On the Move

The Wooden Floor, one of the country’s foremost creative youth development organizations, has appointed a new chair and members within its distinguished Board of Directors. The organization has named Theresa Allen, Managing Director and Wealth Manager at First Republic Private Wealth Management, as Board Chair with Judith F. Posnikoff, Ph.D., Managing Director at Martlet Asset Management Company, LLC, taking the role of Immediate Past Chair. Board officer positions remain the same: Saar Swartzon, Principal Attorney at Cohn & Swartzon, a Professional Law Corporation as Vice Chairman; Yvonne O’Neill, Certified Public Accountant at O’Neill Financial Management as Treasurer, and Joseph Chatelle, Principal at Mercer, as Secretary.

Simon Khinda, Partner at Bridge Law, LLP, joins the organization’s Board of Directors and Jim Slaughter, Partner at Slaughter & Slaughter, LLP, returns as Board Member.

“For over a decade, The Wooden Floor has taken a proactive approach in developing exceptional board governance practices. Strategic and diverse board development has remained one of our highest priorities,” states Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer of The Wooden Floor. “Each one of our Board Members reflects our organizational values and brings their unique lens and talents to our work of transforming the lives of students from low-income communities through the power of dance and access to higher education through our award winning creative youth development model.”

Theresa Allen, incoming Board Chair, brings experience from an investment career that spans nearly 30 years. Allen provides customized advice and solutions to high-net-worth individuals and their families, foundations, and non-profits. Her work and dedication have led to national recognition, including rankings on the Forbes America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors, as well as Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors. Active in her community, Allen was the former Co-Commodore and currently serves as the Treasurer for Shaw’s Cove Yacht Club. She is also a member of the Laguna Playhouse Women’s Group.

Simon Khinda, Partner at Bridge Law, LLP, is recognized as a Super Lawyer and a Lawyer of Distinction. After completing his LLM in commercial and corporate law at University College London, Khinda worked in London before enjoying successful stints through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia before finally settling in the US. He uses his multi-cultural experience both professionally and personally, and previously served as Board Member and co-chair of the Investment Committee and the Finance Committee at St. Barnabas Senior Services.

Jim Slaughter is Partner at Slaughter & Slaughter, LLP, a business law and estate planning law firm located in Newport Beach. As a long-time supporter and advocate for The Wooden Floor, Slaughter previously served on The Wooden Floor’s Board of Directors from 2005 to 2015, serving as Vice Chair from 2008 to 2011. Slaughter is a graduate of Santa Clara University and Boston University School of Law.

Naveen Jonathan, Ph.D., LMFT, Clinical Associate Professor of Marriage & Family Therapy and Chair of Marriage & Family Therapy for Crean College of Health & Behavioral Sciences at Chapman University, returns as the first community representative for the board, serving a second one-year term.

These new appointments embody the organizations core values and help The Wooden Floor achieve its long-term vision to break the cycle of poverty through generational change. TheWoodenFloor.org