Board
TREVOR CALLAN - CHAIR
Trevor Callan began his career in financial advisory and wealth management in 1992 with Shearson Lehman Brothers, transferring in 1994 to Merrill Lynch, where he spent the next 13 years. During his tenure with Merrill Lynch, Trevor earned several service awards and ultimately became a First Vice President. Additionally, he was selected through a rigorous testing process to be the first advisor to represent the Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group (PBIG) in San Diego, an operation dedicated to clients with liquid assets in excess of $10 million.
In 2007, Trevor co-founded Callan Capital with his two brothers Ryan and Tim Callan. Callan Capital provides high net worth families with independent and expert advice in all the areas important to a significant estate. Trevor holds a B.S. in Finance from San Diego State University and a Certified Investment Manger Analyst designation from the Wharton School. He was the recipient of the “Top 40 Under 40” award in 2007 by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine and in 2011, San Diego Metro Magazine listed him as one of “20 Men Who Impact San Diego.”
Trevor balances his career with philanthropy, recreation and family. He is an avid surfer, snow skier and a PADI-certified Rescue Scuba Diver. He serves as a board member for San Diego Social Venture Partners, is a former board member and is currently active with the La Jolla Music Society, and is a co-founder of Equinox Center. Trevor also founded PEERS Network, a philanthropic organization comprised of young San Diego entrepreneurs, which has helped raise more than $650,000 for community organizations.
ROBERT BINGHAM
Robert Bingham is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, founder of sports publishing startup Spectator Sports Communications and SimpleNet, a web hosting company that was later sold to Yahoo! Bob is currently an active technology angel investor and has previously or currently serves on the board of numerous startups in San Diego, including companies like Miva, RealAge.com, Everyone Counts Inc., HookIt.com, Copper Recovery, ShowUhow.com, HipGeo.com among others. In June 2007 Bingham tried his hand at changing national presidential politics as CEO of Unity08 based in Washington, D.C. Following his return to San Diego in 2009, Bingham has been actively involved with San Diego Social Venture Partners, The San Diego Foundation and Junior Achievement. He has also served on the San Diego County Grand Jury.
MARTY R. BROWN
Marty Brown is the Chief Business Officer at Elcelyx Therapeutics Inc. in San Diego. He was formerly an executive officer of Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Services. He had previously served as Senior Vice President, Operations from 2000 to 2004 and prior to that Vice President, Operations from 1998. During his tenure in various senior leadership positions, Amylin grew from 36 fulltime employees and a market cap of $25 million to over 1,100 employees and a market cap of over $4 billion with two approved and launched first-in-class products. Prior to joining Amylin, Marty was Director, Information Systems, Europe, for Eli Lilly and Company. He served in various information management positions during his more than ten years with Lilly. Prior to joining Lilly, Marty held various positions with General Signal Corporation during a fourteen year career. Marty also currently serves on the board of directors of Clinical Supplies Management, Inc. Marty received a B.S. in Commerce and Engineering and an MBA in Operations Research from Drexel University. He is a long-time resident of Coronado.
CHARLES BUTLER
Charles Butler is the founder of American Faucets and Coatings Corporation, whose 100,000-square-foot factory in Vista manufactures high-end bath and kitchen products. The company also has a facility in Ningbo, China and operates internationally through business relationships in Italy, Bulgaria, France, Spain, Russia and the Middle East. Charles' community and philanthropic work includes serving as chairman of the board of directors for the YMCA of San Diego County, where he helped to re-institute the Copley YMCA and helped form the Copley Civic Tribute to raise money for YMCA programs for inner-city families. Previously, he has also served as president of community business group Tipsters of San Diego, co-chair for five years of the KPBS children's programming annual golf tournament and board member for the children’s literacy organization Rolling Readers.
DANE CHAPIN
Dane Chapin has a long history of successful entrepreneurship and currently owns multiple businesses in industries ranging from insurance to real estate to board games. He began his career in real estate development as a principal in Plutsky/ Chapin Partners based in Los Angeles. Dane oversaw and was responsible for all aspects of the development process from acquisitions, capital and debt raising, to entitlement, architect interface, construction management and property management for all projects during his tenure with Plutsky/ Chapin Partners. In 1994, Dane founded USAOPOLY, a toy and game company that creates twists on Monopoly and other Hasbro Brands. The company has grown to 35 employees and enjoys long-standing licensing deals with Hasbro, the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, NASCAR, the major film studios, Harley Davidson, and many other major international brands. While Dane's title is CEO, he serves in primarily a Chairman capacity. Dane graduated from UCLA in 1982 with a degree in economics. He was a member of the varsity tennis team. He also serves on the advisory board of UCSD Dean of Physical Sciences.
AARON CONTORER
Aaron is president of the Contorer Foundation, focusing on environmental sustainability and philanthropic studies; board member of Move San Diego, dedicated to better transportation in the San Diego region; and a member of San Diego Social Venture Partners, supporting local nonprofits and developing highly effective philanthropists. Aside from his work at the Contorer Foundation, Aaron is CEO of FP Complete, which provides advanced technology for software developers. Aaron is a former director of Everyone Counts, Inc., which delivers secure, reliable election services by Internet and telephone.
He served for eight years on the board of Northwest Environment Watch, now Sightline Institute, focusing on sprawl and sustainable economic development; and helped to build the Kirkland (Washington) Teen Union Building.
Aaron is a former executive of Microsoft Corporation, where he helped to build products including Windows, MSN, Visual Studio, and in-house engineering tools. He served on Bill Gates’s staff, and founded the Microsoft Big Gift Club for new philanthropists. He was also an inventor on several patents.
Aaron has also been an executive of three other small software companies. He holds degrees in computer science and psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
RAY ELLIS
Ray joined the Equinox Center Board of Directors in 2013 and has been focused on community and civic service in San Diego since 2005. In addition to Equinox Center, Ray currently serves on several local boards, including San Diego Social Venture Partners, The Parker Foundation, EDC Strategic Roundtable and Balboa Park Conservancy. Ray is the Principal of Ellis & Associates, LLC, an investment firm and manages the activities of the Ellis Family Foundation, a private foundation funding other non-profit organizations. Previously, Ray was the President of the Marketing Services Division of Protocol Communications, Inc. and prior was Chief Executive Officer of MC Direct, one of the largest full-service direct response advertising agencies on the West Coast.
ROI EWELL
Roi Ewell joined the SeaWorld San Diego operation in June 2002 where he is responsible for providing HR services to a talent base of 4,200 team members representing a payroll of $95 million. Prior to SeaWorld, he held several senior level positions at the corporate headquarters for Anheuser-Busch in the areas of corporate human resources and corporate communications. Roi has always made time to “give back” to the community and he serves on several community boards. He is an adjunct professor for the University of California’s Leadership and Management Program technology concentration – San Diego location.
Roi received his BS in Mass Communication from Norfolk State University. He earned his M.S. in Personnel Administration from Golden Gate University in 1983. He also holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources certification.
SCOTT GRIMES
Scott Grimes is a Program Officer at the Endangered Habitats League, a nonprofit organization that promotes the conservation of wildlife habitat and open space in Southern California. From 1998 to 2004 Scott served as Director of Research and Senior Program Officer at San Diego Dialogue, a university-anchored public policy center serving the San Diego region. Scott is the author of three books, as well as several reports, book chapters and papers on policy issues related to urbanization, urban development and regionalism. His published work has addressed such issues as K-12 education reform, welfare reform, growth management and regional planning. Scott holds a Bachelors degree from UCLA and a Masters in International Public Policy from UC San Diego.
PHYLLIS HUCKABEE
Phyllis Huckabee is Vice President, Human Resources for Quidel Corp., a leading manufacturer of rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. Prior to moving into life sciences in early 2004, she worked in the energy industry for almost 20 years focusing on financial analysis, strategic planning, government affairs, and human resources, including a senior level position at Sempra Energy. Phyllis has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and a Masters of Business Administration, both from Texas Tech University.
LORI PFEILER
Currently Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity (SDHFH), Lori has been solving problems on the community level for more than a decade. She was elected to Escondido’s City Council in 1992 and again in 1996. She was elected Mayor in 1998, 2002, and 2006 where she was widely praised for bringing a new sense of cooperation and a focus on economic development and quality of life. As Mayor, Lori earned regional respect as an experienced leader on issues such as Transportation and Housing. She has served as Chair for San Diego Region Partners for Home Ownership, the Task Force on High Speed Rail, the Housing Element Advisory Committee which was successful in passing legislation supporting self certification for San Diego County cities, and the ad hoc Consolidation Committee for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). She served as Chair of SANDAG’s Board of Directors from 1998 to 2010. Lori earned a BA in Accounting and an MBA. She and her husband Tim have been married for 31 years and have a daughter - Lindsey, 24. Pfeiler and her family are active members of First Congregational Church in Escondido.
ILIA TERRAZAS-DICKEY
Ilia joined the Equinox Center Board of Director in 2013 and in addition to her Equinox Center involvement, dedicates her time to several non‑profit organizations. She is a board member on the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund that engages and educates the California electorate on issues related to environmental conservation. She serves as Board President on the National Board of Directors of Kids Korps USA, a nonprofit that engages youth and families in community service. She is a member of the Voices for Children Community Advisory Committee that funds Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA’s) for San Diego foster youth.
Ilia is principal of IDentity Communications and in this role brings more than 20 years of corporate and government communications, public policy and bilingual marketing experience to her clientele. She offers expertise in corporate positioning and provides marketing and strategic planning services to business and non‑profits. Ilia’s practice also operates as a regional resource for Ogilvy Public Relations offering expertise in corporate positioning, multicultural community outreach and media relations. Before going out on her own, Ilia served as the Government Affairs Manager for Sempra Energy. She relocated to San Diego from Arizona where for five years she successfully operated her own public relations and political consulting business, Arizona Events & Enterprises, Inc.
Expert Advisory Panel
SCOTT ANDERS, Director of the Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC), University of San Diego.
Mr. Anders joined EPIC in October 2005 as its inaugural director and developed both its academic and research programs. Mr. Anders’ work at EPIC has focused on regulatory and policy issues related to developing efficient and low-carbon energy sources. Recent projects include the first-ever greenhouse gas inventory for San Diego County, policy research for a comparison of the San Diego region with regions with emerging clean technology industry clusters, and a feasibility study of implementing smart grid strategies and technologies in the San Diego region.
Prior to joining EPIC, Mr. Anders was director for policy and planning at the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) in San Diego, and a policy researcher for the Washington D.C. think tank Center for a Sustainable Economy, now part of Redefining Progress, where he researched market-based mechanisms as a policy tool for the energy sector.
Mr. Anders also has been involved in San Diego regional energy planning for the last 10 years and has authored or co-authored a number of papers and reports related to energy policy. He holds a B.A. in international politics from Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA) and an M.A. in public policy, with a concentration in environmental policy, from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy.
ANDREW NARWOLD, Professor of Economics, School of Business Administration, University of San Diego
Dr. Andrew Narwold, Professor of Economics, joined the faculty of the School of Business Administration at USD in 1990 after graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University. While at USD, Dr. Narwold has taught over a dozen graduate and undergraduate courses in economics and statistics. Professor Narwold's research interests include housing market economics and consumer financial decisions. He is also affiliated with USD's Energy Policy Initiatives Center. He has conducted several economic impact studies for local organizations such as the San Diego Padres, the Buick Invitational Golf Tournament, and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. In addition to teaching at USD, Professor Narwold has been an instructor with USD's Institute for Project Management and UCSD's Executive Program for Scientists and Engineers. He also taught at University College Galway, Ireland. Professor Narwold was selected as a Fulbright scholar for 2001-2002. He taught in the University of West Indies Program at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in St. Lucia.
MARK THIEMENS, Dean, Division of Physical Sciences, University of California San Diego
Dr. Thiemens was named the first Dean of the new Division of Physical Sciences in 2000. Composed of the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mathematics, and physics, the Division of Physical Sciences was created to foster collaboration among researchers from different disciplines in frontier areas of science that demand an interdisciplinary approach.
Thiemens, research encompasses a wide range of disciplines and he also directs UCSD's environmental science efforts in the interdisciplinary Center for Environmental Research and Training. As a scientist, he is best known for his discovery of the "mass-independent isotope effect," which has improved scientific understanding in areas as diverse as climate change, the origin of the solar system, chemical physics, acid rain, and the accumulation of greenhouse gases. The discovery led to his selection for the 1998 Ernest O. Lawrence Medal, the most prestigious award given to scientists by the U.S. Department of Energy. Thiemens was also elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.
The recipient of a doctoral degree in chemical oceanography from Florida State University, Thiemens arrived at UCSD in 1980, after a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago.
Strategic Advisors
BRUCE BEKKAR, M.D.
Bruce has served as a Staff Physician in the Department of OB/GYN with Kaiser Permanente San Diego since 1989. He co-authored Your Guy's Guide to Gynecology, chosen as one of the Top 10 Books of the Year in 2001 by the Independent Publisher's Book Association and he has been featured in numerous local and national television, radio and print interviews. Bruce's other passion, environmental activism, was inspired by living on the North County coast while getting a degree in Biology at U.C. San Diego. After receiving his MD from the U.S.C. School of Medicine and completing a Residency at Cedars-Sinai/UCLA Medical Center, he returned to Del Mar and helped to found the first Local Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Most recently, he has served on Del Mar's Sustainability Advisory Board since 2006, and as its Chair since 2009. The Board works closely with the City Council, Staff and local non-profits to measure and lessen the City's environmental impact, as well as educating its residents and businesses.
REED CALDWELL
Reed Caldwell is the founder and CEO of ServInt. Founded in 1995, ServInt is a pioneer in the dedicated server space. After surviving the dot com bust at the turn of the millennium, ServInt became a prominent provider of both Virtual Private Server (VPS) and dedicated server hosting where it continues today. ServInt is a provider of enterprise class, environmentally friendly, managed hosting services. It’s services are primarily geared towards businesses ranging from tiny start ups to large corporations. ServInt’s corporate office are located in Mclean, VA and its data centers are located in Washington, D.C., throughout Northern Virginia, and Los Angeles, California. Reed is an active venture philanthropist and a member of San Diego Social Venture Partners (SDSVP).
JARED CRISCUOLO
Jared Criscuolo is Executive Director and co-founder of Below the Surface, a non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration of and education about the issues surrounding water. He also works as a strategic consultant with wastewater districts. Previously, he worked in the renewable energy and investment industries, and taught History and French.
Jared’s passion for the environment is an outgrowth of his hobbies, including skiing, paddling, surfing, and sailing. In addition to serving Equinox Center as a Strategic Advisor, he volunteers with the Surfrider Foundation’s San Diego Chapter. As a member of their Executive Committee, he helped start and chaired Surfrider’s Know Your H20 campaign. Through that campaign, Jared helped initiate the Water Reliability Coalition, a diverse group of organizations in San Diego working together to develop a safe, reliable, sustainable and cost effective water supply.
Jared recently was chosen as Outside Magazine’s Reader of the Year for 2012 for his work at Below the Surface creating the Riverview Project (www.riverviewproject.org), which is a nationwide river visualization effort using the same technology that Google used to create Streetview. Jared graduated from Saint Lawrence University in Canton, NY with a bachelor’s degree in Government, and minors in History and French.
MALCOLM DAVIES
Malcolm Davies is Principal & Founder of CANVAZ a private Real Estate Investment firm located in Del Mar. He is also Principal of Opes San Diego, a Real Estate Finance & Investment Management firm. Malcolm is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Regional Development and Urban Planning department. He is an active member of the La Jolla Rotary, Del Mar/ Solana Beach Lions Club, and the PEERS Network. Malcolm is a member of the La Jolla Presbyterian Church and currently lives in La Jolla with his wife Angela and son Kingston.
JANIE DECELLES
Janie has a diverse background in marketing and finance. As a Partner with Trammel Crow Company, she worked in commercial real estate leasing and development. She founded an international wine exporting and marketing company, Cardiff Vintners International. Since 1994, Janie has worked in the long term care planning arena, where she established what became the San Diego Regional Division for GE Capital Assurance. Currently, Janie is an independent broker and long-term care specialist, affiliated with one of the largest and nationwide long-term care brokerage firms, LTC Resources. Janie is involved in making a difference in her community in a number of different ways. She spent nine years as a volunteer with The San Diego Foundation’s Environment Working Group. She currently serves on The San Diego Foundation’s Regional Disaster Fund Board and its Aging Society Advisory Group. She is Board Secretary for the San Diego River Park Foundation. As a Board Member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Club, she has helped run their non-profit felllowship program since its inception in 2005. She holds a Finance degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. Janie lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea with her Golden Retriever, Tiger, and her Ragdoll kitten, Zuli.
PAUL EICHEN
Paul Eichen is Chairman of the Orca Fund, an environmentally-focused fund housed at the San Diego Foundation. Created in 2001, the Orca Fund's mission is to increase the capacity of environmental stewardship in San Diego. Mr. Eichen's has an entrepreneurial background having founded divergent start-ups Proxima Corporation and the Rokenbok Toy Company. Proxima was a pioneer in the emerging market for data projection, and Mr. Eichen served as Proxima's President and Director from 1982-1995, during which time Proxima became a public company. Mr. Eichen started the Rokenbok Toy Company in 1995 to create a "legacy quality" toy system focused on creativity, imagination and learning, and continues to serve as Rokenbok's Chairman. Paul Eichen grew up in Solana Beach and attended Occidental College, where he studied Mathematics; he holds a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of San Diego; and is currently enrolled in the USD's Nonprofit Management and Leadership masters program.
JEREMY HAYDEN
Jeremy Hayden is Of Counsel with Luce Forward's Business/Corporate and Real Estate Securities & Finance practice groups. He counsels public and private REITs in a wide range of matters including formation and corporate governance, equity and debt offerings, securities law compliance, SEC compliance, tender offers, sale-leaseback transactions and other matters. He is a member of the California Bar Association,San Diego Venture Group, the Princeton Alumni Association and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.
KATHERINE KENNEDY
Founder and President of Relocation Coordinates, Inc. a world-class company with 25 years experience handling annually 1500 domestic and international relocations for corporations of all sizes. This unique relocation service combines highly personalized communications with leading edge technology. This combination is the basis for successful coordination of all aspects of relocation.
In addition to serving as a strategic advisor to Equinox Center, Katherine is on the Board of Directors of several community organizations, including the: Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, La Jolla Music Society, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and San Diego Social Venture Partners. She is a member of San Diego Rotary Club and a graduate of LEAD San Diego. Katherine is a 2007 San Diego State University Monty Award Winner, Alumni of the Year, College of Fine Arts.
ELLEN M. KIRK
Ellen Kirk is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of domestic and international experience ranging from start-up companies to established multinational corporations spanning a diversity of industries including wireless operations and technology, broadband, investment banking, and oil refining. Ellen currently is the President of AMI Consulting, providing broadband wireless technology strategy and implementation assistance. Previously, she served as Vice President – Marketing for Tropos Networks, the market leader in metro-scale wireless mesh networking, Vice President – Business Development for Qualcomm’s chip division, and EVP for Talaris Corporation (now Reardon Commerce). Earlier, Ellen was Vice President – Marketing, Regulatory and Strategic Planning and a crucial member of the executive team that led SnapTrack, Inc. from high-technology start-up to its $1 billion acquisition by Qualcomm. Prior to SnapTrack, Ellen held a number of mergers and acquisitions roles for AirTouch Communications and on Wall St., and began her career as a Chevron refinery process engineer.
Ellen is an accomplished public speaker who holds B.A. and Master of Chemical Engineering degrees from Rice University and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard. In addition to serving as a strategic advisor to Equinox Center, Ellen is actively involved with numerous philanthropic organizations including the Pan-Mass Challenge, San Diego Social Venture Partners, Cazadero Performing Arts Camp and the AMD Advisory Council of the Shiley Eye Clinic at UCSD.
DAVID LYNN
David Lynn has a diverse background in information technology, finance, and philanthropy. His IT background includes extensive work with data analysis and web-based database applications in a variety of industries, including financial, distribution, and education. He has also served as a financial analyst and portfolio manager, predominantly for charitable funds. Lynn is currently the president of Ayamba with various consulting engagements in the business and non-profit IT space, and a product focus in the restaurant industry.
Lynn’s primary philanthropic commitments include the Board and Communications chair of San Diego Social Venture Partners, investing in local non-profits and philanthropists; serving on the Balboa Park Trust Committee at the San Diego Foundation, managing the largest endowment preserving Balboa Park; co-founder of NPDog, supporting improvement efforts at Nate’s Point Dog Park; and serving on the Development Committee at Voice of San Diego. Lynn is a San Diego native with a Bachelors in Mathematics from Whitman College.
MARION PAUL
Marion most recently served as Equinox Center's first executive director. Marion has an extensive policy background, serving as senior policy analyst in the Colorado Governor’s Office, executive director of Jobs for Colorado’s Future, and as public affairs manager at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Her background includes work on planning the Denver International Airport, developing regional cooperation, and assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple large projects in the Denver region.
Marion previously served as executive vice president of Junior Achievement of San Diego, and was instrumental in creating the nationally recognized JA BizTown. During her tenure, she substantially expanded both the breadth and depth of programming, ultimately more than doubling the constituency served.
Marion is a former board member of the San Diego Social Venture Partners and the San Diego Women’s Foundation, a graduate of LEAD San Diego, and a member of the PLNU School of Business Advisory Committee. Marion holds a BA in Political Science and a BS in Geology from the University of Illinois.
DIANE L. ROSENBERG
Diane Rosenberg brings brand management, strategy and marketing expertise to leading consumer products and technology companies. During her career, Diane has developed results-driven Branding, Marketing and New Product initiatives for Procter & Gamble, Dell Computer, Open Energy Corporation, Del Monte Foods, Hunt-Wesson, Weight Watchers Frozen Foods, and Ernst & Young. She worked directly with the CEO of Procter & Gamble to create the company's first internal video communications program. Currently, Diane divides her time between strategic marketing consulting with companies and serving with nonprofit organizations.
Within the nonprofit sector, Diane served as Chair of the Environment Working Group at The San Diego Foundation, Outreach and Education Chair of CleanTECH San Diego and until August 2010 as Vice-Chair of Equinox Center. Other past leadership positions include: Interim Executive Director and Vice Chair of San Diego Social Venture Partners, Board Member of Second Chance, and President of the Cleveland Ballet Council. Diane is an alumnus of the University of Southern California, with a Masters in Business Administration and B.A. degree in Psychology.
BLAKE TYE
Blake Tye works for Qualcomm's Wireless Reach Initiative where she provides program support to foster public-private partnerships to bring the benefits of 3G connectivity to underserved communities globally.
Blake is skilled in both policy and econometric analysis and has work experience in telecommunications, healthcare, education, and advocacy in both the private and nonprofit sectors. Blake is specialized in sustainable environmental business practices and corporate social responsibility and is proficient in Spanish. Blake recently finished her Master’s in International Management focused on Latin America at UCSD’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS) and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with double majors of International Studies and Spanish.
OLAF WALTER, PhD.
Mr. Walter was educated as a chemical engineer in Germany and earned his PhD in Public Health Engineering from Portsmouth Polytechnic in the U.K. Currently, he serves as the COO of GreenCore Capital, LLC and GreenCore Business Services, LLC. He has 21+ years of global experience, mainly at The Dow Chemical Company, where he was responsible for a wide variety of business operations, most recently as Senior Technology Leader of Manufacturing and Engineering for Dow’s Industrial Biotechnology Business. Since late 2005, Mr. Walter has utilized his expertise consulting for entrepreneurial enterprises, developing business strategies and their implementation. His expertise spans fermentation technologies; whole plant derived bio-production, water and wastewater treatment technologies, chemical manufacturing, process development, business and competitive analysis, and sophisticated economic modeling. Mr. Walter serves as a Business & Scientific Advisor for three companies based in San Diego County: iDiverse, Assure Controls, and Ambient Control Systems. In addition, he serves as the Merger & Acquisition Associate for A.D.R. Associates, a company in Murietta, California, specialized in market research, strategic positioning, planning and communication. He is also a member of the ‘Science & Technology’ committee of the CleanTECH trade organization in San Diego which is associated with UCSD’s CONNECT and Springboard programs.
Communications Task Force
Strategic Communications Advisor
LARRY MARCUS
Larry Marcus has a long and successful background in media, marketing and finance. He was the Co-Founder of River City Broadcasting, owner and operator of forty four TV and radio stations, located coast to coast. Larry served as it’s Chief Financial Officer and was instrumental in building it from scratch in 1989 and managing it through to its sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1996. Currently, he is Managing Partner of Marcus Investments as well as Chief Executive Officer of Peak Media Holdings, owner/operator of television stations.
Through his company Marcus Strategies, LLC, Larry currently consults in the communications and media sector, and has served as Director of several media companies including KWMU, the National Public Radio station in St Louis, Radio One Inc., the Washington, DC based publicly held, African-American controlled radio group, Hero Broadcasting, the MTV3 (Hispanic) affiliate group based in Miami, has served as Chairman of the Del Mar Television Foundation and has been on the advisory board of KPBS-TV/Radio, the public stations in San Diego. Earlier in his career, Larry worked with the Washington Post Co. and Johnson and Johnson in the IT arena.
Larry is also involved in several worthy charitable organizations in San Diego, including San Diego Hospice, Pro Kids, the First Tee program. Larry received his Bachelors in Business from City College of New York as well as his MBA in computer science, and is recognized in Who’s Who in America.
BRUCE BIGELOW
Bruce Bigelow is an experienced journalist with broad responsibilities and flexibility in writing about technology innovation and business news. Currently, he is the editor of Xconomy San Diego, a Boston-based business news startup focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the startup business ventures that make up the 'exponential' economy. Bruce joined Xconomy from the San Diego Union-Tribune, where he worked 18 years covering business, technology, science and other subjects in the San Diego region. Bruce shared in the San Diego Union Tribune's 2006 Pulitzer Prize in national reporting (Rep. Duke Cunningham bribery scandal) and national journalism awards for stories about defense contractor Titan Corporation in Iraq (2006), profile of securities class-action lawyer Bill Lerach (2000) and chronicle of a San Diego startup company, the Rokenbok Toy Company (1998).
Bruce's goals are to find fresh challenges and to navigate the rapid changes taking place in the media industry, to understand the broad ramifications of online media and master the technical details, and to find great stories to tell.
PAM HARDY
A member of the Equinox Center communications task force since 2009, Pam Hardy serves as the Director for Marketing and Communication for California Western School of Law. Hardy previously held the position of Director of Communications for San Diego’s first City Council President, Scott Peters. Prior to that, she produced KPBS Radio’s flagship public affairs programs, “These Days” and “Editors Roundtable.”
A graduate of the University of California, San Diego with degrees in Communications and Political Science, Hardy has been recognized as one of the "40 Under 40" by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine and is a graduate of LEAD San Diego. She volunteers her time for the Museum School of San Diego, San Diego Children’s Choir, and other nonprofit organizations supporting youth.
TRICIA WHITTEMORE
Tricia Whittemore is an account supervisor at Porter Novelli, a top global public relations agency with 90 offices in 60 countries. She specializes in media relations, public outreach and writing communications for her clients. Tricia currently manages the day-to-day work for a large, local public outreach program, including community outreach, media relations and digital communications; she also works on a corporate communications and executive visibility program for a major global technology company. Her past clients span industries including technology, transportation, hospitality and economic development, and include Qualcomm, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Dave & Buster’s, South Bay Expressway, Boise Valley Economic Partnership and International Game Technology, among others.
Tricia’s work has been honored by the national PR Week Awards, PRSA Silver Anvil Awards and the San Diego and Orange County chapters of PRSA.
Tricia has a master’s degree from Florida State University’s top-ranked writing program and a bachelor’s degree in English, summa cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire. She is a board member for the Public Relations Society of America San Diego/Imperial Counties chapter and volunteers her time with Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County.