The Angels for the Arts at Saddleback College is pleased to announce six new Board of Directors appointments as follows:
Rosa I. Beas, a San Juan Capistrano resident, owns and operates Ricardo’s Place Restaurant with her husband, Ricardo, in San Juan Capistrano. Ricardo’s has been a fixture in San Juan Capistrano for over 40 years. She is co-founder and past president of the cultural center of Mexico in Santa Ana and she is currently a member of the Rotary Club and Boys and Girls clubs of San Juan Capistrano. She is also on the Board of Directors of the CREER Family and Community Advisory Board. In addition, she is an active volunteer for Relay for life Cancer Society and The Atlas Fútbol-Soccer of Orange County.
Ann Mudry is a California native and has been a resident of Laguna Niguel for 31 years, after being in Canada for 14 years, where her husband earned a degree in Environmental Biology. At 51 years old, she enrolled in Saddleback College’s Early Childhood Development program and became a Pre-School Master Teacher at Head Start. She has been an active member in the Laguna Niguel Women’s Club for 24 years and has been involved in fundraising efforts for Senior Model School in Abohar, Punjab, India; Elton John’s Huru (reusable sanitary kids, Africa); Door of Faith Orphanage in Mexico; Get on the Bus (uniting families separated by California Corrections programs); and, the Pregnancy Resource Center in San Clemente.
Mark Schwartz is a 30 year Mission Viejo resident and an active community member. He has over 15 years of coaching experience in youth sports in Mission Viejo, and he served on the South Mission Viejo Little League and Mission Viejo Girls Softball boards for many years. He was the on-field voice as announcer for the Mission Viejo Vigilante Professional Baseball Club for two years. His passion for sports continues as he works as an Executive in the Sports Business Industry. He also found a passion for the Theatre Arts, and has been acting on stage in many Orange County and Los Angeles community theater productions over the last 15 years. Saddleback Civic Light Opera patrons may remember Mark’s role as Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! (July 15-31, 2011). Mark is an ongoing Host/Emcee of a number of theatre-award programs and city-wide events. In addition, he is an announcer at the annual Swallows Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano and also is a current Radio Deejay on KSBR Jazz at Saddleback College. Mark is married to Lynda and they have two children Jonathan and Lauren.
Jeff Singer is Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Angels for the Arts. He is just starting his second year, and he is thrilled to be a part of an organization that provides student scholarships, financial faculty grants, and support for the arts in general at Saddleback College. Jeff’s motto is to give back to the community, and he’s been giving back ever since he moved to Southern California in 1973. He has been a resident of San Juan Capistrano for 33 years and is involved in non-profit organizations in various ways. He has conducted fundraisers for Creer Comunidad y Familia. This essential program transforms lives and generations through education, culture, athletics, and community involvement. Another non-profit he supports is Great Opportunities, which is a youth-based organization with an emphasis on the aquatic environment for underprivileged children. Located at Dana Point Harbor, the kids learn how to swim and build their own stand-up paddleboards. He and his wife are also involved with Ark of San Juan, which is a program that is close to both their hearts. Ark of San Juan protects and enhances the lives of stray and abandoned domestic dogs and cats in need, with the primary focus on the animals originating from within the City of San Juan Capistrano.
Jim Thorpe has Saddleback ties going back to the year the college was founded in 1968. He was the original Director of the Divisions of Science, Math, Engineering and Technology and was an officemate of Dr. Doyle McKinney, the Fine Arts Director for whom the theatre is named. He has and his wife, Marilyn, have lived in San Juan Capistrano for over 30 years. During this time, he was elected twice to the San Juan City Council and served as Mayor and Chair of the citizen’s Planning Committee and later as a member of the Orange County Planning Commission. After retirement, the Thorpes moved to Leisure World and Jim wrote fishing columns for a Mammoth Lakes weekly in the summers until the community of Leisure World incorporated as Laguna Woods and he was elected its first Mayor. More recently he and his wife have been involved with the Carter Center , the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania and a young women’s education program started by their granddaughter during her recent stint in the Peace Corps in Senegal, and locally with Family Assistance Ministries and Habitat for Humanity.
Michael Valentine, Ph.D., was a teacher, counselor, school psychologist, and University professor. He was a national and international consultant on Discipline in the Schools. Upon retiring, he began taking classes in the Division of Fine Arts & Media Technology at Saddleback College. He was a mentor with Orangewood Children’s Foundation, and he volunteered in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for CHOC at Mission Hospital. He helps raise money to sponsor 11 African orphans to attend school. In past years, because of his interest in promoting fine arts, he was on the Saddleback Foundation Board and the Angels Board. He is looking forward to another term with the Angels to increase the interest in scholarships for fine arts students.
The Angels for the Arts is a fundraising and support organization for the Performing and Visual Arts at Saddleback College. Angel members donate their time and talent to raise funds and assist with a variety of arts events on the campus. The group is led by a volunteer advisory board of directors. Angel members believe in the importance of offering a full spectrum of arts to the community, with the college as the focal point. These events bring together Orange County residents from all walks of life, for the purpose of enlightenment, entertainment, and inspiration. The Angels also provide support for scholarships for students in Visual & Performing Arts, MainStage Kids Productions, master classes with professional artists, hospitality for guest artist performers and crew, enhancements for arts patrons, such as the tram, and the annual Big Band Swing Thing fundraiser.
Located in Mission Viejo, Saddleback College provides quality higher education and training to the greater south Orange County community. Having served more than 500,000 students since 1968, Saddleback College offers over 300 degree and certificate programs to help students reach their personal, career, and educational goals. For more information, please visit www.saddleback.edu and for Fine Arts information, please visit www.saddleback.edu/arts.
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Nina Welch
Fine Arts Public Information Officer
Saddleback College
28000 Marguerite Parkway
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
