Recognizing our Nonprofit Leaders

40th Anniversary Edition

December 2023

Leaders in the Field is a quarterly communication celebrating Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego members,

their contributions to and achievements in

our community.

Congratulations to Valerie Attisha and Donald Stump on their recent awards from San Diego Business Journal’s Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards 2023. Valerie is a graduate of our Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group program. Don is a graduate of our Executive Learning Group and Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group, has been coached by Fieldstone and now serves as a coach for us. He has also received a Clare Rose Sabbatical and will begin working as a consultant with us on the sabbatical program in January 2024.

The recognitions continued for Donald as he recieved the Libby Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership presented by USD at the Annual Nonprofit and Philanthorpy Summit in October.

Also recognized with the Libby Award was Alberto Cortes, CEO of Mama's Kitchen. Alberto serves as a coach for us and is a long-time graduate of our Learning Group Leadership Reading Group programs. He was our very first Clare Rose Sabbatical recipient!

Tasreen Khamisa of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation and Dilkhwaz Ahmed, Licence to Freedom, were both finalists for the San Diego Buisness Journals Nonprofit Pioneer Award.

They met a few years back through their Fieldstone Executive Learning Group. Congratulations to Tasreen and Dilkhwaz and to all the finalists.

Kesha Dorsey, Director of Philanthropy, Impact Strategy and Communications at Coastal Roots Farm, was honored as the recipient of the Michael Jeser Outstanding Jewish Professional Award by the Jewish Federation of San Diego County earlier this Fall.

Kesha is a current member of our Leadership Reading Group and completed the All We Can Save Circle in June.

Steve Morris, I Love A Clean San Diego CEO, has been elected to serve as the next president of the Kiwanis Club of San Diego.

Steve is a graduate of our Leadership Reading Group and is currently part of our Coaching Program.

Danny Sherlock, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater San Diego, was recently honored as part of the SD 500. Danny is a past member of a learning group - which has been meeting continuously for over 20 years! He is also a past member of our Leadership Reading Group program.

Congratulations to all of our Network Members who were also included on this prestigious list!

Carrie Holmes, Executive Director of Center for Access to QDROs, was included in the inaugural Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement honorees, which celebrates exceptional UCLA alumni serving in civic leadership.

Carrie was a member of our 2022-23 Leadership Reading Group.

Recently Barbara Reuer of Resounding Joy was featured by the San Diego Union Tribute for her work leading the music therapy nonprofit. Barbara is retiring in December after decades of service to our community. While at Resounding Joy, Barbara participated in our Learning Group, coaching program and received a Clare Rose Sabbatical.

Congratulations to Kerri Fox, who will take the reins from Barbara to lead Resounding Joy in the future. Kerri will be participating in our 2024 Learning Group beginning in January.

The article can be read HERE

Valery Belloso, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Accessity, was selected and officially sworn in to serve on the Small Business Advisory Board at the City of San Diego.

Valery is a graduate of our Nonprofit Leaders Learning Group program.

Rakesh Patel MD, CEO of Neighborhood Healthcare, was recently installed as the President of the California Primary Care Association and elected to the board of directors of 211 San Diego. In between, he co-wrote a paper, "Applying Telehealth to Advance Service at Federally Qualified Health Centers". For his work, Rakesh was recently honored by the San Diego Business Journal as a Healthcare Hero and a San Diego Top 500 Most Influential Leader!

We are fortunate to have Rakesh serve as a coach for us in our program.

Congratulations to Anahid Brakke on her recently announced retirement from the San Diego Hunger Coalition. While its CEO, Anahid participated in both our Learning Group and Coaching Programs. In honor of her leadership, November 16th was pronounced Anahid Brakke Day by the San Diego City Council.

Anahid will be succeeded by Alondra Alvarado. She began work in this new role on December 1, 2023.

At its recent 5th Annual State of Hunger event, the organization honored Vanessa Ruiz for her commitment to and impact on food security systems while working for the past 20 years at the Jacobs & Cushman Food Bank. Vanessa was coached in our program by Deborah Salzer in 2012.

Our deepest thanks to Michael Carr as he retires from consulting with us on our coaching program. Michael will continue to work on the Clare Rose Sabbatical Program through 2024.

Michael was celebrated at our December Coaches meeting. The festivities included toasts from Fieldstone Coaches, past and present, and a formal presentation by Janine. Recognizing the profound impact Michael has had on the program, Janine presented Michael with a one of a kind hand blown glass wave. The art piece, created and personalized specifically for him, represents the energy Michael has contributed to the Network and his impact on the San Diego region as a result.

Thanks for being a wave maker Michael!

Be the ripple.

Create the wave.

Fieldstone Coaches

A great THANK YOU to all of our Fieldstone Coaches who gave their time and shared their wisdom with nonprofit leaders throughout San Diego this year.

VALIN BROWN, SUE CARTER KAHL, MATT D'ARRIGO, TORRIE DUNLAP, SHAINA GROSS, KAREN HOOPER, LESSLIE KELLER, LANE KIEFABER, PATTI MALMUTH , KATHIE LEMBO, DEBORAH MARTIN, RAKESH PATEL,DEBORAH SALZER, KATIE SAWYER, DON STUMP, SUE SCHAFFNER, KAREN TERRA, and

RHEA VAN BROCKLIN.

The Coaching Meeting served to wrap up the 2023 year and kick off our 2023 efforts to support nonprofit leaders as they work to develop and exercise their leadership skills. Moving from our 40th anniversary theme of recognizing ripples, 2024 will be the year of creating waves. Accordingly, each coach was presented with a personalized framed piece of art to recognize their contributions and leadership to the Network.

Congratulations to our own Janine Mason for completing the Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting program through BoardSource. Janine completed the program in October and will use her learnings to develop new curriculum and programs to help nonprofit leaders guide and participate on boards with a focus on Purpose Driven Board Leadership.

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