Michael Vaughn
President - SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors,
SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Mike Vaughn is an attorney practicing in Orange County, California.  He is the former president of the Long Beach-Yokkaichi Sister City Association and served as President of Sister Cities of Long Beach, Inc.
He serves on the boards of directors for various profit and non-profit corporation as well as serving as an advisor for a variety of corporations and businesses.  Mike is married and resides with his wife in Huntington Beach, CA.

Frank Tripicchio
Immediate Past President - SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors,
Sister Cities International, Board of Directors

Frank Tripicchio is a member of the Bakersfield Sister City Project Corp (BSCPC), a member of SoCal and on the Board of Sister Cities International. After serving on the first official delegation from Bakersfield to its Chinese Sister City, Cixi, Frank joined the Bakersfield Sister City Board of Directors in 1998. He served as President of the Bakersfield BSCPC from 2003 to 2006. In the past 5 years Frank guided the forging of Sister City relationships with the cities of Santiago De Queretaro, Mexico and Bucheon, So. Korea. In 2003 Frank was elected to a seat on the SoCal Board of Directors and in 2006 he was elected to a 3 year term on the Sister Cities International BoD. In May 2008, during an official visit to the city of Bucheon, Frank was designated Honorary Citizen by the Mayor and City Council of Bucheon. In 2009 Frank was reelected to an additional 3 year term on the SCI BoD. In May of 2011 Frank became the new President of the Socal BoD. A member of Rotary International, Frank plans to develop a strategic alliance between Rotary International's community and international services and benefits with those of SCI. A licensed Real Estate Broker, Frank was born in Italy and has lived in the USA since 1961.

Stelle Feuers, EdD
Past President - SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Director

Dr. Stelle Feuers has been actively involved in the field of education from elementary through graduate school both as a faculty member and an administrator.  The first woman president of Los Angeles City College, she managed a student body of 18,000, a faculty and staff of 1200, and a $30,000,000 yearly budget.  Dr. Feuers fostered unique employment –based training programs, directed the colleges’ allied health programs providing students with clinical training at local hospitals and medical facilities, and promoted an extensive community services program serving more than 15,000 annual participants.

Elected to two terms on the Board of Sister Cities International serving as treasurer the second term, she participated with government officials in Business and Friendship Missions to foreign countries. She was the treasurer for the Los Angeles Mayor’s Council for Sister Cities, and is the past president of the Southern California Sister Cities (SOCAL). Feuers is a member of the Los Angeles/ Guangzhou Sister Cities and a member of American Women for International Understanding.  She is the president of the Collectors Council of the Bowers Museum and serves on the museum’s Acquisition Committee.

A worldwide traveler, she has participated in business and education programs in countries moving toward free enterprise economies.

Edna Gibson
First Vice President - SOCAL Sister City Board of Directors

Mrs. Gibson's native country is the Philippines and she has been representing her country and the United States for many years at international conventions, camps, cultural diversity programs, international visits, as well as educational and governmental exchanges to promote understanding and friendship. Mrs. Gibson has lived in Antwerp, Belgium as a youth exchange student and served as a British Council Scholar while living in England. Mrs. Gibson holds a Master's Degree in Education Administration and has worked as an Administrator for Children' Services in federal and state programs. As an Founding Member of the Carlsbad Sister City Program, Mrs. Gibson has helped plan events for sister city relationships such as Carlsbad's Sister Cities with Futtsu, Japan and Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, Edna has assisted in planning a number of fund raisers and help coordinate several activities with international visitors for her City.

Gil Garcia
Second Vice President - SOCAL Sister City Board of Directors

Mr. Garcia is a practicing architect intensely involved in civic affairs. As a City of Santa Barbara Council member from 1992 to 2002, he was active in the League of California Cities, Community Services Policy Committee, the Local Government Commission, and the National League of Cities Human Development Committee. His sister cities activities include: Board member US/Mexico Sister Cities Association serving as president (2005 – 2007), current Vice President on Southern California Sister Cities International (SOCAL) board of Directors, current board member Sister Cities International, and past board member and president of Santa Barbara Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee. In addition, Mr. Garcia is delegate to the Sister Cities Association of America representing the State of California and responsible for assisting the president of the Mexican national sister cities organization in organizing citizen based sister city committees in cities throughout Mexico. Mr. Garcia is a recipient of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Honorary Alumni Award, and Santa Barbara News-Press 1996 Life Time Achievement Award recipient, 1993 Man of the Year Santa Barbara Ad Club and various other civic awards and honors.

Dr. Earnestine Thomas - Robertson
Finance - SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson is Dean Emeritus, Los Angeles Southwest College, LA Community College District. She served as professor of Political Science and International Relations for eleven years and as Dean of Academic Affairs for twenty years. Dr. Robertson serves as a member of the Board of Visitors for the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University and as Vice President of Business Relations for Born Ready Industries, Inc. Active in the community and international organizations, she understands the interdependent nature of the world and embraces the art of negotiation among nations. Currently President of the Los Angeles-Lusaka Sister City Committee, she has been involved in Sister Cities' activities for more than twenty years. She has lead delegations to more than five nations on the continent of Africa one of which was the first to Zambia, in 1992, on behalf of late Mayor Tom Bradley.

Fred Alcantar, Jr., BS
SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Fred Alcantar, Jr., President of the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee is retired after 39 years serving L.A. City in the Bureaus of Engineering, Structural Engineering and Contract Administration, and the Los Angeles World Airports. He has a degree in Civil engineering from Cal State University, Los Angeles. Active in PSCC since the late-1980s, his involvement began as a member of the German Subcommittee, followed by terms as Intern Coordinator, Chair of the German Subcommittee, and, currently, as President of the committee. Fred is a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, touring grade school age children in the People Places in Art tour. He served as Co-Chair for the Docent Council Newsletter for the 2007-2008 touring year, and will be Chair of the People Places in Art tour for the 2008-2009. He is also involved with the American Construction Inspectors Association, Los Angeles Chapter, having been Secretary, President, and currently, Programs Chair. PSCC’s subcommittees represent Germany, Japan, Finland, Armenia and China and present programs that promote the particular sister city’s music, culture and history. In 2007 PSCC celebrated the 50th anniversary of the relationship with their Japanese sister city, Mishima, Japan. In 2008, PSCC celebrates the 25th anniversary with Yärvenpää, Finland, and the 60th anniversary with Ludwigshafen, Germany. In 2009, PSCC celebrates the 10th anniversary with Xicheng, East District Beijing, China. PSCC subcommittees organize student and intern exchanges and cultural and educational exchanges. These activities keep Fred and the subcommittee’s busy finding housing, internship positions and exchange students.

Angie Gomez
SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Angie Gomez is a current member of Pasadena Sister Cities, having joined in 1997. She has served as the chairperson of the Mishima, Japan Sub-Committee for three years and traveled to Mishima for the 50th Anniversary while serving as chair during 2007.Angie has been with the Pasadena Police Department since 1976 in the Event Planning Section, the office that handles the Rose Parade and other events in Pasadena. She served as President of the volunteer Council for the Pacific Asia Museum from 2001 through 2003 and as Co-Chair of the Young Adelante Mujer Latina young ladies conference in Pasadena in 1995. Angie has enjoyed traveling to Europe, Mexico, Tahiti and Canada. The theatre is another of her favorite pastimes. Having attended a couple of sister cities international conferences, Angie looks forward to meeting and networking with other volunteers from SoCal regions.

Greg. L. Berk
SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Greg Berk serves as Partner and Chair of the Immigration Practice Group at the Orange County Law Offices of Carlton DeSante & Freudenberger LLC. Mr. Berk works closely with Employers throughout California and the U.S. on immigration matters including: I-9 internal audits, I-9 ICE audits, E-Verify, work visas including H-1B's; TN's; O-I's; overseas consular matters; Greg has provided consultation and second opinions on complex matters and has spoken on subjects such as; Trends in Immigration Enforcement and How employers Prepare for Government Agency Site Visits & Other immigration-Related Investigations; has made presentations and provided talks to the Orange County Bar Association Immigration Law Section; State Bar of California's 82nd Annual Meeting, Immigration; Employers Advisory Counsel; Orange County Bar Association's Immigration Law Section; State Bar of California's 80th Annual Meeting, and has taught immigration law at Cerritos College and Santa Ana College 2002 – 2005. Mr. Berk brings a background of education and experience from Western State University College of Law, Fullerton CA, J.D.; George Washington University, Washington D.C., MBA; California State University Overseas Chinese Language Program; California State University, Dominguez Hills, B.A. Business Administration.

Suzie Ditmars
SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Bio Coming soon!

Tom Hersant
Membership Chairman - SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Tom spent his career as a public administrator with the State of California. He and his wife enjoy international travel and have, so far, visited six of the seven continents.
He is a founding director and the current president of the Carlsbad Sister City Ambassadors of Carlsbad, CA. They have two sister cities: Futtsu, Japan and Karlovy Vary (nee Carlsbad), Czech Republic. Tom has been honored to visit both and especially to receive their delegations and share his city's culture, location and enterprises with them. See pictures of the cities and the visits at: http://carlsbadambassadors.us/

Dr. Anthony Al-Jamiet
SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie is an educator, interculturalist, journalist and publisher who lived in Saitama and Tokyo, Japan for 20 years. During his first ten years in Japan, he owned a chain of English language schools, with schools in Saitama and Tokyo. He ran an English language program for members of the Advanced and Basic Officers Courses at the Japan Self Defense Force Training Grounds in Asaka, Saitama. Anthony served as an International Advisory Council Member to the Governor of Saitama, Japan and was the only non-Japanese Member of the Wako-shi Rotary Club. During his last ten years in Japan, he also served as an Anaheim University Vice-President where he helped establish relationships with numerous universities and ministries of education in Asia and South America. Through his in-depth understanding of Japanese language and culture and his many relationships, he achieved great success in fundraising, creating hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships. He is International Editor and Publisher of the Tokyo Journal, Vice-President of Anaheim University Press, an Anaheim Sister City Commissioner and a Member of the Board of Directors of Southern California Sister Cities.

Pat Fallin
SCI - State Coordinator

Mrs. Fallin has served more than (12) years as Vice President and Secretary of the board for Sister Cities International. She also has served for (4) years as a Sister City State Coordinator in Colorado where she was a member of the Aspen City Council . Mrs. Fallin has worked on many fund raising projects for Colorado's Sister Cities program and numerous community organizations. Mrs. Fallin continues to serve Sister Cities International as a member of the Finance and Membership Committees. Over the years, Mrs. Fallin's focus was membership development.

Moving closer to family, Mrs. Fallin recently made a move to Southern California and serves as a member of the Santa Barbara, Puerta Vallarta Sister City Program. Mrs. Fallin brings of wealth of experience to the SOCAL board and her local sister city program.

Georgiana McLeod
Honorary State Coordinator

Georgiana McCleod, Member, Strategic Planning Committee SCI, holds her BA from Whittier College and an M.S. in Administration from USC. Her credentials, too numerous to fully list here, include: Member, ACSA, Region XVII; Chair, WASC Accreditation Team; Chair ACSA Region XVII Jr. High School Committee; Chair Newport-Mesa USD Management Team; N-MUSD representative, ACSA Legislative Action Committee; Facilitator, Conference on Academic Excellence, Orange County Dept. of Education; N-MUSD Liaison for Business Education Programs, CROP/ROP Steering Committee and Liaison, UC, Irvine/ Newport-Mesa USD Student Teacher/Intern Program. Her Community Activities include Orange Co. Real Estate Board and Director and Member of Governmental Business and Education Committees. Her committee work and experience in national and international organizations for Sister Cities Relationships are also far too numerous to mention here. Georgiana served on the Board of Directors for Sister Cities International for six years and is Past President of SOCAL having served for three years in that capacity.

Kathleen Roche Tansey
SCI - State Coordinator