East County Chapter
Interim President Tiffany Gonzalez, a lifelong Democrat, was born and raised in the Imperial Valley. Tiffany joined the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program after high school and spent over seven years as an electrician. She made her home in San Diego after being stationed aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz and has lived in Spring Valley for the last nine years, where she also serves on the Spring Valley Community Planning Group. Tiffany earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Cal State San Marcos and is a substitute teacher for K-12 students in the La Mesa-Spring Valley and Grossmont Union High School districts as well as being president of PFLAG San Diego County. She was co-chair of the board for San Diego LGBT Pride, serves as a court appointed special advocate (CASA), and volunteers at a confidential drop-in center that provides services to youth survivors and those at risk of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
Interim Vice President Andi McNew
Interim Member-at-Large Samm Hurst is a Research Health Specialist with the VA San Diego Healthcare System and a Project Scientist with the UCSD Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. Dr. Hurst received her PhD in Biological and Forensic Anthropology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and completed her Postdoctoral training in Medical Anthropology at The Scripps Research Institute. Samm has worked with veterans at the San Diego VA for nearly 15 years, focusing on research involving mental health and trauma, homelessness, and addiction behaviors. She comes from a family who proudly served in the military during the Korean War and is a San Diego native who now lives in Santee. She has served as a Commissioner for the City of San Diego Human Relations Committee and is an active alumni member of the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association.