The Imagine Greater Tucson Board of Directors
Petra Boehm is a journalist and producer with an extensive career in the US and Germany. Petra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, where she also studied theater. She began her career working for the Wuppertaler Theater. She promoted performances of the drama and opera department as well as the famous Tanztheater Pina Bausch. In 2003, Petra moved to Tucson with her husband George Hanson, James and her twin sons, Max and Victor. When she is not busy working for German television, she volunteers her time in support of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, BASIS Tucson schools and other important Tucson organizations.
Cherie Campbell is Director of Planning for the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) where she oversees diverse regional programs related to the environment, transportation, social services, rideshare and data development. She previously served as PAG’s Transportation Planning Director and was actively engaged in development of the $2.1 billion voter-approved Regional Transportation Authority for Pima County. Prior to joining PAG, Cherie was Vice-President of Planning and Development for Schomac Corporation where she managed all aspects of development for numerous office, commercial, self storage and residential projects in 13 states. Cherie pursued graduate studies in urban planning at the University of Arizona and attended both Mills College in Oakland, California, and Stanford University in Germany.
Arlan M. Colton, FAICP, is the planning director for Pima County. With over 30 years of experience in the planning profession in Arizona, he has also worked for the Arizona State Land Department, Tucson Airport Authority, as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Arizona, and in private practice. A Tucsonan since 1973, he has a passion for the community and Southern Arizona, its history and its future. Arlan co-chaired the Governor’s Growing Smarter Oversight Council under governors of two parties, and been a member of both the Arizona State Parks Board and former Governor Napolitano’s Growth Cabinet. He also previously served as president of the Arizona Planning Association, an elected board member of the American Planning Association and member of the City of Tucson Planning Commission. He presently serves on the board or equivalent body of Arizona Town Hall, Friends of Planning, Urban Land Institute (Southern Arizona) and the Dean’s advisory committee for the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration and graduate degree in urban planning from the University of Arizona. Bear Down!
Ben Korn grew up in Tucson and went to Sabino High School before leaving for NAU to get a marketing degree. He moved back in 2005 to purchase his family’s promotional products and printing business of almost 30 years, Safeguard Tucson. Active in the community ever since, he wants to be a part of the solution. As the 2010-2011 President of Tucson Young Professionals (TYP), helping Tucson and its reemerging downtown reach its potential defines this group’s mission. Other community activities outside of the IGT Board include: Marketing Chair, fundraising, and Board Member of TYP, Greater Tucson Leadership Class of 2012 & Board of Directors, Tucson Charter Change Coalition, and Downtown Tucson Partnership.
David Neri is a 32-year veteran of the Tucson Police Department (TPD), where he served as a command officer for 23 years of his career, retiring in May of 2011. He and his family moved to Tucson in 1976 to enjoy the quality of life we all share. He volunteers as the Vice-Chairman to the Board of Directors for COPE Community Services and as a Board Member and Human Resource Committee Chair to Imagine Greater Tucson. David is co-owner of a community development firm in Tucson serving to expand the quality of life within the Tucson community and his personal breath of experience creating successful and sustainable relationships between the public, non-profit and private sectors.
Iris Patten has a PhD and Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida. In 2004 she received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. Currently, Iris is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona in the School of Landscape Architecture & Planning. Her research focuses on growth management issues in which she employs the Land Use Conflict Identification Strategy (LUCIS) to answer questions related to the identification of conflict to determine future land use allocation. Additional areas of focus include topics related to establishing innovative networks in cities and regions to further growth management goals and increase economic development potential. Previous international research projects include developing a water capture and filtration system for a small village in the West African country of Burkina Faso, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and developing a feasibility study for a new housing development in rural South Africa.
Dina Scalone-Romero is the manager of community relations for Cox Communications in Southern Arizona. In this role, she manages the community outreach and foundation support from Cox on behalf of its 400 employees and nearly 400,000 customers in Southern Arizona. Scalone-Romero was the executive director of PRO Neighborhoods in Southern Arizona and also managed community programs for Safe Horizon in New York, NY, the nation’s largest victim assistance agency. Scalone-Romero sits on the board of directors of the Arizona Theater Company, Imagine Greater Tucson, greater Tucson Leadership and Tucson Values Teachers. She is a member of the United Way’s “Women Leading United Group” and an associate board member of the Boys and Girls Club. Dina is the 2009 recipient of Greater Tucson Leadership’s Ronald L Kurth Award. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona and holds a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Business Administration. Dina lives in Tucson with her husband and two children.
Enrique Serna is the City Manager for the City of South Tucson and served as Pima County’s Deputy County Administrator for Health Services for 32 years. During an interim period away from government service, Enrique worked as Vice-President of Collins-Pina and Tetra Tech Engineering companies for three years. Prior to government service, he worked as: Humble Oil & Refining company Oilfield Roughneck/Roustabout, and Oilfield Tugboat/Barge Captain in the Gulf of Mexico in Corpus Christi, Texas. Following this experience, and prior to government service, Enrique was a Political Science Student, Teaching Associate, and Instructor at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and the University of Arizona. Enrique has served as a board member for various Tucson organizations such as Regional Behavioral Health Authority of Southern Arizona (Community Partnership of Southern Arizona), El Rio Community Health Center, University Physicians Hospital at Kino Advisory Board and YMCA Metropolitan.
Robin Shambach is a principal of Burns Wald-Hopkins Shambach Architects. She has over 23 years of professional practice in educational, municipal and recreational projects with an emphasis in regional and sustainable design. She is the past president of the American Institute of Architects – Southern Arizona Chapter and also serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Pima Alliance and Community Home Repair of Arizona. She has also served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Arizona College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
Keri Silvyn is the Chair of the Board of Imagine Greater Tucson. She has been living in Tucson since 1989, when she arrived as a student at the University of Arizona. Keri has been active in the Tucson region since her arrival, volunteering at Ronald McDonald House and participating in other community and civic activities while obtaining her BA and her JD degrees from the U of A. Keri and her husband, Jeff Silvyn, purposefully chose Tucson to make their home and raise their 3 children. Keri and Jeff remain active in the community. Keri has volunteered her time at the University of Arizona on various boards and committees, is on the board of the Tucson Medical Center Foundation, Law College Association, and the Jewish Community Foundation to name a few. She was also recently selected to be on the board of the state-wide O’Connor House Project. Keri is a land-use lawyer and partner at Lewis and Roca in the Tucson office.
Lucinda Smedley is Publisher of TREND report and Principal of Real Estate Consulting Group, a strategic planning, development and strategic marketing company. In addition to serving on the board of Imagine Greater Tucson, she is a board member with Urban Land Institute, Metropolitan Pima Alliance, Pima County Real Estate Research Council, and Tucson Airport Authority. She is passionate about creating a vibrant, livable downtown for current and future generations.
John Shepard John Shepard is a Senior Adviser at the Sonoran Institute, responsible for ensuring that the mission and vision of the organization are realized through long-range strategic planning and effective program development, implementation, and evaluation. John is currently leading the Institute’s efforts to appropriately site utility-scale solar projects in Arizona and more effectively integrate local land-use policies and water management in the Colorado River basin. In prior years, he launched the Institute’s training programs on community land-use planning for rural western county commissioners and partnership building for public land managers and gateway communities. He also established Building from the Best of Tucson, a project that promotes development consistent with Tucson’s building traditions and appropriate for a desert community. Before joining the Institute, John worked for seven years in resource development at The Wilderness Society and for five years conducting a series of investigative reports on federal health and safety programs for a consumer advocacy organization.
Beth Walkup, a grandmother of eight, grew up on a farm in central Nebraska, going to a one-room country school with no running water. After college, she taught high school and worked as a social worker in a children’s orphanage. Although she has owned one of the first preschools in the Kansas City area, she also owned a turf farm (growing grass for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals) and a business management firm.
Deciding that she could make a bigger impact working in the nonprofit field she earned her 45 years of experience working in arenas as diverse as space science, third world development, music, urban land use, food distribution and children’s museums. Most of her life has been as a change agent, making non-profits more efficient and effective in achieving their missions.
Beth has had a special interest in serving each community that she has lived in by actively participating on Boards of nonprofits serving those in need. Because in her family Beth has experienced individuals with addictions, mental illness and learning difficulties, she has focused heavily on serving in these areas, being one of the founders of Meth Free Alliance in Tucson which has significantly improved the lives of those with such addictive behaviors.
With the terrible tragedy of January 8th shootings in Tucson, Beth and her husband, Mayor Bob Walkup, have stepped up their involvement in the fields of civility and mental illness on a national level, reaching out to mayors across the country to encourage civility and to ensure that those in our communities with mental or addictive problems are getting help early to prevent further tragedies.
Kathy Ward is currently Manager, Economic Development and Communications, for the Town of Sahuarita. Prior to working for the Town, Kathy was Vice President of Corporate Services for the Greater Tucson Economic Council for two years. Her career has previously focused on international trade and tourism. Ward was President/CEO of the San Diego World Trade Center, Regional VP the Americas for the New Zealand Tourism Board based in Los Angeles, and Vice President of Marketing the Americas for Air New Zealand, also based in Los Angeles. Affiliations: Member of Carondelet Health Network Strategic Planning Committee, International Conference of Shopping Centers, Pima County Real Estate Research Council, Arizona Association of Economic Developers, International Economic Development Council, Metropolitan Pima Alliance, Executive Connection, and the Urban Land Institute.