Dawn Hall Cauthen, Host Committee Chair
The Circle of Hope Gala host committee is chaired by Ms. Dawn Hall Cauthen, an estate attorney with Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves and Savitch that focuses her practice on the areas of estate planning, trust administration, probate, estate tax and gift tax matters. Ms. Cauthen was named the 2005 North County Philanthropy Council Volunteer of the Year, is a 2006 YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry honoree and was named a Five Star Wealth Manager by San Diego Magazine in 2008.
Host Committee Members
Parisa Farokhi, private practice estate attorney; Patrice Saxon, New Haven board member; Deborah Haydis, CFP; AKT Benefit Advisors; Morgan Smith, CFP; advisor with Burns Advisory Group; Andrea Gherini, private practice estate attorney; George Chamberlin, business editor and Money in the Morning host; Robert M. Cunneen, and Debbie Dorsee, Owner, The Dorsee Company.
About Frank and Claudette Mercardante
Frank Mercardante is a native of New York but has spent his professional career entirely in San Diego. A 40-year veteran of the financial services industry, Mercardante is CEO of Discovery Bancorp and most recently served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Placer Sierra Bank, a $2.7 billion, 50-branch bank headquartered in Sacramento. Prior to joining Placer, he was a founding director, president and chief executive of Southwest Community Bank headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., which Placer acquired in June 2006. Mercardante is an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic church—allowed to baptize, marry, bury, preach and teach--and spends his time away from the office involved in ministry. Frank and Claudette met while working together early in Frank’s career at the San Diego Trust. Prior to building their dream home on a DeLuz hillside southwest of Temecula, the Mercardantes lived in Carlsbad.
About Chuao Chocolatier
Chuao Chocolatier (pronounced chew-WOW) is Southern California’s premier artisan chocolatier. Founded in 2002 by Master Chef Michael Antonorsi and his brother Richard, Chuao Chocolatier is pioneering “fusion chocolate” through a commitment to unusual, unexpected and delicious flavors using highly prized Venezuelan chocolate and fresh natural ingredients. The Venezuelan brothers, now San Diego residents, named the company Chuao Chocolatier after the legendary cacao-producing region of Chuao located in central Venezuela. Chocolate is part of their heritage, as their ancestors once ran a small family farm that was an important part of the criollo cacao plantation industry. Today, you can discover Chuao Chocolatier creations around the United States at fine specialty retailers including Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, Gelson’s, Wegman’s, Crate & Barrel and Cost Plus World Imports as well as premier restaurants, hotels and resorts. For more see www.chuaochocolatier.com.
About Orfila Vineyards
Orfila Vineyards & Winery is an ultra-premium boutique winery nestled in the picturesque San Pasqual Valley, approximately 30 minutes from San Diego, on the way to the Wild Animal Park. Winemaker and general manager Leon Santoro and his team produce award-winning Rhone-style wines from grapes grown on the hillside estate located approximately 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean and from other renowned grape-growing regions in coastal California. Orfila wines are available at the winery's Old World tasting room which overlooks the 70-acre estate, at select wine merchants and restaurants and through membership in the Orfila Wine Lovers (OWL) Club. Since its opening in 1994, Orfila Vineyards has been the recipient of more than 1,000 medals in major national and international competitions - a testament to the complexity, grace and opulence of its wines. The winery has been adopted by San Diego as a favorite venue for celebrations. It has beautiful facilities for weddings, anniversary parties, corporate events, fundraisers and all types of community revelry. For more see www.orfila.com.
About Frank Mangio
After a career as a radio personality and later a successful business consultant in advertising, public relations and special events; Frank Mangio finally gave in to his true passion: the wine business. Beginning with a lengthy trip to Tuscany, Italy, Mangio absorbed more than a little knowledge and more than a lot of wine as he learned the wine business from its masters. Mangio has now dedicated his career to wine as a multi- media commentator in the surging international/national wine market. He has written a weekly syndicated wine column for Copley Newspapers and currently hosts “Taste of Wine TV” and popular website www.tasteofwinetv.com for Cox and Time Warner Cable in San Diego. His columns also appear in Italo Americano, the largest Italian newspaper on the west coast, and he lectures on wine at San Diego State University while also sitting on its Advisory Board. Other achievements include being named a Certified Wine Connoisseur, Wine Spectator Magazine; Citizen of the Year, Carlsbad, California; Officer and Board Member, Encinitas and Solana Beach Chambers of Commerce and Sons of Italy, the largest Italian American organization in the world. For more, visit www.tasteofwinetv.com.
Jeff’s Primetime Series
