As President and CEO, Betsy Brennan leads the Downtown San Diego Partnership, a member-based organization whose mission is to promote an economically prosperous and culturally vibrant urban center. The Partnership proudly serves more than 400 member businesses, representing thousands of residents, employees, and Downtown property owners. Ms. Brennan and her staff are also responsible for administering the Clean & Safe Program, a $9-million property and business improvement district of the City of San Diego, which offers enhanced maintenance and safety services throughout 275 blocks in the heart of Downtown San Diego.

Ms. Brennan obtained her Juris Doctor, with a specialization in land use, at the University of San Diego (2003). During her time in law school, she participated in the University of San Diego’s Land Use Clinic and interned for a Commissioner of the Board of the Port of San Diego. After law school, Ms. Brennan served as Chief of Staff for the City of San Diego’s first-ever City Council President, Scott Peters, and was integral in the transition to a strong-mayor form of government, as well as in the establishment of the roles and policies for the San Diego City Council (2002-2008).

Ms. Brennan has a proven track record of leading civic engagement, grassroots community involvement, external relations, economic development, and innovative programs for institutions such as the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina (Vice President of Development, 2016-2018), Tahoe Forest Health System in Lake Tahoe (Executive Director, Foundation, 2015-2016), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Chief of Staff to the President, 2011- 2015), and San Diego State University (Chief of Staff to the President, 2008-2011).

Ms. Brennan holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Politics and Spanish from the University of Richmond in Virginia (1998). She is a proud graduate of several regional and statewide leadership programs – including LEAD San Diego (Impact Class of 2006 and Influence Class of 2018) and Leadership CA (2011) – and has served on several local nonprofit boards of directors, including her current positions on the boards of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, University of San Diego School of Law Board of Visitors, and the Columbia Community Foundation.

Ms. Brennan is also a member of Lambda Alpha International, a highly honorary and selective group of professionals who have distinguished themselves in various disciplines that relate to the use and re-use of land. Ms. Brennan has received several noteworthy acknowledgements of her community commitment, including San Diego Business Journal’s “500 Most Influential Business Leaders” (2019), San Diego Magazine’s “50 People to Watch” (2008), San Diego Metropolitan Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” (2010), and San Luis Obispo Tribune’s “Top 20 Under 40” (2013). She especially appreciated receiving SDSU’s Associated Students Presidential Leadership Award for her collaborative style and dedication to working alongside students to better serve SDSU and for her excellence in service to the greater San Diego community (2011).

Ms. Brennan, her husband, Eli, and children are grateful to enjoy living in and discovering San Diego.

Fary Moini has been a member of the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club since 1999.  She is a dual citizen of Iran and the USA, with some family members residing in Iran. Accordingly, she visits Iran from time to time to stay in touch with her family.  In the spring of 2023, Fary made such a visit, but it resulted in a surprising turn of events. Club member Steve Brown became aware of the situation upon Fary’s scheduled return. 

Steve and Fary will share their respective stories about what transpired including what was involved with Fary’s return to the US, later than planned. Many people and countries were involved.

Professionally, Fary Moini received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Tehran and worked as the Director of Nursing, at the Iranian Medical Center in Dubai UAE, managing over 350 nurses and technicians across two hospitals, and overseeing clinical operations staffing training and quality of care standards   

She has a long history of International Service with Rotary, serving as a Rotary Foundation Volunteer 

 November 2002 to Present. Jalabad Afghanistan, Rotary Completed 26 humanitarian missions to Afghanistan.

Supporting education, women’s health, and community development initiatives.
Facilitated life-saving medical care by sending children with congenital heart disease to India and Israel for surgery.
Provided full-time care for one child during a three-month stay in Israel.

Diplomatic and Medical Coordination
Arranged and assisted a meeting between Afghan Ambassador H.E. Tahir Qadiry and the Chairman of Sanjeevani Pediatric Cardiac Center in India for further training of Afghan specialists (July 28, 2018).

Steve Brown was a partner in the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps from1972 until his retirement several years ago. A Rotarian since 1986, he has served the Rotary Foundation as trustee 2010-14 and vice chair in 2012-13. He has served as member of various committees at Rotary headquarters. Since 2002, he has been working as a volunteer on projects in Afghanistan through the current time. 

Darren Kew (Ph.D. in International Relations, Tufts

University, 2002) is Dean of the Joan B. Kroc

School of Peace Studies, at the University of San Diegop, where he is also a

professor. He studies the relationship between

conflict resolution methods – particularly interfaith

and inter-ethnic peacebuilding – and democratic

development in Africa, Northern Ireland, and the

United States. Much of his work focuses on the role

of civil society groups in this development. He has

also been a consultant on peace and democracy

initiatives to the United Nations, USAID, US

Institute of Peace, the US State Department, and to

a number of NGOs, including the Carter Center. He

monitored the last seven Nigerian elections and the

2007 elections in Sierra Leone, and in 2023-24 cofacilitated

a working group of religious leaders

focusing on religion and peacebuilding in Belfast,

Northern Ireland. Professor Kew was asked by the

British and American governments to join an

influential international commission requested by

the Nigerian government in 2010, which contributed

to a major overhaul of its election system. He is

author of numerous works on Nigerian politics and

conflict resolution, including the book Civil Society,

Conflict Resolution, and Democracy in Nigeria

(Syracuse UP, 2016), and his articles have

appeared in International Negotiation, the Journal

of Democracy, and Current History, among others.

Scott Wahl was promoted to serve as the City ofSan Diego’s 36th Chief of Police on June 7, 2024.Chief Wahl oversees the police department for the eighth-largest city in the nation.

Chief Wahl is a fourth-generation San Diegan who grew up in the Clairemont community. He has adeep love for San Diego and the San Diego PoliceDepartment, which both he and his father, a 34-year veteran, have been proud to be a part of.

Chief Wahl’s vision for the San Diego Police Department is to build an inclusive organization that is reflective of the city we serve and worthy of our community’s trust and collaboration.

Chief Wahl has risen through the ranks since joining the San Diego Police Department on April 13, 1998. He has worked many of the department's patrol commands, investigations and specialized assignments such as legislative affairs, critical incident management, operational support, establishing a new division to address neighborhood quality of life issues, and managing large-scale events and conferences, among others.

Chief Wahl received his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from San Diego State University in 1995 and his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from National University in 2005. He has taught as an adjunct professor for the San Diego Regional Police Academy and Ashford University.

Chief Wahl has received numerous awards and commanding officer citations throughout his career.

In his spare time, Chief Wahl enjoys running, fishing, golfing and spending time with his wife and four kids.

Everyone seems to think that science and religion have been in conflict since Galileo, but historians have shown that to be largely mythical.  Moreover, common wisdom has it that contemporary religious people are in conflict with science.  But, is that true?  

John H. Evans is the Tata Chancellor’s Chair in Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, Associate Dean of Social Sciences and Co-Director of the Institute for Practical Ethics at the University of California, San Diego.  He has been a visiting member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University and has held visiting professorial fellowships or honorary professorships at the Universities of Edinburgh, Muenster, Ben Gurion, and Queensland.  He is the author seven books and 65 articles and book chapters.  

He has focused his research on a number of overlapping areas, all of which concern the foundational humanistic questions behind scientific and technological development.  

He is an expert on the ethics of human gene editing, and more generally in the ethics of science and technology Following this research interest he co-directs the Institute for Practical Ethics at UC, San Diego. 

He is also a leader in the sociological study of the relationship between religion and science, an area in which he co-leads a small scholarly network and a 2.9 million dollar re-granting project. 

A number of his research projects are sociological studies of the public’s views of the foundational questions in technology such as “what is a human?” and “what is enhancement?”  He has a long time interest and expertise in explaining the forms of argument that are dominant in the field now called bioethics.  

Joe LaCava is the San Diego City Council President and District 1 Councilmember (representing areas like La Jolla and Pacific Beach), in office since 2020. A Democrat, civil engineer, and environmentalist, he focuses on infrastructure, housing, and budget management. He is currently navigating a $110 million budget deficit in 2026.

Councilmember LaCava is honored to represent the residents and businesses of San Diego City Council District 1 where he is currently serving his second term. Councilmember LaCava was unanimously elected by his colleagues as the President of the City Council and chairs the Council's Rules Committee. He continues his work on the Environment Committee and is First Vice Chair on the SANDAG Board of Directors.

In 2024, he served as chair of the Board of Directors for San Diego Community Power and the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority, and chaired SANDAG's Regional Planning Committee.

He is a San Diego native and San Diego State University graduate. He has lived in District 1 since 1983 with his wife Lorene, a retired kindergarten teacher, where they raised two daughters.

President LaCava is a licensed civil engineer bringing extensive experience on land use, housing, infrastructure, climate change, and the environment. Prior to his election in 2020, he served on nearly 30 civic boards, planning groups, and commissions. The combination of technical expertise and community engagement makes him an effective leader on policies, legislation, and budgets that meet the needs of his district and all San Diegans.

Come socialize with your fellow Rotarians , their significant others, and guests.

5:30 PM. At 1683 Calle Candela in La Jolla.

Members must respond to the emailed invitation by registering and saving so that your name will be on the attendance list at the gate.  The address will be in the email.

Join  fellow club members and guests at 780 Prospect St. in La Jolla at 5 PM on the 28th.

Adam Gordon is a career prosecutor who became a nationally-recognized expert on prosecutorial strategies to combat the fentanyl epidemic. Gordon joined the office in 2019 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, serving as the district’s Criminal Division Opioid Coordinator and most recently as a cartel prosecutor in the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces Unit. 

Gordon was instrumental in creating the Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team known as “FAST” in San Diego County which is now a national model. Formed in September 2022, FAST is a multi-agency task force led by Homeland Security Investigations that targets significant fentanyl distributors in San Diego County to reduce the overdose death rate. He also has personally achieved justice for the victims of fatal fentanyl poisonings by prosecuting the responsible drug dealers, including one who supplied a deadly dose to a 13-year-old boy in Coronado. Gordon received the 2025 Prosecutor of the Year Award from the California Narcotic Officer’s Association for Region IV.

Adam Gordon's outreach and prevention strategies have included unique ways to grab the attention of young people and warn them about the dangers of fentanyl, such as the production of a public service announcement that was a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Department of Justice and the Name Image Likeness Collective of the San Diego State Men’s Basketball Team in honor of National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day.

Additionally, Gordon extended his influence to law enforcement audiences around the nation by coauthoring an article for the Department of Justice’s Journal of Federal Law and Practice, Confronting the Chaos: Outreach and Prevention Strategies for the Fentanyl Epidemic from the Southern District of California.

Prior to serving as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Gordon was a Deputy District Attorney in San Diego County where he focused mostly on violent crimes. From 2014 to 2018, Mr. Gordon was in private practice in San Diego. Gordon received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University in 2004, and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008. Mr. Gordon is also a Master at the Wallace Inn of Court.

Davis Cracroft leads us again in this annual fun service event.  Shirt, snacks, and coffee provided

To sign up email:  daviscmd2021@gmail.com

Our scholarship recipients from the four La Jolla high schools, and their parents join us for lunch.

The students tell us their their college plans and often their intended (at least now) major.

This is always a fun meeting to get a glimpse of our leaders of the future.  May be held outside on the patio,

The Golden Triangle Rotary Club has invited us to join them for a joint Rotary meeting, from 6:35 AM to 8:30 AM at the UCSD faculty club to hear Chancellor Pradeep Khosla of UC SanDiego, on;

      Leadership, innovation, and the future of higher education

 Consider the scope of what he overseas: a flagship research university of more than 46,000 students, 12 academic and professional schools, eight undergraduate residential colleges, a world class, health system, and the legendary scripts institution of oceanography.  It is by any measure an  extraordinary enterprise – and Chancellor Khosla has not merely managed, but transformed it:

Register with Natascha to reserve a spot cost will be $20 per person UCSD Faculty Club, 3035 Muir Ln, La Jolla, CA 92093.

This will be a good chance to find out what's going on at UCSD and meet some of our fellow La Jolla Rotarians oveer breakfast. 

Kim Heinle is the Executive Director of Bayside Community Center where she works to empower San Diego’s diverse Linda Vista community through education, advocacy, wellness, and community development programs. With more than 20 years of nonprofit and community leadership experience, Kim has become a respected advocate for equitable access to resources, affordable housing, food security, and youth development. She holds a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature and an M.A. in International Relations, and previously worked with the University of San Diego’s Justice in Mexico Project and Trans-Border Institute.

Andy Friedenberg is an author, filmmaker, entertainment industry veteran, and Director of the Cinema Society. With decades of experience in Hollywood, Andy has worked alongside celebrities, filmmakers, studios, and media professionals, building a career at the intersection of film, publicity, and storytelling.

He is the author of Celebrity War Stories: Confessions of a Publicist, a candid and entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the entertainment industry, sharing personal stories, industry insights, and unforgettable experiences from his years working with high-profile personalities and productions.

As Director of the Cinema Society, Andy continues to support film, media, and creative storytelling while engaging audiences through conversations about Hollywood, celebrity culture, and the realities behind the scenes of the entertainment world.

Come and "honor" our President ending his second one year term.

La Valencia Hotel, 5:30 PM to 7ish.   

Coming, July 7^th, 2026, our US Representative in Congress, Scott Peters: on a Federal Update with a focus on Legislation impactful to San Diego.

Congressman Scott Peters serves California’s 50th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Coronado, San Marcos, Escondido and coastal San Diego. First elected in 2012, he currently serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Budget Committee.

Scott Peters is a civic leader who has made improving the quality of life in San Diego his life’s work since serving on the San Diego City Council. As a Member of Congress, Scott focuses on advancing practical and critical climate policies, promoting and expanding San Diego’s innovation ecosystem, advocating for San Diego’s pivotal role as a partner in the national defense, and making government work. Ranked the 4th most independent Democrat in Congress by the National Journal, Scott Peters understands that problems have bipartisan solutions and is never afraid to work across party lines to get things done.

Coming next Tuesday, July 14^th, Laura Mello, Major Gifts, Rotary International, “Make it Simple, Make it Impactful”

Laura Mello is a 3rd generation San Diegan raised in the suburb of Poway.  After graduating business school at the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, Laura started a 14-year career in finance. 

She spent nearly 10 years with a large commercial bank working in private wealth management and financial advising. In 2009 Laura started her own 501c3, Oasis Haven, a US organization with a passion for the orphan crisis in South Africa. Through a Rotary connection she took a job as a financial advisor and planner with a private investment firm.

However, three years later Laura had the opportunity to combine her passion for philanthropy with her knowledge and skill set of financial planning as the Director of Gift Planning for Rady Children’s Hospital.  Laura’s passion is working with individuals and families to think about their charitable planning through a strategic lens, weaving in the values and experiences that make each family unique. 

Laura has been a member of the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club for 14 years holding numerous leadership positions including Club President. In June of 2023 with the guidance of PDG Chuck Pretto, Laura left Rady Children’s and accepted a full-time position with Rotary International as a Regional Major Gift Officer working with Rotarians throughout Southern California, Arizona, and Hawaii.  She currently resides in San Diego with her firefighter husband Rob, and two daughters Grace and Eloise.

Coming July 21, Jamie Self, CEO and News Editor for the nonprofit, inewesource on: “Truth Trust and Impact, The essential role of Local Journalism”

Jamie Self is the CEO and Editor of inewsource, assuming the role in January 2026. Previously she was managing editor. Jamie joined inewsource in 2021 from her home state of South Carolina, where she was a senior editor, leading the politics and state government team at The State, a McClatchy newspaper in Columbia. Before that, she was a reporter on the paper’s investigative projects and statehouse teams. She’s covered three First-in-the-South presidential primaries and state elections and wrote about politics, public corruption, child welfare, education, abortion, gun rights and more. She also covered the massacre of African American churchgoers at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston and the subsequent battle to remove the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. Jamie has a master’s in literature. She’s an alum of the Online News Association’s Women’s Leadership Accelerator and serves on the board of the Society of Professional Journalists San Diego chapter. When not working, Jamie is with family and friends, reading or listening to books and podcasts, trying to practice Spanish or getting some exercise outdoors.

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

You are cordially invited to join us for a special Rotary Summer Social at the home of Barbara Brown on July 28 from 5:30 to 8:00 PM.

Please join us for a relaxed summer evening of fellowship, conversation, and connection with fellow club members. Drinks and light bites will be provided as we gather to enjoy one another’s company outside of our regular meetings.

Monday, July 28
5:30–8:00 PM
Hosted at the Home of Barbara Brown

The address and additional event details will be shared by email, and an official invitation will follow as we get closer to the date.

We hope you will save the date and join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening together.

Warmly,

Rotary Club of La Jolla