Board
Founder
For more nearly 30 years, Betty Peabody has played an active role in the success of Balboa Park. A founding member of the Balboa Park Millennium Society, she also served on the board of directors for Exposition 2000 — A Millennium Celebration in Balboa Park. For eight years, she was a member of the board of directors of the San Diego Museum of Man, and has been a member of the Central Balboa Park Association since it’s inception. She has served as president of the Klee Wyk Society of the Museum of Man, Caridad International and the House of Hospitality. She chaired the House of Hospitality’s Grand re-opening in 1997 and received the organization’s lifetime membership award. Mrs. Peabody was the 2001 Rotary District Conference/Balboa Park liaison.
Mrs. Peabody has also been a distinguished civic leader in other San Diego organizations serving on the board of San Diego County Crime Stoppers, chairing Caridad International and the Mercy Hospital Ball, and co-founding Point Loma Acts Now (P.L.A.N.)
Author of “Women Physicians in Early San Diego,” Mrs. Peabody has traveled extensively with her physician husband, Homer. Their most memorable travel experience was a sabbatical in the Solomon Islands spent doing pulmonary function testing on the cannibals. The two have also chaired the American Medical Tennis National Convention, World Medical Tennis Society Convention and the Magic Lantern Society of U.S. and Canada Convention.
Mrs. Peabody is the recipient of numerous awards including: Woman of Distinction; The San Diego Crime Commission “Blue Knight award”; San Diego Crime Stoppers “Lifetime Achievement Award”; the City of San Diego District 3 “Community Spirit” award; the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Recognition award; and the Hanalei Bay Resort Homeowners Association Resolution of Appreciation.
The Peabodys have four children and five grandchildren.
Chairman
Maureen Lamberti, who brings a fresh perspective to the Friends Board of Directors, joined us in March of 2007 after having chaired the Friend’s 2006 Millennium Awards Luncheon.
Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Pittsburgh, Maureen attended Seton Hill University where she graduated with a B.A. degree in English Literature. She taught English and History in Pittsburgh and Boston, where she started her family. After a move to Chicago where Maureen volunteered in her children’s schools, her family moved to San Diego in 1980. Inspired by meeting film directors at the Telluride Film Festival, Maureen attended SDSU where she received her Masters Degree in Telecommunications and Film. Her strong interest in documentaries led her to work as a video and documentary producer. She received an award from the ITVA (Independent Television Association of San Diego) for a medical documentary and received acclaim at the Breckenridge Film Festival in the 1990’s.
Many organizations have benefited from Maureen’s civic and volunteer activities on behalf of children’s health and education. Maureen supports the arts and theater in San Diego and served on the San Diego Visual Arts Foundation Board where she worked on several fundraisers and served as a judge for the student film selections from local area colleges. Maureen enjoys skiing, tennis, swimming, and travels frequently to visit her two adult daughters who live and work in New York City.
Vice-Chairman
A community volunteer, Elizabeth “Libby” Carson has extensive experience with non-profit organizations. She served as president of the Junior League of San Diego and the La Jolla Civic Center Corporation and on the board of the La Jolla Country Day School and Francis Parker School. She was a member of the Committee for Equity in Student Placement, the Task Force to Raise Graduation requirements for the San Diego Unified School District, and the Board of Visitors of USD Law School.
Mrs. Carson is a founding director of LEAD San Diego and has served on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Community Foundation, Children’s Hospital, and the Red Cross. She is the recipient of the Salvation Army Women of Dedication award and the Junior League Spirit of Volunteerism award and has been listed in Who’s Who of American Women.
Mrs. Carson is a graduate of Vassar Collage and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Secretary
Jim, a San Diego Rotarian since 1991, has been a stalwart of the Friends’ luncheon committee for the past several years, helping us produce the program for many successful Millennium Awards luncheons!
Jim was born and raised in Pasadena, a city rich in architecture, parks, and community beautification. He initially came to San Diego to attend law school, presuming to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become a career FBI agent. He took a job during his first year in law school in the legal support industry, and consequently founded his own company providing services to lawyers. He went on to graduate from law school, never took the bar exam or practiced law, but followed his natural “seat of the pants business man instincts” to grow Hughes Attorney Service to a company with 98 full-time employees. Jim retired from his company after 28 years, and has been managing Hughes Heritage Plaza and the RTC, commercial complexes that he owns, leases, and maintains. Notes Jim of his interest in Balboa Park: “ I have come to know Balboa Park deeper than its stunning beauty, and I know the park can use all the TLC that the community can muster. I look forward to being on the Friends’ board and being part of the leadership that looks out for the entire park.” Pictured with wife Carmen Hughes at 2007 Millennium Awards Luncheon.
Treasurer
Heather Xitco holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Southern California, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Diego. She is also a practicing Certified Public Accountant. Ms.Xitco is presently a Shareholder at the locally founded accounting and consulting firm of Mack|Barclay, Inc , where she specializes in economic research, analysis and consultation, primarily in the context of litigation. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the National Association of Forensic Economists and the American Academy of Economic and Financial Experts. Ms. Xitco was born and raised in San Diego. She is a third generation Point Loman, currently living there with her husband, Tom, and four children. She and her husband are supporters of the San Diego Historical Society and the San Diego Model Train Museum. She is a current member and Treasurer of the Thursday Club Professionals, a member of the San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club, and a past board member of Rotaract (an affiliate of Rotary).
Immediate Past Chairman
Dr. Tom Goad’s professional experience includes over 35 years of organization and human resources development practice. After a career with a military contractor, he served as a management consultant and half-time faculty member at National University. He is the author of five books related to human resource development. Tom is a past president of the San Diego Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and has received their Spotlight Award for national recognition.
Tom has degrees from the University of Texas, San Diego State University, and U. S. International University. His public service includes past member of the Professional Advisory Board, Learning Disabilities Association of California and Friends of the Point Loma Library, where he served as president. Tom and his wife Shelby, a former teacher and preschool director, live in Point Loma. They have one son.
An organizational consultant, Laurie Broedling spent 25 years in government, holding executive positions in the Department of Defense and NASA. Subsequent to her government career, she was the Senior Vice President for Human Resources and Quality for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, as well as Vice President for Employee Involvement and Human Resource Information Systems for the Boeing Company. She specializes in helping organizations achieve business transformation by improving processes and practices to achieve overall organizational goals.
Dr. Broedling graduated from Brown University and received her Masters and Ph.D. degrees from George Washington University in industrial-organizational psychology. She has been an examiner for the Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence and a judge for the President’s Quality Award. She is Chair Emeritus of the California Team Excellence Award Council of the California Council for Excellence. She has taught graduate level courses at San Diego State University and George Washington University in strategic management, quality systems management, leadership, and organizational development and behavior and is widely published in her field.
Dr. Broedling is a member of the Academy of Management, American Society for Quality, American Psychological Association, Society for Psychologists in Management, Society for Human Resources Management, American Society for Training and Development, and Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology.
Barbara J. Brown has been a full-time volunteer since 1978. Prior to that she was a school nurse for 21 years. Barbara’s volunteer efforts primarily benefit children. She serves on the Children’s Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, the Vista Hill Advisory Board, the Sharp Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, the Senior Community Center’s Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of Crime Stoppers, and is active on committees at San Diego State University. Barbara also serves as the chairman of the Circle of Care Committee at Children’s Hospital and is Director of Patrons on The Prado.
Barbara was born at Battle Creek Michigan, graduated form Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing Education and her R.N. diploma. She obtained her general education teaching credential from Cal Western College and her Masters of Art degree in Special Education from San Diego State University.
Barbara lives in Point Loma.
CAROLINE C. CHEN
As a longtime patron to several of the park institutions, Caroline Chen and her husband George Boomer are avid supporters of Balboa Park and its heritage. Ms. Chen is truly honored to join the Friends’ board to serve activities sponsored by the Friends of Balboa Park. She is especially interested in preservation and enhancement of the Park for future generations as well as actively marketing the Park to San Diego’s ever expanding population.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Caroline’s family moved to Glendale, California in the 70’s. Caroline Chen holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and B.S in Finance from University of Southern California. She also has an Engineering Certificate from University of California, Irvine, in Data Communication and Telecommunication Technologies.
Caroline has over twenty-five years of business and marketing experience serving high technology and power-utility industries. Caroline Chen has conducted extensive business planning and product planning sessions to assess market opportunities, competitive challenges, then developed the product development plan for action. She is a comprehensive womb-to-tomb product marketing professional with a particular strength in project and team management. Prior to joining StatWizards as a Senior Business Consultant, Ms. Chen has held several management level marketing and business development positions in blue chip companies such as 3Com, Motorola and Southern California Edison and IDEAL Industries.
In addition, Caroline is a member of the San Diego Downtown Rotary Club, a member of the Loan Committee for International Rescue Committee (IRC), and served as ad-hoc advisor for Monarch School’s Butterfly Enterprises (a Junior Achievement Program) and Somalia Women Sewing Group (a micro-enterprise business). In her free-time, Caroline and George enjoy global trotting, folk-art collecting, kayaking, hiking and visiting their extensive friends and family.
Dean Crowder has more that 40 years of experience as a nonprofit executive, board member, and volunteer in San Diego. He has served on the Friends Board since 2001.
He served for 20 years as Chief Executive Officer of Sharp Memorial Hospital and was the founding CEO of Sharp HealthCare and the Sharp HealthCare Foundation. He was involved in managing the early transition of Sharp from a community hospital to a regional health care delivery system. In retirement, he served as Director and President of the International Visitors Council of San Diego, a citizen diplomacy affiliate of the U.S. State Department that hosts visitors from nations around the world selected by our embassies to meet with their counterparts in San Diego. He also served on the board of the San Diego Education Foundation, a grantor of scholarships to minority students majoring in education who commit to teaching in San Diego City schools. A fourth generation Californian, he is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (major: zoology) and the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University (MBA). He also completed post graduate studies in health systems management at the Harvard Business School. He is an emeritus member of the Rotary Club of San Diego. He belongs to the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and the Zoological Society of San Diego.
Jim Hall is President of Hall/Fish Investments, Inc., a real estate investment corporation. Jim served Gov. Ronald Reagan as Secretary of Business, Transportation & Housing; Secretary of Health & Welfare; and California Superintendent of Banks. He was appointed Chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission by Gov. Pete Wilson. He served as a senior officer of MCA, Inc., and Ticor, and was a director of Pinkerton’s, Inc. and Readicare.
Jim’s civic involvement includes California Voter Foundation; Pacific Legal Foundation; San Diego Transportation Management Association; San Diego County Taxpayers Association; San Diego Chamber of Commerce; Downtown San Diego Partnership; and the San Diego Historical Society. He is a member of San Diego Rotary, San Diego Yacht Club, and The Federalist Society.
Mr. Hall, an attorney, received his BA and JD from UC Berkeley and was associated with Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps before joining the Reagan Administration. He was an officer in the U.S. Navy. Jim and his wife Maxine live in Point Loma.
Susan has over 15 years experience in the management of non-profit organizations. Her experience includes program development and evaluation, grantwriting, budgeting and public speaking. Ms. Hoekenga consults with non-profits on strategic planning, fundraising, and board development.
Susan spent eight years as executive director of a local non-profit agency which serves the elderly. She was responsible for helping the organization expand services, volunteers and funding. She served as statewide chairwoman of the Shared Housing Collaboration, and was appointed to the Mayor’s Senior Advisory Board. She spent ten years on the board of directors of the Greater North Park Community Planning Committee and chaired the board for two years.
Ms. Hoekenga earned a BA in political science from Michigan State University and Masters degrees in Public Administration and Gerontology from the University of Southern California. She currently serves on the board of directors of the UCSD Stein Institute for Research on Aging, and she is a member of ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scholars). She is a 1988 graduate of LEAD San Diego.
Born in Ghana, Africa and raised in San Diego, Ms. Kulikowski-Tan completed her urban planning degree at the University of California, San Diego. She began her career in transportation as Executive Director of the San Diego Transportation Management Association and subsequently as Senior Vice President for The ADEPT Group, Inc., a consulting firm in Los Angeles, developing and overseeing projects in transportation technologies. During her transportation career, she was an instructor at California State University, Fullerton, contributor to transportation newsletters and member on many government committees, conference panels and professional organizations. She actively participated in the San Diego Chapter of the MIT Enterprise Forum and helped establish the Los Angeles Chapter of the US-Poland Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Kulikowski-Tan serves on various committees for Maria Montessori Academy and St. Vincent de Paul School with an emphasis on promoting the arts and sciences in the K-8 grade levels. Both she, and her husband Phil, enjoy their extended families in San Diego. Together, they are active in church and civic projects and events. They most enjoy traveling, camping and exploring the arts with their three children.
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 Advocacy 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.
Marvin Spira is a member of the Board of Directors of The San Diego Shakespeare Society, The Food Policy Institute of Rutgers University, and serves on several committees related to the Arts in the San Diego Area. He is president of Marketing Consultants, International and continues his career in marketing with clients from the United States, Europe and the Far East. He has worked extensively with not for profit associations and has received his certification in Association Management from The American Society Of Association Executives in Washington , D.C.
LINDA P. SPUCK, CTFA
Linda Spuck is a Vice President/Trust Administrator in the Private Bank in downtown San Diego. Prior to joining Union Bank, Linda served in leadership positions in several non-profit organizations, including Director of Development for the San Diego Rescue Mission and the San Diego Historical Society. Her background in non-profit development helped prepare her to serve the Wealth Management Group’s not-for-profit clients.
Ken has been regularly visiting San Diego since the 1970’s and has been a resident since early 2001. For the last forty years, since Ken and Mary were married, city parks have been important to his family. Their granddaughters enjoy many aspects of Balboa Park every time they visit.
As an Engineering graduate of Columbia University, Ken had a thirty-seven year career in Finance and Business Planning with IBM. He retired in 2002 and set an objective to support the institutions that provided him with enrichment and enjoyment throughout his career.
St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, located on the west side of Balboa Park, was the first institution to which Ken became committed as a volunteer. For the last four years, Ken has led the Master Plan Committee, is now President of the LLC that is developing the property adjacent to the Cathedral, has served on Chapter, and is active with the Finance and Endowment Committees. He has also become a member of the Rotary Club of Torrey Pines – La Jolla, the Historical Society, the Zoological Society, the USS Midway, and the Museum of Art.
As a partner in San Diego’s prestigious legal firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton and Scripps, Steven Wall specializes in real estate litigation, condemnation, energy law and environmental matters.
Mr. Wall is past chairman of Exposition 2000- A Millennium Celebration in Balboa Park. He is also past chairman of the Central Balboa Park Association and the California State Bar Executive Committee of the Conference of Delegates. He is a founding member of the Balboa Park Millennium Society. His civic activities have also included serving as president of the San Diego Museum of Man’s board of trustee and the San Diego Opera Association’s boar of directors.
Mr. Wall graduated with honors from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts decree in political science. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California.
ANN E. WILSON, CPA, CFE, MBA
Ann grew up in Point Loma. Her parents took her to Balboa Park from a very young age. During her elementary school years, she took ballet class through San Diego Park & Rec in Balboa Park every Saturday morning. In junior high school, Ann’s mother took her to a performance at the Old Globe’s Shakespeare Festival and Ann fell in love with Shakespeare and the Old Globe. She remembers purchasing student tickets for Saturday matinees for 50 cents!
Ann has served on the Millennium Awards Luncheon Committee for the past 2 years and is chair of the luncheon for 2010. For the past 2 years, Ann and friends have decorated the Friends holiday tree for the Festival of Trees during December Nights. She joined the Board in 2009. She looks forward to helping protect, preserve and enchance the Park for future generations of San Diegans and visitors.
Ann received an AB degree from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UCLA. A CPA and CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), Ann has had her own forensic accounting and litigation support practice since 1993. She has served in leadership positions in both the California Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs, including chair of the AICPA National Conference of Advanced Litigation Services in 2002.
Ann currently resides in Del Mar. In addition to the Friends, Ann is a member of Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO), and a former board member of Classics For Kids. She is active at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Encinitas, serving on the Finance Committee and in several other ministries. Ann enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, quilting and entertaining friends and family. She has four adult children and four grandchildren.
Don Yeckel retired in 1999 after a 37-year career at the investment firm of Merrill Lynch, during which he achieved many distinctions. Before retiring as a vice-president, he was the first Merrill Lynch executive in San Diego County to be appointed an assistant vice-president and the first person to gain admission to Merrill Lynch’s prestigious Chairman’s Club.
Prior to his career at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Yeckel served seven years in the U.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Captain. He is the founding trustee and chair of the Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation, the President of the Torrey Pines – La Jolla Rotary Foundation, and a past-president of the Rotary Club of Torrey Pines (La Jolla).
Mr. Yeckel graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of the student senate, a columnist for the weekly news magazine, and a member of the university honor society. His achievements at Notre Dame were foreshadowed in high school at The Aquinas Institute of Rochester, N.Y., where he was student body president and a varsity athlete.
