San Diego Pride Announces Board Appointments
San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride has announced election results and a new appointment to its Board of Directors.
At the board's annual planning retreat, Dr. January Riddle was elected as co-chair elect after recently serving on the board as secretary. She will serve as co-chair for two years, taking the place of Anne Hewitt whose term expires in August 2008.
Dr. Riddle is a longtime activist for women's and LGBT rights and served 28 months as an educational resource specialist in South Africa for the U.S. Peace Corps. While there, she established the first library in the village of Kameelrivier, where she was based. Prior to her Peace Corps service, she was an associate professor of communication at Bethany College in West Virginia and served on the West Virginia State Board of the ACLU. She also taught at two California universities and is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education and Who's Who of American Women.
Additionally, she is a past president of San Diego County NOW and a past executive vice president of the San Diego Democratic Club. She is a realtor with Devin Properties and currently writes for K&K Publications, Inc.
Elected to serve as a new director on the board is Romer A. De Los Santos II, a senior engineer with Digirad Corporation and graduate of the University of Southern California, where he was president of the Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering and a recipient of the Engineering Alumni Association's Award for Excellence in Leadership. A member of the San Diego Bulldogs Wrestling Team and Different Strokes Swim Team, he brings to the board more than eight years of experience in document control and project management.
Also, the board re-elected Dr. Philip Princetta to serve a second full term as co-chair, and Mike Karim, who will serve an additional year as Treasurer. Board members transitioning off of the board this past September include Jeri Dilno who was recognized for 17 years of service and Ticin Parker who completed his three-year term.
"The Pride board recently conducted a comprehensive assessment to identify its current mix of talent, knowledge and other important characteristics and determined what additional skills the board needs to achieve its goals," says Hewett. "The board further identified that while seeking to maintain diversity and gender parity it will seek new board members with backgrounds or skills in accounting, legal affairs, public relations, development or banking fields."
The board is the governing body that oversees the San Diego LGBT Pride organization, and the Pride production committee is the body that actually organizes the San Diego Pride parade and festival.
"Continuing its grassroots tradition of community volunteers organizing the annual pride events, the 2008 production committee led by Executive Director Ron deHarte will have 90 members representing all walks of life," added Hewett.
San Diego Pride's 2008 celebration is scheduled for July 19-20. The festivities include a mile-long parade down University Avenue in Hillcrest at 11:00 a.m., July 19, and a two-day festival on July 19-20, featuring multiple performance stages, local community organizations, arts and crafts, employee groups, and food and beverage gardens. For more information or volunteer opportunities, call the Pride office at (619) 297-7683 or visit the web site at: www.SanDiegoPride.org.
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