Coachella Valley Wellness Foundation Board of Directors

Walter Clark, Tom Tokheim, Steve Lind, Patty Newman, Martin Serna, Chuck Riach, Chris Pyle       © Photo by Lani Garfield
Patricia 'Patty' Newman
Board Chair

Ms. Newman obtained a BBA from the University of Oklahoma and did graduate work at UCLA and UC Riverside while working as an executive in the retail fashion industry. She holds a CA Community College Teaching Credential in Marketing and Management and has taught courses at Los Angeles City College and San Bernardino Valley College. She has spent more than 45 years in leadership roles working in her communities for civic, cultural and charitable causes. As a philanthropist and volunteer, she cares deeply about helping others.

Walter 'Wally' Clark, JD
Board Secretary

Mr. Clark received his undergraduate degree from UC Santa Barbara and his JD from the University of San Diego. He has practiced law since 1973 and was Riverside County Deputy District Attorney prior to entering private practice. He served as President of the Desert Bar Association and worked with various other professional organizations. Mr. Clark chaired the Indian Wells Planning Commission and has been on numerous nonprofit boards. His firm, Walter Clark Legal Group (www.walterclark.com), specializes in personal injury law.

Stephen 'Steve' Lind, JD
Board Treasurer

Professor Lind received both his undergraduate degree and his JD from UC Berkeley and his LLM (Taxation) from New York University. Following his teaching career at University of Florida and Hastings College of Law, he retired as ‘Distinguished Professor Emeritus’ to the desert and spends his summers in Lake Tahoe. He continues to write tax law textbooks while staying busy with several nonprofit organizations on which boards he serves both in the Coachella Valley and Lake Tahoe.

Charles 'Chuck' Riach
Director

Mr. Riach attended Woodbury College, University of Southern California and Indiana University, and had a long successful career in finance and banking. He retired to the Coachella Valley as Senior Executive of Great Western Bank and President of the Service Corp of Great Western Financial Corp. Along with golf, he began his second career in community service. He was co-founder of the Country Club Food Drive and has served on several nonprofit boards as well as being a ‘Big Brother’ to a deserving and very lucky youth.

Christopher 'Chris' Pyle, CPA
Director

Mr. Pyle, while still a student at San Diego State University in Business & Accounting, opened his own business in the building maintenance industry, which helped pay his way through college. Some years after graduation, he sold the successful business and obtained his CPA license. After practicing accounting for several years, he opened his own firm in 2003. Christopher Pyle, CPA (www.cpylecpa.com) specializes in small business consulting and tax planning as well as nonprofit audits.

Martin Serna
Director

Mr. Serna is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard and received his BA from the University of Washington. His career was in broadcast journalism and marketing and his firm, Martin Serna Communications specialized in Hispanic markets. He was also General Manager of KUNA – FM & AM, KUNA TV and TELEMUNDO in the desert communities. In addition to his involvement with professional organizations, he has also served on Chamber of Commerce, homeowner’s and nonprofit boards.

Thomas 'Tom' Tokheim
Director

Mr. Tokheim obtained an undergraduate degree in Accounting from Creighton University and his MBA from University of Nebraska. His career included both healthcare financial management for hospitals and real estate investments. Locally he is involved in real estate development projects. In addition to being affiliated with healthcare professional associations, he has served on several local nonprofit boards.

Directors Emeritus

 

Leslie Giesemann, MD

Joseph Iantorno, EdD