Category Archives: Member News

Museum-Women’s Museum of California

Laura Mitchell, Executive Director of the Women’s Museum of California, has over thirty years of experience in academic, educational and cultural institutions. Before serving in her current role, Laura was the Executive Director of the Visions Museum of Textile Art, Director of Advancement for the Hong Kong Academy, as a consultant for Plan. Fund. Create. in Hong Kong and Washington DC, as President of the Luther Institute as well as a Historian and Project Coordinator at the National Museum of American History for the Smithsonian.

Whether living in DC, Hong Kong or San Diego, Laura has always been an active member of clubs and organizations that make community service their focal point. She has served on the board for the San Diego Museum Council, the Vesper Society, and Adventures in Preservation. She has also volunteered for, or been a member of, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the East Asia Regional Council of Schools.

Laura was born in Los Angeles, CA, and graduated from Pomona College with a BA in economics before earning her PhD. in American history from Yale. She loves music, art and classic film as well as green tea. She has two daughters and two dogs.

Laura thanks her sponsors Andrea da Rosa, Ray Simas and Corey Polant.

Retired-Orthopedic Surgery

Michael Hennessy is from a small town in Minnesota where he stayed through medical school at the University of Minnesota. He and his now wife of 49 years moved first to Boston, then to San Diego for Michael to serve two years at Camp Pendleton. After twenty years of practice here they moved to Great Falls, Montana. Michael and his wife, also a doctor, moved back to San Diego after opening a surgical center and then a hospital in Montana. They now are fully retired and live here full time.

Michael was one of the founding members of the Mercy Outreach Surgical Team. He has volunteered with many organizations including Hospital Ruanguba in Zaire, Habitat for Humanity, and has done volunteer surgery in Kenya, Guatemala, Mexico, and Congo.

Michael and his wife have three adult children.

Michael thanks his sponsors Mike Meaney, Doug Arbon and Lisa Miller.

Social Services-Promises2Kids

Tonya Torosian is the CEO of Promises2Kids, a 41-year-old nonprofit founded as the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation. This organization is dedicated to creating a brighter future for the more than 200,000 foster children it serves, and the communities where they live.

Tonya grew up in Maddison, Wisconsin, in a community service minded family where she learned the importance of social work. She went on to graduate from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Social Welfare, and later Arizona State, with a MSW in Administration. Her passion has been to support children who have been the victims of abuse and neglect.  She has spent the past 25 years in San Diego doing just that.

She and her wife adopted a son, who is now six-years-old, who would have most likely gone into foster care.

Tonya thanks her sponsors Mary Colacicco, Valerie Attisha and Chris Graham.

Retired – Certified Public Accounting

Originally from Lincoln, Nebraska, proud Cornhusker Tom Kerl began his career as a CPA in a large firm. He later moved to Orange County, CA and started his own firm, where he stayed for 30 years. He and his wife had 4 children, and now 16 grandchildren.

Tom is an animal advocate and has volunteered for both Next Step Service Dogs and Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue and Adoption. He and his new wife Judy enjoy transpacific sailing and the Opera.

Tom thanks his sponsors Ned Silver, Wendy Urushima-Conn and David Oates.

Sustainability – Electric Bikes

Ed Clancy is an Army Veteran who has worked across a broad spectrum of interests to increase active living/healthy lifestyle cultures in the San Diego community for the past twelve years. He is currently the Founder and President of Pedal Ahead, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides e-bikes to individuals in underserved communities through a loan-to-own program, which advances lifestyles and challenges socio-economic barriers. These e-bikes, over 525 distributed in San Diego county thus far, provide the missing links for those who need an affordable way to get to to and from work, as well as other daily transportation needs.

He has one child and has been a volunteer at Rotarians at Work Day in years past.

Ed thanks his sponsors Phil Blair, Wendy Urushima-Conn and Mel Katz.

Senior Services – Additional Active

Gbanju Aruwayo-Obe is a former Rotarian with the Ikoyi Lagos State, Nigeria Club, which he became a member of in 2019. Originally from Nigeria, Gbanju moved to San Diego five years ago and is currently the Director of Business for the home care organization Comfort Helpers, LLC.

Starting his career in consulting and strategy, Gbanju has  Certificates in Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Coaching and Business Intelligence Analysis as well as a BS in Geography and Regional Planning, an MS in Information Technology and Business Renewal, and is now a doctoral candidate, PhD. in Organizational Leadership from Alliant University.

Gbanju and his wife Olugbemisola have one child.

Gbanju thanks his sponsor Chuck Pretto.

Communications-Public Broadcasting

Deanna Mackey has served as the general manager of KPBS since June 30, 2022. As an executive leader and journalist, she has been committed to equity for women and girls, particularly women of color, throughout her more than 30-year career in nonprofit management and executive leadership in media. Her most recent role from 2015-2022 was president of the Public Television Major Market Group. There she focused her time on leadership/culture, revenue generation, audience development and digital on behalf of the group as well as national partnerships and system leadership activities. Previously, she worked for 25 years at KPBS, San Diego, serving as COO. Prior to her earlier work with KPBS, Deanna was a writer and editor for several San Diego-based publications. She spent her early years in journalism as a radio news writer. In 2015, Mackey co-founded Public Media Women in Leadership, to provide mentorship/training for women in her industry and address issues of gender inequity in public media.

Deanna is committed to public service. For 13 years, she served as a Girl Scout troop leader. All 17 of her active troop members are currently attending college. She is vice-chair of the board of directors of Parks, California, a board member of the CDP, and she recently completed a term on the governance and nominating committee of inewsource. She was a 2021 finalist for the National Association of Women Business Owners and, in 2018, she received the Hera Heroine Leadership Award. She has been named a YWCA Tribute to Women & Industry honoree, an Outstanding Alumnus from SDSU’s Daily Aztec newspaper, and was named one of five “Women who Move the City” by San Diego Magazine.

Deanna earned her Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University with a double major in journalism and political science.  She lives in San Diego and is married to Christopher Ingalls. She and her husband have five children between them, one granddaughter, and one lovely Lab.

Deanna thanks her sponsors Patti Roscoe, Divya Kakaiya and Suzanne Marmion.

Associations-Armed Services YMCA

Tim Ney is a visionary C-suite executive and people-first strategic leader. He takes pride in leveraging strong leadership skills that he cultivated during his years of service with the US Marine Corps. For over nine years he has worked as the Executive Director of Armed Services YMCA. A few notable accomplishments from his tenure with ASYMC include leading expansion programs and services, positioning the San Diego branch for operational continuity during the pandemic, and conceptualizing and initiating the Center for Military Families office relocation project.

Before his current role, Tim was Chief Operations Officer at Feeding America; and before that, North County Community Services Director, Community Relations in San Marcos. He has a BS from Chapman University and an MBA from SDSU.

Tim lives a life of service in our community and he would like to continue his service and develop as a leader with the support of the Rotarians in San Diego.
He says his resume and any notable achievements are simply words on paper. He sees himself as a humble community member doing the best he can in life who is eager to learn and grow.

Tim thanks his sponsors Jeanne Schmelzer, David Oates and Mike Caruso.

Financial Planning – Additional Active

Kim Benson, CFP®, CPA, CeFT®, helps executives link their financial decisions to their personal values and aspirations. She also helps help people navigate the financial side of life transitions, and thrives on providing them with clarity around major decisions — whether it’s within the corporate world, a career change, death of a loved one, or other significant life change, she helps them find a clear path forward to walk ahead in confidence.

Kim grew up in a beautiful small town in Northern Maine called St. Agatha. Because the French settled there in the 1800’s she speaks French as her first language. She holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Bryant University with a concentration in accounting. She says once she moved to San Diego, she had a hard time leaving. So, she met a fellow Red Sox fan here and married him.

After deciding to leave a successful career in corporate financial planning and analysis in 2015 she joined CCMI where she then became a partner in 2022. As an active member of the San Diego community, Kim is a LEAD graduate. She enjoys skiing, rowing, cooking and traveling with her husband.

Kim is grateful to Peg Eddy for introducing her to Rotary and to her other sponsors Mia Harenski and Larry Kuntz.

Associations—San Diego Community College District

Dr. Tina M. King is a transformative educational leader whose vision is guided by the core values of inclusive excellence, equity-mindedness, and institutional responsibility for student success. She has served in every sector of public education in California.  She began her career as a middle school teacher in the Compton Unified School District. Tina is a tireless advocate for students and educators, she is extremely passionate about issues that affect student equity, student success, and policy in public education. Currently, Tina serves as the President of San Diego College of Continuing Education where she oversees and advocates for 40,000 students. She is focused on expanding access to adult learners to the workforce and economic mobility for adults to reach livable and sustainable wages. Prior to her role as President, she served as Assistant Superintendent and Vice President for Student Affairs (ASVPSA) at Southwestern College.

Tina also serves as a professor at San Diego State University, teaching equity- minded approaches to student success to graduate students in postsecondary educational leadership. She has received many awards and recognitions throughout her career as a community college educational leader, including the prestigious ASPEN Rising President Fellowship in 2021.

She lives here in San Diego with her husband and children.

Tina thanks her sponsors Laurie Coskey, Constance Carroll and Michael Brunker.