was also honored by Union Bank and KPBS as a “local hero” for her community service and as the 2015 Woman of the Year for the California 79th Assembly District. Ms. Turner is an adjunct professor at California Western School of Law and the University of San Diego School of Law.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Danitza Villanueva is a self-motivated and dedicated businesswoman. Born in San Diego, she spent part of her youth with her family in Tijuana and grew up on both sides of the border. Danitza publishes several successful magazines including Giving Back Magazine, which focuses on charities, culture, and arts in the San Diego and Tijuana region. She has been involved with various community organization such as HOPE, Access to Independence, San Diego Humane Society, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego.

Location: Mount Helix, Calif.

Susana Villegas is president of SVPR Communications, an award-winning public relations firm specializing in strategic English- and Spanish-language communications and media services, crisis management, and community stakeholder engagement. Her firm helps clients in K–12 education, water, tourism, energy, economic development, cross-border commerce, news media, government, and affordable housing. Villegas has served as policy advisor to a former San Diego city council president and has coordinated over a dozen campaigns for school board, city council, mayor, state assembly, and ballot propositions. She has a degree in communication sciences from the Universidad del Valle. Villegas also serves on the board of directors of the Barrio Logan College Institute, Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, and the Chula Vista Charitable Foundation.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Lori Walton has served on 15 different boards and chaired 26 fundraisers. Some of her local interests include Barrio Logan College Institute, Freedom Dogs, Junior Achievement, Monarch School, National Conflict Resolution Center, San Diego Public Library, San Diego Symphony, Spay Neuter Action Project, Timken Museum and USO.

As Giving Back’s philanthropy editor, each week Walton features a different hometown hero as part of their Feel Good Friday e-newsletter.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Judith A. Wenker is a retired attorney with more than 30 years’ experience representing the government and the oil industry, primarily on environmental issues. She graduated from University of San Diego Law School while working for a federal magistrate full time in 1976. She was also an instructor in the paralegal school at USD and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Diego State University. She serves and has served on many nonprofit boards, including the Elementary Institute of Science (EIS), ElderHelp of San Diego (EHSD), Alzheimer’s San Diego, Neighborhood House Association (NHA) and the San Diego Library Foundation. She served as chair of the NHA, EIS and EHSD Boards. Wenker also served on the Managed Competition Independent Review Board for the city of San Diego.

Location: San Diego, Calif.

Jim C. Wyrtzen worked as a committee member at the UC San Diego-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He served as president of Osher for two terms and still remains an active participant. He works extremely well with teams, is a driven single contributor to projects, and he is an ordained minister as well as a licensed therapist.

Wyrtzen has received recognitions from the Metro Chapter of the New York Association Marriage and Family Therapy, from the Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute, and from the UC San Diego-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He has also received awards such as the Cora Doster Homiletics Prize.