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Board of Directors
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Photos by Jon Didier Photography
Board Officers
Betsey L. Brewer – Board Chair
Betsey L. Brewer, CPCU, has served as GSGLA Board Chair since 2009. She is Senior Vice President and Partner of The Rule Company, a regional insurance broker in Pasadena. A long-standing Girl Scout supporter, Betsey has served Girl Scouts as an Officer and Chair of Development and Property Committees, and as chair of the Council Realignment Committee Finance Sub-Committee.
Betsey is a member of the CPCU Society where she has served as the Los Angeles Chapter President and on the National Board of Governors and as the national President. Betsey currently is a Trustee of the CPCU-Loman Education Foundation. Betsey is a member of IBA West, an insurance trade association and currently serves as the chair of the Strategic Planning Committee.
Betsey has served on the boards of the American Institute for CPCU/Insurance Institute of America, IBA-West, the Volunteer Center of Los Angeles and the Foster Grandparents of Los Angeles Advisory Board. Betsey attended the University of Southern California and resides in Los Angeles with her husband Don.
Chet A. Kronenberg - Vice Chair
Chet A. Kronenberg is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the Litigation Department. He was elected to the firm’s membership in 2001.
He has represented financial institutions and other clients in a wide range of high-profile complex commercial litigation matters, including securities, corporate control and consumer actions. He also has substantial experience in litigation arising out of corporate acquisitions and related transactions. Chet has been actively defending clients in consumer class action lawsuits. He has represented The Blackstone Group, Citibank, GenSpring Family Offices, JPMorgan Chase, Lion Capital, Natixis Caspian, Rosemont Solebury, SAC Private Capital, Sankaty Advisors and ZelnickMedia, among many others.
Before earning his Juris Doctorate from the New York University School of Law, Chet graduated summa cum laude and earned his B.A. from Tufts University.
Elsa Macias, Ph.D. - Vice Chair
Elsa has spoken extensively on both educational accountability and information technology issues at national conferences, and has briefed elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. She is a member of the Social Science Advisory Board of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).
Elsa hs served in Girl Scouts governance prior to this post and was awarded GSGLA’s Visionary Award in 2009. Her volunteer experience also includes speaking at K-12 schools encouraging high school girls to attend college and consider a career in science and technology fields. She has served as a motivational speaker and mentor to graduate and undergraduate students.
Leanne J. Rodgers – Vice Chair
Leanne Rodgers is a Vice President and Associate General Counsel with Parsons Corporation, where she manages all labor, employment, and benefits claims for the global engineering, design, construction, and project management firm.
Leanne has over 20 years of litigation experience, including senior positions with Hilton Hotels Corporation and Fairbank & Vincent, and as an instructor at the UCLA School of Law. She is a member of the California State Bar and has been admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California and the District of Arizona.
Leanne graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and received her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from the Loyola Law School.
There are three generations of Girl Scouts in Leanne’s family. Starting in Wisconsin, Leanne’s mother was a Brownie and stayed active in Girl Scouts all the way through high school. Later, she became a Girl Scout troop leader. Leanne and her two sisters were also Girl Scouts. Leanne carried on the family tradition here in California where she became her daughter’s Girl Scout troop leader. The Burbank Service Unit recognized Leanne in 2004 with the Leader of the Year Award.
Hailyn Chen – Secretary
Hailyn Chen is a litigator in Los Angeles for Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. She focuses on complex civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, and government investigations, representing corporations and nonprofit foundations in various sectors. Hailyn’s past and current clients include Warner Music Group, the Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Foundation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the outside directors of IndyMac Bank.
Hailyn joined the firm in 2005 after completing a clerkship for the Honorable A. Wallace Tashima of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She graduated second in her class at UCLA School of Law. Hailyn was also the recipient of the Lawrence Irell Prize for the highest academic standing after the first year of law school.
Before attending law school, Hailyn graduated from Yale University with a degree in sociology. At Yale, she was one of the first female coxswains to lead the Yale Varsity Men’s Crew.
Hailyn grew up in South Pasadena and was a member of Girl Scout Troop 68 for four years. She resides in South Pasadena with her family. She enjoys running, cooking, and coaching AYSO soccer.
Kathryn E. Nielsen – Chief Financial Officer (Volunteer)
Kathryn is Senior Vice President, Controller for Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures, the theatrical division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a position she has held since 1995. Prior to joining Columbia TriStar, Kathryn served in Finance and Accounting roles in several entertainment companies, including The Walt Disney Company and Interscope Communications. She is a Certified Public Accountant (Ernst & Young).
Kathryn Nielsen has served as President of the Board of Directors of Women’s Clinic and Family Counseling Center (WC&FCC), a non-profit organization serving women, men and young adults for the past 8 years and a member of the Board for 15 years. Kathryn has also volunteered her time and resources to Loyola Marymount University (LMU), her alma mater (BS Accounting). She has served as a Regent since 2006 and is Chair of the Regent’s Development Sub-Committee. She is a member of the Dean’s council for the School of Film and Television and while a student at LMU, she was a Loyola Belle, a women’s service and leadership organization.
Kathryn resides in Westchester, California.
Directors
David A. Battaglia
David A. Battaglia is a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP's Los Angeles office. He joined the firm in 1987 and is a member of the firm's Litigation Department. He consistently has been named one of the Top Attorneys in Southern California and is a member of Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. David has industry experience in Consumer and Class Actions, Education Disputes, Energy and Natural Resources Law, Entertainment Litigation, Infrastructure and Defense Contracting, and Real Estate Matters. He has been admitted to practice law in the US Supreme Court, five federal court circuits, eight federal district courts, and all courts in the State of California and Washington, D.C.
David is a graduate of Georgetown University with honors, and a double major in English and Government. He earned his law degree in 1987 at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
He currently is on the Board of Directors of Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, Inc., a non-profit organization which helps over 11,000 children annually in the Los Angeles area. He, his wife Julie, and his two teenagers live in La Cañada-Flintridge, California.
Gabrielle Bullock
Gabrielle Bullock is the Managing Director at Perkins+Will and has contributed to the success of the architectural firm for more than 20 years. Her expertise is focused on the planning, design and construction management of large-scale facilities in health, science, and academia, including laboratory and classroom spaces. She has managed one of the largest building projects in the University of California system to date, the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Furthermore, Gabrielle has specialized in delivering complex, program-intensive projects, and is known for her excellent leadership skills both with clients and project teams.
A regular guest speaker and awards juror for local design events and organizations, Gabrielle is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Organization of Minority Architects, and she also serves as a board member of the Center for Architecture and Urban Design Los Angeles.
Lana Bykova
Lana Bykova is vice president and district manager for Wells Fargo’s Mid City market for the Los Angeles Community Bank. Bykova oversees more than 185 team members at 10 banking stores in the communities of Los Angeles, Hollywood and West Hollywood. She directs retails sales and service function of 2.6 billion in deposits.
Prior to assuming this position in 2011, Bykova worked as district manager for Wells Fargo’s Santa Clarita Valley market for the San Fernando Valley Community Bank. Before, she served as the company’s Pacific Coast and L.A. Bank customer experience consultant. Bykova also was store manager of the Hollywood Main store, assistant store manager, assistant Business Center manager, customer service representative and personal banker.
Patricia A. Crider, CPA
As the Vice President, Accounting Director for Westfield, LLC, Patricia Crider leads the operations accounting activities for the U.S. portfolio of 55 shopping centers and 14 offices of the world’s biggest shopping center operator with assets valued at more than $50 billion. She has more than 20 years of accounting and finance experience and a proven ability to manage complex projects and multiple priorities including financial accounting, budgeting, capital spending and working capital management. Prior to her current post, Patricia was the Planning & Analysis Director at Sunkist Growers, Inc. and Finance Manager at Nestlé, USA.
Linda Griffey
Linda Griffey is retired from her position as a Partner at the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Co-Chair of the firm’s Executive Compensation/Employee Benefits Practice.
Linda is a former president and current member of the Organization of Women Executives, the Los Angeles County Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee and the Los Angeles Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Conference. She is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and a Member of the American Law Institute and the Employee Benefits Committee of the Taxation Section of the American Bar Association.
Linda is a member of the Board of Directors of the Pasadena Playhouse and serves as its Secretary and a member of the Audit Committee. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University and a bachelor’s of sciences degree in Pharmacy from the University of Iowa. Linda and her husband Jay live in San Marino.
Maxine Harris
With over 25 years in the financial services industry, Maxine is the Vice President and Senior Trust Officer with Bank of the West’s Wealth Management team. Previously, she was Director of Advisory and Administrative Services for Whittier Trust Company and Senior Vice President and Manager of the Trusts and Estates Department of U.S. Trust Company in Los Angeles. Maxine began her fiduciary career with Bankers Trust Company, New York City and later relocated to Los Angeles to establish their trust business and serve on their Board of Directors.
Maxine earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Rutgers University, New Jersey. She completed the American Bankers Association Graduate Trust School of Northwestern University as well as numerous courses at institutions such as UCLA, USC, and Cannon.
Currently, Maxine is on the boards of the Organization of Women Executives, Union Station Homeless Services, Tournament of Roses Foundation, Friends of the Levitt Pavilion, and the Red Cross of San Gabriel Valley. While in the Women’s Army Corp., Maxine served in Washington, DC, Paris, France, Brussels, and Belgium.
Anthony Kaufman
As Princess Cruises’ Senior Vice President of Commercial Affairs, Anthony “Tony” Kaufman is has a broad commercial role in the company that includes leading the Onboard Revenue and Shore Operations departments as well as managing high-level commercial transactions and relationships. He oversees the retail shops, photography, spa and casino operations and the provision of a number of other products and services on board the vessels, as well as being responsible for the purchasing and logistics requirements of the company. He is also responsible for shore excursions, port operations and passenger logistics in the more than 300 ports where Princess ships sail.
Tony received his B.A. degree in Communication Studies from UCLA his J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. Born in London, England, Tony resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife Lisa, a former Girl Scout, and their two children, Trevor and Amanda.
Jon W. LaMothe
Jon, Partner and Managing Director of Snowden Capital Advisors, LLC, has more than 17 years of experience providing financial and wealth management advice and services. A graduate of California State University, San Bernardino, with a degree in Business Administration, Jon joined Merrill Lynch in 1995, coming from a career in retail management. He leads the investment services practice for the LaMothe/Gonzalez Group and specializes in financial planning, estate planning issues, money management, as well as constructing income producing portfolios. Jon focuses on the financial needs of individual business owners as well as corporate executives and their families. He also holds the CRPC (Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM) designation.
In his spare time, Jon enjoys playing and coaching baseball, taking his children to Dodger stadium, skiing, cycling, completing home improvement projects and being outdoors. He has coached baseball for over 14 years and is currently coaching his son’s club team. He is an avid Dodgers, Kings and Notre Dame fan. Jon lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Endora, and three children Ashley, Sarah and Andrew. His oldest daughter, Ashley, is currently enrolled at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.
Gina McLeod
Gina McLeod is a Principal with Deloitte Tax in Los Angeles with 14 years of experience in public accounting and tax law. She serves both public and private media & entertainment, technology and consumer business clients.
Gina is a key member of the Pacific Southwest Clients and Markets team and works closely with the PSW Tax Deputy Managing Partner of Clients and Markets to identify and pursue white space and cross-functional marketplace opportunities.
Gina co-leads the Women’s Initiative for the Pacific Southwest region, and is the Tax regional WIN leader. She is a member of WIN16, the former partner sponsor/dean for WIMAC, and the associate dean for the Ellen Gabriel Fellows program. She is a member of the Tax National Innovation Council and chairs the United Way of Greater Los Angeles Emerging Leaders Council.
Gina has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California San Diego, a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, and an LLM in Tax from Golden Gate University School of Law. She is a licensed attorney in the state of California, has two children and her daughter Katie is a successful Girl Scout cookie entrepreneur. Gina was a Girl Scout and earned her Silver Award. She is proud to say she still has her Girl Scout sash.
Michael B. Mulcahy
Michael B. Mulcahy is Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Citizens Business Bank and is responsible for all of the bank’s business financial centers from the San Gabriel Valley down through the South Bay.
Mike’s professional career incorporates more than 25 years of commercial banking, private equity and investment banking experience which includes Senior Leadership Positions with Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo Bank and Security Pacific Bank.
Mike received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and attended the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management at Stanford University. Mike and his wife Renee have two daughters and live in Manhattan Beach. Mike is interested in furthering the mission of Girl Scouting.
Janis Penton
Janis Penton is Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel for Union Bank supporting the institutional services and trust groups. She has been a public finance attorney for more than 25 years in private practice and in-house with financial institutions.
Janis is a member of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section and has chaired various subcommittees, task forces and working groups. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Loyola Law School and USC and is a frequent speaker at bar association meetings. She received her undergraduate degree from UCLA and her MBA and JD degrees from USC where she was a member of the law review. Following law school, she clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
She grew up in the San Fernando Valley and was a Girl Scout through junior high school. She and her husband Wayne Kartin, a management consultant, currently live in Studio City with their daughter, who is a Girl Scout.
Don Ryan
Don Ryan has been an independent insurance agent for Farmers Insurance for over 22 years, servicing Palmdale and the Antelope Valley where he lives and has raised his three children.
Don continues to take an active interest in his community and has been elected President of the Antelope Valley Sunrise Rotary Club several times. He is currently serving his second year as Sergeant at Arms for District 5260 of Rotary International. He has been President of the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce and is currently Vice President of Community Affairs. He was elected to the Quartz Hill Town Council, where he was Secretary and then President.
Don has also served as President of the Optimist Club. Don has chaired events throughout the community, including the Palmdale Christmas Parade, Apollo Park Youth and Adult Fishing Derby, and Rotary Bingo at the Antelope Valley Fair. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts – Joshua Tree Council.
Evelynne B. Scarboro
Evelynne (Lynne) B. Scarboro is the Senior Vice President for Administration at Loyola Marymount University. She also served as the Associate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Office of Alumni and University Relations at Georgetown University for seven years. Prior to Georgetown, Evelynne served at both North Carolina State University and the University of Virginia.
Evelynne currently serves on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina State University Foundation and the Organization of Women Executives in Los Angeles.
April Spencer
April is a Media & Entertainment Tax Partner in Ernst & Young’s Los Angeles office and has 19 years of experience providing corporate tax accounting and tax planning services to private and public companies in the distribution, professional services, and media and entertainment industries. Additionally, April is the Director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program for the Los Angeles area, and she is the West Sub-Area Community Engagement champion for the firm. Earlier in her career, April served as a Subject Matter Professional.
April has a B.A. degree in business economics with an emphasis in accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master's degree in business taxation from the University of Southern California. April is active in her community and serves as an Advisory Trustee for the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the ALS Association and is a member of United Way’s Women Leaders Steering Cabinet.
Frank Wu
Frank Wu is the Managing Director of Protiviti with over 23 years of professional experience working with clients to implement practical solutions in proportion to their business risks exposures. Frank joined Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles Board of Directors in April 2012.
Frank leads both Robert Half Legal’s eDiscovery Services and Protiviti’s firmwide eDiscovery and Records Management Solution. He has helped global companies transform the challenges of ad hoc incident response, electronic discovery and records retention projects into sustainable processes within their routine operations. He has over 16 years of “Big 4” experience where he served in the US Forensic Technology Steering Committee, and was responsible for its Forensic and Litigation technology center. He also serves on Protiviti’s fimwide Records Retention and e-Discovery Committee.
In addition to his service on the GSGLA Board, Frank is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, ARMA International, AIIM International and the Sedona Conference. Frank lives in La Cañada Flintridge with his wife, Heather, and their son.
Board Development Committee
Phyllis Currie
Phyllis is on the boards of several professional organizations in addition to having served on the board of Angeles Girl Scout Council where she was Treasurer and Chair of the Nominating Committee. She was also a member of the Council Realignment Committee and chaired the CEO Search Committee for Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles. Other community affiliations include Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women in Los Angeles; UCLA Black Alumni Association; and Delta Sigma Theta, a public service sorority.
Phyllis earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UCLA and a master’s degree in Business Administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. She and her daughter reside in Ladera Heights, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County.
Peggy Edwards
Peggy Edwards is the principal of Ellis/Edwards, specializing in strategic planning, organization development, community and employee engagement, board training and development, and leadership development. Peggy has worked with a wide variety of private sector organizations, both nationally and internationally. Her government and nonprofit work is broad-based, with specific experience in juvenile justice, children’s services, population-based healthcare, and emergency management planning.
Currently, Peggy serves as the Executive Director of United Homeless Healthcare Partners, a network of providers and advocates in Los Angeles County focused on policy development and service delivery improvement.
Peggy’s community activities include Regional Director of Zonta International, Treasurer of the Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers, Board Member for Child & Family Center and College of the Canyons Foundation, and Mediator for Voluntary Mediation Services. She received the Purdue University Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2005. Peggy also received the Girl Scout First Class Award.
Karin Berger Stellar
Karin Berger Stellar is a partner at Morris & Berger, a retained executive search firm exclusively working in the nonprofit sector. She previously served as the Chair of the Alumni Board of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Karin resides in Pasadena with her husband Sean and their two children. As a mother of a Brownie and a Junior Girl Scout, she is reliving her own experience as a Girl Scout many years ago. Karin earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a MPA from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Cynthia Rodarte Tenn
Cynthia Rodarte Tenn is the immediate past Board Chair for Girl Scouts of the San Fernando Valley. She is a 28-year member of Girl Scouts since starting as the leader of her daughter’s mini-scout troop.
She is most proud of her daughter earning the Gold Award, her eight years as Board Chair for the San Fernando Valley Council, and her efforts leading to an increase of Latinos in Girl Scouting.
As a bilingual elementary educator for LAUSD, teaching English Language Development in North Hollywood, she is aware of the benefits of Girl Scouting on her students and champions programs in at-risk areas.
Cindy has extensive experience working on the Girl Scout board and also on the Nominating Committee. She served on the President’s Advisory Team for the council, the Council Realignment Committee (CRC) and as chair of the CRC Governance Sub-Committee. She attended the 2008 Girl Scout National Council Session in Indianapolis as the culmination of her efforts on the CRC.