Rosemary Thurston, President

Rosemary Thurston was a full time teacher at Solano Community College where she taught for 28 years before retiring in 2000. She is currently serving on the Vallejo Symphony Board where she served as President for two years. She has served in various professional organization positions and with other nonprofit groups. She has been a member of the Fighting Back Partnership Board of Directors since 2006.

Veronica Stone, Vice-President

Veronica Bethel Stone, District Director for California Assembly member Noreen Evans. Prior to joining the Assembly, Veronica taught courses in history, science and special education to 6-12th graders as a substitute teacher in Vallejo Unified School District. She was also a business owner. Veronica has served on numerous boards and commissions addressing affordable healthcare for children, healthcare access, land use, education and small business development. A lifelong resident of Vallejo, she holds a B.A. in Business from Mount Mary College. Veronica has been a member of Fighting Back Partnership's Board of Directors since 2007, and is on the Nomination Committee.

Terrye Davis, Secretary

Terrye Davis is an attorney specializing in Wills, Trusts, Probate, Landlord/ Tenant and Real Estate law. In addition to being a Fighting Back Partnership Board member since 2003, she serves on the Sutter Solano Board of Trustees and the Lighthouse Covenant Fellowship Board of Trustees. Terrye volunteers at the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club where she coordinates the Keystone Leadership Group. She also works with girls, ages 13 to 18, who are members of the Delta Gems Leadership program, a program administered by her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

Suzanne Harrington-Cole

Suzanne has been a resident of Vallejo since 1987 and an active member of the Washington Park Neighborhood Association since 1989. She served 8 years on the Beautification Advisory Commission and is currently on the Vallejo Planning Commission. Suzanne is an active member of Team Tennessee whose goal it is to revitalize Tennessee Street. She has been a member of Fighting Back Partnership's Board of Directors for 7 years, serving 4 years as the President.

Joe Bates

Joe has been a resident of Vallejo for 21 years and recently retired as Assistant Maintenance Superintendent for the City of Vallejo. During his tenure with the City he served as the Staff liaison to the Beautification Advisory Commission and participated in programs such as VISION (Vallejo's Image Starts In Our Neighborhoods) and VNIP (Vallejo Neighborhood Improvement Program). Joe also worked with the Fighting Back Partnership by helping those in the Parolee re-entry program obtain maintenance jobs with the City of Vallejo. Joe firmly believes that one of the best ways to volunteer service to the community is to participate in programs sponsored by the Fighting Back Partnership.

Paul Beeman

Paul Beeman is a life-long resident of Vallejo. In 1968 Paul received his B.A. in Political Science at the California State College of Hayward. He then received his J.D. from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific in Sacramento in 1973. Before being appointed as a judge he was practicing law at the Law Offices of Beeman & Beeman, Vallejo, CA from 1973 to 2000. Then April 10, 2000, Paul Beeman was appointed as a judge to Solano County Superior Court. Paul is the Nomination Chair for Fighting Back Partnership's Board of Directors and has been a member since 2000.

Al DaSilva

Al DaSilva is a retired Community Development Director for the City of Vallejo. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Sutter Solano Medical Center. Al has been a member of Fighting Back Partnership's Board of Directors since 2004.

Doug Keener

In 1988, Doug Keener was part of a focus group that eventually led to Fighting Back Partnership and funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Trust. As a former Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent and as a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office, Doug brought his law enforcement perspective to the organization. He remained in that group until he joined the Board in 1999. Since then he has been on the Budget and Personnel Committee and recently completed two terms as Vice President. Doug retired from the District Attorney's Office after 20 years of service, the last ten as Chief Deputy. Doug and his wife Patti have two children. Their son Tommy attends St. Mary's College in Moraga. Their daughter, Annie, is a senior at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo and a volunteer at Fighting Back in the Solano Collaborative Mentor Program.

Viviana Loera

Viviana Loera serves as the Community Outreach Officer for Travis Credit Union in their corporate offices in Vacaville, CA. After graduating from CSU Sacramento with a Bachelors of Science in Communication Studies; she began working for Montoya Bilingual Communications Inc., where she served as an account manager specializing in ethnic marketing. While at Montoya Communications she had the opportunity to work with national clients such as Disney, Ford, and Del Monte Foods. Following her work she conducted Market Research as the Research Director for Univision KDTV 19 in Sacramento. Viviana has recently joined Fighting Back Partnership's Board of Directors. She currently chairs the Marketing Committee

Jim O'Conner

Dr. Jim O'Connor is currently Dean of the College of Education at Touro University California on Mare Island in Vallejo. He came to California from the University of Iowa. Prior to his twelve years there, he was a Center Fellow at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. He was also previously a tenured professor of education at California State University in Bakersfield where he spent seven years. Jim has a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry, a master's degree in adult counseling, and a PhD in educational psychology specializing in learning, instruction, and cognition. As well as an educator, he is a former surgical physician's assistant. His areas of expertise include working with at-risk students and motivation. He is a veteran scuba diver, and currently he swims in San Francisco Bay in Aquatic Park where he is a member of the Dolphin Swimming and Rowing Club. Jim lives in Vallejo at Mariner's Landing.

Scott Peterson

Scott Peterson married Betsy his wife in 1974. They have seven children and are the grandparents of three. He has been the Senior Pastor of Church on the Hill since 1990. Prior to that Scott had an 11-year career in radio and television broadcasting. Church on the Hill exists to meet the needs of the community as well as the members of the church. He serves on the board of Vallejo Rotary Club and Leadership Vallejo and has recently joined Fighting Back Partnership's Board of directors. Scott has organized and participated in numerous community events.

Rozzana Verder-Aliga

Dr. Verder-Aliga has been a community volunteer for over 20 years. As a Community Organizer she spearheaded the grassroots participation of the Filipino American community in addressing alcohol, drugs, teen pregnancy, gangs, family/parenting issues through the Filipino Task Force of Fighting Back Partnership in the early 90's. A Licensed Marriage Family Therapist by profession, she currently works as Mental Health Manager for Solano County Health & Social Services. Her work focuses on serving the social and mental health needs of children and families in Solano County. Dr. Verder-Aliga also served on the Vallejo School Board for 12 years (1993-2005) and was elected to the Solano County Board of Education last November 2007. She has been on Fighting Back Partnership's Board of Directors since 2005. She is also a board member of several other local non-profit organizations. A resident of Vallejo for 27 years, she is married to US Army Colonel Nestor Aliga and they have three sons.