David Bame, Chair

District 1

Non-Partisan

David Bame is a retired U.S. diplomat (Foreign Service Officer), with 29 years of experience working in more than 70 other countries as well as in Washington. Mr. Bame’s political-military focus throughout his career has included work on key U.S. national security policies around the word, especially the Middle East and Europe. His last assignment was in San Diego, where he advised Navy SEALs about national strategy and foreign policy issues. Mr. Bame has lectured on U.S. government and civics in Bosnia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and numerous U.S. and other universities. He holds a B.A. and M.A.T. from the University of Virginia, and a Masters in Military Studies from the USMC Command Staff College in Quantico, Virginia. Mr. Bame and his wife enjoy volunteering with local schools and youth sports, as well as regularly securing cease-fires and hosting negotiations among their three children.

Amy Caterina, Co Vice-Chair

District 3

Democratic Party 

Amy Caterina is an investor relations and corporate communications consultant in the biotechnology industry, providing investor relations, public relations, marketing communications and corporate communications consulting services. Previously, Caterina served as head of Investor Relations for Genetronics Biomedical and Dura Pharmaceuticals. She also worked in the financial services industry at State Street Bank & Trust and the Capital Group. Caterina is currently a board member for the Lymphedema Advocacy Group, a non-profit organization focused on advancing lymphedema care in the United States. As a co-founder of San Diego Schools, an education advocacy group, she counsels parents and students to help them better understand how their school district operates and how their participation can improve education in San Diego County. Caterina currently serves on the Canyon Crest Academy High School Site Council. Also, she volunteers as a merit badge counselor for the San Diego-Imperial Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Caterina is a graduate of Simmons College with a BA in International Business. 

Carmen-Rosette Garcia (Rosette), Co Vice-Chair

District 5

Non-Partisan  

Rosette is a 30-year resident of North County, where she and her husband raised their two children. An active and engaged community volunteer, she ran for and was elected to the Cardiff School Board. She currently is a Director on the Boards of the League of Women Voters of North County San Diego, the San Diego Women’s Foundation, and Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest (PPPSW), which serves San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial County. She is the previous Chair of the Board of the PPPSW Action Fund, a 501(c)4 organization. She earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Texas and began her career doing administrative work in cancer research. She later completed graduate studies and taught in the English Department at the University of San Diego.

She is an avid hiker, tennis player, reader, gardener, and solver of NY Times crossword puzzles.

Colleen Stephanie Brown, Commissioner

District 5

Republican Party                                                             

Commissioner Brown is elated to be able to participate in the first San Diego County 2020 Independent Redistricting Commission. 

As the daughter of a lifelong Navy veteran, Commissioner Brown was born into public service. She was active in her student government throughout her years of schooling.  Earning a degree in accounting she took employment with the State of CA as an auditor where she served for 26 years. She retired to spend more time with her son during his high school years. Commissioner Brown went back to work as the Controller for a family manufacturing business she finished her career as an auditor for DCAA in the Federal government.

Her life and work experience honed her skills with computers, data analytics, and government procedures. Commissioner Brown served six years on the State of CA Board of Equalization’s Women’s Advisory Committee developing her awareness of diversity in the workforce and society as a whole. 

Commissioner Brown and her husband have lived in Valley Center for 35 years.  They have one son and enjoy travelling and camping.  

Commissioner Brown is committed to working hard to include every voice in San Diego county when performing her position on the 2020 Independent Redistricting Commission.

Chris Chen, Commissioner

District 5

Republican Party

Chris Chen runs a consulting business with clients who are innovators in the energy space such as GridX and Hygge Energy. In his most recent corporate role he was the Strategy Development Manager for San Diego Gas & Electric, focusing on business model innovation and advanced technology. He holds two patents related to electric vehicles.

He has a BA and MBA from the University of California, Irvine. Chris has been an adjunct professor at California State University, Long Beach, as well as a line manager in the information technology, finance and human resources functions. He has published four books and articles on a variety of topics and serves on the technical advisory boards for Orison, Hygge Power (unrelated to Hygge Energy), and GridX.

Chris enjoys friendship, fellowship, family, faith and fitness.     

Sonia Diaz, Commissioner

District 4

Democratic Party          

Sonia Diaz (She/Her/Hers) is a Public Policy Manager for Outdoor Outreach, a nonprofit that connects youth from underrepresented communities to recreational opportunities in the outdoors. Sonia grew up most of her life in southeastern San Diego, where she attended Bell Middle School and Morse High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago and has over a decade of experience in various roles working for both international and local nonprofits in the areas of fundraising and grant writing, policy advocacy, nonprofit development, volunteer recruitment, and project management. In 2006-2007, she served as a California Senate Fellow and Legislative Aide to State Senator Sheila J. Kuehl where she staffed and analyzed bills covering environmental issues and health policy. She continued her service to her community as president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Council, and in 2016, received the women’s leadership award in community activism by Assembly Member Shirley Weber. She enjoys traveling and the outdoors and is an avid ultrarunner and hiker. On her free time, you will most likely find her exploring one of many beautiful backcountry trails of San Diego County. Some of her favorites include El Cajon Mountain, Iron Mountain, and Carizzo Badlands of Anza-Borrego.

Elidia C. Dostal, Commissioner

District 1

Democratic Party 

Elidia C. Dostal is a business attorney who has served the San Diego community since her graduation from Yale Law School in 2002. She began her career at the international law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, then maintained a solo practice for eight years before joining Vanst Law LLP in 2018. She also served as in-house counsel (secondment) at the San Diego Padres in the summer of 2016, when San Diego hosted the MLB All-Star Game. Elidia enjoys literature, yoga, writing letters to her friends and family around the globe, and strolling along the sand of San Diego's beautiful beaches.  

Barbara Thompson Hansen, Commissioner

District 4

Republican Party  

Barbara Thompson Hansen, originally from Westwood and Pasadena in Los Angeles County, is a retired educator and non-profit manager working with at-risk populations in San Diego County.  A graduate of Northwestern University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, she later earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Washington in Integrated Curriculum and Resource Development.  She has spent her long and varied career working to create educational programs that provide greater opportunity for success to often overlooked children and adults.  Since relocating to San Diego nearly 25 years ago, she has worked as a teacher, grant writer, contract manager and volunteer leader and has made it her business to learn as much as she could about her community - working, listening, participating, encouraging, supporting and demonstrating passion for learning in all that she does. She is an avid genealogist, loves to play bridge, has a beautiful garden, and does the crossword puzzle every day.   

Kenneth Inman, Commissioner

District 2

Democratic Party 

Ken is a retired senior executive whose extensive knowledge and expertise in cartography and spatial analytics dovetails well with the IRC’s task of redrawing San Diego County’s supervisorial districts.  During his career, he led marketing analytics consulting and data science research and development teams at Neustar and Claritas. He was also an Assistant Professor of Economics at Claremont McKenna College and has a PhD in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Washington.  His expertise includes big data analytics, predictive modeling, digital marketing analytics, geographic information systems, marketing effectiveness measurement, and spatial analytics. He enjoys traveling with his wife, mountain biking, hiking, cooking, and gardening.

Kristina Kruglyak, Commissioner

District 3

Non-Partisan 

Bioinformatics Scientist; Head of Informatics at PetDx following 10 years at Illumina focusing on Informatics and Diagnostics; Received a B.S. in Mathematics from the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia; Enjoys sports, especially soccer, tennis, and swimming. 

Arv Larson, Commissioner

District 4

Democratic Party

With a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has served in technical and management positions within several leading R&D professional services and consulting firms. Arv has also participated in the formation of two high-technology small businesses and has led a R&D consulting practice. He has served as technical consultant to the Defense Department's Office of Innovative Science and Technology and the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy. Arv is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of California. He also served as a Research Professor at George Mason University, as IEEE Vice President for United States Activities. and chaired several IEEE U.S. Technology Policy Conferences. Arv is past Commodore of the Shady Oaks Yacht Club and past President of the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation. As a second career, holding a Master's License from the U.S. Coast Guard as a professional yacht Captain, Arv currently provides yacht deliveries and other professional captain services to maritime clients. His personal interests include exploring, recreational boating, and special-interest automobiles.  

Fernandez (Frank) Ponds, Commissioner

District 1

Democratic Party  

Fernandez "Frank" Ponds, RDML, USN, Ret. - Principal and Owner of FPONDS LLC Independent Consultant provides consulting services in defense and national security, strategic planning, maritime safety, and security and disaster preparedness and response. Admiral Ponds served 33-years in the U.S. Navy developing people, creating high-performing organizations, and driving transformation through continuous process improvement within complex global security environments. Frank is The Director of Strategic Planning for The Stevenson International Consulting Firm. He holds a B.A. from The University of Alabama; M.S. National Security Strategy, National Defense University; M.S. Military Studies, Marine Corps Command and Staff College and M.S. Information Systems Technology, The George Washington University. He is a graduate of the Darden Corporate Business School and The National Association of Corporate Directors for Executive Leaders. Actively involved in the local San Diego Community, he is a member of Mission: Readiness– Council For A Strong America, The National Naval Officers Association and supports the San Diego County Jackie Robinson Family YMCA Foundation. He and wife, Carol, are recent grandparents. Frank likes spending time with family and friends, traveling, and chasing golf balls out of the “rough” on a bright sunny day.  

Ramesses Surban, Commissioner

District 3

Non-Partisan  

Ramesses strengthens our community as an attorney with San Diego’s largest non-profit legal services provider, where he practices housing and civil rights law. He began his legal career by founding a solo civil litigation practice before joining a national law firm’s Environmental/Toxic Tort practice group.

Drawing on his nearly decade-long experience as a former urban planner, Commissioner Surban previously served several terms as a member of the Rancho Peñasquitos Planning Board and Rancho Peñasquitos Town Council. In 2016, he monitored the County of San Diego’s 2016 Presidential election to ensure compliance with portions of the Voting Rights Act; his subsequent published report, including the County’s response, can be found here.

A first-generation immigrant and a proud San Diegan, Ramesses (sounds like “premises”) graduated from Mt. Carmel, Miramar College, UC San Diego, and California Western School of Law.  

John (Jack) Russ, Former Commissioner

District 2

Republican Party 

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Jack Russ served over 20 years on both active and reserve duty in aviation, engineering and executive officer billets. After leaving active duty, he worked in the electric power industry -- both public and private sectors -- providing technical expertise and economic rationale regarding energy resources. As a Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer, he also provided expert witness testimony in regulatory, civil and criminal proceedings. Concurrently, Jack was adjunct professor of economics at San Diego State University for over 30 years. His advanced degrees were in economics, finance and public policy.

Jack lived in Poway and provided pro bono the City with opinions and analysis on various energy options.  He was a voluntary board member of a State chartered credit union for over 30 years and also served on two Congressional advisory committees regarding Service Academy nominations.

Jack enjoyed sailing and working around the home he shares with his wife of 50 years. But his most favorite time was with his family -- especially, his six grandchildren.

Jack passed away on May 24, 2024. Jack's legacy is one of service and dedication. He will be remembered not only for his professional accomplishments to the IRC, but also for his unwavering commitment to his family and community. His influence will continue to resonate through the lives he touched, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.