Board of Directors

Amee Wood, President

Amee Wood, a native New Yorker, has lived in San Diego for the past 27 years and worked as a Psychiatric Social Worker. She has sung with the La Jolla Symphony chorus since she moved to the area, and has been a Board member for the past 8 years. Amee also has served on the Boards of the Sweetooth Theater and 6th @Penn Theater. She is an actress and is a member of the Screen Actors' Guild. Besides her artistic pursuits, Amee enjoys camping, bicycle riding and traveling.

Jennifer Smerud, Treasurer and Orchestra Representative

Ms. Smerud joined the La Jolla Symphony in 2004 and has played second clarinet, bass clarinet, and Eb clarinet for the past several seasons. She received her undergraduate degree in clarinet performance from Indiana University in 2000 where she studied with Howard Klug and James Campbell. She received her master's degree in accounting from Indiana and began working as a CPA in Chicago in 2001. She has worked as an auditor for four big accounting firms and as a corporate controller in private industry. She currently works in the tax and attest practice of Lipsey, Youngren, Means, Ogren & Sandberg, LLP in downtown San Diego.

Wendy Patrick-Mazzarella, Secretary and Orchestra Representative

Wendy Patrick Mazzarella is a San Diego County Deputy District Attorney, named by her peers as one of the Top Ten criminal attorneys in San Diego by the San Diego Daily Transcript in both 2008 and 2007. She began her legal career as a trial attorney with the San Diego County Deputy Public Defender’s Office. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA, and her law degree from California Western School of Law. Ms. Mazzarella is the former Chair and a current member of the San Diego County Bar Association’s Ethics Committee, one of 16 members of the California State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC), and an accomplished public speaker on the topic of ethics both nationally and internationally. Ms. Mazzarella is published on a regular basis and has her own ethics column in the San Diego Daily Transcript, as well as in law journals.

On a personal note, Ms. Mazzarella is a concert violinist with the La Jolla Symphony and plays the electric violin professionally with a rock band, performing both locally and in Hollywood.  She holds a Master of Divinity degree summa cum laude from Bethel Seminary San Diego where she co-chaired the Student Senate and was awarded the 2009 Excellence in Preaching Award and the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award.

Gordon R. Clark

Gordon R. Clark most recently served as president and CEO of Learner's Digest International, the leading provider of Continuing Medical Education credits for physicians and Web-based content management for medical societies. He was previously president and CEO of The Governance Institute, the leading source of governance knowledge and solutions for the CEOs and trustees of hospitals and health systems. Prior to The Governance Institute, Gordon led First American Records Management, a records and information management company headquartered in Silicon Valley. In addition to LJS&C, he serves on the Board of Directors of Scripps Health and as Board Chair of Access Information Management, a company with operations in California, Georgia, Hawaii, and Wisconsin. Gordon is a graduate of Cornell University and the Fordham University Graduate School of Business.

Liza Perkins-Cohen

Liza Perkins-Cohen is an attorney in San Diego with expertise in complex business litigation. She received her J.D. from New York University and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Arthur J. Gonzalez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. She received her B.A. from the University of Chicago in Latin American Studies and previously worked as a Latin American equities analyst at brokerage firms in New York and Brazil. Ms. Perkins-Cohen moved to San Diego from New York City in 2001 and has served on the board of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus since 2006. She is an avid music fan. Her hobbies include photography, gardening, and studying foreign languages.

Walter Desmond, Chorus Representative

Walter Desmond moved with his young family to San Diego 35 years ago, and almost immediately joined the La Jolla Symphony Chorus, where he has sung tenor ever since. Music expanded to other community and church choral groups. Work as a cell biologist included  research at UCSD and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, then in early San Diego biotech doing  R&D, management training, clinical/regulatory and human resources. He next combined science and education interests as a science administrator at an inner city high school. Walt now is a college admission advisor for disadvantaged students in not-for-profit college preparatory programs. Education includes chemistry/biochemistry degrees from Notre Dame and UCLA, postdoctoral work at University of Paris and UCSD; and a certificate in College Counseling from UCLA Extension. Walt is a graduate of LEAD San Diego, and has been on the boards of local science education organizations and the Torrey Pines Docent Society.

Marty Hambright, Chorus Representative

Marty received a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University and a master's degree from San Diego State University. Music training began at age eight with piano lessons and voice lessons in high school, both of which continued in college. Singing in the a cappella choir in high school and the University Chorus and Concert Choir at Northern began her chorus experiences. She also studied voice and theory at Chicago Musical College. After teaching for six years in Chicago, Marty moved to San Diego and continued her elementary teaching career. After a 6 year hiatus from singing, Marty joined the 1st Unitarian Church choir for a few years before joining the La Jolla Civic/ University Orchestra and Chorus, as it was called in 1973. Marty is now retired after 41 years of teaching. She leads Sierra Club hikes, and to keep in touch with children, she volunteers at Birch Aquarium in the Discovery Lab.

Dr. Ida Houby, Chorus Representative

Ida Houby, a native Dane, originally came to San Diego as a graduate student to study with renowned psychologists in the area, and earn her Ph.D. in clinical Psychology. She met and married her American husband soon after, and has returned to Denmark only for visits. Ida is a practicing psychologist in Del Mar and Solana Beach since 1990 with special interest in life-transitions and psycho-oncology, a subject she has taught, along with research methods, at universities in the area. She reconnected with her musical past (B.A. in Music Education from the University of Copenhagen) when she joined the La Jolla Symphony Chorus in 1997.

Stephen Marsh

Stephen Marsh is a partner at Luce Forward, attorneys at law, in San Diego. At the firm, he is chair of the Environmental practice group, specializing in hazardous waste and toxic tort litigation, and advising businesses and property owners on issues related to environmental issues in connection with corporate and real estate purchasing, leasing and financing. He earned his JD at the University of Michigan, after receiving a bachelor's from Wayne State University in Chemistry and conducting graduate work at Florida State University in Sediment/Geochemistry. Steve has served on numerous boards, both connected to his professional life and personal interests. He is a singer in the La Jolla Symphony Chorus.

Joseph B. Snyder

Joseph B. Snyder is Vice President and Branch Manager of the La Jolla Office for California Bank & Trust. He began his banking career in 1987 in Orange County and moved to La Jolla 14 years ago to work as a business banker in the La Jolla community. He received both his bachelor’s of science in business administration, with an emphasis in management, and his masters of science in business administration, with an emphases in marketing, from San Diego State University. Mr. Snyder, his wife Julie (a two-term Peace Corps volunteer), and son Casey have a history of volunteering and believe in giving back to the community. Their five-year-old son has been raised with a community mindset and has been delivering Meals on Wheels since he was two. Mr. Snyder’s deep appreciation for the arts led him to the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus. Other community involvements include being a member of La Jolla Rotary, a board member of the La Jolla YMCA, and a class member of LEAD San Diego.