Immediate Past President

Current Board Member

Frank Valadez is a retired Project/Line Manager from Raytheon. After Military service, he graduated from CSULB and the Hughes Management Rotational training program and spent his career in the aerospace avionics industry.

He is a life long member of the community, having generational participation with the center. Coming to MAC in 2005 he became active in 2006 volunteering around the center for various tasks and in 2012 was one of the recipients of the Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation HALO Award for support of non profit volunteer programs in the greater Los Angeles area

As an active board member, Frank will continue in his mission to bring affordable art to the children and adults in the community that MAC serves.

President

Leanne Stein holds a Bachelor of Arts from Pitzer College, where she double-majored in Psychology and English & World Literature, and a Master of Science in Communication Disorders & Sciences from California State University, Northridge. She works as a medical speech-language pathologist in the LA area with clinical specialties in swallowing, voice, and head and neck cancer therapies.

Beyond her clinical work, she has long been committed to service and community leadership. An ETA Fulbright Fellow to South Korea, she is also a founding board member of KKOOM, a nonprofit organization supporting youth in South Korea's social welfare system. She has volunteered with the McGroarty Arts Center since 2008, has served on its Board since 2017, and for many years has organized and led the creation of the chili bowls for the Center’s cherished community Chili Bowl tradition. When she is not at work or MAC, she can be found on the softball field, hiking, traveling, spending time with family and friends — and being the best auntie to all the kids in her life. 

Vice President

Gilbert Quintanar enjoyed a long and successful career in television production. He worked at NBC for 32 years. During his time at NBC, he worked for 25 years on THE TONIGHT SHOW, enjoying his work with Johnny Carson and subsequently Jay Leno, who took over as host in 1992.

Earlier in his career, Gilbert worked as a union rep and contract negotiator. He worked at a Catholic church and school for about 12 years.

Gilbert has been married for 42 years and has lived in the San Fernando Valley since 1959. He attended Valley College and California State University Northridge, where he earned his degree. He has three children and two grandchildren.

Since retiring in 2018, Gilbert has been a member of McGroarty Arts Center where he enjoys working in ceramics. He has also been a valued volunteer, acting as curator for student showcases. He joined he board of directors in early 2025.

Treasurer

Begoña Amador was born and raised in Valladolid, Spain. She emigrated to the United States in 1981 where she started a family with her husband Arthur. She earned a degree in Economics from Cal State Northridge and worked in the financial industry until she retired. Begoña and her family lived in Tujunga for many years. Her daughters grew up taking art, music and dancing classes at the Center, where Begoña has been a volunteer for many years. In her retirement, Begoña has dedicated her time volunteering at Finance Park—teaching financial literacy to middle & high schoolers, serving on the Finance Committee at the Theodore Payne Foundation, and continuing her service with McGroarty. She is also the proud grandmother of a wonderful two year old named Catalina.

Secretary

Sophia, a long time resident of the Sunland/Tujunga area, has worked in Finance for over 30 years.  In addition to being a devoted volunteer at McGroarty Arts Center since she first started taking ceramics classes here, Sophia is a long-time volunteer with the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission.

Sophia joined the board of directors in early 2025. When she isn’t working, making ceramics, cooking or cheering on her beloved Dodgers, she likes to travel.

Treasurer

Deborah Thompson has over forty years of work experience in accounting and bookkeeping Harley Davidson Glendale, La Crescenta Presbyterian Church Munger, Tolles and Olsen Law Firm Institute of Heating and Air Condition Industry. She has lived in the La Crescenta/Tujunga area for sixty years where she has been an active volunteer for various organization including: Monte Vista Elementary Parent Teacher Association, AYSO Soccer, Crescenta Valley Soccer Club, Love Ride Foundation, Prom Plus, and Project Dominica at La Crescenta Presbyterian Church.

Deborah is an active and valuable volunteer at McGroarty Arts Center as well as a student in ceramic arts. She joined the board of directors in 2018.

Cathy Gardner is a Native Angeleno who has spent most of her life living in Northeast L.A. where she attended local public schools and graduated from LA City College & Cal State University L.A. with AA and BA degrees in Psychology. Subsequently, she attended and graduated from Peoples College of Law where she was awarded her Juris Doctorate. After passing the California Bar Exam, she practiced criminal defense law for over 32 years, serving as a Deputy Public Defender at the Tulare County and L.A. County Public Defenders’ Offices. She retired in 2017.

Cathy lives in the Sunland Tujunga area with her partner, John Montoya, a shih tzu, and 3 domesticated (formerly feral) cats. She enjoys taking art classes and practicing Tai Chi at the McGroarty Arts Center.

Joe Aguirre is a retired Elementary School Principal.

After retiring, Joe started to take ceramic classes at McGroarty and became passionate about the art form. He also became passionate about MAC’s mission to provide access to the arts to all members of the community. In support of that mission, He has served as a dedicated volunteer, a member of the Board of Directors and the Chair of the Development Committee. He also fulfilled the role of Executive Director for several years.

He continues to enjoy ceramic classes and his current position on the board of directors.

Michael Stein is a retired IT professional working as a lead systems designer, project manager, and systems integrator. Michael worked at IBM for over 30 years as an IT consultant and technical sales lead, and managed his own consulting firm for over three years. He retired from his role as a Data Architect from Blue Shield of California in 2021.

Michael has been taking classes at McGroarty in photography and ceramics for the last 10 years. He has served as a volunteer for the center for 20 years and became a member of the board of directors in 2024. Michael oversees the center’s technical IT infrastructure, ensuring that the MAC computer and networking systems are secure and operating efficiently.

Longtime board member, Austina Bosco is dedicated to preserving the history of McGroarty Arts Center. She works to catalogue and maintain the historic documents and items housed in the historic home of John Steven McGroarty where MAC operates. In addition, she plays a key role in aspects of MAC’s exhibitions and events.

Austina worked for Bank of America for over a decade before retiring to raise her daughter, Willow who has been a McGroarty Arts Center student since she was 3 years old.