Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena Announces New Board Members

Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena rang in the new year by welcoming three new members to its Board of Directors in January: Jerell Hill, Emily Wood Mencken, and Philip C. Wojdak. Each brings unique work and volunteer experience that will complement the talents of BGCP’s Board, and they all share a passion for the Club’s work with kids and families in the community.

“We’re delighted to welcome Jerell, Emily, and Philip to our Board, and look forward to working with them to further the Club’s post-Covid reawakening,” says Lisa Cavelier, CEO of BGCP. “Each brings a unique set of skills and talents that can take us to the next level in our work.”

Jerell Hill, Ed.D. is the Dean and Assessment Coordinator in the School of Education at Pacific Oaks College, serving as a faculty advisor for Multiple Subject Credential candidates. His responsibilities include program development, supporting adjunct faculty, accreditation, budgeting, and program oversight. Dr. Hill’s areas of research interest include Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs), student motivation, educational administration, special education, and urban schools. Dr. Hill’s professional memberships include the American Educational Research Association (AERA), California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (Co-Chair of the Diversity and Cultural Competence Committee), and The Council of Exceptional Children. Dr. Hill has been a Keynote Speaker and presenter at the International Congress of Educators in Lima, Peru. He lives in Pasadena with his wife, Helen Hill (a Pasadena Unified School District administrator), and two children.

Emily Wood Mencken is a legacy member of the Board, as both her grandfather and father served BGCP for decades. She is a proud Pasadena native and is raising her 4th generation Pasadena kids here along with her husband, Scott. She attended University of California at Berkeley and the Kellogg School of Management for business school, where she earned an MBA with an emphasis in technology marketing and non-profit management. Mencken’s previous work experience includes Avery Dennison (Office Products North America), Intuit’s QuickBooks software, Executive Director of a non-profit co-op preschool, multi-client bookkeeper of non-profits and assorted small businesses, and now CFO and co-owner of LittleMachineShop.com. She has served on the boards of multiple non-profit organizations, often as treasurer, and has logged endless hours at book fairs, bake sales, and backstage of elementary school spring musicals. She believes that serving the children of her community is the most important work of her life.

Philip C. Wojdak, J.D., has served as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney for more than 30 years. Born one of five boys in Chicago, his father sold his rare-coin business and moved the family to Pasadena in 1969. Philip attended Temple City High School and Claremont Men’s College where he graduated in 1981. In 1984, he received his Law degree from Hastings Law School, passed the California State Bar, and started his career with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Phil previously served for nine years on the Board of the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. He has two grown children and a 5-year-old grandson, and likes to hike, cook, eat, and drink fine wine.

Since 1937, the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena has enriched the lives of young people in our community, enabling them to reach their full potential as productive, caring, healthy, and responsible citizens. Serving more than 2,000 youth, ages 6 – 18 annually, BGCP focuses on Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyle, and Good Character and Leadership. The Club experience fills the gap between school and home – year-round – providing a welcoming, safe and positive environment in which kids and teens have fun, participate in life-changing programs, make friends and find encouragement with caring adults. The Club operates two main Clubhouse locations in Pasadena: Slavik Branch on E. Del Mar Blvd., and Mackenzie-Scott Branch on N. Fair Oaks Avenue; and two school-site Clubhouses on the Odyssey Charter Schools campuses in Pasadena and Altadena