Town Council Leadership

Charlie Nieto, President
Charlie was born and raised in Pacific Beach. He is a graduate of Mission Bay High School and is studying at San Diego State University, majoring in business administration marketing. He is a notable artist in the area and small business owner of Atlas Decorum. When he’s not studying or designing, Charlie likes to work on his vintage Buick Apollo. He joined the Council seeking to make a positive change and improve the community where he’s grown up.

View a list of PBTC past presidents.

Liz Garcia, Vice President
Liz was born and raised in Crown Point of Pacific Beach. Liz enjoys living in her hometown of PB with her lovely husband Aaron where they own a business together and are happily raising their three little ones: Zoey, Avery, and Quinn. Liz has served on the PB Town Council board as secretary and looks forward to being even more involved on projects that connect the PBTC with our neighborhood schools and families.

Matthew Glassman, Treasurer
Matt is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and lived around the country for ten years before settling in North Pacific Beach in 2019. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in health administration. He has more than twelve years of experience working in healthcare accounting, finance, and operations. Matt joined the Pacific Beach Town Council to support the great events the council organizes and to be a part of his local community. In his spare time he enjoys anything beach/ocean related, game nights with friends, baking, and exploring Pacific Beach/San Diego.

Jaden Ballardo, Secretary & Chair of Communications
Jaden is a 4th generation resident of Pacific Beach and has lived in the area her whole life. She is currently getting ready to attend Point Loma Nazarene University in 2023, where she will be working hard to obtain her degree in marketing as well as a minor in public administration. Outside of school, she spends her time volunteering and working with the community as the Communications Chair for the Pacific Beach Town Council, where she manages the groups social media presence, as well as making sure the community is informed on local events, issues, or updates. Under her arm of communications, she also revived the newsletter committee, which ensures that PBTC subscribers have all the necessary and proper information for PB.

Megan Brunner
Megan has called Pacific Beach home since 2002. She and her husband, Jay, keep busy with their two young children and are active in the local community, including the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) at her children’s school as the Comms Chair. With an appreciation for design, she loves collecting mid-century pieces and never passes up a chance to stop in at an estate sale.

Denise Willett Friedman
Denise was born in Crown Point. Daughter of a Navy pilot, she traveled from coast to coast growing up, returning to San Diego in 1961. Following 33 years in Los Angeles from 1979 to 2011, Denise returned to Pacific Beach, joined the PB Town Council and has been actively involved in everything-PB since. She indulges in walks on the beach with her goldendoodle Willie, kayaking on Mission Bay, movies, live theater, margaritas, making pizza and BBQing.

Cathie Jolley
Cathie is an educator, advocate and 19-year resident of Pacific Beach. She and her husband live in Crown Point with their son, a sophomore at the University of Oregon. She is a board member and former president of the Pacific Beach Town Council and has been recognized for her community support by many of San Diego’s leaders, including: 2017 “PB Honorary Mayor” and “Cathie Jolley Day” by San Diego City Council Member Lori Zapf. “Citizen of the Year” by the San Diego Lifeguards. 2019 “Woman of Distinction in Assembly District 78” by California Assembly Member Todd Gloria. 2020 “Neighbor of the Year in PB” by San Diego City Council Member Jennifer Campbell. “PB Honorary Mayor” by the Pacific Beach Town Council. Cathie has taught kindergarten with the El Cajon Valley School District for more than 30 years. She received her Master’s in Education from San Diego State University. She brings experience working for nonprofit organizations to each professional endeavor and has chaired numerous events and fundraisers.

Taylor Henschel, Chair of Membership
For over 4 years, Taylor has called Pacific Beach and San Diego his chosen home. Originally from Ohio, he holds a Master’s in User Experience (UX) Design and works in the AI industry as a Principal Designer. Before his jump to the private sector, Taylor spent several years cutting his teeth in government roles, where he first learned to use design thinking to tackle civic challenges. Additionally, Taylor has served on the board of nonprofits including the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and Stonewall Sports. When he’s off the clock, you’ll likely find him surfing at Tourmaline or going for a run around North PB.

Michael Herndon
Michael moved to San Diego from Manhattan Beach 30 years ago to earn a degree in Finance at SDSU and never left.  He and his wife, Kristin, bought a home on Wilbur Avenue in 2010 and promptly joined the PBTC.  They have two boys, Jackson (7) and Matthew (11), that play Mission Bay Youth Baseball and enjoyed many seasons of basketball at the PB Recreation Center. On the professional side, Michael has enjoyed a technology-based career spanning from enterprise software to online gaming.  He currently runs client services for DoubleVerify’s publisher division.  This is a recent development following the successful sale of Ad-Juster to DV.  His entire family loves the PB community.  Joining the PBTC Board would be a great way to contribute to PB’s future.

Karl Rand, Chair of Governance
Karl is a native of Massachusetts. He went to high school in upstate New York and received his BS in labor relations from Cornell. Karl served as an infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army before coming to San Diego in 1987. He received his JD and LLM in taxation from USD School of Law, and he works as an ERISA attorney. Karl and Connie moved to PB in 1995, where they raised three children and many backyard chickens. Karl has also served as chair of the PB Planning Group.

Tony Schlegel
Tony has lived in Crown Point since 2001. He and his wife Mary have been married during that time and have two children, a 6th grader at PB Middle School and a 4th grader at Crown Point Jr. Music Academy. He is pastor at Pacific Life Church and loves to partner with other organizations in PB to serve the community. Tony is a golfer, surfer, local beer enthusiast and flip flop wearer.

Dr. Marcella Bothwell, Immediate Past President
Dr. Bothwell is a retired surgeon who is an angel investor and community activist. She serves as an advisory board member of the Mental Health Society of San Diego County and is a member of the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Board.

Brian White
Brian moved to Pacific Beach in 2006. After starting out as an office volunteer at PB Town Council, Brian joined the board in 2017 and became president in 2019. We are very thankful for his service. He enjoys surfing and spending time with his wife.