Jay is also committed to cultivating the next generation of artists and arts leaders, championing programs that create opportunities for artistic development, education, and meaningful engagement in the performing arts.

With more than 25 years of experience in banking, Jay serves as Vice President and District Manager for U.S. Bank, where he leads teams throughout San Diego and supports the bank’s commitment to community engagement and philanthropy.

His civic involvement extends across San Diego’s arts, business, and nonprofit communities. Jay serves on multiple nonprofit boards, including the Downtown San Diego Partnership and Horton Plaza Theatres Foundation, and has previously served on the boards of Diversionary Theatre and City Ballet of San Diego.

In recognition of his community leadership, Jay has twice been named to the San Diego Business Journal’s SD500, recognizing the region’s 500 most influential people, and has been recognized multiple times as one of San Diego’s Top LGBTQ+ Leaders of Influence.

Melissa is the co-founder of The WhatNext? Collective, a San Diego-based group of writers, actors, and directors dedicated to amplifying women’s voices through original theater. Through the Collective, she has written, produced, composed for, and performed in productions including Good Girls and Badassery, Park Bench Confessions, and Who Do You Think You Are?

Her play Bittercake won Best Play at the 2026 SacTown Play Festival, and her comedy Cringe was featured in Trinity Theatre Company’s 2025 New Works Festival. Her award-winning monologues have been staged at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, and her writing has appeared in three editions of the Shaking the Tree anthology. Her newest full-length play, The Mayflower Inheritance, is currently in development.

In the business world, Melissa serves as Chief Creative Officer of NewBlue, Inc., a video technology company, and principal of Mindsight, a digital communications consultancy. She also established WOW, a Qualcomm-supported initiative encouraging high school girls to pursue opportunities in STEM.

In addition to serving on the San Diego Performing Arts League board, Melissa serves on the board of the International Radio and Television Society Foundation in New York City. She has twice been a featured speaker at the San Diego Writers Festival and is committed to fostering a vibrant, inclusive performing arts community in San Diego.

“My theatre work ethic came from Don and Bonnie Ward, San Diego theatre icons,” Ron often says.

Throughout his career, Ron has performed in a wide range of productions, including four years in How the Grinch Stole Christmas at The Old Globe Theatre, Play On! at the Pasadena Playhouse, and multiple productions of My One and Only, in which he played Mr. Magix.

In addition to his acting career, Ron works in Creative Development with Arimaw Productions. He also owns and operates a video production company specializing in professional self-tapes and college pre-screen audition videos.

For the past six years, Ron has helped aspiring young performers across the country present their best work for college auditions. He films and edits monologues, songs, and dance performances, combining his experience as a professional actor with his knowledge of what it takes to create a strong audition.