What is your background? I grew up in Weirton, West Virginia, and received a full scholarship to West Virginia University, where I received a bachelor of science in chemical engineering and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Where did you begin your career? In 1989 I was on the GE Chemical and Materials Leadership Program. I held roles in increasing responsibility in manufacturing, operations, production, marketing, and corporate initiatives. I joined Home Depot and then HD Supply in 2005. I also worked for CSC Index as a strategic management consultant.
What was your inspiration? A man I had worked with during my 16 years at GE called me in 2005 and told me about an opportunity at Home Depot. The rest, as they say, is history!
How have you helped others? I began making transformational changes within the company when I arrived in 2005. I created Women’s Network here, which is now a nationwide program. We have had a program that included me and three VIPs on how to juggle life. We have speakers from charitable organizations, leadership speakers—it is open to all employees, not just women. It is all about building confidence, which prepares for advancement and growth.
What is the female/male ratio of your staff? My executive staff is 50/50. We have around 4,600 employees, 1,000 of whom are in San Diego, and the remainder are nationwide and some in Canada. There are 14,000 employed corporate-wide by HD Supply, which is owned by three private equities.
How much time do you spend traveling? About 50 percent minimum; I have a three-year-old son and a wonderfully supportive husband. I juggle life to do my best—balance that is not always a balance. However, I am present with whatever I am doing. If it is work, it is work; if it is with my child or husband, I am always present.
When you joined the company, it was a subsidiary of Home Depot. What has changed since that time in 2005? We had a record-setting year in 2005 at $840 million and will finish this year exceeding $2 billion. This year we acquired Peachtree Business Products, which has been a complementary add-on to our multifamily vertical.
What has been your biggest challenge? Keeping everyone calm while we were integrating and divesting, because employees were concerned about their future.
HD Supply is a bit under the radar; however, you have an incredible record of giving back and paying it forward. What is your focus? We are under the radar because we are business-to-business. I support the universities where I went to school and serve on the board of Helping Hands Fund, an internal organization to support needs of our employees. We have donated $2.3 million of product to various organizations. We just raised $445,000 for City of Hope with our vendors at our annual golf tournament. I always work with people who have reached out to me to try to help them identify what they like, what they want to do, but also what they don’t like. Ultimately people have to be happy.
What would people like to know about you? I work hard, play hard, but I really want people to know that I am a very caring individual. I love adventure travel with my husband, and yes, I am driven. I am always pushing and striving to do better. I think I am a teacher to others because I lend my experience and give people the opportunity to learn and grow.
What advice were you given? My father told me that I could do anything through hard work, dedication, and focus. I never thought I would end up running a $2 billion company.
For Executive Chef Emily Brubaker, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa feels like home. She grew up just a mile-and-a-half away from the 400-acre property and fondly recalls walking the golf course perimeter as a kid. Though her ambitions led her away from San Diego for nearly two decades in which she honed her craft in some of the highest of high-profile Las Vegas restaurants—including triple Michelin-starred Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand—they ultimately brought her back to North County.
Courtesy of Omni La Costa
Today, the classically French-trained chef, who’s fresh off a victory on NBC’s Yes, Chef!, judged by Martha Stewart and José Andrés, oversees Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s seven distinct dining concepts. Her goal is to elevate the resort’s culinary program with her creative, hyperlocal ingredient-driven approach while maintaining the Spanish- inspired flavors and fresh California coastal cuisine that are the bedrock of its culinary identity.
“The San Diego food scene is really growing, and in North County alone, it’s really exploded in the last five years,” Brubaker says. “There are Michelin stars, beautiful tasting menus, craft bakers, and all this food—when I was growing up in La Costa, it was fish tacos. Now there are really cool things popping up, and I’m so happy to be here to see where it’s going to go.”
Brubaker gives chefs de cuisine at each individual restaurant autonomy, however, her influence is evident across the resort.
For example, lobby restaurant Bar Traza serves as Omni La Costa’s culinary centerpiece and features bold Spanish flavors in a lively, social atmosphere. Brubaker overhauled the menu to be more consistent and centered on casual bites with that signature vibe. Think smoky paprika, vibrant citrus, and Spanish meats and cheeses.
At VUE, the focus is on seasonal offerings, California coastal cuisine, and Baja-inspired dishes. She and Chef de Cuisine Cameron Dixon change the menu biannually, which heading into summer, will highlight farm-fresh produce and hyperlocal ingredients—the resort even has its own herb garden and honeybee hives.
Courtesy of Omni La Costa
Poolside dining options are leaning into the country’s 250th this summer with a selection of classic American dishes with an Omni La Costa twist. And Bob’s Steak & Chop House (Brubaker is a trained butcher) offers a classic steakhouse experience with elevated service.
The chef and company also plan menus for special events at the resort where her creativity can really shine. For an upcoming National Ski Association dinner, the banquet hall will be transformed into an Alpine-themed winter wonderland complete with a snow machine, savory sausages, and melty, decadent raclette. A recent dinner was built around the Carlsbad Flower Fields and each course was matched to a color of ranunculus (Did you know pink dragonfruit are grown in North County? You do now.).
“It’s my zen to be in the kitchen playing with food,” Brubaker says.
Omni La Costa’s culinary program is a key part of the resort experience. And with Brubaker’s leadership, it’s becoming a draw for visitors and locals alike.
“These aren’t just hotel restaurants, these are restaurants that you should go to. They’re destinations, and I’m really hoping for the future that’s where we’re going,” Brubaker says.
Courtesy of Omni La Costa
Brubaker is also channeling her experience on Yes, Chef! into the culture at Omni La Costa—more emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, empowering her staff to share constructive critiques, and embracing different perspectives. Alongside her leadership role, Brubaker has become an advocate for mental health in the hospitality industry, serving as chief ambassador for the Burnt Chef Project and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Apex Culinary Program, where she mentors and develops future talent.
President and CEO Jewish Community Foundation San Diego and Miriam and Jerome Katzin Presidential Chair
By Joyce A. Glazer
Marjory Kaplan
Marjory Kaplan
What is your background? I was in the corporate world in banking, both in human resources and investments. When I moved to San Diego from San Francisco, I spent some time in banking with Wells Fargo and also with Scripps Foundation. I joined the Jewish Community Foundation San Diego 20 years ago, and three years ago the chair was endowed by Miriam and Jerome Katzin.
Jewish Community Foundation San Diego is the largest grant maker in San Diego. Why is that? The Jewish community is very generous, although not all members are Jewish. People choose our foundation because we build trust through good service, and we manage their donor-advised funds well. In 2012 we gave away $98 million. Since its inception in 1967, the foundation has given $859 million, and we want to reach our billion-dollar goal within the next couple of years.
What is the advantage of a foundation? It is a convenient way and a community-minded way to give. There are some tax benefits. It is more focused giving and more strategic.
How many researchers do you have? Our total staff is 16. They are all very dedicated, hardworking and skilled in what they do. We have longevity with our staff. Sometimes I have to remind them when it is time to go home.
What drives you? This is such a great position for a person with my background to be able to serve the community. Corporate human resources and investments—one is knowing about people and management, and the other is knowing about the financial world.
What is your life away from work? Work is very life-giving, but everyone needs to get away. I go back to San Francisco. I love to read, so I frequent my favorite bookstores in San Francisco. I enjoy hiking. I have great friends and a wonderful husband. This is such a joyful position. I have been teaching Positive Board Cultures at the USD Governance Symposium for the past three years.
How do you mentor? There are a lot of ways to mentor. Look around your world. It is just being the person you are. It’s a generosity of spirit that we all need to show each other. We need to share the glory and give credit to others. I am interested in mentoring on the management side. We need more positive managers who will really encourage and develop people.
How do you support the community? I work with many organizations including the Grantmakers, Association of Fundraising Professionals, University of San Diego, and others.
What is your advice to others? The most important thing is to take care of yourself. Figure out what you need to do and then do it. You can be really good at what you do, but you have to show kindness and gratitude to make it work. People can excel through discipline, competence and gratitude.
Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of? Building an organization that has so much trust in the community and one that passes on to generations of families. One of my most gratifying roles is helping people plan their charitable legacies. It often feels like a sacred moment to be the one carrying out their wishes after a lifetime of involvement.
What would you be doing if you were not with the foundation? I would continue working in the community, teaching, mentoring. Our city is large enough to be interesting and small enough to be friendly.
President and CEO Jewish Community Foundation San Diego and Miriam and Jerome Katzin Presidential Chair
By Joyce A. Glazer
Marjory Kaplan
Marjory Kaplan
What is your background? I was in the corporate world in banking, both in human resources and investments. When I moved to San Diego from San Francisco, I spent some time in banking with Wells Fargo and also with Scripps Foundation. I joined the Jewish Community Foundation San Diego 20 years ago, and three years ago the chair was endowed by Miriam and Jerome Katzin.
Jewish Community Foundation San Diego is the largest grant maker in San Diego. Why is that? The Jewish community is very generous, although not all members are Jewish. People choose our foundation because we build trust through good service, and we manage their donor-advised funds well. In 2012 we gave away $98 million. Since its inception in 1967, the foundation has given $859 million, and we want to reach our billion-dollar goal within the next couple of years.
What is the advantage of a foundation? It is a convenient way and a community-minded way to give. There are some tax benefits. It is more focused giving and more strategic.
How many researchers do you have? Our total staff is 16. They are all very dedicated, hardworking and skilled in what they do. We have longevity with our staff. Sometimes I have to remind them when it is time to go home.
What drives you? This is such a great position for a person with my background to be able to serve the community. Corporate human resources and investments—one is knowing about people and management, and the other is knowing about the financial world.
What is your life away from work? Work is very life-giving, but everyone needs to get away. I go back to San Francisco. I love to read, so I frequent my favorite bookstores in San Francisco. I enjoy hiking. I have great friends and a wonderful husband. This is such a joyful position. I have been teaching Positive Board Cultures at the USD Governance Symposium for the past three years.
How do you mentor? There are a lot of ways to mentor. Look around your world. It is just being the person you are. It’s a generosity of spirit that we all need to show each other. We need to share the glory and give credit to others. I am interested in mentoring on the management side. We need more positive managers who will really encourage and develop people.
How do you support the community? I work with many organizations including the Grantmakers, Association of Fundraising Professionals, University of San Diego, and others.
What is your advice to others? The most important thing is to take care of yourself. Figure out what you need to do and then do it. You can be really good at what you do, but you have to show kindness and gratitude to make it work. People can excel through discipline, competence and gratitude.
Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of? Building an organization that has so much trust in the community and one that passes on to generations of families. One of my most gratifying roles is helping people plan their charitable legacies. It often feels like a sacred moment to be the one carrying out their wishes after a lifetime of involvement.
What would you be doing if you were not with the foundation? I would continue working in the community, teaching, mentoring. Our city is large enough to be interesting and small enough to be friendly.
By Joyce A. Glazer | Photo by Creative Found Studio
Carol Neyenesch Bentley
Carol Neyenesch Bentley
What is the history of your company? The company was founded by my grandfather in 1899 and has been in the family ever since. I am the third-generation member of the family, and now both of my children are in the business, so we are fourth-generation family-owned. My son Mike has been in the business for more than 20 years. Our president is not a family member.
Have you always been involved in the business? I grew up in the business but became fully involved in the early ’80s at the time that older relatives were retiring. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I became the CEO in 1998. In 1996 my cousin Cliff Neyenesch and his wife, Candy, and I bought relatives out because they were considering selling and we didn’t want to sell. Candy is chief financial officer. We all work together along with our 69 employees.
You are a Certified Women-Owned Business. What does that mean? The most essential requirement is majority control. That means women must own 51 percent of the business. There is more to it than that, though. Women must also hold the highest positions in the company and be active in daily management and the strategic direction of the company. With me as CEO and Candy as CFO, we are the active managers and the visionaries leading the company, including planning the present and the future.
What is the average length of employment at Neyenesch? The second-longest tenure is 36 years. We have people who have been here 30 years and more. Our turnover rate is extremely low. Our employees are part of the family, and they stay in their positions.
Are there women within the company? Several. We have five women account reps, plus several women in other positions.
How do you handle family commitments for employees? If an employee has a need with a member of his or her family, we work around those issues. We would never want a mother or father to miss an important event in a child’s life. At times we may have a child on the premises.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced in the business? Gaining the respect from people in a man’s world.
Who are your customers? Jenny Craig is our largest client. We also have ResMed and Biocom. We deal with a lot of major corporations, but we are not limited to them. We have a very diverse customer base, which also includes nonprofits.
How do you give back to the community? We give first consideration to charities that our customers are involved with. Cystic fibrosis is one that we are very committed to because a family member lost someone to that disease. We also do a lot of in-kind work for organizations.
How have you survived with all of the changes in the industry? Two years ago was our best year ever; last year we showed slight gains, and we are on the way to another good year. We have a state-of-the-art digital press that is used for short-run color projects. I would say we have not been severely impacted by the economy or by changes in the industry.
How do you see the future? I am very confident. It’s a changing business, and we are keeping up with the changes. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our business for our existing clients and, of course, always looking to serve others who have needs. We have a management team that works well together. None of us could do it alone, and our employees are a major part of the team.
How did a woman get into the plumbing business 35 years ago? My background is nursing. My then-husband was in the commercial plumbing business, having difficulties with management issues. I was helping him, and as I became more involved, I took over running the business.
Do you have other locations? Not now. While I was a partner with my husband, we had a business in Arizona, which I ran from 1996 to 2001. At the time it was producing $5.3 million in revenue. Eventually I bought my husband out.
I was greeted at Anderson Plumbing with “How can I make you smile today?” How did that come about? It comes from my nursing background and wanting to make things better. When people call us, they are in distress, and we want to make them feel good. I learned through a survey that 78 percent of all women do not know how to turn off their water. If they call us, they want help. We want them to know that we are here to help them.
Of your 108 employees in San Diego, how many are women? In addition to my daughter, we have several women in sales and service as well as two female technicians in heating and air. There are several managers in normally male-dominated positions. I would hire more if we could find them.
Did you ever think of going back to nursing? No, since I came into the plumbing business, I have found lots of people to help.
How has solar energy impacted your business? We are selling systems that are compatible with solar in heating as well. Anderson is the first green plumber in San Diego.
What do you do to mentor others? I believe that doing things right is the only way to do things. I work diligently with my staff to make every customer a priority and every day a new opportunity to make a positive impact. I work to recruit men and women into the industry because it is a very good industry.
To what do you attribute your 35 years of success in the business? We strive to be the most professional, fairly priced, and have the people well-trained to serve our customers. We have very high standards, and each employee receives extensive training before he or she is assigned to go on a call. There is a stereotype of a plumber, and our employees are way above that old-fashioned image of the butt-crack plumbers. We are leading the charge in changing the industry.
You are very visible in the community. What do you do to give back? Oh, there are so many community activities that we participate in, such as the Susan G. Komen walk. We always have a team. Every quarter we do “a random act of plumbing and air.” We select a project from someone in need, and our employees do the work. We work with Rebuild Together and Just in Time. Our employees love to work on community projects. I also serve on the Better Business Bureau board.
What are your goals for the future? To be the best service provider out there. I want to be able to give back to the community, which has been good to me. We are going into our busy season, and we have to prioritize our service—first to the elderly, new moms, and the chronically ill, as well as our existing customers.
What would you like for people to know about you? I love my work. My parents instilled a strong work ethic in me, and I have always loved working.
Senior Vice President, Public Affairs San Diego Padres
By Joyce A. Glazer
Sarah Farnsworth
Barney & Barney G.R.O.W. logo
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How did you make the leap from Washington, D.C., to the Padres in San Diego? Tom Garfinkel, CEO of the Padres, asked me if I would consider working for a baseball team. I thought it was a joke. I didn’t know anything about baseball. After 19 years in D.C. I wanted the opportunity to become a part of a community, and that is what I saw in San Diego. It’s an opportunity for me to give back.
You are engaged to marry a retired Marine, and you have a young daughter. What role did they play in your decision to join the Padres? It was a family decision. We decided together. I was working in a job that really wasn’t a career. With the Padres I have a career where I can be challenged, and I am part of a civic asset. Since my fiancé is retired, he plays a big role in my daughter’s care when I have work demands.
How did you get involved in politics? I was living in New York when the Democratic National Convention was held there; 22 years old and just out of college, I volunteered at the convention. From there I was assigned to do advance for Hillary Clinton during Bill’s first run for president. That was 1992. When Bill won the presidency, I was asked to work on the inauguration in 1993. From there I went to work on the First Lady’s staff in the East Wing. I was responsible for planning all events in the Rose Garden, the South Lawn, and basically anything in the White House. And the Clintons were very active, with many events going on!
Tell me about your time in the White House. I worked seven and a half years and left to marry, but returned for the last six months at the end of the Clinton term. I celebrated my 30th birthday at the second Clinton inauguration.
Where did you work when you left the White House? I was chief of staff at the USO and traveled frequently to Afghanistan and Iraq. I was working in the world headquarters for then-General Jim Jones, who later became President Obama’s national security advisor. President Obama asked me to become senior advisor to the national security advisor, so that put me working in the West Wing of the White House. When General Jones resigned in 2010, I was asked to work in the Pentagon.
You spent so much time working for presidents in both wings of the White House. How did you keep your feet on the ground? I never thought of it as politics, but as being part of an historical institution. There was a plaque on the wall in the White House that I passed by every day. The bottom line was “one day you will be on the other side of the iron gate.” That puts it in perspective.
What challenges have you faced? After being to Iraq and Afghanistan, challenges take on a different meaning. As long as my family is healthy, I don’t have any bad days.
What adjustments did you have to make when you joined the Padres? I have had to earn trust and credibility in a whole new profession, I had to learn baseball, and I have had to earn trust in the community.
What is in your future? I’m here with the San Diego Padres as long as they will keep me.
