Board Members
BPOC’s Board of Directors consists of six individuals, including representatives of cultural institutions that BPOC serves and a representative of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership.
BPOC’s Board of Directors consists of six individuals, including representatives of cultural institutions that BPOC serves and a representative of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership.
President : Dean Yager
I.T. Manager, The Old Globe
Dean has worked at The Old Globe since 1993, serving first as Box Office Representative, then as Assistant Box Office Manager, then as Information Systems Assistant Manager, then as I.T. Manager. Dean has been an active member in the user community of the Ticketing/ Fundraising systems that The Old Globe uses and strongly supports sharing knowledge among a community. He holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego. He brings a wealth of technical knowledge to the BPOC board.
Charles Castle
Deputy Director and CFO, Museum of Contemporary Art
Charles has been with MCASD since 1990 and is charged with managing Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, Facilities, Security, Information Technology, Food Services and Retail Operations. Castle holds an MBA degree from the Anderson School at UCLA and has previous employment experience with The Frederick Weisman Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Trust and the University of California.
Kate Clyde
Director of Operations, San Diego Museum of Man
Kate is an arts and culture advocate who has been working in the museum field for 12 years. She went to the Evergreen State College in Washington, graduated with an emphasis in Sculpture and interdisciplinary learning, and also taught for two years as an instructor in studio sculpture. Kate then went to work at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle as a developer prototyping interactives for exhibits. After moving to San Diego in 2013 she lead the way for producing the exhibits at the Museum of Man for 5 years. These exhibits focus on a range of cultural anthropology topics, work to develop meaningful partnerships with San Diego communities, but also put the fun in profundity. Kate is now the Director of Operations at the Museum of Man where she oversees multiple departments including the IT Department, the Visitor Experience Department, and project managing the California Tower seismic retrofit. In her free time in the summer you can bet that Kate is snorkeling in La Jolla somewhere. She is also a mediocre but enthusiastic gardener, a slightly better kombucha brewer, and a retired professional pastry chef. With the rest of her time you can find her building lighthearted interactive sculpture, which sometimes uses Arduino or Raspberry Pi, and getting modest grants for absurd project ideas with her artist collective friends.
Peter Comiskey
Executive Director, Balboa Park Cultural Partnership
An Australian native, Peter has a long track record of bringing together diverse stakeholders to launch and operate public cultural and science programs on two continents. Before joining the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, he served as the Executive Director of the Downtown Anaheim Association, a nonprofit group working with Anaheim city officials, Anaheim’s Redevelopment Agency, and multiple property owners to drive visitation of the city’s downtown precinct through developing and launching a number of major public events. Upon moving to the US in 1998, Peter assisted in the launch of Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, and then led the US operations of an international tourist attractions group in Baltimore. Returning to California in 2007, he became the founding Executive Director of Anaheim’s MUZEO Foundation, creating a unique model for regional cultural arts venues in the newly rejuvenated downtown Anaheim. Comiskey holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, and bachelors degrees in business and education from Australian universities.
Alexis O’Banion
Creative Director and Technology Strategist, Mingei International Museum
Alexis is a creative professional with over 15 years of experience in marketing, graphic design and tech strategy. Currently a Content Strategist at Intuit, she continues to weave design and tech to solve a wide range of problems, and previously ran a lean, transparent marketing and design department at Mingei International Museum. Although fiercely introverted, Alexis loves speaking about design, innovation and emerging technology. She is deeply involved in the design community and with women in tech organizations. Off the clock, you can find her watching hockey, reading comic books, and gaming.
Graciela Platero
Chief of Staff, San Diego Museum of Art
Graciela has been employed San Diego Museum of Art since February of 2018. Prior to joining the Balboa Park community, she was the founding director of a K-12 international school in Tabasco, Mexico where her overarching objective was to ensure the school achieved accreditation as an International Baccalaureate World School which it now has. She also worked for 30 years at UCSD’s Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies serving ultimately as it’s Director of External Affairs. Her responsibilities at SDMA include working closely with the executive director and the senior leadership team, overseeing IT operations, and Museum liaison with its Board of Trustees. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego.
