Cancer Support Community South Bay

Kelli Vieweg, President/Chair
Kelli has an extensive background in Human Resources, Information Technology and Finance, having worked many years in the banking, aerospace and consumer products industries.  A PHR and SHRM-CP certified Human Resources professional, Kelli started CMCK, LLC, an HR Consulting company in the South Bay after deciding not to relocate to the East Coast with a previous company. Kelli’s family has been impacted by cancer including two grandparents and her mother, who is a breast cancer survivor.  Being able to use her skills for the Cancer Support Community South Bay and contribute in any way she can to support the mission inspires her.  Kelli holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and grew up in the South Bay, along with her husband, both of whom were active in the community as they raised their two children.

Walt Zipperman, Interim Vice President
Walt Zipperman is a Senior Managing Director with Acccenture. Previously Walt and his business partner started DAZ Systems over 25 years ago. DAZ was an international firm with over 500+ employees. DAZ Systems was sold to Accenture in 2018. Walt believes it is extremely important to give back and is also extensively involved at the University of Arizona. He is a member of the University of Arizona Eller Business School Board and a member of the University of Arizona Foundation. Walt teaches at the University of Arizona twice a year on Program Management and Implementation Services at the Eller Business School. Walt is has extensive experience in Business Strategy and IT. 

Sacha Ohara, Vice President/Secretary
Sacha Ohara is SVP/Branch Administrator of Malaga Bank, a local community bank serving the South Bay. A member of the bank’s senior management team, Sacha is responsible for the retail banking branch network and operations, as well as managing the bank’s corporate and community involvement. A lifetime resident of the South Bay, Sacha was previously employed as a teacher in both the Torrance and Palos Verdes Unified School Districts and is well known in the community to both parents and students alike.

Scott Magee, Vice President/Finance
Scott R. Magee, Esq. of Law Firm Magee & Adler, APC specializes in Estate Planning, Probate, Conservatorships, Closely Held and Family-Owned Businesses, Real Estate, Transactional Tax Matters, and the Representation of Trustees and Beneficiaries in Contested and Uncontested Trust Matters. He has 37 years of experience planning complex estates and all the legal, tax and personal issues which arise in connection with such planning. Scott is currently on the Board of Advisors for the Long Beach Community Foundation, former president of Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Club, South Bay Estate Planning and Trust Council and Long Beach Estate Planning and Trust Council and formerly a member of the Board of the Trustees of the Long Beach Symphony Foundation, and its Chief Financial Officer.

Melanie Friedlander, MD, Officer
Dr. Friedlander is a long time Professional Advisory Board member of CSC South Bay and joined the Board of Directors in 2022. She serves as President of the Association of South Bay Surgeons and Co-Director of the Breast Surgery Program at Hunt Cancer Institute. Dr. Friedlander has been providing cutting edge breast cancer surgical care in the South Bay community for over 20 years. She is passionate about psychosocial support being part of a comprehensive care plan for all cancer patients as well as the path to survivorship. When not in the operating room, she can be found biking the hills of Palos Verdes or even Italy as well as supporting local restaurants and wineries and traveling the world to find the best food and wine.

Daniel Hovenstine, MD, Officer
Dr. Hovenstine fully retired from Radiation Oncology in 2016 after 30 years in practice of which 25 years were here locally at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. He has been involved with CSC South Bay since the early 1990’s and has been a member of the Board of Directors for more than 20 years including a past term as Board Chairman/President. He is enjoying a busy retirement primarily missing only his patients and colleagues, but values his continued ability to participate in their care and association through CSC South Bay.

Gina Koency, Ph.D., Officer
Gina is a retired educator who worked for almost 30 years as a public school teacher and administrator in Texas and California. Gina was diagnosed with cancer seven years ago and feels confident it is now in her rear view mirror. Having dealt with cancer, and having been directly involved with close family members who also battled cancer, Gina turned her service orientation to helping others dealing with this disease. She started a walking group for the CSC South Bay in 2022 and has conducted numerous walking sessions with walking devotees who share her desire to stay healthy, stay connected, and make walking an integral part of their lives.

Katy McCaig, Officer
Katy Annuschat McCaig is counsel at Snell & Wilmer LLP.  Her practice is concentrated in corporate and securities. She advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, private placements and venture capital financing, securities offerings and securities law compliance, entity formations and corporate governance, owner relations, buyouts and disputes, general contract negotiations, and a variety of general corporate matters. Katy first became involved with Cancer Support Community South Bay after the death of her husband from cancer in 2016, when she participated in the valuable grief support services offered by the organization.

Donna McNeely, Officer
Donna McNeely is President of Kinecta Financial Management Company, LLC and Kinecta Financial & Insurance Services LLC, providing strategic direction and oversight to the company and its subsidiaries. With over 30 years of experience in financial and investment services, she enjoys making a difference in the lives of others through education, coaching and providing sound advice. She is a member of Friends of Mychal’s, a support group for Mychal’s Learning Place, and serves on their California Great Santa Stroll committee every year, where more than 1,000 Santas walk the Hermosa Beach Strand to raise funds for Mychal’s. Living in the South Bay for most of her life, Donna currently resides in Redondo Beach with her husband, Kenny, and their Labrador Retriever, Kopi.

Kris Nishihira, Officer
Kris Nishihira currently serves as First Vice President at Farmers & Merchants Bank. A thirty-year veteran of financial services in Southern California, Kris has consulted with thousands of small to middle-market sized businesses throughout his career with an emphasis on cash management, C&I lending, and owner-occupied & investor real estate financing. Kris currently is on the board of directors for Do Good Daniels Family Foundation and Dig 4 Kids. Previously he was on the board of directors for The Boys and Girls Club of Los Angeles Harbor and AYSO San Pedro Region 6. A lifetime South Bay native, Kris was born and raised and in San Pedro and currently resides in Rancho Palos Verdes.  

Deborah Patrick, Officer
Board member since 2016, Deborah joined the Cancer Support Community South Bay in 2013 after her husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.  A cancer widow and cancer survivor herself, Deborah has become a vocal advocate for CSC South Bay’s mission and programs.  A retired engineering manager from Raytheon with more than 30 years of technical, cost and personnel management experience, Deborah is also a court-appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children in the Los Angeles County dependency system. Additionally, she is a Purdue University Women in Chemical Engineering Ambassador and a member of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Industry Advisory Board for the Women’s Engineering Program.