Events

Richard Cassey, Creative Director at Fox Restaurant Concepts (“FRC”) in Phoenix, Arizona, will provide us with an overview of FRC. With two decades of brand and creative experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry, Cassey now oversees creativity for the 11 FRC brands, as well as the development and creation of new brands.

Arnold Payne of the Run Wild African Safaris will share with us how this family-owned tour operator offers personalized and customized itineraries in Southern Africa.

Carrie Hemme, fellow Rotarian from the Lake Havasu City Rotary Club, will share with us her latest Rotary mission of End Plastic Soup, which is a global initiative to eliminate plastic soup from our environment, including oceans, lakes, rivers and land.

Claire Shanovich is the Director of Development for Oakwood Creative Care, and has a decade of experience in aging and disability services. Starting in High School, Claire took a position as a camp counselor at a special recreation summer camp for children with disabilities. During her undergraduate coursework at the University of Kansas, Claire worked as an in-home care assistant helping both children and adults with disabilities remain independent at home and in the community. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavioral Analysis, Claire went to work for the development team at the Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City. From there she took a position with the grassroots consumer advocacy organization Kansas Advocates for Better Care, where she served in both development and community outreach roles. Today Claire is proud to take the knowledge and experience she gained from direct care, nonprofit development, and elder care consumer advocacy to help Oakwood Creative Care best serve Arizona’s seniors.

Jennifer W. Sanchez, Community Affairs Manager of Intel's Global Affairs and Sustainability, will highlight Intel's operations and its interface with neighbors and the community.  Jennifer also oversees Intel's Arizona Pre-K-12 strategic program, specifically around STEAM.

Brenda Vargas is Director of Counseling and Social Services for the Chandler Unified School District.  Her topic will be Mental Health and Social Services in schools

Dr. Jessica Edgar, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Chandler Unified School District, holds Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral degrees.  She will share with us information on the Melinda Romero Instructional Resource Center and her experiences as a former middle school teacher and building principal for 12 years in a K-8 setting.

Mark Huish is Director of Safety for the Chandler Unified School District and he will provide us with and overview of overall safety in schools. 

Carolyn is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of Earth Funeral, a green death care brand. Prior to joining Earth, Carolyn worked in healthcare, most recently as the Vice President of Patient Experience and Social Work Services at DaVita, a Fortune 200 healthcare company and the leading provider of kidney care services in the United States. Carolyn is also a hospice volunteer and trained End of Life Doula. 

Talk: "Earth Soil Transformation: A Green Alternative to Traditional Burial and Cremation"

Carolyn will provide an overview of soil transformation, which is an environmentally-friendly alternative to cremation. Over the course of 30-45 days, the body is gently and naturally transformed into nutrient-rich soil. Families can use the soil to plant a tree, garden, etc., and/or can scatter it in meaningful places. The majority of the soil is donated to a restoration project on the Olympic Peninsula. An Earth Soil Transformation is carbon-neutral and enables one's last act to be a gift to the planet and future generations. 

Harry Coder is a retiree and resides in Ahwatukee, Arizona.  Harry will share with us his experiences as a Columbus, Ohio, homicide detective.

ASU Rotaract and San Tan Rotary Foundation members will update us on their recent "ASU Traveling Trophy" campaign and Rich Simmons, Pledger Robertson and Mark Pearlstein will discuss their Arizona Veterans Fly Fishing, Inc. organization and  recent "Project Healing Waters" trip.

TBA

Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke will give us an update on the city of Chandler, highlighting its growth and future

Councilmember Christine Ellis was born and raised in Haiti and moved to the United States in July 1982. She has resided in Chandler since 1987. She has been married to her husband, Benjamin, for 32 years and has two children, Sean and Taliah.

Councilmember Ellis has a Bachelor of Science, in Nursing from Grand Canyon University and has worked as an RN for many large hospitals and care facilities, while holding many high-level positions such as Director of Nursing in the Metro Phoenix area. She has also taught medical assistant and certified nursing classes in Arizona’s community colleges.

From 1998 to 2015, she founded and operated Cedar Sanctuary LLC, realizing that families needed an alternative to caring for their loved ones. In addition to caring for the elderly, she has been a part of the foundation of The Bridge/FCS Ministry for more than 17 years, which helps feed the local homeless population and provides to their spiritual needs, partnering with other ministries in Arizona.