Board of Directors
The Imperial Beach Neighborhood Center is comprised of community-minded leaders whose work is to support the growth of the IB Neighborhood Center.- Brian Barreto, President
- Nelson Heintz, Vice-President
- Cherry Arnold-Verry, Secretary/Treasurer
- Nancy Stone, Board Member
- Martin Arias, Board Member
- Joseph Breedlove, Board Member
John is passionate about social justice including food insecurity, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, peace & justice, anti-death penalty and LGBTQ+ inclusion. Spending time in Zen and Christian monasteries, he strives to build and nurture an all-inclusive community. Bachelors of Arts in Religion and Philosophy (1986) from Kansas Wesleyan University (Salina, Kansas) and Masters of Divinity (1990) from Claremont School of Theology (Claremont, CA). Ordained in California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church (Deacon 1990; Elder 1995), serving churches in Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Lakewood, West Hollywood, and Imperial Beach.
He initiated closure of IB United Methodist Church and founded a new nonprofit, Imperial Beach Neighborhood Center. (2018) He’s the recipient of awards including Angels Amidst (2001) from City of West Hollywood, Lyle Loder AIDS and Bert All LGBTQ Awards from California Pacific Annual Conference, Mayor’s Award (2020) by City of Imperial Beach; Recognition for contribution to LGBTQ+ community (2023) by County of San Diego He is married to his husband, Jose. They have a son and include their pugs and cat into their family. He enjoys reading, writing, and crocheting.
Administrative Assistant, Jose’ Griffin-Atil
Jose Griffin-Atil, as Administrative Assistant attends to the management of the office with correspondence and finances, answers phone calls and directs individuals to needed resources, receiving donations, helps set up events, and acts as the MASS FOOD DISTRIBUTION Co-Ordinator for the monthly Emergency Food Assistance Program from The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank.
