Meet the Board

Lynn Elliot

I am the Chairperson of the 2010 Bird Park Summer Concerts.  In this role, I provide leadership for all phases of the Summer Concert planning, including organizing volunteers, preparing permits, and working with many others to raise the money necessary to keep this wonderful part of North Park a staple of our summers. I am involved with many of North Park's organizational entities--I support North Park Main Street, I am interested in the North Park Redevelopment Project Area, and I am a contact person for the Neighborhood Watch group on my street and work with other close by Neighborhood Watch Block Captains to help keep our community safe.  I have lived in North Park for over 25 years.  I currently live in the area north of Montclair Park.  We are trying to organize ourselves to keep our neighborhood safe and clean.  

I enjoy organizing and producing the Summer Concert Series.  I enjoy assisting with clean ups, and other events.  Besides assisting with the Concerts.  I strongly believe in the importance of the NPCA Board of Directors to communicate with and represent its constituents. Board Term: 2009-2011

Edwin Lohr

I am a member at large of the Board of Directors.  I was born and raised on a farm in Iowa. I moved to San Diego in the summer of 1984.  I have been in the hospitality field for years.  Being a certified Meeting Planner and Tour Director, my greatest strength is interacting with people.  I am also a volunteer with American Veterans for Equal Rights, Stonewall Citizens Patrol, San Diego Professional Tour Guide Association and various other organizations in the area.  Two of my passions are gardening and creating abstract art works. I am very proud to be a long time resident of North Park and see nothing but tremendous progress for the area. Board Term: 2009-2011

Michele Brown Graser

I am the Director of Fundraising for the Board of Directors. I have been a board member of NPCA since 2005 and I enjoy the opportunity to give back to the community by serving on the NPCA board and being a part of the community where I live.

While on the Board of Directors over the past five years, I have had the opportunity to serve our community in several ways.  I served as a Vice-President of the Board, chaired the Renaissance Awards, worked on the Bird Park Summer Concert committee selecting bands, and helped remodel houses in the area through the Rebuilding Together program. One of my passions is helping to organize the Historic Toyland Parade.  The Parade is an important part of North Park’s heritage and I enjoy spreading cheer and encouraging new members to join the NPCA. 

As a homeowner in North Park, I have an interest in keeping the enduring attributes of the Craftsman style homes and the small neighborhood feel to the area, as well making the neighborhood friendly towards the new developments and businesses coming into the neighborhood.  I also have an interest in proving an outlet for business members and residents to come together, get to know each other and enjoy the benefits of living in a small community so close to the city center. I live on Grim Avenue in North Park.  My husband and I bought our beautiful home here five years ago and love the area. Board Term: 2009-2011

Nikki Berdy

I am the Director of Communications and Marketing for the Board.  My role is to help keep NPCA members informed about the community and to provide leadership to the Board of Directors with strategic communication of our core mission. 

I moved to San Diego in 2002 after 30 years of a shared military life with my husband.  We’ve lived all over the US and Europe.  Wherever I’ve been, it was important for me to become involved in the community.  There is nothing more important to me, especially now, than helping out my neighbors.  I have served on the Board of Directors for over four years, and got involved to help strengthen the Board’s efforts in communicating with the membership and the Community.  I have also been working on the Bird Park Summer Concert Series since attending my first concert. 

My professional background is in marketing and sales in a variety of venues from the hotel industry, to newspaper advertising and design, to an environmental consulting and engineering firm.  I am also a trained sexual assault counselor.  Since moving here, I have chosen to volunteer my time because North Park is such an amazing place to live and work in. Board Term: 2009-2011

Danesh Tandon

As a newly elected member I am leading the Board’s efforts to help the NPCA promote North Park’s public schools.   I have lived in North Park since January 2000.  My wife and I decided to move here because of the beautiful neighborhoods and wonderful community.  North Park has exceeded our expectations and it is time for me to give back as much as I can.  I look forward to bringing excitement and energy to the Board of Directors and am willing to do whatever I can to continue the upward trend of our community life.  This is a new experience for me, but I am eager to learn how I can best serve. Board Term: 2009-2011

Omar Passons

I am the President of the Board of Directors.  My role is to provide leadership and direction for the Board of Directors and to help set the direction of the core areas in which the NPCA is involved.  I help ensure that every member of the NPCA that wants to get involved in serving our community can do so.  I also coordinate with our volunteer IT company to update the website and the various Internet-based communications.  My belief is that the best solutions to the issues we face in this community must start within our neighborhoods, and be driven by those of us who live and work in North Park.  I have been involved with the NPCA for several years and served as member of the Board of Directors for four years.  I am the coordinator of the North Park Clean Team—our bi-monthly community clean-up that focuses on protecting our local environment by removing trash and large waste from our streets and alleys.

I am an attorney and former public health policy analyst and have lived in California, Arizona, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.  My wife and I are natives of San Diego and chose North Park when we returned to San Diego because it was a good mix of the diverse people and places that we love about San Diego and was an easy place to spend time outside.  I live with my wife between the Community Park and Morley Field and enjoy walking through our neighborhood, trying new wine, and spending time with our friends. Board Term: 2008-2010

Sharon Turner

I am the Treasurer of the Board of Directors.  My responsibilities include managing all of the financial affairs of the NPCA, keeping the organization’s books and reporting on donations, membership fees, and other sources of revenue.  I have been very active in North Park for many years and enjoy being able to contribute to making our community a great place to live.  In addition to volunteering on the Board of Directors of the NPCA, I am the Treasurer for the North Park Historical Society, I volunteer for Elderhelp of San Diego, am a member of the Community Emergency Response Team, Citizens Patrol, and I coordinate First Fridays in my neighborhood in the eastern portion of North Park. I have been a resident of North Park for the better part of 30 years.

I am a Programmer/Analyst supporting a Financial application for a Public Sector entity and have had prior experience as a Programmer/Analyst supporting Financial applications for a catalog sales company and a Navy installation and Senior Accountant and Tax Analyst for various retail and banking companies.  I was born in Bristol, Virginia and have degrees in Economics & Business and Computer Information Sciences. Board Term: 2008-2010

Walter Scott

I am responsible for refining the organizational documents of the Board of Directors and the NPCA.  I provide leadership around issues related to governance and review of contracts and other documents for the NPCA.  As a young parent in North Park, I am very committed to helping ensure that our community is a great place for parents to raise and educate their children.  I have volunteered at the Bird Park Summer Concerts as well as the Community Clean Ups. Board Term: 2008-2010

Paul Contreras

I am the Vice President of the Board of Directors. I am the Chairperson of the Community Mixers, a bi-monthly event hosted at local restaurants that is designed to give members a chance to get to know each other and to provide increased visibility and support to our local businesses.

I have been an active member of the NPCA Board of Directors for three years and enjoy the opportunity to volunteer helping improve our community.  My wife and I own a home off of Upas and we spend much of our time running our own local business. Board Term: 2008-2010

Michael Forbes

I am the Secretary for the Board of Directors.  My role includes ensuring the accuracy of our Board meeting minutes and keeping a written/electronic record of the decisions the Board of Directors make.  I serve because helping the public good, in whatever form, is every citizen's responsibility when called.  My first priority for the community is reduction of prostitution along El Cajon Boulevard via original solutions. Although it is not presently a strategy employed by the NPCA, I support deputizing specially trained citizens with video cameras to catch men who solicit women from cars.  I care about making sure that the NPCA includes members from throughout North Park and that as an organization it helps to improve the entire Greater North Park community generally, and the areas surrounding the El Cajon Boulevard corridor specifically. 

I was born in San Francisco in 1973.  I attended the University of California at Berkeley and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English.  I have worked as a pot washer, petition circulator, fund raiser, telemarketer, prep cook, security guard, retail salesperson, law clerk, lift operator, cab driver, bartender, secretary, administrative assistant, tennis teacher, ventilation installer, and painter while traveling and writing fiction.  I have also worked as a freelance writer, reporter, loan officer, car salesman, web master, clothing label proprietor, advertising agent, real estate agent, and property manager.  I attended Point Loma Nazarene University and earned a Master of Business Administration degree. I am currently the managing partner of my own company, which specializes in purchase, sale, management, and investment in real estate.  I own an apartment complex in central North Park. Board Term: 2009-2011