Meet the Words Alive Board of Directors

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Leslye Winkelman Lyons

Words Alive Founder, Board Member Emeritus

Leslye Winkelman Lyons has more than 40 years of nonprofit sector experience as a salaried and volunteer professional. As the Words Alive founder, she has served the organization in various capacities including Board Chair and pro-bono Executive Director.

She also co-founded Fostering Futures Initiative, a now-completed five year cross-sector collaboration supporting transitioning foster youth and is currently a volunteer in a number of organizations including Jewish Family Services, Funders Together to End Homelessness, and the La Jolla Playhouse.

A former book group facilitator, Leslye facilitated hundreds of book group discussions and served as a consultant to book groups across the country. For more than 20 years, she wrote and distributed Literary Lines, a newsletter for readers and book group members.

Currently Leslye is COO of Lyons Accountancy Group, a family owned full service tax and accounting firm, where she is also a consultant to non-profits and small businesses.

Leslye earned a bachelor’s degree from Washington University and a master’s degree in social work from Yeshiva University.

Meredith Baratz

Chair

Meredith Baratz’s professional career spanned 30+ years, focused on driving market-based solutions for MetLife, UnitedHealth Group and their clients - with an emphasis on innovation, consumer value and commercial success. Her responsibilities encompassed account management, sales/marketing leadership, strategic insights and innovation to support growth, improve consumer health, and drive cultural change. She was a frequent source of strategic expertise in public forums, client discussions and business coalitions, including the National Business Group on Health and the Berkeley Innovation Forum, hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Baratz served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Product Development and Management Association for 6 years. She has been quoted in trade publications and national press.

She graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College, and holds an Executive MBA from New York University.

Now retired, Ms. Baratz resides in southern California, where she is an active volunteer with organizations supporting military servicemen and women, literacy, and local community preservation and planning.

Julie Dubick

Vice Chair

Julie is the Strategic Partnerships Advisor and Chief of Staff for The Conrad Prebys Foundation, which includes impact investing, public private partnerships and community work on behalf of San Diego’s largest private foundation.

Julie Dubick brings a diverse background in nonprofit work, government and business. She has served on Boards or facilitated strategic planning for a wide variety of local and regional nonprofits, including serving as former President and a co-founder of the San Diego Women’s Foundation, former Board Chair of The Monarch School, former governance chair of the San Diego and Imperial County Girl Scouts, former Audit Chair of the California Women’s Foundation, member of the Scripps Health Foundation board, and former Board Chair, PsychArmor.

Julie served as the Director of Policy and Chief of Staff to former Mayor Jerry Sanders. She is a founding and current Board member of Endeavor Bank, a local community bank supporting San Diego small and medium sized businesses.

Julie was a partner and member of the executive committee for the law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek. Before joining the firm, Julie worked for the federal government as the Assistant Director of the United States Marshals Service and as a trial attorney for the United States Justice Department. She is currently an adjunct Professor of Law at California Western School of Law.

Julie is a contributing author to two books: “The Workers” and “It’s Harder in Heels”, and the recipient of several community awards. She is married to Mitchell Dubick, a partner at Higgs, Fletcher & Mack and they have 3 children: Jessica, David, and Gabrielle.

Karen Malin

Secretary

Co-Chair, Program Committee

Chair, Board-Staff Task Force

After having spent 40 years in education in the San Francisco Bay Area, Karen and her husband Jim moved to San Diego. Karen retired from a very busy career which included teaching students from Preschool through college levels, private practice in learning remediation, and serving as Head of Lower School at an independent elementary school for 14 years. In addition to a teaching credential, Karen has a Masters in Special Education. She loves being a part of learning communities and immersing in the possibilities that always flourish in that environment. Now in San Diego, she loves spending time with her grandchildren, Emi, Landon, and Walker.

Karen is also very involved in silk painting, and enjoys studio sessions with fellows artists, painting images on silk, as well as creating fabric to sew into clothes and scarves for family and friends. She has been lucky enough to exhibit six times. Karen is currently the President of the San Diego Silk Guild and serves on the education committee at Visions Art Museum.

Through Words Alive Karen has been able to fulfill her passion for helping students develop their curiosity, creativity, risk taking and thinking skills.

Nick Giordano

Treasurer

Nick Giordano is a graduate of University of Redlands and a licensed CPA with over 10 years of experience in public accounting and finance. He is now the Assistant Corporate Controller at WD-40 Company, a public company based in San Diego. Nick specializes in technical accounting, audits, financial reporting and equity accounting.

Nick’s favorite hobby is golf. He used to play competitively through college and he still plays on the weekends with his father, who taught him how to play as a child. He learned about Words Alive after meeting an enthusiastic board member on the golf course. His mother was a strong advocate for avid reading and fostered reading and writing skills with him and his two sisters. After learning about the organization and the mission, Nick was excited to volunteer. He began volunteering for Words Alive in the summer of 2020 as part of the finance committee and now also serves on the audit committee and the board of directors.

Karen Silberman

Immediate Past Chair

Karen serves on the board of Carleton Management, Inc., her family’s real estate investment, management and development business.

Karen was previously involved in theater management and production, management information services and employee training, and medical practice management.

Karen attended the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.

In the community, Karen is on the board of directors of the La Jolla Playhouse, the Rady School of Management Dean's Advisory Counsel, UC San Diego Health board of advisors, the board of directors of Hope Village San Diego, Sharp Mesa Vista Philanthropy Counsel and is the chair-elect of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego. Previously, Karen served on the board of directors of Congregation Beth Israel, National Conference of Christians and Jews, San Diego Center for Children, United Jewish Federation Women's Division, the Francis Parker School Diversity Committee and Hillel of San Diego. She has also served on the Vista Hill Council on Mental Health and Jewish Family Services Behavioral Health Committee.

Karen was born and raised in San Diego, the youngest of three children. Karen and her husband Jeff have four children and a grandchild.

Tammy Carpowich

Tammy Carpowich is Sr. Director of Media & Creative Services at the San Diego County Office of Education. In her current role she oversees all media for SDCOE, including two cable channels, SDCOE’s digital presence, brand management, graphic design, virtual and in-person meeting support, and a print shop that serves San Diego’s 42 school districts. 

Before joining SDCOE, Tammy spent 25 years at KPBS, San Diego’s NPR and PBS stations. There she served a variety of leadership roles in the areas of Innovation, Digital, IT, Fundraising, News, Video Production and Communications.   

Tammy is a graduate of LEAD San Diego’s Impact and Advance programs. She has earned awards for her work from the San Diego Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, PBS, Public Relations Society of America, and others. She was one of San Diego Metropolitan's "40 Under 40" honorees and served as a board member for the Integrated Media Association (iMA) and the San Diego chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.  

Tammy is an active volunteer with LEAD San Diego, Words Alive, and the Mt. Carmel Marching Sundevils. 

In her spare time Tammy is an avid reader (don’t ask her favorite genre or book – it's too hard to pick!) and an enthusiastic supporter of competitive marching music. She lives in Sabre Springs with her husband, two teenage children, and their miniature dachshund, Penny.   

Brian Fidler

Brian Fidler is a lifelong learner, educator, and Episcopal priest. For 38 years, he served as chaplain, teacher and coach in five independent, Episcopal schools – boarding and day – in Connecticut, New York, Texas, Massachusetts and California. At each of the schools he served, Brian made it a priority to invite his own students to serve in the wider community – as tutors in an underserved middle school, through clothing collection and distribution drives, house refurbishing, and visiting fellow teens incarcerated in a maximum-security facility.

Brian retired from The Bishop’s School in La Jolla in 2018, and he and his wife, Blake, couldn’t think of a compelling reason to return to the cold and snow of the northeast. For several years, he volunteered in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, chairing the diocesan Commission on Ministry and serving as the Interim Dean of Studies for its School for Ministry. He continues to mentor school chaplains nationwide and he is a trained Listening Hearts convener of discernment groups for those exploring ordained ministry.

Brian began volunteering with the Adolescent Book Group program of Words Alive in 2021, working with students in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades at Monarch School. Now in his third year, he loves working with a team of three adults to find creative ways to engage students in contemporary Young Adult literature in the classroom. Developing project-oriented, participation-driven activities is at the heart of working with the students to develop reading and interpretive skills, encouraging them to become lifelong readers and learners.

Recognized as Words Alive 2023 Volunteer of the Year by the North County Philanthropy Council, Brian joins Words Alive Board of Directors in 2023. When he’s not volunteering, he plays pickleball, walks, writes fiction and visits his and his wife’s grandson on the East coast.

From 2013 to 2019, Tami served on various committees with the Hillcrest Business Association (HBA) and was elected Board President in 2015 to support this growing community association. In 2019, she was recognized for her achievements while serving as President of HBA by the California Assembly 78th District, California State Senate, City of San Diego, and County of San Diego Board of Supervisors. Her recognition was for her dedication to furthering the mission of HBA by expanding the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market, establishing the Normal Street Promenade (a community gathering place), collaborating with San Diego Pride to ensure that the annual Pride event was free to the public, and building consensus between the needs of the business community, residents, and visitors.

Since 2012, Tami has also been active in other community business organizations, including the Downtown San Diego Partnership (Homeless Task Force/Public Policy) and the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce (Public Policy).

Tami attended the University of San Diego and holds a California Real Estate Broker’s License, as well as Real Property Administrator (RPA) and Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) designations from the Building Owners and Managers Institute International (BOMA International).

In addition to serving on Words Alive’s Board, Tami chairs our Property Management Committee, ensuring that we maintain and maximize the strategic service opportunities of our headquarters building at 770 Park Boulevard in San Diego’s East Village.

In her spare time, Tami enjoys traveling with her husband, engaging in outdoor activities, and, as a resident of Ramona’s growing AVA wine region, has earned her Level II Specialist of Wine with merit from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She continues her education in this field.

Laura Galinson

Laura Galinson is the Founder and President of the Galinson Family Foundation, the Price-Galinson Collaborative Fund, the Alternative Families Fund, as well as the Laura Jo Galinson Advised Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego.

Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Religion from University of Colorado, Boulder, where her passion for photography blossomed as yearbook photo editor. After college, she took photos for the Boulder Daily Camera and Denver Post, won an award for a photo picked up by the New York Times Magazine, and traveled to Australia with her winnings. Later she was a photographer for the Associated Press, until moving into the world of publishing. Laura says she learned everything she knows about books from her time working at John Cole’s Book Shop and White Rabbit Children’s Bookstore, two legendary book sellers in La Jolla. From there, she became Assistant to Sandra Dijkstra, regarded by many as the most powerful literary agent on the West Coast, where Laura worked with Janell Cannon to produce Stellaluna. Laura was then recruited to become Senior Publicist at HarperCollins in San Francisco, where she worked until relocating back to San Diego in 1997. At that time, Laura’s father, Murray Galinson, introduced her to Sol Price, and her work in philanthropy began.

Also of note is Laura’s history as a competitive swimmer from age 5 to 40. As a youth, she routinely competed in the YMCA Nationals and Junior Olympics, and was a part of the number one ranked relay team in the U.S. at age 13. Laura went on to dominate in U.S. Masters Swimming and International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) competitions. At the age of 36, she broke the World Record for the 100-meter individual medley at the IGLA Olympics in Atlanta.

Today, Laura focuses her charitable work on her passions for education, youth, mental health, the arts, Africa, Israel and San Diego, and she continues to be an avid photographer and swimmer. Laura and her wife, Jodi Diamond, are devoted mothers to their children Hannah, Bob, Syvan, and Teddy. Among her many contributions to the community, Laura currently provides leadership to the Museum of Photographic Arts (Education Chair and Acquisitions and Development committees); Jewish Women’s Foundation (Board Member), Support the Enlisted Project (Advisory Board and Development Committee), Psych Armor (Mental Health Advisor), and Hillel San Diego (Board Member and Capital Campaign Chair).

Julia Loman

Julia Loman, MS, has been committed to social change, anti-bias, and multi-cultural practices for over 25 years. She has been in the early care and education field for 27 years, working with families and children ages 0-12 in various settings and positions, from classroom teacher to program director. She currently works with Neighborhood House Association’s Head Start Program in San Diego, CA and an Early Care and Education Consultant.

Her passion for social justice and anti-racism was nurtured at a young age by her father, who taught Black Studies. She has woven this passion into everything she does personally and professionally. Her love of books was also nurtured by her family. She read Ayn Rand’s 750-page novel “The Fountainhead” her senior year of high school in 2 days, just for fun! Her favorite audiobook is “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a Child Development Focus and master’s in Organizational Management and Leadership, Julia is the proud parent of a twenty-three-year-old and step-bonus mom to a six-year-old, her ultimate child development experiments!

Bijan Nowroozian

Bijan is the Senior Librarian of Parkland Spanaway Library. In this role, he supervises a Leadership Team of 8 Librarians and a staff of 30+ employees. Bijan has worked in libraries for 18 years, mostly at San Diego Public Library. Bijan was the Chair of Programming for the 2021 CLA Conference and hosted 3 panels at San Diego Comic Con. Bijan has received numerous awards over the years, including the SDPL Employee of the Year, the SJSU Director’s Award of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion, the President’s Volunteer Service Award (2022 & 2023), and the Words Alive Teen Services Volunteer of the Year.

Bijan grew up in San Diego County and graduated from Grossmont College (A.A.), San Diego State University (B.A.), and San Jose State University (Master of Library and Information Science). While growing up, the local library was his place of refuge; a safe space he would visit every day after school to relax, study, and immerse himself in books. In college, he discovered a love for non-fiction and poetry. He has recently enjoyed the world of graphic novels and appreciates a good audiobook while working out. In addition to reading, Bijan also enjoys hiking, playing video games, and running obstacle course races. He even competed on American Ninja Warrior!

Bijan started volunteering at Words Alive in 2017 as the team lead for the Adolescent Book Group (ABG) program. He would visit 2-3 classrooms weekly and lead the class in book discussions, writing prompts, activities, games, and art projects that all revolved around the book the students were reading. In addition to his ABG work, Bijan joined the Words Alive Westreich Scholarship (WAWS) program as a volunteer. Once the program transitioned to a more volunteer-focused structure, he was offered the role of Chair of the WAWS Taskforce which he continued until the 2023 sunsetting of the program. Bijan continues to take on additional volunteer roles and projects at Words Alive whenever needed.

Colleen Smiley

Chair, Investment Committee

Colleen has nearly twenty years of experience in the investment industry, holding a variety of roles including portfolio management, client service, operations, and research. She is a Managing Principal at Meketa Investment Group, an institutional investment consulting firm.

Colleen is a “doer” and a change maker who likes to find solutions to problems, big and small, and help things run just a little bit smoother every day. Colleen is also the Chair of Meketa’s Corporate Responsibility Committee and a member of its Diversity Leadership Committee and is passionate about sustainability and diversity. She graduated from the University of San Diego with an MBA and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Colleen joined the Finance Committee of Words Alive in 2021. Her passion for literacy extends throughout her life, and she is a regular volunteer in the library and as a reading partner at her daughters’ school in Point Loma.

Jon Yonemitsu

Jon Yonemitsu is a litigation and trial practice attorney at Littler Mendelson P.C. who has honed his professional skills over 20 years handling complex matters ranging from all areas of labor and employment law, commercial disputes, unfair competition, real estate litigation and product liability. Jon works tirelessly for employers covering every size from Fortune 500 companies to start-up ventures. He cares deeply about his clients and community, dedicating laser focus to his clients’ needs in the most effective and efficient way. Clients can count on Jon’s responsiveness, professionalism, loyalty and ability to listen. He’s driven to provide quality advice and counsel while also being an exceptional advocate both in and out of the courtroom.

Jon’s employment practice includes representing private and public entities focusing on defending management against single and multi-party matters involving discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims under Title VII, FEHA, ADA, FMLA, and CFRA. Jon’s most recent trial success involving a single-plaintiff litigation resulted in a complete defense verdict in Los Angeles over a two-week jury trial covering claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. He further focuses on representing all size employers covering class and collective actions under both California state and Federal (FLSA) wage and hour laws and PAGA. Jon has successfully defeated representative claims on dispositive motions prior to trial, as well as recently defeating class certification on all grounds for a multi-party putative wage and hour class action litigation. Jon also handles matters connected with administrative agencies involving the DFEH, EEOC, DOL and OSHA.

In addition to his extensive litigation experience, Jon regularly counsels employers regarding compliance with state and federal laws, hiring, investigations and termination issues, reviewing and drafting employee handbooks, workplace trainings, wage and hour compliance, employee classification, and accommodation and interactive process compliance. Jon practices a comprehensive and efficient approach in helping employers identify early workplace and compliance issues, as well as partnering with employers to develop preventative institutional compliance measures.

A talented and frequent speaker, Jon has handled various employer side training presentations covering employer-centric hot topics, including wage and hour, ADA and FEHA issues.

Prior to joining Littler, Jon was a long-time partner with a national law firm where he focused on single-plaintiff and class action representative employment litigation. Jon began his legal career serving as a Deputy District Attorney with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office handling a variety of felony and misdemeanor trials involving violent crimes and fraud. He previously clerked for Judge Napoleon A. Jones, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Committees of the Board

Executive Committee

Meredith Baratz, Chair
Karen Malin, Secretary
Nick Giordano, Treasurer
Karen Silberman, Immediate Past Chair

Audit Committee

Jon Yonemitsu, Chair

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Joint Board-Staff Taskforce

Karen Malin, Chair

Board Governance & Leadership Committee

Julie Dubick and Mike Skerlos, Co-Chairs

Engagement Committee

Laura Galinson, Chair

Finance Committee

Nick Giordano, Chair

Nominating Committee

Karen Silberman, Chair

Program Committee