New Member Profiles
Latanya West
Latanya West was born in San Diego and grew up in Los Angeles. After graduating from UC Berkley, she worked…
Emily Schnetz-Murphy
Emily Schnetz-Murphy is a rare disease specialist for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, a company whose focus is to discover and commercialize new…
Laura O’Sullivan
Social Service and Welfare—San Diego Youth Services
Laura O’Sullivan is the Director of Philanthropy and Donor Engagement at San Diego Youth Services. She came to San Diego…
Maya Madsen
Maya Madsen is the founder and CEO of Maya’s Cookies, America’s #1 Black-Owned Gourmet Vegan Cookie Company. As a vegan…
David Ostrander
David Ostrander is a retired cardiologist who practiced medicine at Sharp Rees Stealy Medical Group for the majority of his…
Michael Kemmer
Michael Kemmer has lived all of his life in California, and half of that in San Diego. As long as…
Carol Dedrich
Associations – Girl Scouts Carol Dedrich is the Chief Executive Officer for Girl Scouts San Diego. Carol attributes the lessons…
Terry Caskey
Biotechnology—Gene Sequencing Technology Terry Caskey grew up on a small farm in the Central Valley of California. As the first…
Falon Leszczynski
Associations-Home of Guiding Hands Falon serves as the Vice President of Operations for Home of Guiding Hands, overseeing the functionality…
Veronica Perondi
Education-State University-Program Manager Veronica Perondi currently serves as the Assistant Director of A.S. Programs for Associated Students at San Diego…
New Member Profiles
Paul Marcus obtained his BA and MA from Boston University and RPI, respectively, and originally hails from Portland, Maine. Just prior to arriving in San Diego from Boston in 2018, he manufactured patio furniture in Malaysia, Indonesia and India, importing and distributing from Sacramento direct to consumer. His brand was Brookbend Outdoor Furniture which he…
Nancy Rohland-Heinrich graduated from St. Cloud State University with a BA in Sociology and Social Work, from National University with a Masters in Business, and both UCSD and California State University San Marcos with a Doctor of Education Leadership. She has worked for National University System for 45 years. In Nancy’s current role as EVP…
Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor’s family traditions led him toward a professional career as an attorney, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He practiced law in India for five years before moving to the United States to continue his professional and personal development. For his first six years,…
Charles started his career in the semiconductor industry, working for Applied Materials in Santa Clara. He and a co-worker at Applied Materials started a company in 1989, and he spent the rest of his career as a serial entrepreneur. He started seven companies, four of which he sold successfully. Those four were Baylis Automation (semiconductor…
Natasha Bliss serves as Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Partnerships within San Diego State University’s Division of Research and Innovation. In her role, she leads internal operations for the division and has direct oversight of undergraduate research, research communications, and signature events such as the annual SDSU Student Symposium. In addition, Natasha plays…
Meredith Munger is a loan officer at CrossCountry Mortgage with a focus on helping families to buy, build, renovate and refinance property, notably Accessory Dwelling Units, (ADUs). She operates ADUloans.net and serves as a founding member of the ADU Coalition and Casita Coalition, advocates for attainable housing. Previously, Meredith served as Chief Operating Officer for…
Lisa Nokes is the Executive Diretor of Peninsula Community Senior Center. While Lisa’s long career in Mortgage Banking and Financial Services was successful and professional rewarding, she felt a calling to Community Service for her next professional journey. She specifically chose the Senior Sector, which she feels is significantly underserved with tremendous potential for change….
Sarah Maisonneuve, Executive Director of Earth Discovery Institute, has two decades of experience developing and managing conservation and education programs, as well as ecological research projects around the globe. She has worked in a wide variety of contexts and ecosystems, from urban forests in Boston, MA, to agricultural communities in eastern Colorado and rural villages…
Katie Do is Client Services Director for Blair Search Partners, an executive search and recruiting firm specializing in working with nonprofits and public agencies, helping organizations find the right leaders who align with their mission and values. She has spent her career as a multicultural leader with extensive experience in developing social impact communication strategies…
Gaurav Mishra is a consulting Psychiatrist for Correctional Health Partners at San Diego Juvenile Hall. He is an active member in the San Diego County Behavioral Health Advisory Board, helping improve services to patients with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. He serves on the advisory board for the of SAMHSA grantee Southwest Key’…