Board of Trustees

A practicing attorney with over 40 years of experience, K.C. Thompson brings to our Board expertise in estate planning, business planning and formation, trust administration and real estate planning. He is a member of the State Bar of California’s Estate Planning Trust and Probate Law Section and its California Real Property Law Section. K.C. also served as pro bono legal counsel for the San Diego Junior Chamber of Commerce and for St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Del Mar. Now his specialized skills allow us to better support the increasing number of families who depend on our services.

Paul Petersen founded Trident Technologies, Inc. and spent his business career building Trident into the leading water management technology company in Southern California, with international operations in Latin America.  He served in a variety of organizational leadership positions during his professional career. Paul served as President of the Tierrasanta Community Council and on La Jolla Country Club Board of Directors.  His long history of leadership and business development benefits our Ronald McDonald House, as we strive to serve the growing number of families visiting each year.

Brandy Bullen is the founder and CEO of Sequoia Consulting Group, which serves life sciences and biotech industries in California.  Their Sequoia Gives Back division also raises funds and awareness for San Diego charities, which is how she first engaged with the House. Brandy manages the company’s business and client development while maintaining a sharp eye on trends in the life sciences field. Her experience managing rapid development will be crucial in responding to the increasing number of families passing through our doors.

Lisa came to Lindsay & Brownell, LLP, in 1993, joining as its third partner. Having worked several years for the international accounting firm, Deloitte, Lisa now provides accounting and tax expertise to individuals, nonprofits, closely held businesses and estates and trusts. Lisa is a champion of children’s causes, volunteering her time to support the boards of several family-focused organizations. Her community work helped make possible a grant to our House for major kitchen equipment that greatly improved our families’ meal experience. Now her refined accounting and financial skills can help improve the quality of many services they enjoy.

A 17-year veteran of Wells Fargo, Steve Bernstein oversees the commercial banking market for San Diego County. Prior to that, he served as the bank’s Region Leader for the Southern California-Nevada market. Active in the community, Steve serves on several boards, including at Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business, and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Steve’s solid banking skills and commitment will help strengthen the House as it strives to serve the growing needs of its community.

Brian Cahill is president of the Southwest Division of Balfour Beatty Construction, where he focuses on continuing business growth, developing client relationships, and gaining momentum in emerging markets. Prior to that, Brian supervised projects as executive vice president of operations, and in this capacity, he led the construction team that built our current Ronald McDonald House. Brian is a Past Chair of our Board of Trustees. He’s been a longtime supporter of the House’s annual golf tournament, and he now serves as the chair for the event’s Golf Invitational Committee.

Matthew (Matt) Cobas is a Certified Financial Planner with Mariner Wealth Advisors.  He provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners. Matt is a 2020 graduate of LEAD San Diego, the leadership program of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Prior to his career as a financial advisor, he served as an officer in the United States Navy for 8 years, between active and reserve duty.  A native San Diegan, Matt lives with his spouse and two children in San Diego. Matt brings his diverse background, expertise in wealth management, and knowledge of our community in service to our San Diego Ronald McDonald House.

A retired senior executive at financial institutions, including Union Bank and Bank of America, Doug Dawson is an established leader in San Diego’s philanthropic community. He has served as executive director of the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation since 1972 and became executive director of The Conrad Prebys Foundation in 2017. Doug also supported numerous nonprofit boards across San Diego County. On our Board, Doug is a Past Chair, chairs the Philanthropy Committee, and serves on several other board committees supporting our work at the Ronald McDonald House. Doug’s breadth of financial and nonprofit experience provides essential tools to meet the needs of the thousands of families we host each year.

Eric Eastham is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for The Familie, an agency representing top talent in sports, music, art, and media with offices in Cardiff-By-The-Sea, Los Angeles, and Nashville. Certified as an NFL agent since 2018, Eric founded ALIGN Sports Management, also acquired by The Familie, with the goal of protecting players in every facet of their careers while also maximizing their opportunities on and off the field. Eric represented a diverse network of clients in licensing, intellectual property, and litigation at the Boston-based law firm, Mintz. Eric served on our Philanthropy Committee before joining our Board of Trustees. He lives with his spouse and three children in North San Diego County.

Donna Evans has volunteered for Ronald McDonald Houses and Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities for over 30 years. She currently owns the award winning The UPS Store of Encinitas Ranch Towne Center. Donna served as the founding chair of our 2010 Red Shoe Day and previously led our Marketing Communications Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and chaired our Board of Trustees. A graduate of Cornell University, she now is serving her second tenure on our Board, where her leadership and strategic planning skills help the House grow to meet the increasing needs of our community.

A successful businessmen in San Diego for more than 14 years, Gabe Filkey owns Filkey & Associates, a real estate sales and management company. He also launched several local home services companies in San Diego, including You Move Me and Good Neighbor Home Services. His donations made possible the coffee bar in our family dining room and the restorative spa showers for our day-use families. Gabe shares with the House his business acumen and real estate knowledge to help us find new welcoming spaces for our growing number of family visitors.

Paul Fitzgerald is responsible for Global Real Estate & Facilities procurement at Qualcomm Incorporated. Serving Qualcomm since 2003, he’s also supported Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions (QWBS) and Qualcomm Technologies & Ventures (QT&V). Paul currently serves on the board for the International Facility Managers Association (IFMA). Since 2011, he’s chaired the IFMA Golf Invitational & Fundraiser in San Diego, which directly supports our House. Now serving on our Board and Philanthropy Committee, Paul’s skills enhance the House’s fundraising efforts and long-term growth capabilities.

Since arriving in San Diego in 2016, Jessie Green has established herself as a community leader, supporting numerous charities in San Diego County. Our Ronald McDonald House is fortunate to be one of them. During her first year as a Trustee, she served on our 2019 ROMP Executive Committee, helping plan the House’s tenth annual ROMP gala. An articulate and passionate spokesperson for the families we serve, Jessie’s unique strengths are invaluable to keeping them near their hospitalized child.

Daniel Grimmer is a restaurant consultant who draws on his experience in his family’s McDonald’s business. Previously, Daniel was a government affairs manager for MGM Mirage in Nevada. He served on the House Operations Committee for three years before joining our board of trustees. Daniel presently chairs the Finance Committee and has led our Ronald McDonald House through important financial decisions; ones that have allowed us to serve increasing numbers of families each year.

John Lamberti, M.D., has long been directly involved with the Ronald McDonald House through his professional focus on the development of a world class pediatric heart institute at Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego. He developed the Cardiac Surgery Program at what is now Rady Children’s Hospital in 1978, and nearly 25 years ago created the Kapi’olani Cardiac Surgery Program at its Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu. Since then, well over 1,000 of the Hawaii Program’s patients have visited Rady Children’s, with their families staying at our Ronald McDonald House.

Leslie Mannes is on the Board of the San Diego County McDonald’s Owner/Operator’s Association. As a third-generation Owner/Operator with several McDonald’s restaurants, she brings a wealth of business and management knowledge to our Ronald McDonald House. Leslie has actively participated in many key House events in support of our mission. Through community involvement and her support of our House activities, she demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the enrichment of children and families.

Chris Marsh is responsible for the Wealth Management businesses at UBS across San Diego County. Chris has 19 years of experience within UBS, in roles ranging from family governance, financial planning and investment allocation, to the technology and business management involved in serving clients around the world. Chris has learned from and helped develop teams across Switzerland, Germany, France, Monaco, UK, the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Chris and his colleagues teamed to be the founding sponsors of the San Diego Ronald McDonald House’s annual Giving Circle Celebration since 2013.

A Partner at JGD & Associates LLP, Ronny Mitchell is the leader of the firm’s Assurance practice. Ronny’s experience includes working with not-for-profits, life science, technology and M&D companies in both the private and public sectors. He previously served on boards for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad and Sure Genomics, Inc., and most recently was a senior manager for Cohn Reznick. In addition to other Board responsibilities, Ronny serves as the chair of our Audit Committee.

Highly engaged with the Ronald McDonald House since 2010, Adrienne and the Hoehn family have long been strong advocates for keeping our family guests close. She earned her master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, and worked with children and families in health crises while in New York City and abroad.  Adrienne brings to the Board a benevolent commitment to community service and philanthropy. From her meal service for our families, the annual ROMP gala, and Hoehn Motors car raffles, her work helps ensure new families continue to find relief and comfort at our House.