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“We had so many excellent candidates for this board, “said David McCumber, the Star’s executive editor. “We are grateful to all who offered their time and energy to make the Star a better source of local news and opinion, more reflective of the community we serve, and we are confident that the 10 who have agreed to join the board will do just that.”

The new board members come from a variety of backgrounds and hold diverse perspectives on local issues. Reflecting the overall population, some are lifelong residents; others have moved here relatively recently. They all share key qualities: A love for Tucson and a willingness to invest their time and ideas to help us identify the stories we should cover more thoroughly and the issues we should address on the Opinion pages.

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Cody Calamaio

Calamaio is a graduate of the University of Arizona School of Journalism, where she was the news editor of the Arizona Daily Wildcat and completed an internship at the Tucson Citizen.

After graduating, she moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where she worked for a division of the Washington Post serving the Maryland suburbs, with her stories often appearing in the Metro section of the Post.

She later moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine journalism. After writing for DIY publications like This Old House and an architecture magazine, she went to graduate school to study design.

Calamaio began working for a design firm as an in-house writer of case studies and business proposals. In the pandemic, she was able to begin working remotely, and she has moved back to Tucson.

Calamaio, originally from Phoenix, chose Tucson because she loves its community focus, diversity, local businesses, and connection to nature.

Calamaio says she’s learning to skate with the Tucson Roller Derby.

She emphasized that she volunteered for the board because she wants to be more involved in the community and reconnect with her passion for local journalism.

Linda Dugan

Dugan has a lifetime of experience working with the public, interacting with people and serving my community. She has lived in Tucson since 2018 and previously lived in both Phoenix and Tucson for 14 years in the ’80s through the mid-’90s. She taught English as a Second Language for 17 years in a high-poverty public school in Nebraska and additionally worked for seven years in that state for the HeadStart program.

Dugan taught at Blenman Elementary School for two years, 2018-2020, before retiring. Since her retirement, she has been involved in the Pima Master Naturalist Program; volunteers at Mission Gardens; volunteer as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for Pima County; and recently began volunteering for Literacy Connect with the English Language Acquisition program, teaching English to non-English speaking adults. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Indiana University and a Master’s in Education from Doane College.

Dugan sees serving on the board as “a service to my community, friends and family.”

Lourdes Escalante

Escalante (she/her) is a member of the Yaqui Nation. Escalante is the Executive Director of the Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras (AISF) and serves as the project coordinator for the Indigenous Archives Without Borders (IAWB). The IAWB is in the process of archiving for the purpose of empowering the Indigenous narrative along the U.S.-Mexico border, which also entails creating the Indigenous Peoples and the US-Mexico Border: A Toolkit on Indigenous Social Justice.

Escalante also oversees the AISF’s Indigenous Languages Office, Plant Cruzer, and the Plant Cruzer’s Thriving Aunties program. Lourdes is the first to earn the Bachelor of Arts in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona, with a second major in Political Science with an emphasis in Law and Public Policy. She briefly attended Michigan State University College of Law and intends to continue her law education in the future after her youngest child begins school.

Escalante has a background in community organizing while at Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, which now echoes through her work with the AISF. She has been a part of the Healing Our Nations, Offering Resilience (HONOR) Collective, which engages in bringing awareness on #MMIR/#MMIW. She is also a member of The Loft Cinema’s Indigenous Film Committee.

A lifelong resident of the City of South Tucson, Escalante has also been involved in her Yaqui culture in varying capacities for her entire life. She has worked for both the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and with the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Escalante says she “is also a mama to two beautiful Yoeme (Yaqui) Suns.”

Gerald (Jerry) Farrington

Farrington is retired from a 37-year teaching career (33 years as a community college professor of history, political science, and law, and 4 years as a high school English and history teacher). He is also retired from the private practice of law for 23 years. He and his wife have had a home in Saddlebrooke since 2006.

Farrington is “a Westerner through-and-through,” born in Eagle, Colorado, and growing up in Colorado and New Mexico. After 3 years in the United States Marine Corps, his college years and working career were in California.

In his law practice, Farrington specialized in public sector employment law and, for 18 years, served as hearing officer and general counsel for the Fresno County Civil Service Commission. He often represented plaintiffs in personal-injury cases in his private practice, and he took on at least one pro bono client a week.

Farrington lived in Poland as a World Affairs Council fellow and participant in the Experiment in International Living. He was also an NEH Fellow at the University of Oregon. He participated in two Kent State University programs in the USSR in 1974 and in the People’s Republic of China in 1980. He was a visiting professor at Yunnan University in Kunming, People’s Republic of China in 1981 and 1982, and an exchange professor at the Technical University of Budapest in 1989. He has also traveled extensively throughout China.

Farrington also has much interest and experience in parts of Africa, particularly West Africa. He has made many lengthy visits to West Africa, becoming quite familiar with the history, politics, governance, and tribal and development issues, particularly in Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, and Senegal.

As a member of the Saddlebrooke Democratic Club, he has a special connection to the Oracle Elementary School District’s Mountain Vista K-8 School. The Democratic Club regularly raises money for the school and hosts school board members and administrators as speakers. He is committed to the welfare of the school district and has become engaged with the problems facing public education in the state, especially in rural communities.

Farrington belongs to Senior Village at Saddlebrooke — a group that provides various kinds of assistance to seniors — and also belongs to the Saddlebrooke Free Thinkers Club, which regularly hosts expert presentations from the University of Arizona.

Stephen Fleming

Fleming is a member of the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association, the Breakfast Club of Tucson, and is vice-president of the weekly VIP Breakfast Club.

Recruited to Tucson by the University of Arizona, he serves on the boards of the Arizona Technology Council and DM50, where he is a former chair of the public policy committee.

Fleming acts as an advisor to many campus groups and is active in the Desert Angels investment group. He has been president of his neighborhood HOA for several years.

Fleming says he’s pretty much in the ‘plague on both their houses’ camp politically. He’s a proponent of both the Tucson Election Equality Act and of ranked-choice voting.

Fleming says his wife is a legal immigrant, and he has testified to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the risks and opportunities involved in reforming U.S. immigration policy.

Mike Humphrey

Humphrey says he “has been a subscriber to the ����Ӱ��AV for 45 years. Obviously, I support your newspaper and wish to see this newspaper continue to be relevant and successful.”

He says he’s a political independent and “makes an effort to look at both sides of the political/social issues that confront our society and local community.”

Humphrey has raised a family and worked in Pima County for 45 years, including 28 years working for the Pima County Health Department. He serves on the Pima County Board of Health and the Pima County Attorney’s Community Justice Board (juvenile diversion program).

Humphrey says, “In my work and volunteer activities, I have known and worked with local, state and federal elected officials of both political parties on a variety of issues (i.e. domestic partner insurance coverage, health care for underserved areas, smoking regulations, retiree health benefits, firearm violence prevention, and highway safety). I’d like to believe that those elected officials view me as a person who has the best interests of the community at heart.”

Laura Penny

Penny was born in Tucson and has lived here continuously for the past 44 years. For 10 years, she directed the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona, overseeing research, advocacy and grantmaking on behalf of women and girls. She has worked in various capacities for both Republican and Democratic elected officials.

Retired since 2017, Laura is an avid hiker who volunteers as a preventive search and rescue ranger at the Grand Canyon.

Penny received a Master’s of Education from the University of Missouri and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Florida.

Penny has worked for Pima County Adult Probation and the Arizona Department of Education. She served as director of the victim services program under the Pima County Attorney’s Office and as interim executive director of DIRECT Center for Independence, serving people with disabilities.

Wade Thompson

Thompson is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, an A-10 pilot, on the national board of Democrats for Life of America, and on the finance council and Corporate Board of St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish and School.

Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in astronautical engineering from the US Air Force Academy, a Master of International Relations from the University of Helsinki, a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Air War College.

Thompson has worked extensively on Capitol Hill, including posts as a military liaison to a U.S. Representative and running a non-partisan liaison office for the U.S. European Command and also the Supreme Headquarters for Allied Powers Europe.

Thompson serves as the Northrop Grumman liaison to Raytheon. He also holds a real estate license and just accepted a part-time position as the Director of Corporate Engagement for the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.

He will serve starting this fall on U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani’s Service Academy Selection Board.

Mary Veres

Veres has lived in Tucson since 1979, when she came from her native Minnesota to attend the University of Arizona.

Veres said she “never went back. I love the weather, the diversity of cultures and many people I have come to know during my time here.”

Veres is a mother of two children who went to Tucson schools and achieved degrees at the University of Arizona. After 24 years working for TUSD, she spent 7 years working for Sunnyside, “where I was pleased to get to know Tucson’s southside neighborhoods and strong cultural ties.” Veres is now working for the University of Arizona and learning, she says, about its contribution to the Tucson and southern Arizona economy.

For the past five years, she has served on the RTA Citizen’s Advisory Committee.

Veres’ current role at the UA is in marketing and communications for the university’s central IT department.

Heather

Wuelpern

Wuelpern’s career has traversed diverse avenues, including roles as a muralist, feng shui consultant, content strategist, editor, award-winning writer, communications and marketing director, and event promoter. She has also shared her love of Tucson worldwide, guiding hikers from near and far since 2018.

After hosting nearly 100 radio interviews with Tucson business leaders from 2021-23, she recently unveiled her latest venture, the Wander & Muse podcast. This platform shines a spotlight on local artists and designers, providing them with a space to showcase their creations and philosophies.

Beyond professional accomplishments, she feels immense pride for her remarkable daughters. Heather, now an empty-nester with her husband, says she loves to travel the world, embrace adventure (she hiked four volcanoes in Guatemala in March 2023), and uphold an enviable Wordle streak.