October 2, 2012 Speakers: Sherri Lightner & Ray Ellis Facilitated Q&A with your District 1 Council candidates

SHERRI LIGHTNER

Sherri was raised in San Diego and graduated from UCSD, first with a B.A. in both Mathematics and Sociology and later with an M.S. in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences.  She is a licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer.  Sherri worked as an engineer for 23 years at General Atomics and Rohr Industries before she and her husband, Bruce, formed their own small consulting business.  Bruce and Sherri raised their three children in La Jolla Shores.

Prior to her election to the City Council, Sherri volunteered for over a dozen La Jolla community organizations. She has served as President of both the La Jolla Town Council and La Jolla Shores Association, Secretary of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, Board Member of the La Jolla Historical Society, a La Jolla YMCA fundraiser, treasurer for the Muirlands Foundation and Kiwanis Club member.

Sherri’s accomplishments while on the council include: saving the City over $1 billion by enacting financial reforms to pensions and retiree healthcare, implementing the largest street resurfacing project in the city’s history, restoring lifeguard services to blacks beach and windansea, increasing hours at libraries and recreation centers, she developed the City’s first-ever policy for a sustainable and affordable water supply, and is Chair of the City’s Economic Development Committee.

RAY ELLIS

City Council candidate Ray Ellis spent most of his life building businesses and raising a family. Like many of us he wasn’t involved in the politics of our city –when he wanted to help the community he got involved in private organizations and charities.

Per the request and appointment of Mayor Jerry Sanders, Ray accepted a volunteer position on the reformed San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System Board in 2008. Through this experience, Ray realized he could have a much stronger impact on the challenges facing our City as a City Councilmember, which is dominated by the influence of special interests. Ray realized reform was possible if our City had more Councilmembers willing to point out and correct the mismanagement, and stand up to the special interests. That’s when he decided to run for City Council.

Ray knew this would take hard work and the ability to make tough decisions. In 1987 Ray founded his own small marketing business, and over the next decade and a half grew it into one of the largest businesses of its kind on the west coast. This growth included adding hundreds of employees and building facilities in San Diego and Virginia. As a business owner he was used to hard work, having to make tough decisions, and being the person responsible for the results.

It hasn’t been all business for Ray – he’s been active in the San Diego nonprofit community since the late1980’s with included organizations like Voices for Children, Second Chance and others. Currently, he is a board member of San Diego Social Venture Partners, a board member of The  Parker Foundation, a member of the EDC -Strategic Roundtable and a board member on the Balboa Park Conservancy. He also coaches youth basketball and Pop Warner Football in Carmel Valley.

Ray and his wife Gina live in Carmel Valley with their 10-year-old Jake. He also has a 27-year-old son, Matt and a 22-year-old daughter, Jessica. Ray received his MBA from Pepperdine University.

November 6, 2012 Speaker: Dr. Peter Cowhey, UCSD, Dean: Qualcomm-Endowed Chair in Communications & Technology Policy

Dr. Cowhey is an expert on U.S. foreign policy and technology policy. He has published extensively on comparative foreign policy and international issues involving Asia and the United States. He has also done extensive work on international trade, technology and investment policy. His special expertise is the international communications and information industries.

His recent book is Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets: The Political Economy of Innovation, (with J. Aronson and D. Abelson), MIT Press (2009). He is currently working on a book manuscript on American Foreign Economic Policy with M. McCubbins.

Current Projects

Cowhey is a member of the board of directors of the Grameen Foundation USA, the US foundation supporting the work of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Cowhey also is spearheading the Aspen Institute’s International Digital Economy Accords project to develop policies that will update the international regime for Internet communications and and serves as chairman of the board of CONNECT Innovation Institute. Cowhey is also the Vice Chair of the California Council on Science and Technology. Read more about his appointment to CCST here.

Cowhey is a research scholar at the California Institute on Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2) and is a non-resident fellow of the Annenberg Center of Communications at USC. He also consults extensively for the telecommunications and information technology industries.

Background Notes

In 2009, Peter Cowhey served a 12 month assignment as the Senior Counselor to Ambassador Kirk in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under President Barack Obama. His responsibilities included working with Ambassador Kirk on the strategic agenda for trade policy while supervising the work of USTR offices for the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, Market Access and Competitiveness, Intellectual Property, and Services and Investment. Click here to watch Peter Cowhey’s February 23, 210 public lecture on “Reflections on Forging the U.S. Trade Agenda”.

He is a former chief of the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and negotiated many of the U.S. international agreements for telecommunications and satellite services. He had responsibility for antitrust decisions involving the communications and satellite industries.

Cowhey is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served as chairman of the board of Digital Partners, a non-profit organization using social entrepreneurship to address the “digital divide.” In addition to having served on the advisory boards of the United Nations Development Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development, he has advised over fifty countries on reforming their communications markets.

Cowhey joined UCSD’s faculty in 1976. He was director of the University of California’s system-wide IGCC from 1999-2006 and Associate Vice Chancellor-International Affairs from 2007-2009. Cowhey became Dean of IR/PS in July 2002.

Professional Activities

In addition to his work on communications and technology markets and policies, Cowhey remains active in the foreign policy community. He is a member of the advisory board for the American Assembly’s Project on the Next Generation of Foreign Policy Leaders. He is co-director of the Carnegie Corporations’s project on Biosecurity and Public Policy at IGCC. Cowhey also serves on the boards of the Institute of the Americas, San Diego World Trade Center, the Vice Chair for the California Council on Science and Technology, and the Bishop’s School.

 

 

August 21, 2012 Speaker: Haley Jain Haggerstone, Surf Rider Foundation, S.D. Chapter

Haley is currently the Chapter Coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter. The position entails coordinating local chapter efforts to help protect our oceans, waves and beaches throughout San Diego. She is also President of the Board of Directors for Surfrider Foundation Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of British Columbia and is currently pursing a Masters degree from the University of San Diego in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. She grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia where she worked as an environmental researcher in forestry, fisheries and coastal resource management.  Haley was an active member of the Surfrider Foundation Vancouver Chapter executive committee for nearly five years before relocating to southern California.

With over 75 miles of coastline to cover, San Diego represents one of the largest chapters of the Surfrider Foundation.  It is a grassroots organization, which means the people working to protect our local oceans, waves and beaches are volunteers who care about San Diego and want to make a difference.

Globally, Surfrider is involved in a variety of campaigns and programs aimed at protecting our coastal ecosystems. Its campaigns and programs are developed to support its strategic goals/initiatives: Clean Water, Beach Access, Beach Preservation, and Protecting Special Places. The Surfrider Foundation chapter network works on a diverse set of coastal problems ranging from water quality, to single-use plastics in our marine environment, to shoreline armoring and the protection of surfing areas. However, the common thread is that all of these efforts are direct action organizing campaigns, in other words volunteer driven.

The Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter is currently engaged in the following campaigns: Rise Above Plastics, Hold On To Your Butt, No Border Sewage and Beach Preservation. The chapter is also running several programs including Ocean Friendly Gardens, Know Your H20, Blue Water Task Force, Kids for Clean Water and monthly Beach Cleanups.

For more information go to www.surfridersd.org.

October 9, 2012 Speaker: Dr. Nigella Hillgarth, Exec Director, Birch Aquarium at Scripps

 

Dr. Nigella Hillgarth is executive director of Birch Aquarium at Scripps, the public exploration center of world-renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. She is a distinguished zoologist who came to the institution in 2002 from her position as executive director of Tracy Aviary, the nation’s largest bird park, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Since joining the aquarium, Hillgarth spearheaded the creation of the dynamic Scripps Explorers Gallery, which transformed a decade-old exhibition in the Hall of Oceanography. She also expanded visitors’ hands-on interaction by installing two additional touch tide pools. One- to three-year exhibits developed and installed under Hillgarth’s direction include Sounds of the Sea, Earthquake: Life on a Restless Planet, Sea of Genes, Art of Deception, Wonders of Water, There’s Something About Seahorses, Boundless Energy, and the award-winning Feeling the Heat: The Climate Challenge.

During her tenure, aquarium visitors exceeded 415,000 per year at a time when most other U.S. aquariums were experiencing losses. Gifts from private funds have quadrupled since Hillgarth took the helm, extremely beneficial to a self-supporting aquarium that receives no direct support from federal, state, or city funding.

Hillgarth’s work extends far beyond her everyday guidance of Birch Aquarium at Scripps. She was the guest lecturer on two expeditions with members of the Scripps Oceanographic Society: Antarctica in 2006 and the Amazon in 2007. Hillgarth served on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Museums from 2005-2007. The San Diego Soroptomists recognized her with its Woman of Accomplishment Award in 2003. In December 2008, Hillgarth was named a “Metro Mover to Watch” in 2009 by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine. La Jolla Light named her one of “Five to Watch” in 2012.

Born in Tipperary, Ireland, Hillgarth received her master’s degree in zoology and doctoral degree in animal behavior, both from Oxford University, England. She specialized in the behavior and physiology of pheasants, carrying out research in Britain, India, and Thailand.

She came to the United States in 1992 to research jungle fowl at UC Riverside. A year later, Hillgarth attended the University of Washington, where she studied hormones and behavior in birds. She made several research trips to the Arctic during this time. In 1997, she joined the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to study the interactions of hormones, health, and behavior in mice.

In 1998, Hillgarth became curator of ornithology at Tracy Aviary, where she began research on the physiology and behavior of penguins in South America and the conservation of marine birds in Galapagos, Peru, and Argentina. She became the aviary’s executive director in 1999 and focused on developing the aviary into an institution to highlight the Great Salt Lake as a wetland of international importance.

Nigella is passionate about helping to shape the public’s perception of science and the environment. Follow her on Twitter at @NHillgarth, where she often shares her work as an amateur nature photographer.

At more than 65,000 square feet, Birch Aquarium at Scripps features more than 5,000 animals representing 380 species, as well as cutting-edge research discoveries made by Scripps scientists. Its mission is to provide ocean science education, to interpret Scripps research, and to promote ocean conservation. Birch Aquarium at Scripps is accredited by the Association for Zoos & Aquariums.

November 20, 2012 Speaker: Georgeanne Irvine, “The Katrina Dolphins…” Story of rescue & relocation of dolphins during Hurricane Katrina

San Diego native Georgeanne Irvine has devoted more than three decades of her career to raising awareness about animals and wildlife conservation.  By day, she is associate director of communications/development for the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, where she has worked for more than 33 years. In her spare time “George” is the author of more than 20 children’s books plus numerous magazine, newspaper, and Web articles.

George’s most recent work is the coffee table book, “The Katrina Dolphins: One-Way Ticket to Paradise,” which is a true story about 8 dolphins from an oceanarium who were washed out to sea during Hurricane Katrina and dramatically rescued.

 

October 23, 2012 Speaker: Donna Keefe, Eastern medicine explained

Donna L. Keefe, L.Ac. earned her Masters of Traditional Oriental Medicine after graduating in 1988 from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She continued post-graduate studies while working in a hospital in Hainan, China in 1993, receiving a Certificate in ‘Bi Zheng and Scalp Acupuncture‘. She is also Certified as a Qi Gong Instructor, integrating ancient therapeutic breathing and exercise techniques into her treatments.

Donna is very active in her profession. She sat on the Board and was past Treasurer of the California Acupuncture Association. She was also chosen as a Clinical Examiner and Subject Matter Expert for the California Acupuncture Committee helping to develop the California State Board examination. She currently teaches in the Departments of Oriental Medicine and Clinical Practice at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine.

Donna is the Clinical Director of the Acupuncture Center of La Jolla and has been in private practice since 1989. Donna is a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and specializes in Fertility and other Women’s Health Care issues.

 

September 25, 2012 Speaker: Dick Murphy, Former Mayor of San Diego: What went wrong

In November 2000, San Diego Superior Court Judge Dick Murphy surprised the political pundits by coming from behind to be elected the 33rd mayor of San Diego. His campaign slogan was “Leadership with 2020 Vision” – a promise to set forth a clear vision for San Diego in the year 2020 and to provide the leadership to implement that vision.

During his years in office, Murphy set ten goals for the city and had great success in achieving them. But near the end of his first term, his administration was blindsided by Murphy’s Law – “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”—including the discovery of pension fund mismanagement and the devastating Cedar Fire.

In his memoir, “San Diego’s Judge Mayor: How Murphy’s Law Blindsided Leadership with 2020 Vision,” Murphy finally reveals the inside story of how it all happened and the lessons to be learned — by politicians and citizens alike — from his experiences and the city’s history. The book concludes with ten thought-provoking proposals that, as Murphy envisions, could make San Diego “a city worthy of our affection.”

A personal as well as political memoir, San Diego’s Judge Mayor captures, with candid honesty, a significant time in San Diego history.

September 18, 2012 Speakers: Donna Eden & David Feinstein, “Energy Medicine” & “Energy Psychology” (hands-on demo)

DONNA EDEN

For more than three decades, Donna Eden has been teaching people how to work with the body’s energy systems to reclaim their health and natural vitality.

Donna Eden is among the world’s most sought, most joyous, and most authoritative spokespersons for energy medicine. Her abilities as a healer are legendary. She has taught some 80,000 people worldwide, both laypeople and professionals, how to understand the body as an energy system. Now you can study with her through her videos, DVDs, books, and other home study resources.

Able from childhood to clairvoyantly see the body’s subtle energies, she not only works with those energies to further health, happiness, and vitality, she has made a career of teaching people who do not see subtle energies how to work with them— joyfully and effectively.

DAVID FEINSTEIN, Ph.D.

A clinical psychologist, has served on the faculties of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Antioch College, and the California School of Professional Psychology. He has contributed more than 50 articles to the professional literature and five of his eight books have won national awards, including the 2007 USA Book News Book of the Year in the Psychology/Mental Health Category (forPersonal Mythology).

He and his wife, Donna Eden, direct Innersource, a service organization that has been a pioneering force in energy medicine, energy psychology, and consciousness studies.

 

September 4, 2012 Speakers: Carl DeMaio & Bob Filiner – Facilitated Q&A with your Mayoral candidates

CARL DEMAIO

Carl DeMaio is a businessman-turned-civic watchdog who is running for San Diego Mayor. Carl offers voters a simple but timely pledge: Clean Up City Hall. After years of financial crisis, draconian service cuts, crumbling roads and infrastructure, and little action by city leaders on a host of pressing problems, DeMaio is running for Mayor because “we cannot afford any more delays in fixing our city’s problems.”

Carl’s platform for getting city government back on the right track includes a 90-page step-by-step plan for balancing the budget, reforming the pension system, fixing crumbling infrastructure, and restoring ethics and accountability to every level of city government. “Fixing city government requires an experienced manager who knows how to make tough decisions and produce results in the face of big challenges,” DeMaio contends.

BOB FILINER

Filner received a Ph.D. in the history of Science from Cornell University in 1969. Shortly after, he moved to San Diego and it has been his home for over four decades. He brought his activist experience to a 20-year long teaching career at San Diego State University, challenging his students to put thoughts into action to shape the world around them.

Filner broadened his civic service when he was elected to San Diego City Council in 1987, fighting to develop the local economy in San Diego and attract quality workforce opportunities. His leadership allowed him to create the city’s first Economic Conversion Committee and write the city’s Economic Conversion Plan. He was dedicated to creating a safer San Diego, introducing Police Walking Patrols and a Citizen Graffiti Patrol with the area’s unprecedented 24-hour graffiti hotline.

In 1992, Filner was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In his first term in Congress, he was one of only a handful of freshman legislators to get legislation passed.

Bob Filner is running for Mayor because he has an outsider’s view and approach combined with an insider’s understanding of the problems and the solutions.

August 28, 2012 Speaker: Steve Fisher, head coach of SDSU Aztec Basketball team

In 1999, Fisher took over the basketball program at San Diego State University. The Aztecs had not been to the postseason since its NCAA appearance in 1984-1985. Steve Fisher has guided the San Diego State basketball program to unparalleled heights. In 11 seasons, he has taken a program that regularly missed out on the conference postseason tournament, to one which has become one of the best programs on the West Coast and in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll.

In his third year, Fisher led the Aztecs to their first Mountain West Conference tournament title, and finished with a 21-12 record and continued the upward surge of the program. They returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since that same ’84-85 team. During the 2002-2003 season (his fourth year), Steve Fisher’s Aztecs returned to the post-season when they hosted an NIT First round match against UCSB. The Aztecs earned their first ever Division 1 post-season win. After two rebuilding seasons (2003-2004 and 2004-2005), the Aztecs returned to the NCAA Tournament in the 2005-2006 season; Steve Fisher’s seventh season. That year the Aztecs began a present seven year streak of consecutive 20+ win seasons while capturing their first ever Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championship, and winning their second ever Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship.

In 2009, the Aztecs earned a school-record 26 victories and reached the semifinals of the NIT. It was their third consecutive trip to the NIT, and fourth consecutive post-season appearance. In the 2009-2010 season, the Aztecs won another 20+ games, won the Mountain West Conference Tournament, and earned their third NCAA Tournament trip under Fisher. In 2010-2011, the Aztecs who were ranked #25 in the pre-season AP poll, spent nearly the entire season in the top 10 and won their first NCAA Tournament game ever en route to the Sweet 16.

Overall Fisher has guided SDSU to the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the postseason NIT in 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009, to go along with seven 20-win seasons (seven consecutive from 2006-present); with the 2010-2011 season being the Aztecs’ first 30 win season in school history. Additionally, under Steve Fisher, the San Diego State Aztecs Men’s basketball team has captured three Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championships (2006 outright, 2011 shared with BYU, 2012 shared with New Mexico), and four Mountain West Conference Tournament Championships (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011). Since the 2005-2006 season, Steve Fisher has led the Aztecs to seven consecutive post-season appearances, and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in school history since the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 seasons.

Just nine head coaches have won the NIT as well as the NCAA tournaments. The others are Vadal Peterson, Nolan Richardson, Bobby Knight, Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Al McGuire, Dean Smith, and Jim Calhoun. Nat Holman in 1950 coached the City College of New York (CCNY) to an NIT and NCAA championship in the same season.