Bob Gans is an attorney who arrived in Del Mar from New York City 21 years ago with his wife, Melissa (a long-time Board member of the Del Mar Garden Club), and their two children, Seth (now 27 and practicing as a marriage and family therapist in Rancho Bernardo), and Leah (now 25 and the owner of clothing/jewelry boutique in New York).  Bob is a former member of the City of Del Mar Finance Committee, and served in various positions on the Board of the Del Mar Foundation from 2012 to 2020, including as President from 2016 to 2018.  Bob has also served as President of the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation, Treasurer of the La Jolla Country Day School Board of Trustees, and as a Nation Leader in the Magdalena-Ecke YMCA “Y-Guide” and “Y-Princess” Programs.  He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and New York University School of Law.

Since moving to Del Mar in 2013, Tema has been actively involved with Newcomers Club of San Dieguito, most recently as President, and has worked on the Hospitality Committee of the Del Mar Foundation.  While living near Seattle, where her two children were born, she was involved primarily in PTA and Junior League.  After moving near Pasadena, she served in many roles on the board of Assistance League of Flintridge and also served on the boards of various education-related organizations, including as President of Caltech Women’s Club.  Tema and her husband Dave feel very fortunate that their son, his wife and three grandchildren also live in Del Mar.

Wayne moved to Del Mar 20 years ago with his wife Linda.  He has maintained a CPA practice for 45 years and recently became semi-retired.  He has been a volunteer driver for DMCC and is looking forward to serving as Treasurer on the new board.  He has 2 grandsons in Texas and 2 granddaughters in Colorado, so Wayne and Linda spend a lot of time on Southwest Airlines.  He is active with Seacrest Foundation and is also active with the San Diego Chapter of the Stanford Alumni Association.  Hobbies include travel, snorkeling, and collecting old political items, especially from 1912.  He loves walking around Del Mar and also belongs to a walking group in Encinitas.  

Mary Walshok is a thought leader and subject-matter expert on aligning workforce development with regional economic growth. She has authored more than 100 articles, reports, and book chapters on regional innovation, workforce development and the role of research institutions in regional economies. As an industrial social scientist focused on the dynamics of regional economic development and transformation, Walshok has studied various communities across America. She has evaluated 13 WIRED regions funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, studied three innovative regions for a National Science Foundation-funded project and assessed one region’s efforts to grow an industry for a Lilly Foundation-funded endeavor.

As head of the continuing education and public programs arm of UC San Diego since 1981, Walshok oversees programs that educate more than 120,000 enrollees annually, which translates to more than 30,000 students in over 4,400 courses. Walshok has developed outreach efforts to help accelerate the San Diego region’s economic vitality, grow the region's globally competitive talent pool and help college graduates transition to high-demand employment areas. She also helps provide access to a vast array of regional intellectual resources through the award-winning UCSD-TV and nationwide through UCTV.

During her tenure at UCSD, Walshok has played an active role in helping the University expand its local impact, national reputation and global reach. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Kellogg Foundation’s Leadership Fellowship and was inducted into Sweden’s Royal Order of the Polar Star. She currently serves on the boards of San Diego Connect (which she helped found in 1985), the La Jolla Playhouse, the United States-Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC), the Institute of the Americas (IOA), the San Diego Opera, the Smart Border Coalition and the Girard Foundation.

Walshok is a native of Palm Springs, California, she received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Pomona College in 1964, her master’s degree in sociology in 1966 and her Ph.D. in sociology in 1969 from Indiana University. She has been a visiting professor at the Stockholm School of Economics for many years and in 2004 held an international appointment in the Department of Continuing Education at Oxford University in England.

Linda grew up on the East Coast, attended Mount Holyoke College and graduated with a BS and RN from Columbia University. After practicing pediatric nursing for several years, she and her husband relocated to Del Mar in 1973. Linda gave piano lessons to young children for 10 years while returning to Mesa College to study Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design. In 1981, she began a 35-year career as a Landscape Designer. She subsequently designed more than 800 residential and commercial landscapes in San Diego County, including more than 150 in Del Mar. Linda has been a member of the Del Mar Garden Club and the City’s Parks and Rec Committee for many years. She has led and accompanied DMCC’s ‘Singing Together‘ program since 2003. Linda's website is lindachisari.com.

Judd and his wife Susan moved to Del Mar in 1969 while both were serving as officers in the US Navy. After Judd completed 2 tours in Vietnam as a carrier pilot he left active duty and he and Susan moved to LA where he managed movie stars for 2 years.

They then decided to make a permanent move back to Del Mar to raise their family. Judd then became involved in San Diego real estate where he is still active through the family company. Judd graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and attended Stanford University where he received a Master of Science degree in statistics.

He has served on numerous City of Del Mar committees and was on the board of the Del Mar Foundation for eight years serving as president from 2004 to 2006.

Katie Militello is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who moved to Del Mar from Buffalo, NY 12 years ago with her husband and two of their three children, who were still in high school.

Prior to moving to Del Mar, Katie was a Marketing Executive working at Fisher-Price, Mattel and for a medical device company based in Buffalo. Katie’s business skills include strategic planning, product development, marketing and sales support. After working in major corporations, Katie went on to provide marketing consulting for family-owned businesses in Buffalo. This led to her interest in counseling. When Katie moved to CA, she switched careers and participated in internship programs at hospice, Carlsbad grade schools, and the UCSD Maternal Health Clinic.

Katie first volunteered with DMCC as a facilitator for Adapting to Life Transitions, which was a peer support group for attendees adapting to changes of aging. Katie most recently facilitated the Writing Your Story program with a focus on participating in a writing circle with an understanding of therapeutic approaches, and the benefit of writing in exploration of emotions, meaning making and storytelling about our lives.

Katie has served on the Board of her local professional chapter of CAMFT, and is currently in private practice in Del Mar.

Katie graduated with a BA from Harvard University in Asian Studies, The Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania with an MBA, and National University with a MA in Counseling.

Phyllis Mirsky, longtime volunteer for Del Mar Community Connections and 2022 Volunteer of the Year, has served in various leadership roles, including a previous six-year term as Secretary of the Board of Directors. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Phyllis received a master’s degree in librarianship at the University of Michigan and a BS in Social Welfare from the Ohio State University.

Mirsky’s career as a librarian spanned 40 years, most of it spent within the University of California both at UCLA and UC San Diego. Active professionally, she became one of the most influential health sciences librarians in the world, culminating in being honored as one of the Medical Library Association’s “100 Most Notable.” Those individuals identified for this honor were recognized for their significant contributions to MLA and the health information profession throughout MLA's 100-year history. Phyllis retired from UC San Diego in 2005 as the Deputy University Librarian. She currently serves as an emerita mentor to UCSD’s Chancellors Scholars, a cadre of 1st Generation students who have demonstrated academic excellence and financial need.

Phyllis and her husband Ed have lived in Del Mar for four decades.

After graduating with a degree in research psychology from Washington University, Judy moved to Del Mar in 1971 with her husband Marc.  This was Judy’s first trip west of the Mississippi.  Del Mar was quite a change from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and St. Louis, Missouri. 

She worked at UCSD until 1980 when she started a small business buying and selling estate and antique jewelry. This business fits well with her deep interest in art and in history.  This interest has led to a number of lectures to the public focused on the changes over time in both the style and the manufacture of jewelry as women’s roles in society have changed over time.

Judy has served on the Boards of the Del Mar Foundation, The Friends of the Powerhouse and the Del Mar Garden Club.  She last spent seven years on the Board of DMCC as Treasurer. 

Sheila is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in La Jolla. During the past 30 years she has served on the Board of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center and on the steering committee of the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program. She also teaches in this program. For the past two years, she has served on the DMCC Salon Committee and is now working on the strategic planning committee of NeverAgain, an organization dedicated to banning the gun shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Sheila has a BA from Connecticut College, an MSW from San Diego State University, an MFA in painting and film criticism from UCSD, and a PhD in clinical psychology from the Fielding Institute. She and her husband Michael have lived in Del Mar for 18 years.

Alan Sweedler recently retired from San Diego State University, where he was Associate Vice President in charge of the university’s international programs, Director of the Center for Energy Studies and Professor of Physics. As SDSU’s Senior International Officer he was responsible for all of the university’s international relations and agreements. Professor Sweedler’s academic expertise is in the area of energy policy and technology and environmental impacts of energy use. He has been a leader in developing energy policy and researching energy issues for over 40 years, especially in the greater San Diego region, including Mexico. He was the founding Chair of the San Diego Regional Energy Office, the precursor to the current Center for Sustainable Energy and was a founding Board member of Clean Tech San Diego. Sweedler is a 44-year resident of Del Mar and currently serves on the Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) and is Del Mar’s representative to the Community Advisory Committee for the Clean Energy Alliance. His wife is retired from UC San Diego where she was a reference librarian at the Geisel Library.

Tanya Young is an artist working in oil, gouache and digital media. She grew up in Chicago and moved to Del Mar with her young family in 1986. She has created paintings for homes and corporations including a commission of multiple works for the research facility and offices of Eli Lilly and Company in San Diego. Tanya’s daughter Madeleine works in Philanthropy at La Jolla Playhouse, and her husband Michael is a practicing Adult and Child Psychiatrist. An avid gardener, Tanya is serving her third year on the Board of the Del Mar Garden Club. She is very honored to join the DMCC Board!

Tanya received her BFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received a Graduate Certificate in Science Illustration from CSU Monterey Bay. She continues to work in both art fields, abstract and science. Tanya’s specialty in Science Illustration is the deep ocean, and she works with scientists from Scripps Oceanography where she completed an internship. In 2021 she was invited to be “Artist-at-Sea” on the R/V Falkor operated by Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Tanya’s website is tanyayoungart.com.