Introducing 40 Under 40 Class of 2021

SD Metro Magazine September 21, 2021October 13, 2021 0 Comments

Victoria Switzer

Victoria Switzer is chief financial officer at Gomez Trial Attorneys. She joined Gomez in 2014 and has held strategic roles ever since. She also manages the firm’s Intakes Department.

Her broad range of accounting experience over the past 12 years is critical to the success of the firm. Her experience within many industries has given here a unique perspective in implementing processes that have made Gomez Trial Attorneys function at higher levels than before. In addition, Switzer has immeasurable expertise in business management, budgeting, finance, and strategic planning. She is the daughter of immigrants parents who came from Poland before she was born. They helped mold and shaped her into the hard working and determined executive she is today. She lives in Santee with her husband Ryan, daughter Madison and two dogs, Sophie and Diesel.

Chandara Diep

Chandara Diep is of counsel at RJS LAW, San Diego’s leading tax law firm. She has assisted in the settlement of multiple taxpayer liabilities through the IRS Offer in Compensation program, settled two liabilities of over $100,000 for less than five percent of the amount owed, assisted in several high dollar audits, and successfully abated PIT assessments in several clients facing EDD liabilities. Diep also successfully set up several Franchise Tax Board payment plans and stopped collection activity.

She has set up several corporations for clients and assisted them with small business tax issues, and assisted in several State Board of Equalization audits for Subway franchisees as well as local businesses.

She joined RJS LAW as a paralegal and has worked her way up to of counsel position. She teaches a Federal Tax Procedure and Policies class at the University of San Diego Business School. She was an honoree in the 2018 SD METRO Magazine class of Best Attorneys.

Megan Comer

Megan Comer is president of Alhiser-Comer Mortuary in Escondido, which is Escondido’s oldest continually operating business. Her father had bought the business in 1989. Since she took over, the business has had record revenue/case volume levels.

She has accomplished this by leading with strong goals and integrity, along with her positive attitude which creates a supportive work environment for the entire team. Comer also completely remodeled the building, making it ADA accessible and added a reception room to meet the growing demands of the community.

She has continued to drive the business toward innovation and personalization with a passion for excellence in serving the community. During COVID, she and Alhiser-Comer gave away grocery gift cards and had a pumpkin giveaway where they gave away 300 pumpkins to kids in the community. She is a graduate of Regent University, and is a licensed funeral director in California.

Cassandra Weinlein

Cassandra Weinlein is director of government affairs for Cox. She advocates and educates on important policies and strategies which will help meet the broadband needs of local communities served by Cox. For years, Cox has been partnering with school districts and nonprofits to close the gap on the digital divide. During the pandemic, Weinlein and her team sprang into action to amplify those efforts so that schools could quickly connect their students who didn’t have technology at home. She is also part of Cox’s Communications Business Continuity team, which ensured that Cox residential and business customers and the community at large stay connected during a national disaster or other emergency events such as the pandemic. With a focus on digital equity, Weinlein led the charge for Cox on the “SD Access 4 All,” which showcased how government and the private sector could partner together to expand connectivity in neighborhoods and close the digital divide. She is a graduate of UC San Diego.

Evan McDonald

Evan McDonald is a senior vice president at Colliers, specializing in industrial R&D/Flex commercial real estate sales and leasing with an emphasis on the central San Diego area.

His impressive roster of clients range from institutions, private capital, investors, owners and users who rely on his strong site selection, marketing and market trend analysis. He is Colliers’ top producing broker in the region and was recently inducted into Colliers’ Everest Club, a prestigious recognition for the top 10 percent of Colliers’ revenue-producing brokers In the United States.

McDonald has been president of the San Diego chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors . He has helped his clients to successfully identify and achieve their real estate goals over the past 12 years. He has proven that persistence and hard work are the foundations for trust and long-term relationships. He is a graduate of UC San Diego.

Guillaume Ryon

Guillaume Ryon is the chief executive officer and owner of Le Parfait Paris, San Diego’s award-winning authentic French bakery with five locations and 50 employees. This year’s revenues are expected to be $6 million. Le Parfait is known for its award-winning macarons, croissants, crepes, desserts and coffee specialties. Ryon is a bi-racial French citizen. His mother is from Africa’s French colonial Ivory Coast and his father is from France. He spent his early years between the Ivory Coast and Paris. In France he studied law but his athletic prowess led him to the United States as a member of the French National Team, which went on to win the European championship. Ryon was lured to the U.S. to play college football which didn’t pan out. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business and finance from the University of San Diego. His flagship bakery is in the Gaslamp with other locations in the Skydeck in Del Mar Highlands and Liberty Station plus the Anaheim Packing District next to Disneyland.

Brandon Stevens

Brandon Stevens is senior project manager for Pacific Building Group. He has worked on projects of all sizes from the $25 million Callaway headquarters remodel to the $6.6 million Perkins Coie San Diego office and the $25 million Agua Caliente Casino remodel.

On the Aqua Caliente project, he was on the team that built-out and remodeled the entire casino floor, main center bar, a food court and a steak house in just 45 days, all while the casino and hotel were fully functional and occupied.

He is also the project manager representative for PBG’s Safety Committee. In his role as a senior project manager Stevens has managed some of the firm’s most discerning clients, like kangaroos, wallabies and down under geese at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

He played a critical role in managing the 3.5-acre naturalistic Walkabout Australia habitat. He is graduate of the University of the Pacific.

Cheryl Nieman Brechlin

Cheryl Nieman Brechlin recently joined CGS3’s San Diego real estate practice, after spending four years handling a series of high-profile transactions from the firm’s Los Angeles office.

She honed her legal skills as a litigator, gaining crucial hands on experience that has given her the common sense, client-centric approach necessary to succeed in the fast- paced world of commercial real estate. Leveraging this unique background, Brechlin brings a competitive edge to each commercial transaction.

She represents developers, property owners, businesses, investors and tenants in complex transactional real estate and corporate matters. She is active in the community and has been a mentor with Jewish Big Brother and Sisters of Los Angeles.

She is a magna cum laude graduate of George Washington University and holds a juris doctor of laws from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Hope Reilly

Hope Reilly is the voice of transportation in the San Diego region. As the lead communications strategist for clients including SANDAG, Caltrans and North County Transit District, Reilly helps to build public understanding and support for major infrastructure projects that will keep San Diego moving well into the next century.

Her efforts to promote bicycling and improve open space along the I-5 corridor help to accomplish the region’s climate action goals by replacing car trips with alternative modes of transportation. Her efforts to extend State Route 11 has helped to create the first new land crossing of the U.S. southern border in a generation (Otay Mesa East) supporting the region’s $25 billion bi-national economy. She is president of the San Diego-Imperial County chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Reilly also helps to oversee communications for the East-West Bank, the largest Chinese-based bank approved to operate in the United States. She is a graduate of George Washington University.

Kenya Huezo

Kenya Huezo is a landscape architect and project manager for MIG Inc., a national award-winning design, planning and communications firm. Kenya has led the design for various local and national projects, including parks, streetscapes, landscape master plans, and campuses. Six of her projects in the San Diego region have completed construction within the last two years. Kenya lived and worked in Washington D.C. and Germany before relocating to San Diego six years ago. She is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona and UC Berkeley, and is the first generation in her family to earn a postgraduate degree. Kenya currently serves as the vice president of membership for the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

Shawnda Dorantes
An acclaimed female entrepreneur, Shawnda Dorantes is a master nurse injector, cosmetic tattooist and co-owner of Beauty Lounge Medical Spa, a leading , full-service aesthetic destination in San Marcos. Prior to entering the permanent makeup industry and opening Beauty Lounge Medical Spa in 2018, her tailored expertise and innovative service offerings have paved the way for Beauty Lounge’s proven success. She has 36,000 followers on Instagram.

Beauty Lounge offers full service med spoa botox, fllters, laser treatments, microneedling, non-surgical face lifts, body contouring, permanent makeup, teeth whitening and results-driven skin care treatments. To keep up with the high demand, Dorantes has expanded Beauty Lounge to a new state-of-the-art facility in San Marcos. She triple majored in biological sciences, women’s studies and nursing from Cal State San Marcos. She has been named a Best Aesthetic Injector in America and has earned her Allergan Master injector certification. She also has a master’s degree in nursing from the United States University in San Diego.

Jacob Leon

Jacob Leon is an associate planner at KTUA Landscape Architecture and Planning. He is a first-generation Mexican-American and the first person in his family to graduate from college. He joined ACE Mentor of San Diego in 2013 to represent the landscape architecture and urban planning fields.

He has volunteered at San Diego High School and is a member of the ACE Mentor board of directors.

Every holiday he organizes a North County Lifeline Adopt-A-Family program on behalf of KTUA. Leon was nominated as an Olmsted Scholar in 2013 and has received numerous awards .

He was named ACE Mentor of the Year in 2020.

Erika Schimmel Guiles

In her 14 years at SDG&E, Erika Guiles has held eight distinct roles across several organizations, demonstrating that women can be successful and advance across areas like supply management, customer service, project management and operations. Her ability to translate her skills across different business units, focus on a growth mindset and inquisitive nature means she has learned different facets of the business. She currently mentors five women at SDG&E and she frequently meets with women who are looking for career guidance. Guiles is a consistent advocate for diversity and inclusion. She is a member of the Century Park Local Diversity and Inclusion Council. In 2019, she won the SDG&E Supplier Diversity Champion award. She is an avid philanthropist and gives a significant amount of her time to volunteer activities. She is a graduate of the University of San Diego