Arthur J. Swerdloff, Esquire
(Capt. USA, Ret.)

Attorney Arthur Swerdloff resides in Marina Del Rey, California. He served in the United States Army Infantry as a company commander, leaving active duty with the rank of Captain and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service. Mr. Swerdloff received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claremont Men's (McKenna) College and a Juris Doctorate from School of Law at the University of California, Berkley. His law practice is focused on problem solving in the areas of business entity formation, wealth preservation, tax minimization, succession planning, dispute resolution, and retirement planning.

Currently Mr. Swerdloff is MWIN President and has been an active Board member for over fifteen years leading the expansion of programs and vision.  Among his community involvements are:  President of the Westwood Bar Association, Trustee Emeritus of The Buckley School of Sherman Oaks, Director and Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Westchester-LAX-Marina del Rey Chamber of Commerce, Board member and Secretary of We CAHRE, and Board member of the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association.  His professional affiliations include Wealth Counsel, Culver City-Marina del Rey Bar Association, and the State Bar of California.

Boyden E. Rohner
(Lt. USN RC)

After graduating from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering and Major in History, Lt. Rohner served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy.  Assigned to three destroyers: the USS Arthur W. Radford, USS John Paul Jones, and USS Higgins, she was stationed in Norfolk, VA and San Diego, CA. She made two deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom for which she earned the Global War on Terrorism Medal, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, and three Navy Achievement Medals.  Since transitioning to the Individual Ready Reserve, she has worked on a variety of projects in the entertainment industry.  Lt. Rohner currently resides in Washington, D.C. and serves as MWIN Board Secretary.

Meredith Brenalvirez

Meredith Brenalvirez was born and raised in Southern California. She attended Claremont McKenna College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science. After graduation, Ms. Brenalvirez began her career at major advertising agencies on Madison Avenue in New York where she worked on several high-profile national accounts. Upon her return to Los Angeles, she began focusing her attention on investment real estate, managing all aspects of commercial real estate including acquisition, disposition, financing, leasing and property management.  In 1993, after eight years with a private company, Ms. Brenalvirez moved to Arizona and transitioned to consulting on a project-by-project basis.  Her experience has led her to achieve leadership positions on several boards, associations and trade groups.  An MWIN board member since 1994, Ms. Brenalvirez has served in various key positions including Secretary and/or Treasurer, as well as participated on ad hoc committees of the Military Women In Need Foundation.  Her professional background and leadership skills have strengthened the MWIN Board.  Today, she focuses her tremendous energies on her home, children, and MWIN while continuing to provide marketing, public relations and management consulting services on a project basis for a select client base.

RETURN TO TOP

Patricia De Mond
President Emeritus

Ms. De Mond was the guiding light and President of MWIN for 30 years. When she stepped down in 2005 she had helped MWIN grow into an organization assisting with health advocacy, social services, home visits, and rent subsidies.

Ms. De Mond married a PT boat captain and when he retired from service as a Lt. Commander, he joined his wife in a teaching career. A UCLA graduate, Ms. De Mond taught Physical Education for many years while raising her family of three sons. She continues to be an integral part of MWIN and is always available for counsel and inspiration. Ms. De Mond's mother was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and one of the women who lived in the original five bungalows that housed women in the California Soldier Widows Home Association, as Military Women in Need was then called.

Abigail d'Autremont
(USA Veteran)

The military is quite literally in Abigail d’Autremont's blood. She traces her ancestry in the military many generations back to France, and from the time her family came to America they have had officers in every generation and in every major war this country has fought. She proudly states that she was the 5th generation to don the exact set of Second Lieutenant gold bars she wore before her promotion to First Lieutenant.

Abigail was born in Bad Kreuznach, Germany where both of her parents were in the United States Army. After living all over the country and the world, she landed in Southern California and spent her high school years at Notre Dame Academy. She went on to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she majored in Systems Engineering and played Women's Army Rugby. In 2005, Abigail attended the Ordnance Officer Basic Course at Aberdeen, Maryland, and was stationed at Fort Irwin as a Supply and Logistics Officer. Abigail left the military due to a medical disability, and is an account executive for Myriad Genetics, a company doing cancer research.

Anne Goodenough, RN, MSN, CPHQ

Anne was raised in the small town of Winsted, Connecticut.  She received her RN at Bishop Memorial School of Nursing in Massachusetts' beautiful Berkshire Mountains and then continued her education at California State University, Los Angeles earning a Bachelor of Arts in nursing and a Master's degree in nursing administration.  In over thirty years of nursing, Anne has held many positions including: staff nurse, educator, nurse manager, and is currently at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where, for fifteen years, she has worked in administration with the Vice President of Nursing. Past volunteer work includes working with clients as a "buddy" at AIDS Project, Los Angeles.

Anne became interested in Military Women in Need from the perspective of assistance and interaction with its clients.  She wanted to actually be "hands-on" in her MWIN participation. Anne was instrumental in helping to create the system for home visit attention to the MWIN ladies and now serves on the Board of Directors.

RETURN TO TOP

John Higginson
(RADM USN, Ret.)

John Higginson earned a BA degree from St. Mary's University, a BS degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Science degree from George Washington University.  He was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in October 1956, served seven command positions, participated in the recovery operations for Apollo 8, 11, 12, 13, and 15, and is the only naval officer who has commanded two helicopter carriers.  His final Navy assignment was as the senior officer and only Navy flag officer in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area.

RADM Higginson is the co-author of Sea and Air, The Marine Environment.  Upon retirement from the Navy after a thirty-four-year career, he became active in a number of national, state, and local organizations and served as President of American Gold Star Manor and Home and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.  In 1992, RDAM Higginson was named "Man of the Year" in Long Beach for his many philanthropic contributions.  In 1993, he and his wife Nancy, were awarded the "Humanitarian Award" at a national conference.  RADM Higginson is currently listed in "Who's Who in America".  RADM Higginson brings a lifetime of leadership and service experience to his Advisory Board position at MWIN.

Jaclyn Tilley Hill
L.A. County Commissioner

Commissioner Jaclyn Tilley Hill is the Chair Emeritus of the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission, current Chair of the Economy and Efficiency Commission of Los Angeles County, and Co-chair of the Long Beach City College Foundation Audit Committee. She has served as Foreman of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury.  In addition to her other prestigious L.A. County posts, Ms. Hill is recognized as a highly successful fundraiser and event organizer for many L.A. area charities.  Among her past philanthropic Board affiliations are: Chair of the Whittier Social Services Commission, Assistance League of Southern California, National Charity League, and White Memorial Hospital Foundation.  Ms. Hill continues as an Advisory Board member for the Los Angeles Children's Hospital "This Little Light" organization.  She attended California Western University and the University of Southern California.  Ms. Hill has seven children and six grandchildren.  She sits on the MWIN Advisory Board where she shares her skill in the area of accountability.

Michael Klyszeiko
(USN Veteran)

Michael Klyszeiko brings his expertise in financial planning to the MWIN Advisory Board.  A financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in San Diego, he helps businesses and individuals manage their investments and achieve their financial goals.  Lt. Klyszeiko was commissioned in the Navy in 1999 from Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida and served for six years.  As a Boarding Team Leader inspecting vessels for suspected smugglers, he took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom as support for the United Nations.  He also served as navigator on the destroyer USS Higgins.

Michael grew up in Morgan Hill, California and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from UC Berkeley where he was on the Varsity crew team.  He and his wife, Sofia, met while he was in the Navy and she was a student from Helsinki, Finland.  Lt. Klyszeiko serves on the MWIN Foundation Investment Committee and the MWIN Advisory Board.

Leonard Rugh
(USA Veteran)

Leonard was born and raised in Southern California.  He met his wife, Luanna, while she was in college and they were both working at the same restaurant.  They married, and a year and a half later in 1966, Leonard was drafted and sent to Vietnam.  While fighting in the jungles north of Saigon, he was shot in the head and not expected to survive.  His injury affected his motor skills, hearing, eyesight and mental capacity.  But Leonard was tenacious and the doctors were amazed at the progress he made.  He was discharged from the VA Hospital in 1971 and, "They sent me home to sit and do nothing for the rest of my life.  Well, that wasn't me," says Leonard. Despite the limitations from his injuries, he decided to attend college and after nine years of struggling with classes and transportation issues, Leonard made his dream come true when he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

Leonard's Vietnam experiences are recalled in his book entitled "Promises Kept: From Tragedy to Triumph" written with the editing help of Luanna.  He sits on the MWIN Foundation Board of Directors.

Luanna J. Rugh

Luanna was fourteen-years-old when her family moved from their ranch in Modesto, California to Pasadena.  After completing high school, she attended Pasadena City College and received an Associate of Arts degree.  Next door to PCC was the restaurant where her future husband, Leonard, was working and when she also began working there, she says "I met the man of my heart", and they were married.

Luanna had her hands full for several years, helping with Len's recovery from severe injuries sustained in the Vietnam War, caring for their daughter and working on her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology which she received in 1977.  After getting her teaching credential she was a substitute teacher for many years.  Luanna works on a part-time basis with multi-handicapped students.  She is vice president of the MWIN Foundation Board of Directors.

RETURN TO TOP

Kathy Wolf, MFT

Kathy is a West Los Angeles native.  She is a passionate academic, holds three master's degrees in Education, Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, and Depth Psychology, teaching credentials in Reading, English, Speech Communication, and Physical Education, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and is working on a Ph.D. in Depth Psychology.  Kathy's life-long concern has been for repairing wounded relationships, both personal and cultural.  Currently her focus and her dissertation are committed to re-pairing and transforming Jewish-German relations traumatized from the World War II Holocaust.  She states that we need to help every human being in any way we can and feels that MWIN personifies this goal by assisting its clients to maintain their independence and dignity.

Kathy is a voracious reader and confesses that her "vice" is buying books.  She loves nature and the tranquility of the ocean and mountains.  Kathy attended just one MWIN meeting before deciding to contribute her time and skills to the Board of Directors.  She serves as Board secretary to Military Women in Need Foundation and is an advisor to Military Women in Need programs.

Robert K. Wrede, Esquire
(Capt. USA, Ret.)

Mr. Wrede is Of Counsel to Russ, August & Kabat, a Los Angeles firm specializing in intellectual property, commercial transactions and litigation where he heads their Alternative Dispute Resolution department. A frequent speaker on the effective resolution of complex commercial disputes, he has appeared at seminars sponsored by the California CPA Education Foundation, the Practicing Law Institute and Woodbury College, and has lectured in California Continuing Education of the Bar programs and at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

In addition to his mediation and arbitration practice, Mr. Wrede is an adjunct professor of law at Pepperdine Law School and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, where he earned his LL.M. The Military played a central role in shaping his values and approaches from a young age.  He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy where he currently serves as a Trustee.  Mr. Wrede was a Captain in the Army, 82nd Airborne and served in the Reserves following his completion of active duty.  MWIN is grateful to have his participation on the Advisory Board and on ad hoc committees.

Ranlyn Tilley Hill, J.D.
Executive Director

Ms. Hill is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles and Loyola Law School.  After completing her legal education in 1991, she represented business, employment and non-profit clients in civil litigation for seven years.

Ms. Hill began working with MWIN in 2002.  With the support of the Board, she and her team implemented the current vision for MWIN, refocusing its mission and expanding programs to better serve our female veterans and widows of veterans.

Ms. Hill serves on the Gift Acceptance Committee at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and is active in Circle of Light, an extension of This Little Light.  She also lectures frequently on a variety of subjects affecting the non-profit community including governance, grantwriting, strategic planning, and conflict resolution. Ms. Hill has been nominated for "Founder of the Year" by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and for the Los Angeles Business Journal's "Women Who Make A Difference 2002" award. 

Valerie Denise Hichez, MDiv
MWIN Program Coordinator

Mrs. Hichez came to Los Angeles from Boston and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology with an emphasis in Communications.  Her undergraduate degree is from Hunter College.  As a videographer, she traveled to Syria and Lebanon working on a documentary film and interviewing political and religious leaders in the region. Very interested in relief work in Africa, Mrs. Hichez brings her desire to help others to MWIN advocating for and assisting the veterans and veteran's widows we serve.

RETURN TO TOP