Board of Directors

Carolyn was raised in Wisconsin and came to California in 1964 after graduating from nursing school. She worked in hospitals down south for 32 years and came to Mono County Public Health Department in 1994 after her three children were grown and gone. She soon learned that IMACA was her place to go for assisting families with their needs. She joined the Board in 2011 and is grateful to have been helping people in Inyo and Mono counties with IMACA through all these years.

Jeff Griffiths has served on the IMACA Board of Directors since 2012. He has served on the executive committee and as Treasurer and Vice Chair. He’s held elected office since 2007, including two terms on the Bishop City Council and as Mayor, and is beginning his second term as 2nd District Inyo County Supervisor. Jeff is an active advocate for local government and people in need on the state and national level, particularly in the areas of health and human services and homelessness. Jeff was raised on a dairy farm in Ohio and graduated with honors in forestry from Ohio State University. He served in Panama in the United States Peace Corps as an agriculture volunteer and constructed potable water systems. Before entering public service, Jeff worked in various fields such as tree trimming, grant writing, and Spanish interpreting. He leads numerous nonprofit and government boards and volunteers extensively in the community. In addition to his partner, Sara, his two sons, Harvey and Owen, and late adopted daughter, Jasmine, Jeff has kept his house full with dozens of foster children and exchange students.

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John Peters currently serves as Mono County’s Supervisor. He has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Management and is the General Manager of the Bridgeport Inn. He is a member of the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and The Antelope Valley Lions Club. He has served on countless volunteer committees and has led many community fundraising efforts. He has been serving on IMACA’s Board of Directors since July 2018.

Jennifer Kreitz has long dedicated her time and energy to the people living in the Eastern Sierra. Beginning as a Mammoth Lakes Library volunteer in 1999, to today where she serves on the Mono County Board of Supervisors, Jennifer actively works toward lifting up the voices and needs of others. She currently serves on the California Coalition for Rural Housing Board of directors, the Eastern Sierra Continuum of Care and many other local boards, committees and commissions. Jennifer seeks to ensure that IMACA programs and services are equitably shared with Mono County residents.

Valarie Goodwin has been on the IMACA Board of Directors since November 2016. She often volunteers for IMACA’s Food Assistance program by helping pack food that gets distributed to each county.

She is a Bishop Paiute Tribe member. She participates in the tribe’s government events and loves their cultural activities. She loves the community! In her free time, she enjoys outdoor adventures like fishing and walking, and reading about history and political science.

Adelina has lived in Inyo County for 38 years. Her family migrated from Mexico and knew that Big Pine was the place to raise their children. She has five siblings, and three of them continue to live in Inyo County. She has been married for 22 years and has two children.

She has worked for Inyo Mono Association for the Handicapped for the past 19 years. Working with adults with intellectual disabilities has been such a rewarding job! She loves to see how clients are so caring and not judgmental. She has learned so much from every one she has worked with.

Jose Garcia, CD, CHI, is the Language Access Services Manager for Northern Inyo Healthcare District (NIHD) in Bishop, California, and a Bishop City Council Member, serving as the 2023 Mayor Pro Tem.

Jose was born in Mexico City where he completed his studies and graduated as Cirujano Dentista (Doctor of Dental Surgery) from “Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México” in 1985. Jose emigrated to the United States and has lived in Bishop since October 1989. Jose has over 20 years of experience in medical interpreting and translating and has been at NIHD for over 16 years. Prior to his employment at NIHD, Jose worked for Mammoth Hospital where he developed and implemented the first healthcare interpreter services program in the Eastern Sierra.

Jose has sewn deep seeds in this community over the past 33 years by volunteering for and serving on various organizations including: Commissioner for the City of Bishop Planning Commission (2013-2020), advisor for the BUHS Latino Club, and serving on the Board of Directors for Inyo Council for the Arts, and the Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Jose has been a Board Member for the California Healthcare Interpreting Association since 2007, served as President from 2013-2018, and Chairperson of the Board during the 2019-2021 term. Jose is passionate about serving the community by utilizing his bilingual and advocacy skills, education, and professional expertise.

Marshall retired in 2021 after serving over 25 years as a County Counsel in the Eastern Sierra: first as Mono County Counsel (1996-2015) and then as Inyo County Counsel (2016-2021). County Counsels are appointed by county boards of supervisors and serve as the county’s chief in-house attorney, providing a wide variety of legal services to county departments, commissions, and officials. As a department head, Marshall managed other attorneys and support staff and administered his department budget. Upon request, his office also provided legal services to local schools and special districts outside of county government. Marshall was active in the County Counsels Association of California and served in many Association positions including president. He was the longest serving County Counsel in California at the time of his retirement.

Marshall lives in Mono County and is married to Grace Rudolph. They have two adult children with special needs who grew up here, including attending IMACA’s Head Start/preschool programs.

Marshall has also been an active member of Rotary clubs in both Mono and Inyo counties. He is a past President of the Mammoth Lakes Rotary Club and the current President-elect of the Bishop Sunrise Rotary Club as well as an assistant governor. Over the years, Marshall has also provided legal assistance to other nonprofit entities, including the June Lake Loop Historical Society.

Through his many years of living and working in Inyo and Mono counties, Marshall has gained valuable experience and familiarity with the means through which public services are provided by governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as the issues and challenges facing residents and service providers in both counties.

Ardis Hitchborn was born in Santa Barbara, California, and came to Bishop in 1947 where she graduated from Bishop High School. She and her husband owned and operated the Fosters Freeze until it closed in 1987. Ardis then opened the Inyo Country Store/Restaurant for the next 17 years. She has been on the IMACA Board of Directors since 2015.

Phil has served communities all across southern and central California in public transit for over 30 years. He moved to Inyo County in 2018 with his wife to serve as Executive Director of Eastern Sierra Transit Authority.

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