OUR BOARD

Courtenay Silvergleid Wallpe, Ph.D.
President

Courtenay joined the board of TWS in January of 2005 and is currently serving as President. Working with TWS provides her a worthy venue through which to fulfill her lifelong commitment to helping women and children who are survivors of domestic violence. When not putting her organizational and donor cultivation skills to work in service of TWS, Courtenay is a full time parent to her sons Zachary and Zander. After 15 years working with both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, she truly believes that there isn't a more important social issue on which to focus her energies, and is sincerely grateful to the staff and volunteers at TWS who make such a critical difference in her community every day.

Heather Tone
Vice President

A local resident and Real Estate Advisor has witnessed the affects of abuse firsthand many times over, which has had a profound effect on her view of the world. Those experiences prompted Heather to join TWS in 2003 as a volunteer, mostly working the fundraising events. Seeing what an incredible organization TWS was and hoping to make an even greater impact on the community, Heather became a member of the Board in 2005 and is currently serving as Vice President. Heather believes that all children deserve a home with peace and love and will continue to work tirelessly until that goal is achieved.

Cris Hennessey
Secretary

Cris joined the TWS board in February of 2007, which marks over 10 years of involvement with the agency. She began serving in 1997 as a volunteer at events, translating the agency’s materials and helping in the offices. In 2000, she completed the Crisis Intervention Training and was hired as an advocate. Years later, she was promoted to the Safe House Manager. Cris’s employment with TWS provided insight into the workings of the agency, its image and reputation, as well as the unique needs of the staff. During her employment, she focused on systems change advocacy and building community relations. Cris is one of our bilingual-bicultural board members. She was born and raised in Argentina until the age of 10. Cris is also a survivor of domestic violence, which gives her a unique understanding of the challenges our clients encounter both in their personal lives and within the system set up to assist them. Cris is a resident of the North Tahoe area, and she and her husband, a heating contractor, are raising their daughter in this community. Today she owns her own translation business and volunteers in various community activities.

Daren McDonald
Treasurer

Daren is a Certified Public Accountant performing tax, financial, and audit services for for-profit and not-for-profit entities alike since the turn of the century.  During his years of public practice, Daren has worked on improving internal financial control environments, reporting and budgeting, and taxation analysis.  He has served as the Treasurer for Tahoe Women's Services since 2008.  He is currently the principal of his firm, Daren M. McDonald, CPA.

Dr. Barry Triestman,

Board certified in nutrition and chiropractic, Barry is passionate about decreasing and ending the effects of domestic violence and sexual assault in North Lake Tahoe. He has served three terms as President of the Board of Directors, and has been on the board for 7 years. During this time he has learned a vast amount about domestic violence, sexual assault and the details of non-profits. He said, “The thing I have learned the most was applying the cycle of domestic violence in my own life and how this can be applied to relationships in life and business." He has also been involved in fundraising for TWS including Chocolate Festival, Ski Day, and Vagina Monologues, in capacities from chair person to hands-on volunteering. In a recent interview Dr. Triestman said, “Being part of TWS has been a challenging and rewarding experience for me and I continue to look forward as we make our community safer!"

Paula Lauer

Paula joined the TWS board in August of 2006. She was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she obtained her Master's degree in clinical psychology. She has worked for human service agencies, a State Hospital, as a therapist in private practice and in a mental heath services agency. Paula has experience and knowledge working with diverse populations, understanding of systems and organizations, knowledge about family dynamics and the agencies serving them, as well as advocacy and empowerment. Paula sees her involvement with TWS as a way of staying connected with and supporting her community now that her career decision veered towards the Hospitality Industry. She is currently the Member Services Manager at Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee.

Heidi Doyle

Heidi, a 23-year resident of Lake Tahoe, strongly believes in the strengths within our community to solve problems that touch us all, including the issues of violence and advocacy. Heidi is employed by California State Parks, bringing experience in law enforcement, volunteer, special event and non-profit management. She has lived on four continents thus bringing insight into the sensibilities of multiple nationalities and the complexities of building trust and relationships across cultural lines. Heidi feels honored to serve such a worthy organization.

Darlene Pearson-Bray

Darlene joined the TWS board in 2009 after volunteering for many years. She relocated to Tahoe City from Seattle after meeting and marrying a local gent. Darlene's "hats" include psychotherapist, actor, art collector, and wanna-be race car driver. She completed the TWS Crisis Intervention Training, and is thrilled to once again be so deeply connected with such a great agency. 

Dina Marshal

Dina moved to North Tahoe from Florida where she was active in Foster Care issues facing South Florida. Now a full time resident in Incline Village for over 3 years and a Nevada State Delegate, Dina is active in several community projects and volunteers at The Pet Network, Read To Succeed, Disabled Sports and Golf Fore Education among others. Dina recently said that she wanted to find an organization that she could totally get behind and know she was making a difference locally; TWS has filled that role. Having worked and recruited nationally for top Fortune 500 companies, she knows the difficulty in finding and retaining top tier talent. She is impressed with the staff and board’s participation and dedication here at TWS, as well as the focus, each and every individual involved in TWS shows.

Sean Farnan

Sean is the newest Board member, having joined in May, 2010.  He recently re-located to the Tahoe Basin after 27 years in Southern California, and is originally from New York.  He attended Suffolk County Community College on Long Island, and then Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. After 20 years in the financial services sector, both in the mortgage and insurance industries, in 1998 Sean turned his attention to the non-profit world.  Sean is currently the Development Director for Lake Tahoe School in Incline Village.  Prior to arriving at Lake Tahoe School, Sean was the Donor Relations Director for the Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara, and also served as the Executive Director of the Ventura County Junior Golf Association and The First Tee Ventura County. Sean is the father of a 9-year-old son, Sawyer; they love living in Tahoe, enjoying golf, boating and the great outdoors together.

Tahoe Women’s Services is actively recruiting new board members. If you are an attorney or have experience fundraising, we are particularly interested in talking with you. This is a volunteer position with a three year term. If you are interested, please contact Courtenay Silvergleid Wallpe, Ph.D. at: tws@tahoewomenservices.org

TAHOE WOMEN'S SERVICES
believes that every person has the right to live a life free of violence. The agency works to empower victims in reclaiming those rights by providing safety, advocacy, education and support.

TAHOE WOMEN'S SERVICES
is a community-based organization providing direct services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and other individuals in crisis. Incorporated as an independent non-profit, 501(c)3 public benefit corporation in 1985, the agency maintains three office sites, one shelter and has 22 staff members and 3 AmeriCorps Volunteers.