Kit Ladwig, President
Kit is a long-time member of the San Diego Diplomacy Council and its predecessor, the International Visitors Council. She served on the IVC board of directors and helped produce its newsletter. Over the years she and her family have enjoyed entertaining international visitors and for the first time home hosting, welcomed a member of a search-and-rescue team from St. Petersburg, Russia.
Professionally, Kit has been a freelance writer and an editor of two magazines: Ranch & Coast, a San Diego lifestyle magazine, and Collections & Credit Risk, a national trade publication. Prior to that, she was an editor for an educational publishing company based in Chicago. Her interest in international relations was sparked by a year spent studying in France on a Fulbright scholarship. She holds a BA and MA in French language and literature and, as a returning adult, studied journalism at San Diego State University.
Diana Greenspan, Vice President
Diana was trained as a Speech Pathologist and Audiologist with advanced degrees in the field. After a career in Speech Pathology/ Audiology on the east coast, she moved to Hawaii and pursed a career in retail. She and her husband established a successful retail chain in Northern California. Diana traveled to the Far East on many occasions for the business.
After selling the business, Diana has traveled extensively in this country, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. She had been active in many community organizations including Coronado Historical Association, Planned Parenthood and Mama’s Kitchen. She served on the board of Mama’s and chaired their special events committee for four years. She is an avid amateur painter and has studied interior design. Diana and her husband Jerry live in Coronado where they have entertained many visitors for the CDC.
Carlos Martinez, Treasurer
Carlos is an auditor with LevitZacks, a large San Diego based full service public accounting firm. His experience includes working with public and privately held companies ranging from startup to companies in excess of $500M in revenue with complex equity structures, consolidations and foreign operations. Currently, he is in-charge of fieldwork and day-to-day activities for assurance, attest and consulting engagements for companies in a vast range of industries. Areas of specialization include defense, aerospace and other federal government contractors, technology, manufacturing & distribution, construction and employee benefit plans.
Carlos is actively involved in community, academic, professional and industry trade associations. He is a Director of the San Diego Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Committee Member and Marketing Chair of the Risk Management Association’s Young Professionals Group-San Diego, Member of the San Diego Venture Group and the National Defense Industrial Association. Additionally, Carlos was a semi-finalist judge at San Diego State University’s Entrepreneurial Management Center, Venture Challenge 2011, an internationally recognized business plan competition. Carlos graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in Business Administration-emphasis in accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Danielle Reyes-Acosta, Secretary
Danielle Reyes-Acosta is a Carlsbad-based digital design and brand management consultant to technology companies, interactive design firms, and non-profit organizations. As co-founder and Communications Director to YugiiDesignGroup, as well as Director of Marketing & Media to 5CI Global Communications LLC/Metric Systems Corporation, Danielle is a brand developer to the core. In this capacity, she is responsible for both product and company marketing, creative development, and the development of brand identity strategies.
With a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and a certificate in International Relations from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), her passion for international affairs finds a new place to flourish with the Diplomacy Council. Danielle loves languages, speaking Spanish, French, and a bit of Portuguese after international travels throughout Spain, France, and Brazil.
In addition to serving as Secretary to the Diplomacy Council, Danielle serves as a member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of San Diego (YNPNSD) Advisory Board. Working with YNPNSD, Danielle leads the organization’s Brand Task Force and chairs the Communications Committee. A Southern California native, Danielle enjoys surfing, running, snowboarding, hiking, sailing, and practically every other outdoor activity imaginable. Other hobbies include classical piano and gourmet cooking.
Alejandro de la Cruz, Director
Alejandro de la Cruz is a government contract compliance consultant for the Defense and Aerospace community focusing on advising minority and small business with government contract expertise gained from years in multi-billion dollar corporations. He’s a graduate of Pepperdine University with a Masters degree in International Finance and a BS from UCLA in International Relations, specializing in Latin –American affairs.
A native of Havana, Cuba, Alejandro is a retired United States Navy Commander with over 23 years of service. He earned a combat action ribbon and Purple Heart for action during operation Eagle Claw to rescue American hostage held in Tehran. He has received several Navy Commendation medals, the Navy Achievement medal as well as a Joint Service Commendation medal before retiring from the naval services as a Reserve Administrative Contracting Officer with the Defense Logistics Agency in 2002. Alejandro currently serves on the board of the Citizen Diplomacy Council San Diego as a direct liaison to the Defense and military communities.
Geoffrey Pack, Director
Geoffrey Pack currently works for the City of San Diego’s Office of Homeland Security. A career naval officer who recently retired after thirty years of service, he commanded a squadron of maritime prepositioning ships based in Guam and Saipan, served as Commander of Assault Craft Unit Five at Camp Pendleton, California, where he was responsible for all Asia-Pacific based hovercraft, and commanded the destroyer, USS JOHN YOUNG, based in San Diego, California.
Geoffrey was also assigned as the Defense and Naval Attaché to Denmark and Lithuania at US embassies in Copenhagen and Vilnius, and as a strategic planner on the US Joint Staff in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (MALD) and the University of California (BS, BA), and completed a year of advanced study at the University of London.
He has also graduated from the Royal Australian Navy Staff College, the US Marine Corps War College, and the US Armed Forces Staff College. An international affairs specialist, he attended the George C. Marshall Center for European Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, the US Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, DC, and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Joan Stein, Director
Joan Stein is a new Board member, having both entertained SDDC dinner guests in her home and having provided information on the US criminal justice system to many international visitors. Joan, a 1980 graduate of the University of San Diego Law School, works as a prosecutor for the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. While currently specializing in financial crime work, she has prosecuted a variety of both general crimes and juvenile court matters over the last 30 years. Joan is especially interested in crime prevention and the re-entry programs to reduce recidivism.
On a more personal note, Joan is the mother of three children, one with special needs. Her family situation has motivated her to become involved with the Home of Guiding Hands, a non-profit which operates residences for the developmentally disabled. She is interested in sharing experiences and information on the care and education of people with such disabilities. Joan is enthusiastic about the opportunities SDDC gives to both San Diegans and international visitors to learn about international issues and to share uniquely intimate conversations over the dinner table.
Kim Bixel, Director
Kim Bixel is co-owner of Integrity Plus Property Management, a residential property management company based in San Diego. She worked in international business for 10 years prior to becoming involved in real estate management. As Deputy Director of the California Office of Export Development, Kim directed international business programs to stimulate exports and introduce California companies to overseas markets.
In the private sector, Kim worked for Springs Industries in international sales managing a distributor network throughout Asia, Australia, France, Canada, and Latin America. Kim holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska with independent study at Kansai Gaidai University of Foreign Studies in Japan.
Shahrzad Kamyab, Director
Shahrzad holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration with a focus in comparative education. She has taught at Chapman University’s Graduate School of Education and was the Director of Study Abroad at Grossmont College. Currently, she is an international education consultant and teaches English at University of San Diego.
Shahrzad has served two terms on the board of directors and is going to oversee the interns’ affairs. Shahrzad has traveled extensively and has published on International Higher Education. Her forthcoming book is on Educational Opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Photos by Ryan Talbot Photography
