The Diversity Center

Our Board of Directors

Adam Spickler, President

My name is Adam Spickler and I have been living, working and very involved in Santa Cruz County for 18 years. I'm politically active and hard-working, I volunteer in the community quite a bit and I enjoy being as social as I can in my down time. I identify as transgender, and have been out in the queer community for 15 years. My identity in the larger community as trans is relatively new, though it is not as new to me personally. But I have been fortunate to receive a tremendous amount of support in coming out as transgender, and feel honored to be held up so positively by my local community.

I currently work as the senior field representative for Assembly member Bill Monning. My responsibilities include assisting local agencies challenged by state budget or legislative limitations, providing casework management to scores of constituents who experience challenges with a variety of state agencies, acting as a representative on behalf of the Assembly member at events and in regular meetings with various local groups and agencies to convey issues of concern and provide information on state legislative or budgetary topics, and act as the first point of contact for constituents contacting the district office. I have worked for Assembly member Monning in this role for fifteen months. I also worked for former Assembly member John Laird in this role for two years. Previous to my work in politics I was the executive director of Simcha Preschool at Temple Beth El for five years, and became adept at running a large local nonprofit.

 

In addition to my work, I am a commissioner on the Santa Cruz County Women's Commission; I hold a seat as Assembly member Monning’s alternate and as a state delegate on the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee; I am a member of the Democratic Women’s Club and the GLBT Alliance; and I have worked on past political campaigns for John Leopold’s successful 2008 run for County Supervisor, District 1, for the local No on Proposition 8 campaign of 2008 and for the Yes on Proposition 93 campaign of 2007-08.

 

As a board member of the Diversity Center, I hope to use my nonprofit experience and my skills at working with people and making connections to help support the Center in any way I can. I hope to help bolster support for the Center by bringing in a broader, younger and more diverse group of people to join as members and supporters of this wonderful and critical LGBTQ hub for Santa Cruz County. If you would like to get in touch with me about anything, please feel free to email me .

 

Jennifer Wildman, Vice President

Jennifer was born in San Antonio, Texas and lived in North Dakota before moving to Carpinteria, California in the third grade. She has lived in the Santa Cruz area for the last 19 years. 

Jennifer graduated from California State University Northridge with an M.A. in special education in 1987. As an elementary school teacher and now a principal, she has worked with students of all ages and walks of life. Jennifer is an American Sign Language interpreter, presents educational workshops, and has been a contributing author to educational books, resources, and curriculum.

Jennifer is the mother of two amazing children and has a menagerie of pets, including two cats and a cattle dog. She enjoys singing in a fledgling a cappella group, cooking, belonging to her book group, taking a good road trip, and anything that has to do with the ocean.

In her elusive spare time, Jennifer makes her voice known politically through "armchair activism": letter-writing, email campaigns, and phone calls to elected officials about important causes. She is a creative party-planner and hopes to bring her skills at making connections, organizing fundraising, and planning social events to the Diversity Center.

 

Joe Eugene, Secretary

Joe has lived in Santa Cruz County since enrolling at San Lorenzo Valley High School in 1963. He has lived in Big Basin, Aptos, Santa Cruz and Live Oak. He has a BA in Inter-American Studies, with half of his undergraduate courses taught in Spanish. Travels in Latin America have included Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Argentina and an afternoon in Brazil. Joe is retired from a 30-year career with the County of Santa Cruz, mostly as a mainframe programmer and systems analyst.

As a gay man, Joe is proud to have been with one partner for 17 years and another for 10 years. Joe has been a Triangle Speaker for about 8 years and a Triangle Speakers board member for 2 years before Triangle Speakers merged with the Diversity Center.

 

Thadd Liszkowski, Treasurer

Thadd was born in Chicago and relocated to Santa Cruz in 1994 to attend UCSC, where he completed his BA in Sociology while working as a computer professional.

In 1997 Thadd co-founded Bi-Friendly Santa Cruz, whose contingent in the Santa Cruz Pride Parade made the front page of the Santa Cruz Sentinel that year.

Thadd recently completed his MA in counseling psychology at John F. Kennedy University, and is now working as program coordinator for LGBT and HIV-impacted mental health services at a nonprofit counseling agency in Monterey County.

 

Grace Gallego, Board Member

 

Grace Gallego was born in San Francisco, raised in the Philippines and, at age 20, returned to the Bay Area to attend the California College of the Arts’ environmental design program. Her professional career was in technical education designing training programs, a field where she is regarded as something of a pioneer.

Grace's interest in the Santa Cruz LGBT community began when she moved to Ben Lomond in November of 2003. Accustomed to Bay Area activities and opportunities for community interaction, the Santa Cruz LGBT activities seemed to fall somewhat short for lesbians 40 and over. So, with her knack for organization, in the fall of 2007, Grace founded LezCruz, a social networking group for the 40+ lesbian community. LezCruz has already very quickly blossomed to over 300 active members!

Grace is employed at UCSC and enjoys being retired from the high tech world. She shares her home in the mountains with her two cockapoos, Angus and Abbe, and her cat, Bill. She is in a relationship of 20 years. She has a married daughter, a former Santa Cruz resident, now living in Berkeley and finishing her doctorate studies in psychology.

Bill Garza, Board Member 

Bill Garza is a relatively new member of the Santa Cruz community, having moved here in the fall of 2009 from the South Bay. Originally from Texas, Bill has lived and worked in a variety of locations both in the U.S. and abroad and is now proud to make California and Santa Cruz his home.

Bill earned his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and his master's degree in business administration from Harvard University. He has enjoyed varying experiences throughout his business career, serving as a management consultant for Fortune 100 corporations, chief financial officer for a medium-sized business in the music industry, and most recently as a senior manager in online sales and operations with Google. In his role as CFO, Bill helped build and manage a small non-profit division for his company that focused on serving underprivileged children in southern Texas and throughout Mexico.

After fifteen years in the business world, Bill has decided to change careers and pursue his passion for helping others full-time by seeking a doctorate in clinical psychology. An avid roll-up-his-sleeves volunteer, Bill has served non-profit organizations ranging form the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City to the local chapter of the American Red Cross. When he is not studying or volunteering, Bill enjoys cooking, reading, spending time with friends, and hanging out on the beach.

 

Kristin Long, Board Member

Kristin Long has lived and practiced law in Santa Cruz since 1989. Kristing joined the Bask Grant Law Firm in 2008 after spending almost two decades as a top presecutor with the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office. Kristin now specializes in Fmaily Law and has extensive experience in working with the complicated and ever changing landscape of same sex family law issues, including parentage, same sex adoptions, financial considerations and dissolutions of same sex marriages and domestic partnerships.

Kristin is very active in the Santa Cruz community. She is currently on the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee ("BAYMEC") which is very involvedin LGBT political issues in the South Bay and the Monterey Bay as well as promoting LGBT friendly politicians. She is also a Commissioner on the Santa Cruz County Domestic Violence Commission representing the LGBT community.

A graduate of University of California, Los Angeles and Calif9ornia Western School of Law in San Diego, Kristin lives in Santa Cruz with her spouse, their awesome daughter, two dogs, two cats and three fish. In her spare time (what spare time?) Kristin enjoys gardening, singing, writing and playing her original music, watching San Diego Padres baseball, and being a Tae Kwon Do and basketball fan to her daughter.

 

Ann Marie Lang, Board Member

Ann Marie is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies, LLC, which falls under the New York Life corporate umbrella. She provides investment advisory services ranging from separately managed portfolios of stocks and bonds to mutual fund wrap accounts to clients in California. She works on-to-one with her clients to understand what is important and unique to them and their families. This information provides the foundation for a strategic plan to help them achieve their short and long-term goals. Ann Marie has been an accountant for the past twenty years in the manufacturing, trading, and technology company sector. She has held the position of director of finances for three information technology companies during this time. She has been trained in financial planning and assists her clients with investment strategies and choices as well as reviewing their overall financial position. Ann Marie graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a degree in mathematics. She also has a degree in accounting.

 

Claudia Stefani, Board Member

Claudia joined the staff of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County in 2003. She has over 25 years of experience in financial and administrative management. Claudia monitors the Cultural Council budget for for compliance, acts as a liaison with auditors, lenders and investment brokers, oversees internal financial and office systems and develops and implements fiscal and administrative policy.

 

Dr. Randolph F. Brock, Board Member

Dr. Randy Brock grew up in Houston, Texas. He received his bachelor of science degree in psychology from Texas Tech University, his master’s degree in humanistic psychology from the University of West Georgia and his doctorate in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University.

He lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he spent his professional life in private clinical practice as a successful psychologist. While there, he served on the board of directors for the Florida Psychological Association, the Broward County Psychological Association, the Mental Health Association, the Florida Grand Opera, the New World Symphony, the Miami City Ballet, and the Atlantic Institute for Oriental Medicine. He was an active member of and fund raiser for the Fort Lauderdale Pride Center, the gay and lesbian community center.

Five years ago, while at his vacation home in Beaver Creek, Colorado, he met his husband-to-be, Je

remy Turpen. They got legally married in Santa Cruz three years ago. Since he is semi-retired, he moved to Santa Cruz full-time two and one half years ago. He still maintains his Florida license and a home in Fort Lauderdale. He returns to Fort Lauderdale monthly to see a few patients and to oversee properties he owns. He is in the process of getting his license in California. He enjoys cooking, farmers markets, scuba diving, traveling, skiing, reading, opera, ballet, the arts, antiquing and the view of Monterey Bay from his home in Soquel.

 

 

 

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The Diversity Center of Santa Cruz