Board
Board
Catherine Sanders is a Director of the Linden Root Dickinson Foundation. Since 2009, she has been Chair of the Board of Directors of the SDCDM. During her term, the board has hired a full-time professional staff, rebranded, and purchased a 7,000 square foot building. As co-chair of the museum’s capital campaign, she has helped to secure donations of over $1.5 million. She is passionate about positive community enrichment and children, and also serves on the board of the Escondido Charitable Foundation and the San Diego Girl Scout Council. She resides with her husband and four children in Escondido, California.
Erick R. Altona is a partner in the business and real estate law firm of Lounsbery Ferguson Altona & Peak LLP. He received his BA in mathematics from UC San Diego and his law degree from UC Davis. Committed to community service, Mr. Altona has volunteered as legal counsel, director and officer for numerous local organizations. He was a founder of the Spreckels Organ Society, acted as general counsel for the Center for the Arts – Escondido and the Horton Plaza Theatres Foundation and as Chairman of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce. After joining the Escondido Children’s Museum Board in 2002, he served a term as the Museum’s Chairman and has been instrumental in both of the Museum’s relocations and ongoing expansion. He and his wife live in San Diego.
Rodger Gieseke has spent 35 years as an aerospace engineer, including 8 years as Department Chief corporations. He also spent thirteen years as an independent contractor providing bookkeeping services to small San Diego County. Rodger received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Drexel University and Masters Degree from the University of Illinois in the same field. Rodger says he “supports the Museum in its efforts to gently introduce young children to science and the world around them.”
Dr. Fortney is the owner of Hidden Valley Orthodontics, specialist of Orthodontics, HVO and has been in Escondido since 1982. She is a supporter of Children's Museum, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA and Classical Academy INVEST program. Dr. Fortney received a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from Loyola Marymount University in 1994. She received a Woman’s basketball scholarship and was in Delta Gamma Sorority and met her husband Jeff Ciccarella there. In 1998, she graduated from Northwestern Dental School with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, in 1999 graduated from a General Practice residency at Ravenswood Hospital and in 2001 graduated from Children's National Medical Center with an Orthodontic specialty degree. In 2006 she obtained the highest distinction achievable in the specialty of orthodontics, the Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. Dr. Fortney “loves being involved in the Escondido community and having small children the Children's museum seemed like a wonderful fit. I am passionate about educating kids and giving them the self confidence they need to succeed in life.” She lives in Escondido with her two boys Jake, 6 and James, 4 and her husband Jeff.
Kelly Mowrey was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Smart-Tek Automated Services, Inc., a public Company; STTN; in July, 2009. Smart-Tek provides financial services to small and medium-size businesses, including payroll processing, human resources support and other administrative and aftermarket services predominantly related to staffing. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Corporate Sales at Allegiant Professional Business Services, Inc. From June 2005 — August 2007 Kelly served as Vice President of Sales at Dalrada Financial, a public company; DFCO; in the Human Resources industry. Kelly was educated at Stephens College 1995 — 1998 and received a BA in Theatre and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Kelly lives in Escondido with her three children.
Kim Dunham is an Escondido-based stay-at-home mom with two Museum-loving kids, ages 6 and 4. She has a professional background in marketing and communications, with special emphasis on organization development. Kim grew up in Montana and eventually ventured to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado where she received a B.A. in history and where she was also awarded an M.S. in Technical Communication Management.
Larry Zeiger has his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Cinema Arts from the University of Miami, and his Masters Degree in Mass Communications from SDSU, teaching credential from U.S.D.
He taught for 33 years at Point Loma High School where he produced 31 original musicals involving over 3,000 students. His unique programs in Cinema Arts and Musical Theatre have been recognized in the National TV Documentary, Quest for Excellence, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, U.S.A Today, Los Angeles Times, La Republica, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and other national and international journals and TV networks. He is a former San Diego Teacher of the Year, and winner of the California Golden Bell Award, Old Globe Theatre Award for teaching excellence, Channel 10 Leadership Award, California Teachers of English Classroom Excellence Award and his students have won multiple regional Emmy Awards for their films and video projects, which have been screened in several film festivals. Many of Larry’s students are award winning filmmakers, theater performers, artists, producers, writers, and animators.
Larry is also the composer/lyricist of two albums, Sweating Palms and Meetchu in Machu Picchu, and is currently putting finishing touches on a book he hopes to have published later this year and a musical he co-authored. He is also winner of the San Diego Book Awards’ Short Story of the Year for 2010 and has worked on se3veral regional film festivals. He served on the Arts Advisory Committee for the Centro Cultural in Balboa Park , on the Point Loma Foundation for Point Loma High School, and the San Diego Visual Arts Foundation and was the founder of the Best Fest America Student Film Festival.
Rebecca Raymond has more than 12 years of experience in youth and community development. She began working with children and families as the Director of Family Counseling Services for the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center in San Francisco and later as the Director of Indian Education for the American Indian Child Resource Center in Oakland. Her passion for international development led her to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga. More recently she has worked with grassroots organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Her education and clinical training includes master’s degrees in Counseling Psychology and International Social Development, both of which have focused on cultivating meaningful partnerships across organizations and cultures. She is delighted to be a part of SDCDM’s dynamic and innovative team!
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