Board of Trustees

Meet the 2024 Executive Committee for the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation Board of Trustees: Chair, DeeAnne Snyder, Vice Chair James Halliday, Treasurer Michael Whitehurst and Secretary Josh Weinman. All returning board members, they will serve at the helm of the 14-person team responsible for governing the activities of the Foundation for the next two years. Each brings an impressive array of expertise. Halliday is the Vice President & Chief Advancement Officer for the NTC Foundation | Arts District Liberty Station; Treasurer Michael Whitehurst, is a financial professional and Josh Weinman is a retired attorney who previously served as CNMF president. The collective experience of the board means a high level of leadership with insights into events, tourism, nonprofit management, accounting, law and perhaps most importantly – a shared love for the Park.

Snyder who initially served on the board in 2006, returned in 2020 and is more optimistic than ever about the potential of the Foundation to make an impact. A native San Diegan who made regular visits to the Park when her kids were growing up, she has been the Director of Event Services for the San Diego Convention Center for 30 years, giving her a keen understanding of San Diego’s tourism industry, a skillset she says past chair, Josh Weinman, recognized when he asked her to join the board.

She believes the roll the Park plays in the region cannot be overemphasized.

“The economic impact that Cabrillo National Monument brings to the city – we’ve never touted them, but it’s huge,” enthused Snyder. “Cabrillo’s yearly attendance is right up there with the numbers that visit other well-known San Diego Attractions,” she emphasized.

In light of these statistics, she said the board oversaw some rebranding between 2006 and 2012, adopting a new CNMF logo and tagline that reads “San Diego’s only national park.” But the changes that impressed her the most were still taking place and when she returned to the board again in 2020, she says what she saw was a more harmonious and effective team bringing together professionals from all over the County “…the likes of which I’ve never seen,” describes Snyder.

Witnessing strides in everything from the Foundation’s effectiveness to their fiscal position, Snyder attributes much of the positive change to the addition of Emily Moore six years ago. Moore, she explained, solidified her decision to return.

“After talking with her and meeting with her I was instantly sold,” described Snyder of their introduction. “Between her ability to talk about what she had already done, what she wanted to do and her background I thought ‘we finally have someone that can make it happen’ . ”

Since Moore’s arrival, Snyder says membership and engagement are up and there are more avenues for fundraising which have helped bring CNMF to a whole new level.

Connecting underserved youth to the Park is one of Snyder’s top priorities for CNMF and she would like to see more of the County’s leaders join the Foundation in taking an active roll to make this a reality. She firmly believes the Board of Trustees currently assemble has the might to make these and many other strides.