Sharlene Ornelas
President and Executive Director
Sharlene is the president and executive director of the BCCSD board since 2016 and has served in various capacities since 1983. Ms. Ornelas has been an ADA consultant since 1984 and legally blind since birth. Ms. Ornelas obtained her AAS from Green River Community College in Occupational Therapy and was the manager of Kool Kolor, a promotional photography company. Ms. Ornelas’s goal is to help blind and visually impaired people lead enriching and purposeful lives, and her role at the BCCSD provides this opportunity.
Ethel Kirtley
Vice President
Ethel Kirtley is the BCCSD’s vice president since 2018 and has served in various roles at the center for more than 45 years and at the San Diego Braille Club, American Council of the Blind, and California Council of the Blind. Ms. Kirtley was a transcriber for Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Sharp HeathCare, and Scripps Health, all while raising three children and being completely blind since infancy. Ms. Kirtley is passionate about the rights of all disabled individuals, especially the blind. She is actively involved in the center’s daily programs and operations.
Gwen Edwards
Past President
Gwen Edwards has served on the board in various positions over the last 30 years including president and director and is currently serving as past president. Totally blind since birth, Ms. Edwards was a medical transcriber at Dominguez Hospital for 15 years. Ms. Edwards wants members of the community to realize blindness doesn’t make a person less capable, but we just do things differently at times.
Marianne Winship
Secretary
Marianne Winship is the BCCSD’s secretary since 2022. In Massachusetts, Ms. Winship served on the boards of Seafarer’s Friend, Board of Health, Council on Elder Affairs, Disability Commission, and the League of Women Voters. She was a facilitator for the Massachusetts Department of Correction for 14 years. Blind since birth, she earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree from Assumption College. She is a mother, grandmother, and lifelong musician.
Brook Logan
Treasurer
Brook Logan is the BCCSD’s volunteer treasurer since 2019. Mrs. Logan bring more than 25 years of accounting experience to the board and previously worked for Emerald Textiles, Eli Lilly and Company, SGX Pharmaceuticals, and Ernst & Young. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CA) and received her Bachelors in Business Administration (Accounting) and her Master’s in Accounting, both from San Diego State University.
Christie Greene
Business and Operations Manager
Christie Greene is the volunteer business and operations manager of the BCCSD and a board member. She retired from AT&T after 30 years, in 2004, as a tier-two technical director. Ms. Greene came to the BCCSD in 2005, bringing her AT&T management skills, as well as several years of volunteering with Campfire. She oversees facilities repairs and maintenance and takes part in program development. Ms. Greene is a member of the San Diego North Park Lions Club and AT&T Pioneers.
Dr. Eric J. Linebarger
Dr. Eric J. Linebarger is an ophthalmologist and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in San Diego, including Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and Sharp Memorial Hospital. He received his medical degree from University of Utah School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Yvette Lee
Yvette Lee has been a member of the BCCSD for over 35 years. Ms. Lee joined the board as a director in 2019. She has been totally blind since the age of 14 from glaucoma. Ms. Lee has held office in a state organization of the blind. She wants to encourage newly blind individuals and contribute to their adjustment to blindness through providing activities and sharing how people adjust to blindness.
Mary Manning
Mary Manning became a BCCSD Board Member in 2019. She is a member of the Harbison Canyon Lions since 2004. Mary is a native San Diegan, with roots in the dairy history of Mission Valley. She and her high school sweetheart, husband Ed, settled in Harbison Canyon in 1976 where she had a day care in their home for 45 years. She is active with the Lions MD4 California Student Speaker Contests, the Harbison Canyon County Planning Group and her family. She is passionate about the BCCSD and looks to helping its membership grow.
Diane Hall
Diane Hall has served as a board director since 2019. She worked as a corporate secretary for 30 years and was a dog trainer at Petco for 10 years. Diagnosed with macular degeneration at 50, Ms. Hall joined the center in 2013. She is a native San Diegan and has a son and three grandchildren.
Nena Guillan
Magdalena “Nena” Guillen has served as a board director since 2017 and has been a member since 2014. Born in Mexico, she became a U.S. citizen in 1998. Ms. Guillen was a teacher’s assistant in Lemon Grove for 11 years. Legally blind due to diabetes, she has three children and eight grandchildren.