​A lifelong resident of Indiana and a proud alumnae of Indiana University, retired after a 33 year career as Vice President and Trust Officer with JPMorgan Chase Bank.   Active in her community and church as a volunteer all of her adult life she has served on several not-for-profit boards, including St. Vincent Mercy Hospital Foundation and United Way of Madison County.  Angela and her husband of 40 years, Tom, began visiting Borrego Springs in the early 80’s and now call Borrego their “home away from home” from January to May.  In Borrego, Angela volunteers at the elementary school and at the Borrego Art Institute and belongs to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.  Angela and Tom have two sons and two grandchildren.

I have a bachelor of science degree in teaching the deaf from Northwestern University, a masters degree in counselling from San Diego State University and an EDD in educational leadership from United States International University. I worked with San Diego Unified School District for 30 years as a teacher, counsellor, principal and trainer in the area of race and human relations.  With AVID, I worked evaluating programs throughout the world on preparing low income and first time students going to college. I also was on the board and co-directed a K - 12 online school. I’ve been actively involved with Borrego Springs Unified School District for many years and have been substituting in the classroom K-12 for the past several years. I have been on the BASIC board for 10 years, the last two as president.

Joanne S. Ingwall, Ph.D. is currently Emerita Professor of Medicine (Physiology) at Harvard Medical School, having retired from an active research career in cardiac energetics and function in 2012.  Since moving back to California in 2006, Joanne has transferred her energy from the academic arena to several volunteer organizations, including the ABDSP Paleontology Society and the ABDSP Botany Society.  Joanne’s major volunteer activity in Borrego has been as a member of the board of BASIC. She has served as its CFO/treasurer, a member of the scholarship selection committee and associate director of BASIC’s Cradle to Graduation C2G program. In the summers, she and her husband Dick are active in several citizen scientist projects in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

I'm a native San Diegan and have a degree in Computer Science.  I lived in the Los Angeles area for about 20 years doing systems development work for many major corporations before returning home.  My first job in that area was for the Walt Disney Company.  I am a mother of two and a grandmother of two and love my family.  My extended family are spread out over the US and in other parts of the world.  I learned to fly helicopters and got my private pilot license in 1996 and my commercial pilot license in 1998.  I flew traffic helicopters on and off for several years.  I now own my own real estate office in Borrego Springs in The Mall and have lived in the Anza Borrego Desert area full-time since the summer of 2004.

​I hold a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a Masters degree in Special Education, an Education Specialist credential as well as an Administrative credential in Education. I believe that all children can learn and as adults/educators, our mission is to unlock the chest of knowledge in all students by finding the right key. My wife Diane and I moved back to Borrego Springs in 2023 and I wanted to continue my work in education. As a prior math teacher in our Learning Academy BASIC was my choice to continue teaching struggling students in our summer Learning Academy and be involved in working to make BASIC even stronger than it is. Please stop and say hello as you see me around town.

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I grew up in Borrego Springs and graduated in 1997. After marrying in 2001, we moved to Salinas, CA, but returned to Borrego Springs in 2014 to raise our children. Recognizing that college was not a viable option and having limited resources, I embraced my father’s teachings on hard work and innovative thinking. This mindset enabled me to build a successful career at Chiquita Fresh Express, leveraging my skills in large numbers, procurement, international shipping, ag business, water rights, collections, administration, and procedure implementation. This led to a rewarding job with the Borrego Water District which additionally allows me to contribute to my community where I serve on the Board of Organización LatinX De Borrego.  As a mother, I admire BASIC for its support of students and families, and I look forward to contributing to this wonderful group dedicated to student success.

With 14 years as an administrator in the Borrego Springs Unified School District, Martha Deichler has a passion for the families and children who call our rural desert oasis their home. She currently works as the School Community Liaison to connect our students to the resources that allow them to grow and flourish, most specifically the rich educational opportunities offered by BASIC. 

My wife Rosemary and I have been in love with Borrego Springs and ABDSP since the 1970's and when I retired January 1, 2021, Borrego became our permanent residence. I continue my outdoor activities here in Borrego bicycle riding and exploring ABDSP as a Paleontology Volunteer. Now as a full-time member of this community I recognize the importance of volunteer community organizations. My participation in the Circle of Art this year solidified this impression. I/we would like to help the children and young people of this community reach their true potential through assistance in education.

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Sharon Goldsmith and her late husband Jerry discovered Borrego Springs while bird watching in 1990. Two days here eventually became four months each year; when not in Borrego, Sharon lives near the Everglades in SW Florida. Sharon holds a PhD in Developmental Psycholinguistics from Graduate Center of the City University of New York where her research focused on the relationship between reading disabilities and language disabilities.
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Deemed an international expert in Standards, Certification and Accreditation, Sharon currently heads a consulting group that works with schools, colleges, private and governmental organizations worldwide to improve educational systems and achieve compliance with internationally recognized standards of best practice.  Trained as a speech language pathologist, Sharon has worked variously as a teacher trainer in NY and MA, and as Director of Special Education for a MA school district; ultimately she became Assistant Commissioner of Education for the Commonwealth where she supervised statewide efforts in development and evaluation of new special education programs before being recruited to work at the (inter)national level as Director of Professional Affairs and Senior Advisor for the American Speech Language Hearing Association in Washington DC.

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Urmi Ray is an experienced semiconductor professional who works with industry organizations such as iNEMI, IMAPS, SEMI and others on driving advanced packaging and integration strategies. She has worked at JCET Group, Qualcomm and at Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories in various semiconductor research and engineering roles. She has a PhD from Columbia University (New York City). Urmi also spends her time volunteering for many organizations in areas such as education (tutoring, mentoring), food banks/soup kitchens, conservation activities with CA state parks.

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Joann Stang is the Founder of BASIC’s Learning Academy and a founding member of BASIC.  She chaired the Circle of Art for 9 years, served on the scholarship committee for 18 years and served the organization in a variety of leadership roles.  Joann’s passion for support of education comes from her belief that education of all is a foundation of our democratic system.  She has had leadership and management responsibility as Corporate Director for Human Resources at Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar Company, with international human resources societies and in volunteer organizations in San Diego and Michigan, her summer home. 

Nidia Meza holds a bachelor’s degree in business marketing with over 20 years of professional experience in leadership and management operations with responsibilities for steering improvement projects, building and guiding top-performing teams, and optimizing internal operations. Nidia is the Managing Director for BASIC, serves on the finance committee, and is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library coordinator. Nidia immigrated as a child from Mexico, the first in her family to graduate from college, fluent in Spanish, and understands the client community. Nidia volunteers for many organizations in Borrego Springs, and understands the importance of Education as the cornerstone of lifelong achievement.