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Lee Williams | Chairman
Lee leads one of the top real estate teams on the Palos Verdes Peninsula with a focus of helping his clients meet and exceed their financial goals creating a better life for them and their family.
He honed his business leadership and client service skills as a financial services consultant at several technology leaders, including IBM, Wells Fargo and Seibel Systems. Lee has a background in small business and mortgage lending as well as formerly being a licensed investment representative for Chase Bank early in his career.
Lee earned his degree in business from the University of Washington.
Lee’s passion for helping others in need, particularly at-risk teens and individuals diagnosed with cancer, has taken him on a journey from the streets of San Francisco to the ruins of Machu Picchu culminating in raising $300,000 in research funds for cancer treatment, his mission to “make a difference” is far from over.
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John Bagakis | Vice Chair
John Bagakis is the managing partner of Big Nicks Pizza in San Pedro. He began as the company GM at age 22, in 2005, after a stint at Cal State Long Beach. Under John's leadership, Big Nicks Pizza has become one of the busiest restaurants and a generous community partner in San Pedro. It was awarded the 2017 small business of the year award by the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce.
Bagakis was born and raised in San Pedro and part of San Pedro High School's class of 2000. He is a former Future Leader of San Pedro award winner and served as San Pedro's Honorary Mayor from 2015-2017.
Bagakis also serves as a board member for Encore South Bay Theater group and is a festival chairman for the South Bay Greek Festival in Redondo Beach. He is a member of the Italian American Club, Trappeto Club of San Pedro, and AHEPA.
John is a minority owner in Port Town Brewing Company, the newest microbrewery in downtown San Pedro and also co-hosts a weekly internet radio show. -
Tim McOsker | Immediate Past Chair
Tim McOsker, is a partner in a downtown Los Angeles law firm and co-chairs the firms governmental, regulatory and administrative law division. Tim previously served as the Chief Deputy City Attorney for Los Angeles and as the Chief of Staff to Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn. For the past three decades, Tim’s career has focused on legislative and regulatory matters for both public and private clients, including in the areas of land use, environmental, permits, contracts and related issues before local, regional and state governmental agencies.
In addition to serving in a variety of professional, civic, philanthropic and community leadership roles, Tim was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the governing board that is responsible for dissolving the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, and concluded that service in 2016.
Before serving the City of Los Angeles, Tim was in private practice as a partner and manager at a municipal law firm, during which he served as City Attorney for California municipalities, including Lomita, Manhattan Beach and Downey. Tim currently serves on the Board for Harbor Interfaith Services. He and his wife Connie, live in San Pedro, where they raised their five (5) adult children.
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Ross O'Brien | Treasurer
Ross O'Brien, C.P.A. is a resident of San Pedro and a partner in the accounting firm of Servatius, O'Brien & Fong. He is also the Chief Financial Officer of the Pacific Battleship Center ("Battleship Iowa"). Ross has over 35 years of public accounting experience in taxation matters, including federal, state and international income tax issues, as well as financial reporting related to income tax issues. Ross works with businesses, their management teams and their owners to maximize tax benefits and minimize tax exposures relating to annual income tax return and financial statement filings. In addition, Ross has successfully managed clients' tax controversy issues with federal and state taxing authorities. As CFO of the Pacific Battleship Center, Ross oversees the day-to-day operations of the Accounting & Finance department, which includes cash management, banking, insurance, internal and external financial reporting, and tax matters.
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Augie Bezmalinovich | Board Member
Augie Bezmalinovich works for the Community Relations Division at the Port of Los Angeles as the Community Affairs Advocate. He serves as a liaison between the various communities surrounding the Port of Los Angeles and throughout the Southern California region to educate and promote the Port as both a regional community partner and major economic asset. He works with community leaders and Port-related business stakeholders to identify programs and venues for facilitation of Port and community interactions citywide and provide strategies for overcoming or resolving community issues that impact the Port.
Augie is a lifelong resident of San Pedro where his family has lived for close to 100 years and he graduated from Mary Star of the Sea High School and from the University of Southern California. He and his wife Lynn have 3 children. -
Ryan Blaney | Board Member
Ryan Segarra Blaney, Esq. has been practicing law since 2005 where he gained an LLM in International Intellectual Property Law at prestigious ESADE School of Law in Barcelona, Spain. After practicing for two years at a large IP firm in Barcelona, Blaney returned to the United States. Most recently he worked for four years in the Advanced Technology Division of Southern California Edison where he assisted engineers with contract formation, risk mitigation, data privacy and intellectual property assessment of new technologies.
In 2018, Blaney decided to use his wide breadth of experience to assist start-ups and entrepreneurs realize their dreams. He founded the legal consulting firm Bolimini International to help start-ups grow their businesses via business entity formation, transactional work, intellectual property protection and information governance.
Blaney has owned a home in San Pedro since 2016 and been a part of the community for many years. A swimmer all his life, Blaney trains with the San Pedro YMCA Masters Team as well as the Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears. He attained a B.A. in Political Science from Claremont McKenna College and a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law.
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Pam Botis | Board Member
Pamela Hill Botis is the club manager at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, San Pedro. Prior to working at CBYC she was a property manager at Shoreline Village in Long Beach and has worked primarily in the property management field since moving to Southern California as a young adult.
Pam enjoys the community aspects of lending support to an employer that has honored our military by hosting Navy Days and Fleet Week events since 2001, proudly offers local children scholarships to our summer sailing camp, has developed one of the largest junior sailing programs in Southern California, maintains a Certified Clean Marina, holds food drives for Seniors, collects toys for underserved children, hosts international sailing regattas and regattas that raise money for local charities, and provides meeting space to various non-profits.
Pam is the proud mom of Nina, a recent college graduate.
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Caroline Brady | Board Member
Caroline Brady is the executive director of the FRIENDS of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, the nonprofit fundraising arm of San Pedro's beloved aquarium. Previously, she worked as development director for Harbor Interfaith Services, helping the homeless agency significantly expand its facilities and programs. She served as a deputy to then- Councilwoman Janice Hahn and before that was a newspaper reporter with the News-Pilot and Daily Breeze. Caroline is a past president of the San Pedro Rotary Club. She has three children, Andy, Carlee, and Lulu.
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Ann Carpenter | Board Member
Ann Carpenter first came to San Pedro to live on a sailboat at Cabrillo Marina. Thanks to the San Pedro "vortex," she never left. For the past 25 years, she also grew her businesses in San Pedro.
Ann is "bilingual" in engineering and marketing. As CEO of Braid Theory, she and her team work with technology entrepreneurs to build strategic relationships with industry partners. The company is dedicated to growing the tech startup community in Southern California. Prior to founding Braid Theory, Ann was Director of Marketing for the non-profit business incubator, PortTech Los Angeles.
But many in the community know Ann best through her graphic design and marketing firm, S'Pacific Image.
Raised in Detroit, Ann moved to California after graduating from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. She started her career in the aerospace industry as a software programmer.
Ann is a long-time Chamber member. Her dedication to education is evidenced in volunteer activities which include: ITEP Advisory Board of Directors, Banning High School PATHS program; past Board Treasurer of Port of Los Angeles High School; and Entrepreneur Advisor for CSU Long Beach.
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Olga Chavez | Board Member
Olga G. Chavez was born and raised in Cuba. For the last 7 years she has been the Government & Public Affairs Representative for Marathon Petroleum in Southern California. Olga’s primary focus is community investment - working with stakeholders on issues related to refinery and logistics operations and volunteer opportunities in the local community.
Olga is an active Board Member of the following local organizations:
- Rotary Club of Wilmington
- Wilmington YMCA.
- Wilmington Chamber of Commerce
- American Red Cross Greater Long Beach
- Rio Hondo & South Bay Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Member of the STEM Leadership Council at Harbor College
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LaDonna DiCamillo| Board Member
LaDonna DiCamillo is the Government Affairs Director for BNSF Railway Company in Los Angeles. Ms. DiCamillo works with California communities to address rail-related issues at both local and legislative levels in an effort to facilitate trade growth and improve freight mobility while sustaining livability in the communities through which BNSF operates.
Ms. DiCamillo began her railroad career in 1989 in the Research and Development Department of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (a predecessor to BNSF) where she conducted laboratory testing related to environmental and failure analysis projects. In 1991, she was promoted and moved to California where she worked for BNSF's Environmental Department for ten years. In 1999, Ms. DiCamillo completed her Juris Doctorate at the University of La Verne, College of Law. Ms. DiCamillo is Past Chair of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and BizFed, and she is a member of the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber, and FuturePorts. She is an active member of the State Bar of California.
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Mike Galvin | Board Member
Michael Galvin is the Director of Waterfront and Commercial Real Estate at the Port of Los Angeles. In this role, Mr. Galvin is responsible for development and management of the Port's LA Waterfront including retail, dining and entertainment development opportunities, cruise operations, restaurants, recreational marinas, sport fishing landings and hotels that collectively create public access to the Port's waterfront amenities. Mr. Galvin also oversees the Port's $200 million redevelopment program for marine oil terminals under the State of California Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS). The MOTEMS redevelopment program will provide support to regional refinery operations, LAX aviation fuel logistics and the San Pedro Bay bunker fuel market. Mr. Galvin joined the Port in 2004 and began his City of Los Angeles career in 2000.
Mr. Galvin holds a bachelor of arts in U.S. History from the University of California, San Diego and a Juris Doctorate degree from Western State College of Law. -
Denise Eastburn | Board Member
Denise Eastburn is the director of medical services and community ministry board liaison at Little Company of Mary Medical Centers San Pedro. She is a lifetime resident of the South Bay. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Administration from Cal State University Dominguez Hills. Most recently just celebrated her 20th anniversary with Providence Health and Services. Personally, Denise is married to her high school sweetheart Chris and they have two children, Taylor and Ryan. Denise and her husband own Five Points Windows and Doors which is located in Torrance. Denise enjoys traveling and is an avid sports enthusiast (you can find her cheering for the Dodgers as well as her son who is playing baseball at Utah Valley University).
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Bruce Heyman | Board Member
Bruce Heyman is the Executive Director of LAMI, the Los Angeles Maritime Institute The Los Angeles Maritime Institute (LAMI) serves to empower youth to discover their greater potential through extraordinary at-sea experiences aboard educational sailing vessels built to train and equip young people with 21st century leadership skills, and inspire maritime and STEM career paths. Bruce spent twenty-seven years with Motorola before joining the non-profit world. As a Vice President at Motorola he worked in Engineering, Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing, Strategic Planning, and Business Development and was based in both the US and Europe. With Bachelors and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and an MBA he is well versed in both the technical and business challenges of running an organization. After retiring from Motorola in 2006 he joined the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California where he learned many of the ropes of the tall ship world, first as volunteer coordinator and then as First Mate of Pilgrim and shipwright for both Spirit of Dana Point and Pilgrim. Before joining LAMI in 2013, he spent two years at the San Diego Maritime Museum as Project Manager in charge of building the tall ship San Salvador, a replica of a 1542 Spanish Galleon.
He is a licensed 200-ton captain, he and his wife own a Catalina 320 sailboat, and is a Coxswain in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
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Liz Schindler Johnson | Board Member
Liz Johnson has served as Grand Vision's volunteer Executive Director since 2000, working long hours to preserve and promote the historic Warner Grand Theatre and build Grand Vision Foundation into both a well-respected small concert venue operator (The Grand Annex) and an LAUSD-approved music education provider. Grand Vision introduces over 1500 low income elementary school students music fundamentals through an 18 month music-making program. Johnson holds a BA in Art from Yale University and an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA. Previously, she worked in the field of economic development in Long Beach and Los Angeles, promoting entrepreneurship as a means to community development. Liz also serves on the board of Crail-Johnson Foundation and The Beacon House Association of San Pedro. She was recently appointed to the Los Angeles County Arts Commission by Supervisor Janice Hahn.
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Dan Salas | Board Member
Dan Salas began his maritime career as a child, assisting fishing boats at the Ports’ O call village, then working as a tug boat operator and now owns and operates a fleet of commercial vessels. Capt. Dan is the President and CEO of Harbor Breeze Corp., which provides transportation and tour services in Long Beach and San Pedro waterfront. He is the driving force behind Harbor Breeze Cruises and LA Waterfront, proving employment to over 40 Long Beach and San Pedro residents. He lives in San Pedro with his wife Kim, and 3 children Caroline, Christina and Christopher.
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Rachel Sindelar | Board Member
Rachel Sindelar is the Executive Director of CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles, a major piece of the stakeholder-led effort to establish the LA Waterfront as a new visitor destination. Her career passion is small business development and creating great public spaces. She appreciates how enthusiastic San Pedrans are about their neighbors and local merchants and our dedication to making it a better place.
From 2002 to 2008 she was the Marketing Director for the Santa Monica Pier Corporation, a non-profit city-appointed board charged with overseeing the day-to-day management of the Pier, capital project planning and supervision, and preserving and enhancing the Pier experience. In 2008 she joined the City of Santa Monica as its Public Information Coordinator, responsible for creating effective communications campaigns for hundreds of city programs and services.
Rachel has a BA in Communications from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio (Summa Cum Laude) and a Masters of Science in Management and Leadership from Pepperdine University, George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management.
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Melveen Stevenson | Board Member
Melveen Stevenson is the chief executive officer and founder of M.S.Elemental, LLC, a human resources advisory and training firm based in San Pedro. As a certified HR professional with a background in accounting and finance, she helps companies to navigate the human resources “jungle” of compliance, training, and leadership challenges.
Ms. Stevenson's background includes 18 years of HR experience, having held regional and international roles at Baxter International, General Mills, Philips Oral Healthcare, and Land O'Lakes. Her early career focused on accounting and finance as an auditor at an international accounting firm, then as an analyst at the largest bank in Hawaii where she specialized in the French-speaking South Pacific markets.
Ms. Stevenson earned her MBA at the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University and her BBA in accounting from the University of Hawaii. She is certified through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and the Human Resources Certification Institute (SPHR). In addition, she is certified in Extended DISC® for individuals, pairs, and groups. She also serves on the Management Advisory Board at the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.
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Nick Warnock | Board Member
Nick Warnock is an insurance agent based in San Pedro, CA.
After 14 years of running a successful technology company that built digital libraries all over the world Nick launched a Farmers Insurance Agency. The idea for entering this profession and starting his own agency was sparked when Nick had a claim on his home and was dissatisfied with how the insurance company handled it. Most people have no idea what is covered and what is not covered in their policy and Nick learned the hard way.
Nick moved to San Pedro from Hollywood to raise a family with his wife Kathy in 2014. They enjoy hiking, going to the beach and watching San Pedro blossom into a destination for people visiting Los Angeles from all over the world to visit.
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