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BOARD

STAFF

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Board Chair

Jack Norqual

Growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jack could be seen skating and playing hockey on the Lles and outdoor rinks in St. Paul, through the winter months. During his formative years, he played on the local youth hockey teams and anywhere he could get some additional ice time as hockey was his life! He played hockey through high school and then on to the U of Wisconsin - River Falls where he played college hockey. Jack's business career was in sales and management in the high technology field.  Ultimately, he was the co-founder of Winthrop Resources Corp., a high technology equipment leasing company, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After nearly 20 successful years, Winthrop was sold to TCF Financial - a bank headquartered in Minneapolis. 


Jack's love for hockey continued to grow as he then started a sports training company for hockey players in Minnesota.  In 2000, he joined the USA Hockey Foundation Board of Directors where he served for 22 years.  He still plays hockey weekly at Ice in Paradise and in senior hockey tournaments around the country.  Jack and his wife Gretchen have been married for 52 years.  They have one son, Christopher, who played hockey in college, Europe, and still plays today.  Jack's two young granddaughters, Haley and Ali, also play youth hockey -  they all reside in Manhattan Beach, CA.  
The Norquals are a "hockey family" and have been involved in Ice in Paradise since 2005.  They currently split their time between Montecito and Minnesota.

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Secretary

Kathy Mintzer

Kathy has been involved with GSBISA since the early 2000’s and has served on the board of directors as secretary and board president until after the rink opened. She is currently serving as board secretary.Kathy became involved after moving back to Santa Barbara in 1998 and was surprised there wasn’t a local rink here anymore. She had taken figure skating lessons as an adult in LA & enjoyed forming friendships with various skaters. Kathy loved the community feel during public sessions and was inspired to make that happen in the Santa Barbara area as well.
 

She is currently an empty nester working FT as a psychotherapist where she often encourages her clients to find a form of exercise to help their mental health. Ice skating can be that healthy mindful activity for many!

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Director

Andy Katsev

Andy grew up in St. Louis, Mo where he started playing hockey at age 3 on the lake that was in his backyard. He played in all St Louis youth hockey levels, High School, Jr B and Club Hockey at St Louis University.  Andy Moved to Santa Barbara, CA in 1993 and continued playing hockey in the local adult leagues. He is currently coaching his son who is on the Santa Barbara Ice Hawks 12U hockey team at Ice In Paradise. Andy has been in Real Estate since 2002 and is currently working at Village Properties. Andy and his wife Heather have been married since 2007 and have two children Olivia & Andersen.

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Director

Phong Do

With his broad technical acumen and passion for the latest technology, Phong Do brings over 30 years of experience in his role as the president and founder of UltraAnalog Corporation, a nationwide managed service provider of IT support. Spearheading the long-term vision for the company, Phong has been able to grow his company with a client base that includes companies such as Burger King and Blue Haven National Management, along with Fortune 50 companies, business and litigation law firms, healthcare organizations, franchises, and district-wide educational institutions.

 

Phong got his career start working in the corporate world with AGIA Insurance Services as the Assistant Vice President, where he was responsible for overseeing the organization’s technology vision, handling research and development, as well as handling technical planning and execution.

 

Afterwards, he worked as the Director of the Information Technology Department at the law firm, Hatch & Parent in Santa Barbara, overseeing the technology operations, from project and resource management to budgeting and forecasting. He assisted with creating policies and strategic plans for leadership. As a problem solver with the ability to provide solid solutions for his clients, all of his experience has given Phong an outstanding reputation as an IT professional.

 

A native of Vietnam, Phong studied mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. When he’s not busy working, Phong enjoys gardening and snowboarding. He is happily married with one young son, Winter, a young prodigy in ice figure skating. They also have a hamster named Patrick.

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Co-Vice-President

John Ewasiuk

John is a retired Civil Engineer having worked 26 years for the City of Santa Barbara Public Works Department.  Prior to that John worked in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for 13 years after graduating from the Northern Alberta Institute for Technology in Edmonton. 
 
John is actively involved in sports.  He is an assistant coach of the Santa Barbara Royals in the Los Angeles Kings High School Hockey League since the inception of the league in 2015, which coincided with the opening of Ice In Paradise. John also was an assistant coach with the UCSB Gauchos hockey team when they won the collegiate Adam's Cup championship in 2018.  He enjoys playing hockey and golf, cycling, and traveling.  
 
John is one of the founders of Ice In Paradise.  Their quest for a local non-profit ice skating rink began in 2001.
 
John and his wife Glenda have two adult sons, both in college.  John and Glenda relocated from Canada to Santa Barbara in 1991. They enjoy the Santa Barbara community and the comfortable local lifestyle.

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Director

Alison Juricek

Alison DeLorenzo Juricek began figure skating at age four on ponds and in rinks in Illinois. When her family moved to California, she continued skating at the well-known Ice Capades Chalet, in Santa Monica. She double majored at the University of California, Berkeley, and continued her studies at Pepperdine University to earn a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) After graduation, Alison became involved with the fundraising and marketing aspects of the Ice in Paradise rink opening.

 

She is the Founder and former President of the Ice in Paradise Figure Skating Club and in 2016 was invited to be on the Ice in Paradise Board of Directors. In the past, she was the Executive Producer of the annual Ice in Paradise Holiday Shows which included Olympic and World Champions including, Nathan Chen, Gracie Gold, Karen Chen, Grant Hochstein, and Caroline Zhang. Alison has also been the SafeSport Chair for Southern California Interclub Association of Figure Skating. She is a figure skating coach and the mother of two skaters, Valentina, a competitive national figure skater, and Sebastiano, an AAA hockey player. Alison cherishes the precious times the three of them have on the ice together. 

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Director

Michael Yurcho

For the last 16 years, Mike has been the owner and area developer of a fast casual restaurant chain in southern New Jersey. He has built multiple restaurants in several different outside the box locations and has worked with local municipalities to bring thriving restaurants to once dilapidated strip centers. Previous to becoming a restaurant entrepreneur, Mike worked in finance creating insurance premium finance loans for several large private banks. Mike and his wife, Lexine, along with their three children, all play hockey and are passionate about the Ice Hawks, and enhancing the programs at Ice in Paradise. 

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Co-Vice-President

Bryce Wendel

Bryce has over 40 years of hockey experience.  He first laced up his skates at the age of 5 on the frozen ponds of Minnesota.  The love of hockey clicked early, and he played all throughout his youth on Minnesota travel teams and highly competitive high school teams.  He helped found the hockey club at George Washington University where he graduated with a degree in Economics.  Bryce continued to play in men’s leagues in every city in which he resided from the East Coast to the West, and you will still find him skating several times a week to this day. 
 
Bryce has been an integral part of the formation and growth of the Santa Barbara Ice Hawks, the local non-profit youth hockey club at Ice in Paradise.  He currently serves as President of the board for the Ice Hawks and coaches multiple age groups and levels within the program. Bryce and his wife Jeannie have 3 children that have played with the Ice Hawks since the program's inception. Professionally, Bryce earned his MBA from UCLA and together with his wife owns and operates a local small business chain.  

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Director

William Dunbar

William “Hod” Dunbar  has been a supporter of Ice In Paradise for over a decade and joined the Greater Santa Barbara Ice Skating Association Board of Directors in 2017. He is an Orthopedic Surgeon with Cottage Health Systems .

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Director

Andrew Messick

Andrew recently retired after spending nearly 25 years in the sports business, as the head of International at the National Basketball Association, leading the sports division at AEG and, most recently, as the CEO of the IRONMAN Group. A Santa Barbara native, Andrew is a passionate hockey Dad for his son, William, who plays for both the Royals and Ice Hawks. Andrew and his wife, Beth are at the rink often and look forward to helping Ice in Paradise continue to be a vibrant and successful part of our community.

BOARD EMERITUS

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Former President

Steve Heinze

Steve has been around ice rinks indoors and out since he started skating in his backyard at the age of five in North Andover, Massachusetts.  He is a graduate of Boston College where he was an All American Ice Hockey player and has been elected to the BC Hall of Fame. Ice hockey has brought him around the world playing in the Olympics in 1992 and professionally for 12 NHL seasons.

 

Steve is currently head coach of the High School hockey team, the Santa Barbara Royals. He is active at all levels of ice hockey at Ice In Paradise and is a Board member for our travel ice hockey program, the Santa Barbara Ice Hawks. Professionally, Steve is part owner and Vice President of local business, Dioji. Steve and his wife, Lori, moved to Santa Barbara in 2004 and have raised four children here. Caden, Gage, Eli and Sadie are all employees, volunteers and skaters at Ice In Paradise.

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