The Board of the Foundation for Developmental Disabilities is comprised of dedicated members of the community who generously donate their time and talents to seek out and fund housing, education and job opportunity programs for persons with developmental disabilities and their families.
Board Of Directors
Jan Adams
Jan Adam, our Board Chair has been a CFO for Home of Guiding Hands since 1996; prior to which she was the controller for the Arc-SD for 8 years. She has 30 years of experience working in the field of developmental disabilities representing various providers and has an excellent understanding of the numerous challenges faced on a daily basis.
Jan has in the past served as chair of the Audit Committee for the Challenged Athlete's Foundation and treasurer of the San Diego Track Club.
Jan Adams
Board Chair/CFO Home of Guiding Hands
Edward Kenney, Vice Chair
Edward Kenney retired from San Diego-Imperial Counties Developmental Services, Inc. (SDICDSI) after 10 years of being their CFO. Before this he ran their Transportation program for 13 years.
Edward also has twenty years of leadership experience in the United States Marine Corp where he worked as a Transportation Service Contract Manager.
Dan Clark
Dan Clark retired from the San Diego Imperial Counties Developmental Services Inc.(SDICDSI) after 39 years of service. For 25 years while at SDICDSI, Dan served as the director of the Community Services Department, where he worked collaboratively with community service providers to develop services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities and their families. While at SDICDSI, Dan also served as director the Case Management Department for 4 years. In this position, he supported the work of over 400 staff in providing high quality case management services.
David Drazenovich
David’s early career in Canada included working in the fields of mental health, child welfare and child development. Since 1994, David has worked in the nonprofit field in San Diego County – primarily in the field of developmental disabilities. A successful background in creative program development and outcome measurement, David’s work has been commended by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities for its commitment to strong outcomes evaluation. David has worked as a consultant, helping nonprofits innovate for greater mission impact and is currently working as Director of Development & Communications for Palomar Family Counseling Service. David holds a Master of Arts Degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.
Jerry Harris
Jerry Harris currently owns and is involved with Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly. He is the founder and former chairman of Sports for Exceptional Athletes - an organization that provides recreational and social opportunities for developmentally disabled children and adults. He also served as Chairman of the San Diego Mediation Center, Balboa Park/Morley Field Recreation Council, and the San Diego Table Tennis Association. Jerry is an Attorney and Real Estate investor. He served one year as Interim Executive Director of San Diego Mediation Center and has formed and been involved in many non-profits in San Diego. He has been involved in the Special Olympics for Sports for more than 40 years. He has a sister who is developmentally disabled.
Angela McNeece
Angela McNeece discovered her passion for working with individuals with disabilities while volunteering in a special education class. After receiving her credentials, she taught students with mild to severe disabilities in the states of Wyoming, Illinois, Virginia and California. She has been nominated as the Association of California School Administrators Administrator of the Year for Imperial County, served as the state chairperson of the Special Education Administrators of County Offices (SEACO) and been appointed ICOE Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, In 2012 she took on the role of San Diego County North Inland Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Director in an effort to expand her role to support districts in the provision of quality special education services. Since her retirement in 2017 she enjoys traveling, spending time with her children and grandson, and continues to serve her community as part of our Board.
Kathy Nicolaysen
Kathy Nicolaysen was a founding member of the SDICDSI Corporation Board and served as board secretary in 1987. Since that time, she has served on several Board committees and task forces. She is also a founding member of the Foundation Board of Directors. In addition, Kathy was formerly a member of Developmental Disabilities Area Board XIII. She and her husband, Arthur, have four adult children, including one son with mild cerebral palsy who is a mechanical engineer and one son who resides at home and is a client of the Regional Center. Kathy resides in Escondido and works as a Clinical Medical Technologist.
Sylvia Paulson-Peterson
Sylvia has lived and worked in the US and Canada. A BS in Nursing from Pacific Lutheran followed by a MN from UCLA, led her to the San Diego Regional Center in 1969 where she was hired as the first Nursing Consultant. During her career advocacy, education, support for families, obtaining resources and developing community programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities, and then adapting those programs so they worked in the community was paramount She received a provincial award for her work with families from the BC Council for the Family in British Columbia in l993. She had two sons, and has four grandchildren who live with their parents in Oregon. Her youngest son, born with Down Syndrome, died in 2013 at age 34. She was a member of the Board of the Association for Community Living in Campbell River, BC Canada for several years. She returned to live in San Diego in 2016.
supported organizations board members
Linda Bay
Linda Bay works for San Diego Family Magazine (SDFM) and has been an employee since 2004. In 2014 they started a nonprofit, The Special Needs Resource Foundation of San Diego (SNRFSD). She interacts with organizations that offer services to families with children with special needs. The SNRFSD creates and distributes a free, annual publication called Flourishing Families, a Resource Guide for Families with Children with Special Needs. They list over 1200 organizations in San Diego and Imperial counties that can help families who have children with special needs.
Treasurer
Special Needs Resource Foundation
Brian Miller
Brian Miller is the proud father of an adult son on the autism spectrum. Since 2018 Brian has served on the board of directors for SEEDS Educational Services, Inc., a non-profit which provides social and sexual education for people with developmental disabilities. Brian has been a practicing attorney since 1985. From 1985-2018 Brian was a co-founder and partner in the law firm of Miller & Milove. Since 2019 Brian has been Of Counsel to the law firm of LiMandri & Jonna where his law practice continues to emphasize representing investors in litigation and arbitration.
Board of Directors
SEEDS Educational Services, Inc.
Rose Hanson
Rose Hanson is the Associate Director/CFO and Treasurer of Community Interface Services, a non-profit organization supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Previously she was the Director of Talent Solutions for PDRI, president of the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington DC, and served in the U.S. Air Force. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. In Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Colorado State University.
Associate Director/CFO
Community Interface Services
SEEDS Educational Services Inc.
Nathan Schmid
Nathan Schmid has been the Executive Director of Southern California Housing Collaborative (SCHC) since 2009. SCHC is a vendor of SDRC and their mission is to locate and secure affordable housing opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities.
Nathan has a 12 year old daughter who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. He also received a Ruby Award in 2015 for their Independence Point project in District 4. SCHS has been very successful in applying for and receiving grant from numerous sources, including the Foundation.
Executive Director
SOCAL Housing Collaborative
Lori Kay
Lori Kay has been a member of various non-profit organizations. She has extensive experience in the field of special education. She is a parent of a 30-year-old son with severe autism.
Lori had a BS and MA and worked for SDUSD as a special education parent facilitator. She also worked as an autism consultant for the Exceptional Family Resource Center.
Ms. Kay was a board member on the Area Board 13 for several years and is currently an Autism Society-San Diego Board Member as well as on several of their committees.
Autism Society San Diego
Bruce Wexler
Bruce Wexler currently serves as Sr. Director at the Fred Finch Youth Center. He oversees an array of mental health focused services for youth with developmental disabilities and significant mental health challenges.
Bruce has been president of the Mental Health Contractors Association of San Diego County. He previously served on several local boards including the Crime Victim's Fund, Association of Foster Family Agencies, and the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition.
Senior Director
Fred Finch Youth Center
Wade Wilde
Wade Wilde has been the Executive Director for Mountain Shadows for 20+ years. Mountain Shadows is a community of homes designed to provide a normal family-like living environment for individuals with intellectual disabilities. This environment facilitates and encourages the residents to learn the many activities of daily living skills needed to maintain and live in a home.
Wade Wilde has served on the SDRC Finance Committee, he has also been the Director and Treasurer of theDevelopmental Services Network, and Ex-Community member for Inland Regional Center Business Committee.