Annamarie Maricle (she/her) has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, helping organizations secure vital funding, build sustainable fundraising strategies, and support expanded community engagement. She has spent most of her career focused on the arts, working for three of San Diego’s nonprofit theatres: La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, and San Diego REP – and still enjoys seeing plays, musicals, opera, and concerts as often as possible. Last year, she volunteered as a reader for a play development program at Diversionary Theatre, when a friend asked her to play the role of his mom for a public reading.
Currently, Annamarie serves as Director of Development for the FACE Foundation (Foundation for Animal Care & Education), a small animal welfare organization that helps pet owners access emergency veterinary care, pet food, and supplies when they are struggling financially.
Annamarie joined the board member of Volunteer with Cheli because she is passionate about this organization’s mission of engaging, inspiring, and empowering the LGBTQ+ community through meaningful volunteer experiences. As an ally with many family members and close friends who identify as LGBTQ+, she advocates for building a world that fully embraces justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Outside of her nonprofit and volunteer work, Annamarie is also a writer and enjoys hiking, reading, and knitting. She was born in Flint, Michigan, and moved to Southern California as a young teen. A first-generation college graduate, Annamarie attended Palomar Community College, transferring to UCLA to earn a BA in English. She also holds a master's degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Development from the University of San Diego. She was a contributing author for Pat Libby’s book, The Empowered Citizen’s Guide, by Pat Libby (Oxford Univ. Press, 2022), a guide for people who want to create change in their communities.
Contact Annamarie: Annamarie@volunteerwithcheli.org
Kelly Gilliland originally from Colorado and a Navy Veteran (10 years) has called San Diego home for over 30+ years. He has dual master’s degree in project management and system security and other IT certifications. After serving in the US Navy, Kelly has worked for SAIC for over 24+ years. During this time, he has been involved in teaching and curriculum development for the US Navy for various programs. While helping mold our US Sailors, Kelly has been volunteering here in San Diego since the mid 1990’s. Starting off with meeting Cheli and helping with San Diego Pride, lead him to find the Golden State Gay Rodeo Association Greater San Diego Chapter (GSGRA-GSDC) in which he was President for 9 years and Rodeo Director for 10 and held the titles of Mr. GSGRA 2009/2010 and Mr. International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) 2010/2011. Along the way he has also volunteered for other non-profit organizations within the LGBTQ+ community. Kelly is also a Court Appointed Specialty Advocate (CASA) to help kiddos in the foster care system here in San Diego. In his free time, (which he does have and make time for) he loves working around his house doing DYI projects, landscaping, and gardening. Kelly has also been part of other Non-Profit boards here in San Diego. He is a San Diego Veteran Wall of Honor recipient and has received other city and county awards for his volunteerism. Kelly also has a travel bug, he has been to 6 continents, 30+ countries and over 100 city/town/villages. He has a love of animals (dogs, cats and chickens). Lastly one thing that Kelly has accomplished while being Co-Chair for the San Diego Military Contingent, is being able to brag that he got to divert San Diego Limberg International Airport, the first and only military jet fly over for San Diego Pride Parade in 2019. Kelly has volunteered with Cheli and for Volunteers with Cheli for over 15+ years.
Contact Annamarie: Kelly@volunteerwithcheli.org
Sam Rodriguez
They/Them
Vernon Lowe
He/Him
Founding President and Co-Chair
Susan L. Hartman
Volunteering Since 2014
Annamarie Maricle
Vice Chair
She/Her
Former Treasurer
Jonathan McMullen
Volunteering Since 2018
Sarah Buchanan grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, where she learned first-hand the importance of serving the community through volunteerism, empathy, and creativity. Now, with nearly 20 years of experience serving nonprofit organizations across the country in varied capacities, Sarah continues to make giving back a priority. She devotes significant time to serving the local and national communities through volunteerism, curating fundraising events, and music instruction for youth in the foster care system.
Sarah Buchanan serves as the Executive Vice President for the San Diego Housing Federation where she utilizes her skills in organizational strategy and effectiveness, strategic partnerships, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and board governance. Sarah understands that we all have the desire to be seen, heard, and loved and she offers this to everyone she meets with joy. She is best known for creating an organizational culture that thrives on authenticity, kindness, vulnerability, and transparency. Sarah believes that focusing on her team's well-being drives positive experiences for the sector.
Awarded San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Equality Business Association’s Top 50 LGBTQ+ Leaders of 2023, San Diego Metro’s Woman of Influence and 40 Under 40 in 2020, Bring the Music Initiative’s Music Mentor of the Year in 2021, she exemplifies what it means to go above and beyond in her work and life. Sarah currently serves as a board member for Circulate San Diego and ICON National Cares. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma.
When she is not serving the community, she spends her time exploring with her dog, Lola, creating in any form, and connecting with others.
Contact Sarah: Sarah@volunteerwithcheli.org
Kelly Gilliland
Chair
He/Him/They
Founding Member/Former Secretary
Denice Cordova
Volunteering Since 2015
With much appreciation and respect for the contributions you brought forth to ensure that Volunteer with Cheli thrived!
Sam Rodriguez (they/them) hails from Houston, Texas, where their path of service and advocacy began with volunteering for Meals on Wheels during high school. Armed with dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminology, Sam enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2015, dedicating themselves to their duties while pursuing further education. Their academic pursuits culminated in the achievement of a Master of Social Work degree in 2022.
Sam's commitment to embracing gender-creative parenting alongside their Deaf spouse, who embodies a unique intersection between the hearing and Deaf worlds, fosters a profound awareness of intersectionality and the complex dynamics of discrimination. Together, they passionately advocate for the Deaf community, tirelessly working to promote accessibility and inclusivity in every facet of society.
Passionate about supporting fellow transgender and nonbinary service members, Sam assumed the role of Navy Chapter Leader for SPARTA, a nonprofit organization committed to fostering inclusion and support within the military. Alongside this role, since 2020, Sam has served as a
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Uniformed Victim Advocate, offering vital support to survivors. More recently, as of 2023, Sam has been humbled to serve as a consultant for the Office of Victim Crimes, furthering their commitment to advocating for justice and support.
Driven by an unwavering passion for social justice and a deep-seated desire to cultivate inclusive communities, Sam Rodriguez is dedicated to inspiring positive change within the Navy and beyond.
Contact Sam: Sam@volunteerwithcheli.org
Vernon is an Ole Miss graduate and retired US Navy Supply Officer, originally from Selma, Arkansas. He has called San Diego home for the last 30 years and has had a very rewarding and diverse career. He has served as an Acting Director of San Diego LGBT Pride, as a Controller for the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH), as a Civil Engineer with the State of Arkansas and USDA, and most recently as a Financial Management Analyst with the Department of Defense. He enjoys traveling with his husband Luiz, volunteering at various annual events, especially Palm Springs Pride, and gardening, cooking, fishing, and visiting the beach with their two dogs, Stanley and Pepper.
Contact Rebecca: Vern@volunteerwithcheli.org
Rebecca Lee
She/Hers
She/Her/They
Former Treasurer
Nicole Verdes
Volunteering Since 2017
Former Treasurer
Danielle Lopez
Volunteering Since 2020
Cynthia (Cindy) Uybungco is a native San Diegan and an Army veteran. In 1995, Cindy opened her own business, Uybungco Grafix & Signs, where she is known as the “Sign Girl.” Cindy is able to share her many creative talents to the community in the form of banners, business cards and stationery, postcards, and promotional items.
Cindy has enjoyed volunteering since 1991 and is most proud of her volunteer work and the impact that volunteering has had on her. She has enjoyed working with San Diego Pride, Habitat for Humanity, AIDS Walk & Run San Diego, the LGBT Community Center, Imperial Court de San Diego, Volunteer with Cheli, and many more well-known organizations and businesses in San Diego.
Rebecca Lee, Ed.D, is the Director of the Personnel Commission for the Poway Unified School District. She brings over 15 years of diverse human resources experience having worked in K-12 and community college districts. She has trained and directed teams in the areas of classification, compensation, recruitment and selection, EEO compliance, Title IX investigations, and employee investigations involving discrimination and harassment.
Additionally, her background experience includes planning, coordinating, and evaluating student programs and services at the University of Southern California with a focus on understanding the impact of intervention strategies, relationships, and campus climate on student learning and engagement.
She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.
She is passionate about volunteer work and community engagement and believes that systemic change begins at the micro level – when we work to engage, empower, and bring visibility to the stories and voices within our classrooms, schools, and communities. In addition to serving on the Pride Board, she volunteers with the American Red Cross, the San Diego LGBT Center, and Volunteer with Cheli.
She currently resides in Escondido with her wife and two sons and hopes to see more Pride flags line the neighborhood streets of North County.
Contact Rebecca: Rebecca@volunteerwithcheli.org
Founding Member/Former Secretary
Cathy Hemphill
Volunteering Since 2014
Ben Orgovan-Lee was born and bred in Chula Vista. He graduated with honors at Southwestern College with an Associate’s degree in Science/Computer Information Systems with an emphasis on Application Programming. Ben is a Special Projects Manager with the California Police Athletic Federation where he handles logistics for national and international sports events, manages grant applications and submittals, and other activities. He has held positions at San Diego LGBT Pride, and ResortCom International.
Ben’s love for volunteering was really awakened during his time at San Diego Pride where he saw how volunteering makes a positive impact on the quality of life around us. Ben continues to make major contributions to volunteering, especially with Volunteer with Cheli as its immediate past Co-Chair and current Tresurer!
Contact Ben: Ben@volunteerwithcheli.org
Sarah Buchanan
She/Her/Hers