JOANIE ABOU-SAMRA Owner, Rancho Ventura, Marble Falls, Texas

MOUSTAPHA ABOU-SAMRA, M.D.
Ventura County Neurosurgical Associates

JOSH ADDISON
Founder, Bell Arts Factory

DONNA BEATTY
Instructor, Department of Mathematics Ventura College

ILENE BERNIK SHARON BICK, R.N.
CEO, MediTech Health Services, Inc.

MICHAEL BICK
Retired CEO/Biotech Consultant Biopool International, Inc.

PENNY BOHANNAN BOEHM Owner/Principal Bohannan Management Works!

CARLA AND WARREN BONNEY
Owners, Titus Paul Gallery

HOWARD BOROUGHS
Retired Chemist

JOHN BRANT, CHFC
Kipp Brant Drummond & Associates.

KAREN BRUNS
Property Manager

LARRY BUCHER
Chairman and CEO Lloyd Management Corporation

THE HON. FREDERICK H. BYSSHE
Ventura County Superior Court Judge

JUDY BYSSHE
Retired High School Administrator

LAINIE CANNON
Antique Dealer/Owner, Lanico

BONNIE CARLTON Homemaker

DON L. CARLTON
Owner, Don L. Carlton Realty

RUSS CHARVONIA
Partner, The Renaissance Group

BETSY CHESS
President, San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts

ELOISE COHEN
Photographer, Community Volunteer

CHUCK COHEN Attorney/Senior Partner Weston, Benshoof, Rochefort, Rubalcava, & MacCuish, LLP Former Mayor, City of Thousand Oaks

MERLE R. DIVITA
Senior Investment Management Consultant, Salomon Smith Barney

THE HON. RAY DIGUILIO
Former Mayor, City of Ventura

KAY DOYLE
Instructor, Oxnard College

THE HONORABLE GEORGE ESKIN
Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge

CHERYL GALLAGHER Community Volunteer

TIM GALLAGHER
Publisher Ventura County Star

NANCY AND ROBERT GREGORY
Owners, Paradise Chevrolet

JESSICA HARRIS Community Volunteer

HARVEY HARRIS, M.D. Pediatrician

SHARON HARRISON Community Volunteer

MYRON HARRISON
CEO, E.J. Harrison & Sons/ Harrison Industries

BARBARA HERSHAN HIRSCH Lighting Designer/Arts Advocate

LISA AND JOHN HOFER President/Owner, Ventura Auto Center/Hofer Enterprises

THE HON. HANNAH-BETH JACKSON
President, Speak Out California!/ Former California State Assemblywoman

HELEN KARLSBERG, ED.M.
Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner

SALLY KOSOFF
Co-Owner, Buenavista Shutters

SANDRA LABY
Corporate Real Estate Manager/Retired Educator

JORDAN LABY
Inventor, Two Trees Research

DENNIS LONGWILL, D.D.S. Endodontist, Ventura Endodontics

JEANNETTE LONGWILL
Former English Teacher, St. Bonaventure High School

CYNDE MAGIDSON
Computer Consultant, Ordinal Associates

MICHAEL MAGUIRE
President, Affinity Bank

MIKE ORMAN
Senior VP, First California Bank

PABLO ORTIZ
Sales Manager, Gold Coast Broadcasting

DAVID PRATT
Computer Consultant DWP Consulting

JULIEANN PRATT
Sales Consultant

TERENCE RAGAN
Vice President, San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts

ELAINE RASMUSSEN Community Volunteer

LARRY RASMUSSEN
Architect, Rasmussen & Associates

SHARON SCHNEIDER
Middle School Teacher Cabrillo Middle School

ED SUMMERS
Senior Vice President, Affinity Bank City Councilman, City of Ventura

HILDA WARREN
Owner, Busy Bee Restaurant

SAUNDRA ZAGARIA
Senior Account Executive Gold Coast Broadcasting

Ron S. Bamieh grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, went to USC for his undergraduate degree, and later obtained his law degree from the University of Loyola of Chicago’s School of Law. Highlights from his successful career as an attorney include an appointment to work in the George H.W. Bush White House as the Assistant to the Chief of Staff, becoming the youngest attorney ever promoted to Ventura County Senior Deputy District, being named 1996 Prosecuter of the Year, being featured on Dateline NBC in 2002, and founding Bamieh & Erickson in December 2002 with good friend Philip Erikson. Ron has also written a book on his experiences that is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2007. Besides his role on the Board of the Rubicon, his community involvement includes work as a Law Professor at the Ventura College of Law, a volunteer at local high schools teaching constitutional law classes and mock trial, a board member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the Board of the Downtown Rotary.

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Karyl Lynn Burns co-founded Rubicon Theatre Company with James O’Neil in 1998 and has overseen presentation of the company’s more than 50 main stage productions and education outreach programs. Karyl Lynn was Founder and CEO of State of the Arts, an arts management and marketing firm that she managed for 15 years. Clients included Ventura Chamber Music Festival, New West Symphony, Ensemble Theatre Company, PCPA Theaterfest, Theatre League, Broadway Producer Normand Kurtz, and Tony Award-winning playwright Dale Wasserman. An active arts advocate, Karyl Lynn was a founder of ArtCom (now the Santa Barbara Performing Arts League). She has served on the Downtown Cultural District Committee for the City of Ventura and the Events & Festivals and Arts Advisory Committees for the City of Santa Barbara. She is a past President of the Board of Access Theatre, the company that pioneered the term “accessible theatre” and integrated the talents of artists who were disabled and hearing-impaired with those of actors who were non-disabled. Karyl Lynn worked with students from Oak Meadow School who received the United Nations Global 500 Award for their work on environmental issues. For The Dream Foundation, she produced a PSA directed by Mimi Leder and starring Jeff Bridges. In addition to her administrative work, Karyl Lynn is also an award-winning actress and sound designer.

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William P. Cordeiro, PhD was one of the first 13 faculty members hired in 2001 to start-up the California State University Channel Islands. He came to CSU Channel Islands from CSU Los Angeles. At CSU Channel Islands, Dr. Cordeiro has participated in developing the Smith School and its four academic programs: BS in Business, BA in Economics, MBA, Dual MS in Biotechnology/MBA. As Director of the School, he is repsonsible for students’ success, academic programs, faculty hiring, faculty supervision, budgeting and financial management. With over 600 majors, the Smith School is the largest academic program within the university. Dr. Cordeiro was priviledged to study with Peter F. Drucker, the “Father of Modern Management,” and received an MA in Management and a PhD in Executive Management from the Drucker Graduate School of Management at the Claremont Graduate University in 1986. He also has an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California and a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. Dr. Cordeiro worked in industry for 14 years before beginning his academic career and has extensive consulting experience for government and private clients. Projects have included work for City, County, State, and Federal organizations. He publishes in the areas of business school pedagogy, strategic planning and business ethics. He is a Board member for several private and public organizations.

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Ann Deal, raised in North Carolina, is from a family of entrepreneurial retailers. She followed suit in 1987 to found Fashion Forms with the aid of charisma, good friends, and the “Adhesive Body Bra.” Fashion Forms became the exclusive U.S. distributor for the patented products: StrapMate, and Staykups, Peel N’ Stick Cups, NuBra, and NuBra Ultralite. Ms. Deal expanded the company’s accessory business and finally ventured seriously into the bra category, by introducing The Original Water Push Up Bra to the U.S. in 1997. Attention to quality and a high level of custormer service has earned Ms. Deal the respect of top department stores throughout the U.S. In the few hours she has for relaxation, she and her dog (child) “Pucci” can be seen strolling the beach in Ventura, California.

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Dr. Yvonne Farris Ph.D., author of three business textbooks with McGraw-Hill of New York and two Ventura County histories, makes her home in the Channel Islands Harbor area in Oxnard, California. Former Dean, Budget Officer and Professor of Business & International Studies at Ventura College, she sat on the Board of Governors for the California Community Colleges setting policy for the 107 community colleges in California. Her expertise in community colleges sent her to Thailand to help set up the First Global Community College located in Nonkhai on the Mekong River. Other international experiences include directing educational and cultural exchange programs to Cuba, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Dr. Farris has overseen ten cultural and religious exchange leadership missions to Cuba - taking over 400 Ventura County professors, community leaders and students. In Ventura County, community leadership experience includes board of directors of United Way, Red Cross, World Affairs Council, Oxnard/Port Hueneme Boys & Girls Club, Rotary International Camarillo Club, El Concilio, Ventura County Medical Resource Panel, Camarillo Health Care District Leadership Panel, Vice-President of St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, and Oxnard Community Concert Association. Dr. Farris is President of Educational and Cultural Exchange.

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Anthony T Hirsch, MD joined the Rubicon Theatre Board in December of 2006. Dr. Hirsch, a graduate of Tufts University undergraduate and medical schools did his Pediatric Residency and Chief Residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Moving to Los Angeles with the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam war, he completed an Allergy and Immunology fellowship at L.A. County-USC Medical Center and practiced Pediatrics and Allergy in Los Angeles from 1973 to 1999. In 1988, he was the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics Los Angeles Chapter and, in addition, served on the National American Academy of Pediatrics Committees on Health Care Financing and Pediatric Practice, chairing both. From 1984 to 1999, he was the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at White Memorial Medical Center and also was the Director of the Pediatric Residency Program. Dr. Hirsch and his wife, Barbara, moved to Ojai in 1999. Both have always been active in community service and Barbara joined the Board of the Rubicon in 1999. She moved to the Board of Advisors after the Board reorganization. Dr. Hirsch has had a love of the visual arts and music and is in his second term as President of the Ojai Film Society, an organization dedicated to bringing art film to the Ojai Valley. In addition to this activity, he is involved with Help of Ojai, both as a handicapped van driver and as a member of the Community Planning Committee, the latter for community medical issues. As a member of the RTC Board, he looks forward to the opportunity of helping to shape Ventura's premier theatre company as it grows in the future.

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Jacquelyn Kilpatrick, Ph.D. is one of the founding faculty of California State University Channel Islands, where she is Chair of English and Performing Arts. She received her Ph.D. in Literature from the University of California Santa Cruz and has extensive experience teaching a broad range of literature, film and drama, with specialties in Renaissance drama--especially Shakespeare--and the drama of ancient Greece . Her major fields of research and publication are Native American Literature, film, and Renaissance drama in production and performance. Her other interests include environmental issues and cultural renewal and preservation. She has also served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Spain, where she taught Native American Literature and Film at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela.

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Steve Magidson, Immediate Past President, and his wife, Cynde, now residents of Bend, Oregon, were longtime residents of Ventura County. He retired from the computer industry after more than 30 years in the field having held senior executive sales and marketing positions in several successful high-tech companies including Xircom (now part of Intel) and Puma/Intellisync Corporation. He has been a technical marketing consultant to major companies including Toshiba and IBM, and has written many articles for both technical and business publications. He also served on international standards organizations such as PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) and has been a speaker at technical conferences and symposia around the world.

Since his retirement, Mr. Magidson spends much of his time in a wide range of community service activities. He is a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight West, an organization that provides non-emergency medical transportation to patients in the 13 Western states. Besides his service on the Board of Directors at the Rubicon Theatre, he has also served on the Board of Directors for the San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts as well as being a member of the Membership Committee at the Saticoy Country Club. He holds a B.A. degree in Journalism from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and has received a Meritorious Service Award from the University for his longtime service to the Rutgers Club of Southern California. He now serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the School of Communication, Information and Library Science at Rutgers. Magidson also holds a M.S. in Computer Science from West Coast University. He has been married to Cynde for over 34 years, and together they share a passion for community service work. In addition to being a private pilot, Magidson is also an avid golfer and skier.

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Rosa Lee Measures, Honorary Chair, is the former Deputy Mayor of the City of San Buenaventura and served a four year term on the City Council. She is President of the Julius Gius Memorial Foundation and Past President of the Rotary Club of Ventura. She is also a trustee and liason on the Rubicon Theatre International Festival Board. Measures has made her career in banking over the past 25 years, serving as Vice President and Regional Manager of the Imperial Savings and Loan Association; her responsibilities included all branches in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. Measures was named Regional Vice President of the Year, Business Woman of the Year and Citizen of the Year. She also served as the Founding Honorary Chairperson of the internationally acclaimed Ventura Chamber Music Festival and Founding Board Member of Rubicon Theatre Company. She has also served on the Ventura Boys and Girls Club Board, Police Activity League Board, and Board Member of Destino 2000, the Hispanic Legacy Fund. She is Founder and Advisor to “WISE”, Women Involved in Sports Evolution and serves on the American Cancer Society Board and the Ventura County United Way Board of Trustees. Measures and her husband Albert G. Harris are 41-year residents in the City of San Buenaventura.

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Barbara Meister is a retired educator and taught the gifted program in the Ventura Unified School District for many years. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Elementary Education and is the author of “The Pear-Pair Tree,” a children’s book about homonyms. Barbara worked as a travel consultant and travel writer and is presently President/CEO of Barber Ford-VW-Subaru-R.V. A “community activist,” Barbara serves on numerous non-profit boards. These include the Casa Pacifica Advisory Board, the Ventura County Community Foundation Women’s Legacy Fund, San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts Advisory Board, the Ventura Education Partnership (which grants five annual scholarships in memory of Larry Meister), the Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation (which gives two annual nursing scholarships), the Jewish Federation Women’s Division Committee as well as being a founding member of the Rubicon Theatre Company and Grandes Dames. She is the recipient of many community service awards and her late husband, Larry, and she support many other local and national non-profits. Because of their charitable contributions, the social hall at Temple Beth Torah, the boardroom at Casa Pacifica and the lobby at the Rubicon Theatre Company have been named in honor of Barbara and Larry Meister.

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Mike Merewether, Vice President, is a 1964 Graduate of the University of Washington, Seattle, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He worked for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company for 12 years and was a partner with Tolman & Wiker Insurance between 1976 and 2005. Since retiring from the Insurance business, in January of 2006, he has been actively working in real estate development, serving on the Rubicon Board and as a volunteer for the YMCA, Social Service Task Force and Ventura Farmworker Housing committee. Mike and his wife, Loretta, have been residents of Ventura since 1976. They have 4 children and 6 grandchildren.

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Dr. Richard Reisman, President of the Board of Directors, grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and was introduced very early to the theatre by his loving grandparents in New York City with whom he watched the major Broadway musicals of the ‘60s and ‘70s. He and his wife of 35 years, Lori, are now looking forward to doing the same for their granddaughters (2 and 4 months old). Following medical school at Emory University, Dr. Reisman came to LA to do his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCLA. Lori and Richard moved to Ventura in 1978, where he has been in private practice since that time with two partners and two midwives. 14 years ago, Dr. Reisman was hired by Community Memorial Hospital to develop primary care clinics in under-served areas of the county. Now, he is Medical Director of the Centers for Family Health – nine outpatient clinics throughout western Ventura County. Last year, these centers saw 227,000 patient visits. Dr. Reisman continues to enjoy his work in the community. In addition to being president of the board at Rubicon, he is also treasurer of the Board of the Jewish Federation of Western Ventura County. His wife, Lori, is also very involved in community volunteerism as the founder of the Teaching Tolerance program (which sends Ventura County eighth graders to the Museum of Tolerance in L.A.) and on the education outreach programs of both Rubicon Theatre Company and the Ventura Music Festival.

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Roy Schneider graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University School of Law. Upon graduation, he served as Counsel for Bank of America in its Los Angeles Corporate Office. He later joined an established firm in Ventura, California where he was a principal until joining Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Schneider, L.L.P. in 2001. While maintaining his law practice, Mr. Schneider founded the California College of Paralegal Studies and served as its Dean until the College was sold to a public corporation. Mr. Schneider has a passion for education and in furtherance of this interest, Mr. Schneider is a Professor of Business Law and Business Ethics at Ventura Community College, served for 15 years as a Professor of Corporations Law at Ventura College of Law, and currently is a Professor of a course entitled Ethics, Executive Integrity and Social Responsibility at Antioch University in Santa Barbara, California. Mr. Schneider is recognized as an expert in the field of ethics and is called upon to assist companies in resolving ethical dilemmas. Mr. Schneider's areas of legal expertise include business planning, choosing the correct business entity, mergers, acquisitions and sales of businesses, employment law, contracts, transactional matters of all kinds, real estate transactions and estate planning. Mr. Schneider has written numerous articles on topics ranging from taking a fresh look at using limited liability companies, co-tenancy ownership of real property, 1031 tax-deferred exchanges, and charitable planned giving. Mr. Schneider is a frequent lecturer before private and civic groups and is a regular instructor in the SCORE Workshop on Starting a Business offered twice each year on the campus of Oxnard Community College. Mr. Schneider's speaking engagements include: Legal Aspects of Starting a Business (2004, 2005, 2006); Estate Planning Techniques (2005, 2006); Charitable Giving, Estate and Income Tax Issues (2006); Employment Law Update for Dental Offices (2004); How to Avoid Director Liability for Non-Profit Organizations (2005, 2006); Avoiding Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (2005, 2006); 2006 Employment Law Update (2006); 2007 Employment Law Update (2007); Anatomy of a Lawsuit (2006); Principles of Contract Law for the Business Person (2005, 2006); Toxic Mold Issues of Concern for Plumbers and Electricians (2005); Legal and Tax Aspects of 1031 Real Property Exchanges (2005); How to Properly Terminate an Employee (2005, 2006); Corporation or LLC?- Which is Best for You! (2006); Ethics, Executive Integrity and Social Responsibility (2006). Mr. Schneider believes in giving back to the community and serves on several charitable boards and foundations, including Ventura Medical Resource Foundation, Rubicon Theatre Company, Jewish Family Service, Project Understanding (Special Committee Assignment), and the Anti-Defamation League of Ventura County.

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Dr. Rosalind Warner moved from Philadelphia to Ventura County in 2001 where she and her husband W. Michael Hogan, M.D. began their medical practices at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. They have subsequently moved their main office to Ventura where she practices Gynecology and he provides most of the Gynecologic Oncology Surgical care for both Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. She immediately began service as a Director on the Greater Conejo Valley American Cancer Society Board and continues as a Director on the UCLA Medical School Alumni Board. In addition, Dr Warner has completed her second term as President of the Board of Directors of Saticoy Country Club and is presently the secretary of the Board and is a member of their Finance Committee. Another interesting adventure since moving west has been her association as one of the “Women of Jewelia.” The group, which began simply as thirteen women sharing ownership of a diamond necklace, has evolved into a potential global lesson of community service and sharing as the group has thus far sponsored five local fundraisers in its 3 years of existence. Another project of Dr Warner’s involves a newly formed committee that is exploring the possibility of providing a unique form of hospice care for Ventura County. Dr. Warner became an active member of the Rubicon Theatre Board in October of 2006 and as a member of the Executive Finance and Educational Outreach Committees is looking forward to promoting the growth of the theatre company with a special interest in its involvement with student groups in our community.

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