From left to right: Steven Wistrich, Ann Hall, Mario Scipione, Deeanna Steffen, Ronald Cole, Brian Marsh, Susana Leung, Jay Henslee, Beth Wapner, Teresa Sekiguchi. Not pictured: Laura Falcone.
Board of Directors
Executive Board
Brian Marsh, President
Cybersecurity Engineering, United States Navy Senior Executive Service
Recently retired from the Senior Executive Service (SES) in the Department of the Navy, Brian Marsh led the United States Navy cybersecurity engineering business. Working with high technology companies throughout San Diego County, he developed resilient networking, computing, and communications systems to meet national defense needs. His decades-long passion for the ballet art form drives his dedication to expanding the reach of performing arts into more San Diego communities, including San Diego’s high-technology professionals. Brian Marsh served as City Ballet’s Board of Directors President from 2010 to 2016.
Mario Scipione, Vice President
Vice President, Technology, Globalstar
Mario Scipione has lived and worked in San Diego since 1979. After graduating from Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio with a BSEE, he moved to Del Mar and began working at Linkabit. With the addition of a family, he volunteered in various activities, including Pinewood Derby, science teacher assistant, Science Olympiad coach, and soccer coach. Mario Scipione currently works as a Vice President, Technology at Globalstar and has recently volunteered as a judge in the FIRST Robotics Competition in San Diego. With a long history of interest in the arts spurred on by his sisters, he is impressed by the multiple dimensions of the arts in ballet and previously served as City Ballet’s Board President from 2016 to 2020. So inspired by the dancers at City Ballet, he started taking ballet lessons in 2021.
Susan Leung, Secretary
Pharmacist, Rady Children’s Hospital
Recently retired as a practicing pharmacist after working for over 39 years at Rady Children’s Hospital, Susana Leung has continued a pursuit of appreciating the ballet art form for many years. She joined the Board in 1998 and has served as Secretary since 2001. Previously, she was involved with the Big Sisters program in San Francisco and is currently involved with humanitarian projects such as providing medical supplies for underdeveloped countries. As a member of San Diego’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) since 2001, Susana Leung’s deployments include Ground Zero during the World Trade Center disaster; New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina disaster; San Juan, Puerto Rico during the Hurricane Maria disaster; and Florida during the Hurricane Michael disaster. As a member of the California Medical Assistance Team (CAL-MAT), she has served on Medical Mission Trips to Honduras, Tsunami Relief India, Malawi, Cambodia, Uganda, Nepal, Romania, Haiti, Guatemala, and various cities in the United States during COVID-19.
Beth Wapner, Treasurer
Vice President of Tax Planning, Qualcomm
Beth Wapner is a recently retired Vice President of Tax Planning for Qualcomm, where she led numerous teams and implemented complex transactions as part of the senior finance team. She has a long-time passion for dance, which reignited when City Ballet offered a dance class at Qualcomm. Beth Wapner graduated from Ohio State University, Southwestern Law School and New York University School of Law. After living in Los Angeles, Singapore and Houston, the Wapner family moved to San Diego in 2003. She has participated in numerous career and life mentoring programs for business colleagues and students. She is an adjunct professor at The University of San Diego School of Law.
Board of Directors
Members at Large
Ronald Cole
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Private Practice
Ronald Cole is a retired private practice psychotherapist who serves the Spanish-speaking Latino and LGBTQIA+ communities from which he comes. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Social Work from San Diego State University. He has worked in both hospital and community agencies for over 20 years. He is a past clinical director for the Southern Caregiver Resource Center. Before his career in social work, he performed with the Tucson Ballet, Arizona Civic Theater, Music Theater of Wichita, and the dance and drama departments of the University of Arizona and the University of Notre Dame.
Laura Falcone
Executive Consultant, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Laura Falcone is a graduate of Indiana University with a Master’s in Dance and Arts Administration. She followed her passion in life, working professionally in dance and theatre for 18 years, performing various roles in major productions with companies such as MGM and Disney, and traveling the globe performing with Princess Cruises. She settled in San Diego in 2008, taking on a role to help others find their true potential, promoting health and wellness. Laura Falcone has worked in various management and leadership roles in Biotech/Pharma for over 20 years and is currently an Executive Consultant specializing in rare diseases at Jazz Pharmaceuticals in Southern California.
Ann Hall
Founding Board Member
Ann Hall holds a BA in English from Radford University. Founding Board of Director of City Ballet. Former high school English teacher. She served on the Board of Directors of San Diego Performances. She volunteered for many years with the Girl Scouts of America and Boy Scouts of America. Ann Hall possesses a life-long love and understanding of ballet. Ann Hall served on the San Diego Dance Alliance board for five years and was City Ballet’s Board President from 2000 to 2003.
Jay Henslee
Vice President of Retail Banking, US Bank
Jay Henslee originally hails from Northern California but has called San Diego home since 2011. He attended Chico State University, majoring in marketing and sales. He is Vice President of Retail Banking for US Bank, having spent the past 16 years in various roles throughout California. Recipient of the “40 under 40” award in Sacramento given by the Business Journal and was instrumental in expanding the US Bank retail market in Northern and Southern California. Jay Henslee is a former Rebuilding Together San Diego, San Diego Performing Arts League, and Diversionary Theatre board member.
Teresa Sekiguchi
Board of Trustees, Bishop’s School
Teresa Sekiguchi serves as treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee of the board of trustees of the Bishop’s School. She also served as treasurer of board at the San Diego French American school and as a board member at Academia Yuriko Kuronuma in Mexico. As a business consultant for companies like A.T. Kearney and Deloitte, she was involved in strategic development projects in Mexico and other Latin American countries. She was a professor at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and at Universidad Anáhuac in México, teaching entrepreneurship and franchising courses. Teresa Sekiguchi and her husband Mauricio Ayala are proud parents and part of the City Ballet community for ten years. Their daughter Emi started her ballet training at the age of 7 and continued through the City Ballet preprofessional program, performing as a City Ballet Studio Company member for two years.
Deeanna Steffen
Executive Administrative Assistant, Qualcomm
Deeanna Steffen is an accomplished Executive Administrative Assistant with over 18 years of experience supporting senior and C-Level executives in both Fortune 500 companies and start-up environments. Her career highlights include her tenure at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, where she supported the CEO, organized Board and committee meetings, and transformed a fragmented team into a cohesive unit. Her diverse background spans healthcare, human resources, benefits administration, intellectual property management, education, and special event logistics. She is also dedicated to philanthropy, actively volunteering with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Girl Scouts San Diego, and Meals on Wheels, where she contributes to enhancing the lives of individuals in her community.
Steven Wistrich
Artistic Director, City Ballet
Steven Wistrich is the founding director of City Ballet and artistic director. International acclaim in ballet as a dancer, creative director, and teacher. Former principal dancer with Boston Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Royal Norwegian Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and Grand Theatre of Geneva. Former artistic director of Arizona Ballet Theatre, American Festival Ballet, Interlochen Arts Academy and USIU ballet program in San Diego.
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Photography provided by Chelsea Penyak, Jaroslav Richters, Sophie Robertson, Anna Scipione, Dale Stokes, and Carly Topazio. The photography on this website depicts choreography copyrighted by the individual choreographers. Videography provided by Gary St. Martin of Convention Video. Choreography by George Balanchine is copyrighted by The George Balanchine Trust.
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