Board Bios: We’re in the process of obtaining this info…so please bear with us. Thanks.
Bob Bowles
Bob Bowles is a retired Presbyterian Minister who served many years as Pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Aptos. Bob and his wife, Margie, live in La Selva Beach. Bob has formerly served terms on our board as well as serving on the Board of Habitat for Humanity (1996-2002) in Santa Cruz County (President 2002). Bob also served on the Spiritual Advisory Committee for Hospice for many years. Bob enjoys cooking, sailing and people.”
Susan Cabrera
Susan Cabrera is an executive management consultant to San Francisco and Monterey Bay area governments. She formerly served as Deputy Director of Human Resources for the County of Santa Cruz and Director of Classification and Compensation for the County of San Mateo. Susan is dedicated to volunteerism. In addition to being Board President of the Volunteer Center, she is President of the St. Vincent de Paul Society for the Capitola/Soquel area, Vice President of the SVDP Santa Cruz County District Council, member of the Literacy Program Advisory Committee, and member of the Disabilities Ministry at St. Joseph’s Church. Susan heads up an annual “Trivia Challenge” fundraiser at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium to benefit the Volunteer Center’s Literacy Program. She has her master’s degree from Stanford in counseling psychology, conducts lectures and seminars, and is the author of two books.
Patrick Clark
Pat Clark settled in Santa Cruz from Paso Robles 1991; Married Chela Lucas from Costa Rica 2001; Father of 3 adult children and Grandfather of 5. Pat spent 8 yrs in the US Army during the Viet Nam War.
He is a past Board member and chair: Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks (FOSCSP); National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP); City of Santa Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women (CPVAW); County of Santa Cruz Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission (JJDPC). Retired from UCSC, Retired from City of Santa Cruz; currently Santa Cruz Chapter Director of National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI).
Rick Polse
Rick practiced law in Santa Cruz since 1978 exclusively in the areas of estate planning, probate, and trust administration. He served on the board of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County and the Santa Cruz County Community Credit Union.
Since his retirement, Rick volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, works with charitable organizations as a planned giving consultant, and hikes in Nisene Marks Park with his wife, Robin and their dog, Luc.
Gerardo Sandoval
Gerardo Sandoval joined the Volunteer Centers Board of Directors in 2009. Since that time he has also served as co-director of Community Connection—an organization of the Volunteer Centers of Santa Cruz County, where he was previously Program Coordinator of the Mariposa Wellness Center.
Originally from East Los Angeles, Gerardo has been involved in Human Services from a young age. As a teenager, he volunteered at USC/LAC Medical Center (better known as ‘General Hospital’) and was also Peer Counselor for Planned Parenthood. In 1989, the County of Los Angeles honored him as “Volunteer of the Year” for his contributions to the hospital. Gerardo holds a B.A. in Psychobiology from the University of California-Santa Cruz and a business certificate from the Community Minority Business Advancement Program at the University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business.
Melody Sharp
Melody Sharp is a website designer and has had her own firm since 1996. She is the author of Getting On Top, a self-help book on career development and is a former business columnist for Shape magazine. Prior to moving to Santa Cruz in 1981, she was a magazine editor in Los Angeles for several national publications. Her other volunteer work is as a board member for The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and she is a past board president of the both the Land Trust and Volunteer Center.
Nannette McAlister
Nannette is retired from a rich career in non-profit and health care management. Highlights include the positions of Associate Director of Service and Rehabilitation, California Division, American Cancer Society and Director of Patient Relations at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Following retirement from Stanford, she worked as a management consultant for Family and Children’s Services, Monterey County.
Married to Donald McAlister, they have 7 children and 14 grandchildren residing all over the country and as far away as London, England. Nannette spends her leisure time visiting family, playing piano, walking on the beach and attending ballet classes. Rounding out her volunteer activities, she serves on the Dominican Hospital Community Advisory Board and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in the foster care system.
| Board of Directors | |
| Susan Cabrera | President |
| Pat Clark | Vice President |
| Carlos Magana | Secretary |
| Janice Zappa | Treasurer |
| Barbara Bautz | Member |
| Bob Bowles | Member |
| Peggy Flynn | Member |
| Nannette McAlister | Member |
| Rick Polse | Member |
| Geraldo Sandoval | Member |
| Melody Sharp | Member |
| Tamyra Rice | Member |
| Nichole Teutschel. | Member |
