In what its director calls a “very, very strange beginning of the year,” the La Jolla Village Merchants Association has lost about a quarter of its 15-member board in the past month due to resignations.
LJVMA accepted three resignations at its March 11 meeting, adding to the departure of its vice president last month. At the same meeting, it accepted four applications to fill the empty board seats.
Former vice president Elnaz Iraj, who had spearheaded the annual “Views of Nowruz” festival, announced at the Feb. 11 meeting that she would be stepping down.
“It’s very bittersweet,” she said at the time. “I have served on the board for three years now and have loved every minute of it. But there are so many things going on in my life right now that I feel like I need to focus on … and my business.”
LJVMA Executive Director Jodi Rudick said Iraj “has family in Iran and was feeling pulled in many different directions” with the ongoing conflict there.
At the March meeting, board members Ernesto Carrola, Reynaldo Castillo and Courtney Resch announced their resignations.
Rudick said Carrola will be leaving La Jolla and therefore no longer be eligible to serve on the board.
Carrola said he is stepping down “after much reflection” and that he is “entering a new chapter … and building the next phase of my professional journey. … I believe it is appropriate [for me] to step aside and allow the board to move forward.”
He added that he is “proud of the work we have done” during his two years on the board.
Rudick said Castillo has accepted a job outside La Jolla and therefore also would be ineligible to continue serving. He did not attend the meeting.
Resch, who was elected to the board in October, acknowledged that her time with the group was short. She did not give a reason for her resignation. However, she appointed a delegate from her business to take her spot.
Rudick said four eligible members of the business community had submitted nomination forms to fill the four open seats. The board accepted all four unanimously.
They are Chateau La Jolla director Kaity Rudolph, Ashen Salon delegate Sarah Putnam, My Senior Health Plan broker Nicole Medina and Charleston Shoe Co. manager Alysha Murillo.
The new board members will be sworn in at the next meeting.
Newly accepted La Jolla Village Merchants Association board members Sarah Putnam, Kaity Rudolph and Nicole Medina are welcomed by President Scott Blaul. New board member Alysha Murillo is not pictured. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
Other LJVMA news
Officer picks: With Iraj’s departure, former LJVMA secretary Jessica Chepovsky was promoted to vice president, and board member Fatmeh Muhareb was chosen as secretary.
Grant accepted: The board accepted a $15,000 grant from the office of San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer to be applied toward “improving the diversity [and] outreach for our [First Friday] Art Walk,” Rudick said.
As part of that, LJVMA will partner with the San Diego Art Directory to “add some outreach opportunities … to bring in some outside artists who are not at a point in their career to be paying for gallery space in La Jolla,” Rudick said.
Additionally, new locations that are not traditional galleries are being sought to host those artists, she said.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Village Merchants Association next meets at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. The agenda will be posted at lajollabythesea.com. ♦