Board of Directors

Lauraine Esparza
Board Chair
Retired City Manager, Del Mar

Lauraine retired in 2007 after a 35 year career in local government management and policy analysis. After graduating with a B.A. degree in History and Political Science from Rosemont College and five years later with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington, she pursued increasingly responsible positions in Seattle City government, County administration and eventually made her way to California where she was the Assistant City Manager for the City of Ventura and City Manager of the City of Del Mar. Her last position brought her to the San Diego area where she happily resides with her husband of 25 years.

Though retired, she keeps her fingers on the pulse of government service by training young local government administrators in supervision and management. She also wanted meaningful volunteer work in retirement and was drawn to Leap to Success not only because of its mission but also because as a new non-profit in San Diego County, she felt her skills could be put to good use. After volunteering to assist in the process of the incorporation Leap to Success as a bona fide 501©3 organization and helping to draft a set of By Laws and policies to govern the new non-profit, Lauraine joined the Board and became its first Chair in 2013.

Lauraine enjoys the challenge of changing women’s lives through her contributions to Leap to Success. She also enjoys traveling, learning new languages, reading and entertaining friends and family.

 

Wendy Hope
Secretary
Community Volunteer
Workforce and Economic Development Professional

Wendy’s favorite quote is “they can because they think they can” (Virgil). The recently retired Director of Community and Economic Development in City Heights has a passion for ensuring that under and unemployed individuals with multiple barriers to employment have the opportunity to achieve self- sufficiency. After several decades of designing, implementing and managing employment placement programs in the public and non- profit sectors she believes the “toolbox of skills” Leap to Success teaches women is missing from existing programs.

As the co-founder of The Hamburger Tree, a two time San Diego Magazines best of the best award winner, Wendy brings an entrepreneur’s perspective to her non- profit involvement. Having hired, trained and mentored hundreds of employees over a 23 yr. period, she strongly believes that anyone who wants to work should have that opportunity but may need “a hand up” along the way.

 

Tonda Hall
Treasurer
Area Vice President, Mason McDuffie Mortgage Corp.

Tonda brings 36 years of Mortgage Industry success and knowledge to her role with Mason McDuffie. She is a former President of California Association of Mortgage Professionals, a professional trade organization consisting of licensed mortgage brokers, salespersons, and affiliated lenders. She has successfully grown top producing teams in Phoenix and San Diego. Her Servant Leadership style helps others reach their goals and brings clarity to utilize the gifts they already possess to achieve them. Tonda also co-hosted the Positively Charged Biz podcast whose goal was to motivate, inspire and help their listeners write their life story.

When Tonda learned that Leap to Success helps empower women coming out from situations where they feel powerless and defeated, she knew she wanted to be involved. She has volunteered for numerous organizations and is thrilled to empower women by serving on the Leap to Success Board. “I want to give women the gift of knowing their value and to seeing how incredibly wonderful they are so they can go out into the world empowered, brave and confident.”

 

Jennifer Barber-Frazier
Member Services Specialist,
Frontwave Credit Union
Community Volunteer

Jennifer is an amazing mom, a spouse, customer relations professional and Toastmaster. Her greatest achievement in life is being “Mom/Mommy” of two amazing women. Time and maturity of a 31 year marriage has shaped her attitude of adjusting to life’s challenges. Her motto is, “remember every day is a blessing and be a blessing to someone else.” Having clear expectations of herself has been the guiding factor in supporting her family. She is a firm believer in the African proverb, it takes a village a raise a child. She also believes it takes everyone in the village, supporting each other, to help the village thrive.

Having over 40 years of Customer Relations experience has empowered Jennifer to communicate in an analytical, supportive, direct manner to effectively support others with navigating life’s financial transitions. Toastmasters International has profoundly elevated her appreciation for the Stephen Covey quote “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” Jennifer’s goal as an ambassador for Leap to Success is to uplift women and to be an advocate for them and their village.

 

Amy Czajkowski
Regional PM/CM Manager for the Southwest
Ardurra

Amy Czajkowski has over 30 years of experience in organizing and mentoring engineering professionals as she was a founding partner at Infrastructure Engineering Corporation (IEC) (which is now Ardurra). She is a certified instructor for the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) which allows her to mentor college-age women to teach them the profession and encourage them to become active in the community.

Amy is active in both professional and philanthropic organizations. She served as the San Diego President of the ASCE Pipeline Group for over 5 years and currently serves on the CMAA Board. She was a Board member of the Mission Endowment Fund through Calvary Lutheran Church. She has been active in supporting Leap to Success by hosting several Circle of Hope events with her daughter and was so moved by all of the women who have transformed their lives that she hopes to reach out to more community members and introduce them to this wonderful organization.  Her specialty is organizing large fundraising events such as Water Night to merge professional and community members.

Amy lives in Vista with her husband of 25 years, Peter, and her two daughters, Anna and Margaret and their rescue dog, Phil.

 

Jeri Dau-Yacovelle
Community Volunteer

Jeri Dau-Yacovelle is a Southern California native who started her career in advertising and then moved into the commercial real estate industry. While married with two kids, Jeri got involved in non-profit work. For more than two-and-a-half decades, she served on various committees and boards with organizations, including the San Diego Bar Association Auxiliary, the Pi Beta Phi literacy program, Neighbor Help, and National Charity League. When her marriage ended unexpectedly, Jeri was left wondering, “Who am I now without the carefully-crafted life I had developed?” Having always been in a supporting role, she realized it was time to take the lead, assuming responsibility for her one and only life, and so began a journey of self-discovery and self-confidence.

Today Jeri is a high-energy, authentic leader and avid philanthropist. While a member of the Rancho Santa Fe Women’s Fund, she came across Leap to Success. The mission aligned and resonated with her own heart and values. Like Leap, Jeri believes in empowering and partnering with women, helping them to realize their highest potential—personally and professionally. She is grateful to be serving among equally dedicated individuals whose mission it is to ensure that every woman feels confident and empowered to be the leading lady of her own unique life.

 

Laura Froelich
Retired Media Maven | Investor | Philanthropist

Laura was a successful media executive before her retirement in 2021. Most recently, she led Content Partnerships at Twitter, where she was instrumental in bringing exceptional content from sports, news, and entertainment publishers to the platform. Her strategic initiatives not only drove revenue for these partners but also significantly enhanced the user experience on Twitter. Before joining Twitter in February 2014, she spent five years at CBS devising product marketing and monetization strategies for premium sports content, including NCAA March Madness, NFL and college football, The Masters, PGA Tour golf, and more. Her innovative approaches led to multiple years of record-setting revenues for the properties. Before CBS, Laura held sales and marketing roles at notable publishers such as CNET, Ziff-Davis, and Condé Nast. Laura graduated from Brown University with a BA in International Relations.

Upon her arrival in San Diego, Laura sought opportunities to use her business acumen to help organizations in need. Through her membership in the Rancho Santa Fe Women’s Fund, she was introduced to Leap to Success and instantly felt a powerful connection to Leap’s mission. Laura is excited to serve on the board to help propel our future growth, empowering even more women in our community and beyond!

 

Marti Hess
Past Chair
President, Envision Consulting

Marti has over 20 years experience working with nonprofit organizations, primarily in the human services sector. Her skills range from program design to executive leadership. In a recent position as Interim Executive Director, Marti supported the organization’s transition and growth by visioning the big picture, sharing ideas, and being instrumental in the genesis of new initiatives. Her leadership style is facilitative, working with others to develop strategic direction, implementing objectives, and achieving desired outcomes. Marti currently serves as a consultant to several nonprofit organizations in San Diego, and is working with a team on a collaborative breast cancer prevention project.

Marti’s commitment serving on the Leap to Success board meets her personal mission of being connected to others who share a common vision in a place where each is held in high regard, accepted and honored for who they are. She is truly inspired by a woman who pulls herself out of adversity, discovers her own innate strengths, and becomes a leader in her own life. This is what Leap to Success is all about!

 

Carmen Kasner, PE
SW Operations Manager, Ardurra

Carmen Kasner, PE is the SW Operations Manager for Ardurra. She has over 30 years’ experience as a professional civil engineer designing and managing public works projects throughout the Southwest for local agencies. She works with a team of over 230 staff to deliver important infrastructure projects for public agencies. She takes this role seriously, as civil engineers have a huge impact on our community’s quality of life. She also strongly encourages her staff to be involved with community events.

Carmen has been involved with giving back to her communities since she was young. Her parents encouraged and modeled it through their work with many different organizations in rural South Dakota. Carmen has been involved and on boards with professional organizations and organizations supporting her children’s activities including theater, band and scouts. She is an avid crafter and creative designer. She and her husband Kevin live in San Diego and have two young adult children. She has supported Leap to Success for 10 years, as she was so moved when she met one of the early graduates at a Circle of Hope. She is thrilled to be on the Board of Directors now and help it grow.

 

Bethany (Beth) Mahn
Director, Human Resources/Global Business Partner
Dexcom

Beth is a Human Resources leader with over 25 years of experience in some of San Diego’s largest global companies. Her prior organizations include med-tech, high-tech, and manufacturing industries, with recent roles at ResMed and Qualcomm. She especially loves working in the mission-driven, medical technology space. Beth partners with organizational leaders to enable business growth through strategic consultation, executive coaching, talent development, workforce planning, organizational design, and change leadership.

She is also passionate about helping women. Raised by a single mother who overcame challenges to build a career, Beth observed the power of hard work and education. While at UCSD, Beth took the opportunity to study a year abroad in Toulouse, France. She discovered her passion for travel, cultures, and languages, recognizing the importance of confidence as she often explored as a solo female. Beth applies these values to help others in her career, the community, and as a mother of daughters. Through her Leap to Success board service, Beth is excited to empower more women to succeed.