SCV Sheriff Board Members Biographies
Ken Wiseman
As CEO and co-owner of AMS Fulfillment, Ken oversees 4-Distribution Centers in the Santa Clarita Commerce Center, with additional facilities in Buena Park and Vancouver. Employing over 130 people, AMS manages inventory and ships products on behalf of more than 40 Wholesale and Retail clients, including Nike’s UMBRO USA brand, Columbia Sportswear (Marketing Materials) and TOM’s Shoes.
Ken started his career with a teaching degree and formalized his education with an MBA from the Univ. of Hartford in 1991. Ken is a 5 year volunteer with the Sheriff’s Dept. SCV Search & Rescue Team actively participating in Search & Rescue missions, chairing the annual fund raising Golf Tournament and managing the team’s community 12-Week, 12-Hike Challenge. He recently received his 1,000 hour Sheriff Dept. volunteer pin, and in 2008 was a “Los Angeles County Volunteer of the Year”. Currently the President of the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation, Ken is actively involved with several other local not-for-profit community organizations. In years past he held world records for both the Double and Triple Ironman triathlon competitions. Ken and his wife, Betty-Lou, have proudly resided in Santa Clarita for the past 12 years.
Neal Thurman
As the Director of Park Operations for Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor, Neal Thurman oversees admissions, guest relations, entertainment, park services, parking, rentals, ride operations, security, water park operations, and a staff over 1,000 team members.
Neal is the Vice President of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Foundation and serves as a volunteer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Additionally he has helped organize fund raising walks for Cure Kids Cancer and the Arthritis Foundation both held at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Neal resides in Santa Clarita and is very pleased to be a part of the Los Angeles community.
Cookie Schwartz Diaz
As the Owner and CEO of Tri-Valley Investigations, a full-service investigation agency headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, Cookie Schwartz Diaz oversees a staff of employees and sub-contractors who conduct a variety of corporate, insurance, background, financial and other types of investigations. Cookie is also a Certified Fraud Specialist.
She has been actively involved with the SCV Sheriff's Foundation since June 2005, where she has served as a Director, Vice President and is currently the Secretary of the Board of Directors.
Cookie has served on several other non-profit Boards and organizations over the years and, along with her husband, Frank, now does volunteer work for the SCV Boys and Girls Club and various other local charities.
She has resided in the Santa Clarita Valley since 1970, where she raised her three sons and is now the proud grandmother of her toddler grandson.
Steven Chegwin
As owner of Steven B. Chegwin, CPA since 2001, Steve provides tax, accounting and consulting services to individuals and small businesses.
He is currently the Treasurer of the SCV Sheriff's Foundation and has been actively involved in upgrading the Foundation's accounting system to accommodate its current growth spurt.
Steve has been a resident of the Santa Clarita Valley since 1968. He enjoys the many activities available throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and is actively involved in many not-profit organizations and events. Steve attended Sierra Vista Jr. High, Canyon High School and graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a major in Business Administration.
It is very important to Steve that he balances the requirements of his practice with the needs of the community.
John Price
John Price is the longest standing Board member, having served as the last President of the Sheriff's Booster Club and the first President of the SCV Sheriff's Foundation. He now serves as a Director on the Board.
John and his wife, Thelma, have resided in Valencia for 41 years where he has served on numerous boards and organizations. They now enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.
Harvey A. Cantor
Harvey a Cantor is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lieutenant, having served the Department for 30 years. He retired from the Santa Clarita Sheriff;s Station in 1994 as the Detective Bureau Commander and has been self-employed as a Private Investigator for many years.
Harvey has been involved with several charitable and professional organizations over the past several decades.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Foundation. He is a former board member of the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation, former board member and past president of the Shomrim Society of Southern California and a former president of a City of Hope chapter in Southern California.
Kimberly A. Altobello
Kimberly A. Altobello, an Executive Officer of Bank of Santa Clarita, was part of the management team credited for the founding and organizing of the Bank of Santa Clarita.
She is the Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer for the bank and Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors.
Ms. Altobello has over 27 years of banking experience having worked at a senior administrative level within both the retail and commercial divisions within the banking industry in Southern California. She started her career at Crocker National Bank in 1979 which subsequently became Wells Fargo Bank and has held positions at Tokai Bank of California, Valencia Bank & Trust and its successor, Union Bank of California. Ms. Altobello played an integral role in the set-up of the bank during its organizational phase and currently oversees day to day operations of the Bank. Additionally, Ms. Altobello is responsible for shareholder relations and communications.Ms. Altobello has resided in the Santa Clarita Valley for the last 20 years. She participated and volunteered in many school/community events while raising her two sons ages 27 and 25. She is a graduate of The Graduate School of Banking-University of Wisconsin and an Alumni of College of the Canyons.
Don Fleming
Don Fleming was born and raised in Texas. He moved to Southern California after he was discharged from the USMC. He and his wife, Cheri, have an entrepreneurial spirit and have owned various businesses; however, the car business "hooked" them in 1985. In 1997, Cheri and Don purchased Valencia Acura. At that time Valencia Acura ranked dead last nationally in sales and customer satisfaction. With no place to go but up, Don and Cheri began treating customers the way they would want to be treated, and became a vital force in the Santa Clarita community. Today Valencia Acura is in the top 25 Acura dealerships in sales and one of the highest ranking customer satisfaction dealerships in the country. Valencia Acura’s sales penetration in their primary market area and customer loyalty ranks among the highest in the nation. Don also serves on Acura’s corporate Triad Committee that helps develop national marketing.
In addition, Don holds or has held the following positions:
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 2009 Volunteer of the Year
Past Director and Past Chair – Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital (HMNMH) Foundation Board (2000-2004)
Advisory Board member – Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital (HMNMH) Foundation Board (2007-present)
President – Santa Clarita Valley Auto Dealers Association (1998-2005 and 2007-present)
Director & Executive Committee member – Santa Clarita Valley Boys and Girls Club Foundation Board (Auction Co-Chair with Cheri 2004-2005)
West Ranch Town Council Member
President – Westridge Homeowners Association
Chairman – Crawford Fleming Breast Cancer Awareness Golf Tournament, 1998- present
Past Director – Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce (VP of Economic Development)
SCV 2004 Man of the Year
2002 Olympic Torch Bearer – nominated by Chevrolet for community service
Past President SCV Lincoln Club (2003-2005)
Member of the Santa Clarita Valley Emergency Winter Task Force
Director Child & Family Center Board (2009-present)
Director – Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Foundation (2010-present)
Founding Board Member – SCV Economic Development Corporation (2010-present)
Moe Hafizi
Moe Hafizi has lived in the Santa Clarita Valley since 1984. He has been married to Linda for 34 years and has a 22 year old son named Alex. The Hafizi family work together in their publishing company where they publish two local magazines. The Magazine of Santa Clarita celebrated 20 years in 2010 and élite Magazine is now 8 years old.
He attended Manchester Polytechnic in England and completed a BSc Degree in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing. Prior to his move to the United States in 1984, he worked with major organizations throughout the UK and published magazines and newspapers on their behalf.
Over the past 20 years Moe has been involved with many non-profit organizations both on a personal and business level. As co-publisher of The Magazine of Santa Clarita and élite, he has supported many SCV charitable organizations with donations to help promote their events. Moe and his wife Linda have personally financially supported Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, The Child and Family Center, The SCV Senior Center and the SCV Youth Project, they have also donated auction items for events. Through the magazines, other non-profits he has been able to support are the American Cancer Society, Boys & Girls Club, Single Mothers Outreach, Domestic Violence, Assistance League, Circle of Hope, Zonta, Soroptimist Greater SCV, Michael Hoefflin and many more.
Jill Mellady
Jill Mellady is President of Mellady Direct Marketing and a 1991 graduate of College of the Canyons. She returned to college as an adult, taking a class or two at a time in the evenings while working full-time.
Together, Jill and Jim started Mellady Direct Marketing in 1985. It quickly grew from a part-time operation housed in their garage to a successful, thriving enterprise that was named the 2004 Rising Star Business of the Year by the Valley Industrial Association. As President, Jill is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s marketing and advertising strategies.
She shares her success by serving as the Chair of the College of the Canyons Foundation Board, and sitting on the Child & Family Center Board and the National Association of Women Business Owners and an advisory board member of the newly formed SCV Economic Development Corporation. Her goal is to help each organization share its message, reach the community and grow in its ability to serve the community.
Jill was recently honored by Single Mother’s Outreach Empowering the Arts for inspiring and empowering women as well as volunteer of the year for the Michael Hoefflin Foundation. She loves to make a difference in the organization she serves and is grateful to help the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation raise money for the Sheriff’s Department.
Jill and Jim have been married for 22 years and they have two children, Stephanie, 21, and Brendan, 17.
Steve Sturgeon
As President of AVM Technologies, Inc, Steve Sturgeon has provided computer technologies, software and support to the real estate and financial industries for over 30 years. Steve is also co-owner of Confidential Data Destruction Company providing Identity and Information protection and training in Document retention, storage, scanning and destruction compliance to companies throughout Southern California.
Steve is currently serving his 12th year on the William S. Hart Union High School District school board having served previously for the Sulphur Springs Elementary School District. Steve has served on other non-profit boards including the Child & Family Center Foundation, and along with his wife, Julie, supported numerous charitable organizations in the Santa Clarita Valley.
He has been a resident of Santa Clarita since 1980 having have raised two children here.
Jim Biscailuz
As founder and Chairman of the Board for Global Protective Services, Inc. (GPS), Jim oversees operations stretching from Valencia, CA to Honolulu, HI. Employing over 100 employees, GPS provides specialized security services ranging from security patrols to executive protection and corporate security/safety training throughout the world. Jim is also Special Agent Supervisor for the Department of Justice, currently in charge of the Los Angeles Major Crimes Team. With over 19 years of law enforcement experience, Jim brings real world experience to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Foundation. In 2007, Jim was awarded the Attorney General’s Medal for Meritorious Service after his efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the City of New Orleans. In 2003, Jim was awarded the Attorney General’s Peace Officer of the Year Award for his dedication and efforts specific to interstate and international criminal investigations.He has also received the following significant government awards during his career: California State Assembly Resolution; California State Senate Resolution; City of Los Angeles Citation & Commendation; Mexico Federal Attorney General Commendation; State of Baja California, Mexico Attorney General’s Commendation; Croatia Federal Attorney General’s Citation & Commendation; & United States Department of Justice Commendation. Jim attended California Lutheran University where he earned an MPA degree. He has been a resident of the Santa Clarita Valley since 1998 and lives in Valencia with his wife and two children. Jim currently serves as a Director on the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Foundation. .
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