Malin Burnham, Co-Founder, Board Chair Emeritus

Malin has been Chairman of John Burnham & Company Insurance and Burnham Real Estate and has been involved in the business since 1949. In 2008, Burnham Real Estate was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield.

Malin is a native San Diegan who graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering In addition to his involvement with the Burnham Companies, he has been active as a board member of several major corporations and 16 firms. His present involvements include: Board Member of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, UCSD Foundation, Rady School of Management, and the USS Midway Museum, and is Chairman of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine.

Mr. Burnham has chaired nine major non-profits and has co-founded 14 organizations in his career, most providing direct benefit to San Diego. He’s also been a world-recognized sailor for five decades and has helped San Diego achieve prominence in both local and professional sports. At age 17, he became the youngest skipper to win a World Championship in the International Star Class. In 1987, he played a leading role in bringing the America’s Cup to San Diego. He is a former partner/owner of the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Sockers.

Paula A. Cordeiro, Board Chair

Paula is the Dammeyer Distinguished Professor of Global Leadership and Education in the Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego (USD). From 1998-2015 she served as dean of USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences and afterwards spent nearly five years working internationally as the VP of Education for Edify, an international micro-finance social enterprise. Paula has served on a variety of civic and philanthropic boards including the James Irvine Foundation, the USS Midway Museum, the New Bedford Whaling Museum (MA), and the Community Technical Assistance Center (MA).  She chaired the boards of the San Diego Council on Literacy, the University Council for Educational Administration and currently sits on the boards of the Conrad Prebys Foundation and Building Engineering and Science Talent (Washington DC). Paula was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to serve on the Board of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.  Prior to being a professor, Paula was a teacher, principal and school director in international schools in Venezuela and Spain. She is the author of three books and numerous articles. Paulateaches social entrepreneurship and impact evaluation.

Vincent Mudd, Board Treasurer , Vice Chair

Vincent Mudd is the former Managing Partner and Principal of Carrier Johnson + CULTURE. Throughout his tenure at Carrier Johnson + CULTURE, Vincent led the firm to its most solid performance as a private company, leading to its “Top 14” ranking from Architecture Magazine’s “Architect 50” top firms of the year. Previously, Mr. Mudd was the Chief Executive Officer of San Diego Office Interiors.

Vincent is a champion of sustainability having completed several LEED Platinum, Gold and Net Zero projects. He was given the “Cool Californian” award by the California Air Resources Board for his work. As an instructor at SDSU CES, Vincent inspired the next generation of green business leaders through his Sustainable Design and Construction course.

Highly committed to civic engagement, Vincent is one of San Diego’s “Top 100 Influential Leaders,” and has served on a variety of civic and philanthropic boards and led turnarounds of troubled not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Mudd was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Board of State Compensation Insurance Fund. He served as Chairman of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and San Diego’s Citizen’s Sustainability Task Force. He is a former director of the San Diego County Water Authority, Metropolitan Water District and Sharp HealthCare – the largest private health care system in the San Diego region.

Jack McGrory, Board Secretary

Jack is CEO of La Jolla MJ Management, LLC, a real estate investment company. Prior to that, Jack worked for the City of San Diego for twenty-three years, including serving as City Manager from March 1991 through August 1997. After his time with the city, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Price Enterprises, Inc., where he oversaw the sale of the company.

From 1999 to 2000 Jack was Chief Operating Officer of the San Diego Padres and from 1999-2002 he was President of the subsidiary responsible for building Petco Park and the adjacent commercial development.

Jack has also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Price Legacy Corporation, a real estate investment trust specializing in the acquisition and management of retail power centers, as Manager of The Price Group, and as Director and Executive Vice President of PriceSmart, Inc.

Throughout his career, Jack has served on more than a dozen boards and committees and has been a lecturer at the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University and in the Urban Studies and Planning Program at the University of California, San Diego.

Jack earned his BA at Colgate University, received his master’s in Public Administration from San Diego State University and his Law Degree from the University of San Diego. He was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Human Letters from the CSU Board of Trustees.

Tad Seth Parzen, Co-Founder, President and CEO

Tad Seth Parzen is the President and CEO of the Burnham Center for Community Advancement, which he co-founded alongside longtime civic leader Malin Burnham in 2021. Tad is a highly respected leader in the San Diego region, renowned for his long-standing commitment to civic causes and expertise in collaborative community development. With extensive experience in legal, education, philanthropy, government, and nonprofit sectors, he brings a unique and multi-faceted perspective to his work. Recognizing his exceptional leadership and contributions to the Burnham Center and the community, Tad was named a 2023 Nonprofit CEO of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal.

Prior to joining the Burnham Center, Tad led Parzen Civic Solutions, focusing on cross-sector collaborations to enhance communities. Starting his career as a trial lawyer and later a partner at the law firm of Hillyer & Irwin, in 2000, Tad shifted to public service as General Counsel for the San Diego Unified School District. He continued his public service journey through work in philanthropy, serving as the Executive Vice President at Price Philanthropies, and his work has been funded by some of our nation’s largest foundations.

Tad has contributed his time and expertise to many regional civic organizations, including the Institute of the Americas, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Business Roundtable for Education, World Design Capital 2024, Congregation Beth El, Jewish Federation of San Diego County, San Diego Jazz Ventures, and American Jewish Committee and others.

Peter Ellsworth, Board Member

After growing up in Los Angeles, Peter received a BA and a JD from Stanford University and served two years in the Army before coming to San Diego with his wife Doris. Once he settled in San Diego, Peter joined the law firm of Lindley, Lazar and Scales, which eventually evolved to become Ellsworth, Corbett, Seitman and McLeod, of which Peter was President. He left the law practice to become President and CEO of Sharp Health Care. Over his ten-year term in that role, he expanded the system from two hospitals to a group of seven hospitals and two medical groups that cared for one third of San Diegans and was the largest private employer in the City. After leaving Sharp, he refocused and reorganized a foundation established by a former law client and became President and CEO of that Foundation. He ran that Foundation in the new model for over 20 years until its final dissolution in July of 2020.

Over the years, Peter has served on numerous other Boards and committees including the Board of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce and the National Committee on primary care of the National Institute of Health in Washington DC. He currently serves on the Strategic Roundtable of the San Diego Economic Development Council and the Advisory Boards of The Center for Ethics in Science and Technology and the Accelerator program at the Engineering School at UCSD among others.

Lisette Islas, Board Member

Lisette Islas, Chief Executive Officer of Lifeline Community Services, is a transformational leader who has dedicated her career to furthering economic and social strength of the San Diego region. She is recognized by her ability to develop innovative strategies that uplift individuals, families, and communities.

With over twenty-five years of experience, Lisette has become a pivotal figure in San Diego's efforts to address systemic barriers to equity.  Throughout her career, she has held a number of strategic leadership roles in prominent organizations in the philanthropic and nonprofit fields, including significant contributions at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and San Diego Grantmakers. Most recently, she was Executive Vice President & Chief Impact Officer at MAAC. In this role, she focused on the intersection of economic inclusion and mobility, housing affordability, and access to quality early care and education. In her current role at Lifeline Community Services, Lisette guides the provision of vital mental and behavioral health services and economic development programs within San Diego County's most underinvested communities. In that leadership role, she ensures that these programs not only meet immediate needs but also address the broader systemic factors contributing to inequity.

Lisette's commitment extends beyond her role at Lifeline Community Services. She plays a pivotal role as a board member of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, where she serves on the Executive Committee as Vice-Chair, Inclusive Growth. Lisette is also an advisory committee member at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.

Lisette Islas' career is a reflection of her unwavering commitment to creating a more equitable and prosperous community. Through her dedication, visionary leadership, and inclusive approach, she continues to make a significant impact on the lives of people across the San Diego region.

Patricia Prado-Olmos, Board Member

Patricia is the Chief Community Engagement Officer at California State University San Marcos. She joined the CSUSM campus in 1997 as an assistant professor of education, earning tenure in 2001 as an associate professor, and achieving the rank of professor in 2007. She has also held numerous administrative positions at CSUSM, beginning with the role of academic director for CSUSM programs in Southwest Riverside County from 2005 to 2008. She served as associate dean for the College of Education from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2011 to 2012 under its new structure as the College of Education, Health and Human Services. In 2010, she led the College of Education as its interim dean.

Patricia served as the founding director of the Alliance to Accelerate Excellence in Education in the Division of Community Engagement, the administrative home for CSUSM's guaranteed admission program with 10 area school districts. In 2015 she was elevated to the role of Vice President for Community Engagement and in 2020 took on her current role. Patricia is a champion of equitable workforce development in the region and believes in the power of public higher education to improve our region and its families. She has degrees from Pomona College and UC Santa Barbara, and previously served on the faculty of Pomona College and University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Kirby Brady, Board Member

As Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Performance and Analytics for the City of San Diego, Kirby is responsible for the department’s day-to-day data and analysis efforts. Her team is responsible for organizing City data and making it universally accessible and helpful to all users. Using municipal analytics, her team leverages data to drive decision-making efforts to better align services with needs and optimize taxpayer resources.

Prior to joining the City of San Diego, Kirby spent four years working for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, where she oversaw the research efforts of the organization. Her team’s work focused on analyzing local economic trends, including quantifying the economic activity of regional industries and evaluating policy impacts. Kirby spent seven years working for the San Diego Association of Governments, where she managed the long-range population and housing forecast program for the region.

With a background in urban and transportation planning, demography, and infrastructure policy, Kirby is well versed in economic and demographic analysis and the application of local data sources.

A native San Diegan, Kirby holds a bachelor’s in regional development from the University of Arizona and a master’s in urban planning from the University of Southern California.

Balboa Park Working Group

Workforce Development Working Group

Housing Working Group

Community Fabric Working Group