Home Hosts Needed!

NEEDED: Home Hosts

▪ Iraqi Youth Delegation, August 1-13

Ukraine Tourism Delegation, September 2 – 23

Join us on the forefront of global diplomacy, but at the local level!

Here is an opportunity to provide the ‘American experience’ for our visitors by hosting them in your homes.

Click here to find out more about home hospitality.

If you are interested in hosting, please email Cath@cdcsd.org.

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Board of Directors

Terry Williams, Board President

Terry Williams has been involved with the media and media organizations literally all her working life.  After working in magazine publishing in Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Diego for many years, she became a partner in a full service advertising and public relations company in San Diego which later became a film and video production company.  Over the course of twenty years, she wrote and produced hundreds of documentary films, television programming, commercials, public service announcements and corporate communications.   She is past President and former National Trustee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and currently is the Executive Director of the San Diego Press Club.

Billy Colestock
Billy Colestock, Vice President


Billy Colestock is a residential real estate agent for Century 21 Award in San Diego. He is a graduate of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina with a BA degree in Political Science and History. In Washington DC he worked for Delphi International, the mother organization to State Department field offices, such as the Citizen Diplomacy Council San Diego. At CDCSD, Billy worked as the Program Director, educating the San Diego and world community by scheduling over 500 visitors each year. Billy is also a member of UNASD and an original catalyst for YPIC, Young Professionals for International Cooperation. Billy currently serves on the boards of the United Nation Association and Citizen Diplomacy Council San Diego.

Kit Ladwig, Vice President

A long-time member of the Citizens Diplomacy Council and its predecessor, the International Visitors Council, Kit Ladwig currently is a member of the CDCSD advisory board. In the past, she served on the IVC board of directors and helped produce its newsletter. Over the years she and her family have enjoyed entertaining international visitors and for the first time last fall, welcomed a member of a search-and-rescue team from St. Petersburg, Russia for a home stay. Professionally, Kit has been a freelance writer and an editor of two magazines: Ranch & Coast, a San Diego lifestyle magazine, and Collections & Credit Risk, a national trade publication. Prior to that, she was an editor for an educational publishing company based in Chicago. Her interest in international relations was sparked by a year spent studying in France on a Fulbright scholarship. She holds a BA and MA in French language and literature and, as a returning adult, studied journalism at San Diego State University.


Barbara Metz, Secretary

Barbara Metz is a public relations practitioner who specializes in real estate, interior design and the arts. She has had her own firm, Metz Public Relations, for 18 years and contributes a considerable amount of pro bono work to the arts community in San Diego. Metz is the president of the San Diego Press Club and has chaired the organization's annual Journalism Awards and Headliners Awards. As a member of CDCSD since the mid '80s, she has entertained more than 100 International Visitors in her home. A student of Chinese martial and healing arts, Metz teaches qigong (CHI-GONG) at the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego.


Peter Bickelmann, Treasurer

Peter relocated to San Diego two years ago from Michigan, where he retired in 1999 from Community Mental Health Services of Oakland County government. He was the program's Deputy Director, responsible for budgeting, personnel, policy, publicity and program evaluation. In Michigan he and his wife were also active for many years with the International Visitors Council. He has traveled widely in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America and speaks German and a bit of French. Peter is also active with the La Jolla Newcomers Club. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the mission of CDC, to create greater understanding of the U.S. and its people among visitors from all parts of the world -- and at the same time to enhance our understanding of other countries and cultures.

Nancy Koch
Nancy Koch, Board Member

Nancy Koch relocated to San Diego in 2000 from Cincinnati, Ohio where she was involved in their International Visitors Council. Since moving here, she has been very involved with the Citizen Diplomacy Council and the La Jolla Newcomers Club where she served as president in 2003-04. She is on the program and the Secret Tour Garden committees of the La Jolla Historical Society. In Cincinnati her positions included Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning, University of Cincinnati; Legislative Assistant to a Councilmember & Mayor of the city, and high school English teacher and department chair.Nancy holds a BS from Miami University and an MEd from Xavier University. Her hobbies include travel, photography, scuba diving, sailing, reading and hiking.


Anne Rosser, Board Member

Anne Rosser is a retired educator from San Diego City Schools.She is actively serving on the following Boards: Youth Tennis San Diego, San Diego Senior Games and SDSU Alumni Chapter of the College of Arts and Letters. Anne enjoys serving the community as Past-President of the Pacific Beach Kiwanis Club and mentoring the youth at Pacific Beach Middle School Builder's Club and Mission Bay High School Key Club. She believes that the opportunity to travel within the United States and abroad have established a foundation for a better understanding of cultural diversity and human relations. Anne is currently supervising student teachers through the College of Education at SDSU her alma mater.


Shahrzad Kamyab, Board Member

Shahrzad was born and raised in Iran. She received a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration with an emphasis in student affairs and international comparative education from Florida State University in 1981. Shahrzad and her husband, Shahrokh moved to San Diego in 1982 where she started teaching Education courses at Chapman University and Shahrokh teaching Economics at SDSU. Shahrzad has always been involved with the universities' international programs and she's been the director of study abroad at Grossmont college for a period of six years. Currently, she is an author and an international education consultant. In the past, she served as the Vice President for education and Model UN at UNA of San Diego and she joined  CDCSD in 2001; occasionally serving as one of the resources available to the international visitors of San Diego. World traveling "with a purpose" is her passion and she is familiar with several foreign languages.



Galina Shekhtman, Board Member

In addition to a diverse background in public relations, Galina Shekhtman holds a Masters in Business Administration and Marketing and is currently an investment real estate consultant. In 1989 Galina left the Former Soviet Union as a political refugee and immigrated to the United States. She believes her mission and purpose in life is to help people, and is immensely passionate about it. Galina is also involved with the San Diego Vladivostok Sister City Society and leads a Russian Language Meet-up group that inspires and encourages immigrants to keep their culture and traditions alive within the community.


Oskar Granquist, Board Member

Oskar is a native Californian.  He attended and earned his B.S. Degree from San Diego State University in Pre-Law and International Affairs.  He attended the JD program at WSU School of Law and other post graduate studies in the areas of International Affairs and Business Strategies at The Wharton School. Oskar is involved with international business dealing with power, water and energy programs, and geographic focus areas are mainly United States, Mexico and Latin America.  He is fluent in English and Spanish.  Oskar is also an active Board Member of the United State Propeller Club, Port of San Diego, the CMAA, AWWA, IEEE, ISA and CDCSD. Oskar consulting and strategic planning background are primarily used in connecting agencies and third parties that want to do business on an international, or multi-cultural basis.  Areas of expertise are water, power, oil/gas markets, and energy programs.  He has been very involved with sustainable energy programs and green law related issues.


Photo coming soon


Brooks Westwater, Board Member

Brooks Westwater obtained his JD from The Ohio State University in 1969 and immediately began to practice law in Ohio. In 1972 he  took a job at General Mills in Minneapolis as a Senior Staff Attorney and then in the UK as European Counsel where he was involved in most areas of corporate and commercial law.  He then took a job at Western Electric Company, Inc. in North Carolina as a General Attorney covering Bell System foreign ventures as well as purchasing, sales and distribution matters. In 1983 Mr.Westwater returned to his own private practice in Greensboro, North Carolina where his primary emphasis was on business law, estate planning and mediation. He was also involved in the creation and operation of the Piedmont Triad Council for International Visitors, Inc. in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, NC from 1991 through June, 2009. He served as a Director and volunteer programmer/local escort for the entire period. He also served a three year term as Board President, attended several NCIV Annual Meetings in Washington on behalf of the group and hosted numerous international visitors in his home.

Most photos courtesy of Janis Foley Photography.

 

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