Wendy Urushima-Conn, Chair

Term expires March 1, 2023

Ms. Urushima-Conn is the President and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation where she advocates for individuals and families impacted by seizures and seizure disorders. She is formerly the President and CEO of the Asian Business Association, the leading voice on business, cultural and political issues for San Diego’s Asian and Pacific Islander Community. She has more than twenty five years of experience in community outreach, marketing and public relations. Ms. Urushima-Conn is the former Associate Executive Director of Development for the Center for Community Solutions (CCS), and was the chief fundraising and marketing officer for the nonprofit agency. Prior to joining CCS, she worked for more than a decade as the Community/Media Marketing Manager at KGTV/10 News where she was responsible for the station's community affairs programs, non-traditional revenue generation and all press and promotions. Ms. Urushima-Conn serves as the President of the California Diversity Council, San Diego Chapter and Board Member for San Diego Rotary, Club 33. She is a former board member with the San Diego Public Library Foundation, and is a past Chair of the Asian Business Association Foundation, past President of Girls Incorporated of San Diego, Scholarship Committee; member of the San Diego Foundation. She graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Communications.

Sarah Moga Alemany

Term ending March 1, 2024

Sarah Moga Alemany recently served as the Binational Affairs Manager for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. Sarah received her M.A. in Latin American Studies and is fluent in Spanish. In her role she served as the liaison to the Mayor of Tijuana and the Governor of Baja California. She also dealt with issues related to the ports of entry and the Tijuana River Valley. 

Sarah also formerly served as Mayor Gloria’s Coordinator for the “Back to Work San Diego” task force. Prior to joining the Gloria administration, Sarah was a Campaign Coordinator and the campaign’s Press Secretary. 

Before getting involved in Democratic politics, Sarah was an Emmy-nominated television producer, booker and writer in the news and entertainment business. After working for several years as a writer for local news in Chicago, Sarah moved to New York in late 2006 to work for CBS National News. During that time she covered many world events including the 2008 Presidential campaign, the “Miracle on the Hudson” and the death of Osama Bin Laden. Because of her fluency in Spanish, Sarah frequently covered events in Latin America for the network. She also served as a senior producer in the control room for “The Early Show" (now "CBS This Morning").

In 2011, Sarah helped develop the PBS interview series, “The Artist Toolbox.” She then helped launch the first season of “Anderson,” Anderson Cooper’s syndicated daytime talk show. Sarah was then recruited to help expand original video programing for “The Daily Beast,” and handled all high profile celebrity, news-maker and political bookings for the site’s shows.

Sarah has degrees from The University of San Diego and The University of Chicago. She lives in Point Loma with her husband and three young children.

Patricia Williams Bevelyn

Term Ending March 2024

Ms. Bevelyn is a retired County of San Diego employee who worked for the Department of Social Services as well as the Health and Human Services Agency. She started her career with the County as a social worker and rose through the ranks to retire as the Child and Welfare Services Manager. Ms. Bevelyn is a founding member of Project Save Our Children -- a community-based program that aims to eliminate the disproportionate number of African American children in Child Welfare Services. She has also served as past President and Treasurer of Webster Academy of Science PTSA. Ms. Bevelyn attended Southern University and A & M College in Baton Rouge, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She then earned a master's degree in Social Work from San Diego State University.

Wendy Ranck-Buhr, Ph. D.

Term Ending March 2025

Wendy Ranck-Buhr is an avid reader and life-long learner which made the field of education a natural career fit for her. Wendy has over 30 years of experience in education working at preschool through university levels at schools and universities throughout San Diego. Wendy earned her Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Art degrees at San Diego State University and completed her Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University. She currently serves as an Instructional Support Officer for San Diego Unified School District.

Linda Sotelo

Term expires March 1, 2025

Ms. Sotelo is the Executive Director of the New Americans Museum. She was previously President and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Sotelo created opportunities for Hispanic businesses while empowering the wider community. She has also held senior level executive positions with the San Diego Workforce Partnership, inSITE97 and inSite2000, where she worked to support artistic and cultural collaboration across the border of San Diego and Tijuana. Ms. Sotelo received a Bachelor of Arts in business and history from the United States International University and a Masters of Arts in international business and economics from Regents College, London.

Scott Walter

Term expires April 9, 2026

Scott Walter is Dean of the San Diego State University Library. Prior to joining SDSU in 2020, Dr. Walter held senior leadership positions in a number of academic libraries, including DePaul University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Kansas. A native of Southern California, Dr. Walter earned his MLS from Indiana University Bloomington and his PhD in Educational Leadership (Higher Education Administration) from Washington State University. In addition to his work with academic libraries, Dr. Walter has served as school library volunteer and a partner with public libraries through consortia including Chicago Collections and the San Diego Circuit. In addition to professional service provided through elected and appointed positions in the Association of College & Research Libraries and the American Library Association, Dr. Walter served for almost a decade as an elected representative to the Chicago Public Schools' Local School Councils.