Gourmet Cookies
Maya Madsen is the founder and CEO of Maya’s Cookies, America’s #1 Black-Owned Gourmet Vegan Cookie Company. As a vegan with a sweet tooth she had not been able to find perfectly delicious, soft-baked gourmet vegan cookies, so she spent years crafting award-winning and crowd pleasing recipes. She started her gourmet cookie business in 2015 by selling her baked goods at farmers markets in the area and online. Her company was steadily growing year after year. Then, in the summer of 2020, the civil unrest sweeping the nation prompted a list of black-owned businesses to be shared world wide, and Maya’s Cookies made that list (because they are delicious). Since that summer she has opened two brick-and-mortar stores while also maintaining her online sales, as well as selling on the Home Shopping Network.
Maya is committed to superior customer service and community engagement with a focus on youth and underserved communities. She is a career partner with Kitchens For Good, an organization whose apprenticeship program for those who have barriers to employment such as justice system involvement, a history of foster care, mental health or or substance abuse challenges, or unsheltered living, gives people a chance to become certified in the culinary arts. She is also a mentor at Promises to Kids, San Marcos Boys and Girls Clubs and serves on the boards of Fred Finch, Junior Achievement San Diego, and San Marcos Chamber of Commerce.
She ran 5 marathons while working as a personal fitness instructor and trainer for 30 years before exchanging her gym shoes for oven mitts. She and her husband Dustin have 3 sons, one who now works for Maya’s Cookies.
Maya thanks her sponsors Michael Brunker, Donna DeBerry and Valerie Attisha.
Retired – Cardiologist
David Ostrander is a retired cardiologist who practiced medicine at Sharp Rees Stealy Medical Group for the majority of his career. He was born in Detroit, MI, attended Yale University as an undergraduate, NYU for medical school, and then did his residency at the University of Chicago before starting his fellowship at U.C.S.D. He and his wife Elizabeth have been married since 1981, and they share a daughter.
David has served as a junior faculty member at UCSD, a member of the SRS Board of Management, he directed a cardiac cath lab, and was Chief of Staff at Sharp Memorial among many other accolades. Now that he is retired, he would like to be a part of efforts to address the structural and cultural causes that lead to homelessness in our community. He feels a deep sense of calling to help, and is convinced we must engage with those whom we disagree in a process he refers to as “Charitable Discourse” to work together to heal our world. During his self introduction he said that after 38 years of practice in the cardiology field, he would like to now give heart to those in need.
David thanks his sponsors RB Johnson, Judy Thompson and Tom Mosher.
Technology-Wireless Solutions
Michael Kemmer has lived all of his life in California, and half of that in San Diego. As long as he’s been here, he’s viewed Rotary as a part of his tie into the fabric of the community. He grew up under the tutelage of Rotarians first as an Interact student, and later as an SDSU Rotaract. During those years he took advantage of volunteer events both groups participated in, including Home building in Tijuana, Urban Angels & Traveling Stories. Since graduating from college, Michael has started volunteering at the American Red Cross, including delivering blood products during the pandemic to hospitals throughout San Diego County.
In his role as Enterprise Solutions Architect for Verizon, he designs and deploys IT infrastructure and application projects. His areas of expertise include solution/architecture design, cyber security and product management.
So as to not be confused with any other Michaels in the room, he prefers to go by “Kemmer.”
Kemmer thanks his sponsors Jordan Maharaj, Jordan Harrison and Duke Sobek.
Associations – Girl Scouts
Carol Dedrich is the Chief Executive Officer for Girl Scouts San Diego. Carol attributes the lessons she learned as a young Girl Scout with preparing her for leadership roles in school, the military, and throughout her career. Now, she is a champion of girls and women, committed to helping them overcome insecurities and building collaborations to expand their perspectives and skills. She began her career as a Patriot Missile Officer in the U.S. Army with an RA commission and is a veteran of Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
She transitioned to civilian life as a Director at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, later moving to the John Wayne Cancer Institute as Vice President of Marketing and Development, and Vice President at the Fulfillment Fund. Before joining Girl Scouts San Diego in 2016, she spent seven years as Chief External Relations Officer for Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles.
At her leisure, Carol enjoys working on her private pilot’s license, being a scuba diving enthusiast, and traveling the world with her husband, Alex. Next on their bucket list: Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, Chuuk Lagoon, and a flying experience in Africa. They recently adopted her late sister’s tortoiseshell cat, Kenya, who loves making appearances during virtual meetings.
She thanks her sponsors Wendy Urushima-Conn, Emily Rex and David Oates.
