Find A Specialist

Art Harrington has spent a lifetime working with youth and working to develop leaders in Rotary and beyond. His professional and Rotary accomplishments and experience eminently qualify Art to advise and consult with Rotarians, clubs, and districts on Rotary youth programs, particularly Interact. A Rotarian for ovr 60 years, Art has a doctorate in Administration with specialty in leadership development; he is a retired pastor; as an author he has written on leadership and working successfully with volunteers; and he and his Rotarian wife Sharon have a tax and accounting business. Art served as DG in D5510 (now D5495) in 1998-99. He served as a Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator and an International Training Leader. Currently, Art serves on the Zone 26, 27 Rotary Youth Services Task Force as a specialist in Interact. In addition, Art serves as the Chair for the Worldwide District Interact Chairs Association. Art and Sharon own a financial services business and are TRF Major Donors.

Chris has been involved in youth programs at the club and district levels and he is currently the Chair of the Zones26 & 27Rotary Youth Services Task Force. Chris has served as a club and district Youth Service chair, Interact Club advisor, Youth Protection Task Force member, and RYLA counselor. Chris was a founding member of the Silicon Valley Rotaract Club, serving as an officer for 2 years before leaving to attend graduate school. Chris joined the Los Gatos Morning Rotary in 2009 and quickly became involved with youth programs at the club, district, and zone levels. Chris graduated from the University of San Francisco with a doctoral degree in education, having studied transformational learning theory. Chris’ career field is education/youth ministry/youth development, and he has extensive helping creating and implementing youth programs.

Daniel can support Rotary clubs with Rotaract, RYLA, and cybersecurity. For Rotaract, he offers guidance on club leadership, financial management, event planning, and inter-club communication, drawing from his experience as President, Vice President/Secretary, Treasurer, and District Rotaract Representative. In RYLA, Daniel can help coordinate programs, recruit participants, develop program strategies, secure speakers, manage logistics, and facilitate team training, based on his roles as RYLA Chair, Program Coordinator, and CGF Coordinator. Regarding cybersecurity, his background as an Information Security and Cyber Threat Investigator, as well as a Computer Forensics Investigator, allows him to provide valuable insights on protecting information assets and digital evidence. Daniel has expertise in forensic tools and digital evidence analysis. He can assist with information security policies, digital evidence collection and preservation, and technical analyses.

David Dye can assist Rotarians in best practices for managing Interact Clubs, District Interact program management, Youth Protection Certification management, and RYLA Program management. David is a Rotarian and member of the Rotary Club of San Francisco in D5150, which includes much of the Bay area. He is a member of the Zone/26/27 Rotary Youth Services Task Force. For District 5150, he is the Youth Protection Officer. David has expertise and experience with Rotary youth programs. He served as Chair of D5150 Rotary Youth Services (RYS), which oversees the operation of the youth programs and youth protection in the district. David conducts Rotary youth program training sessions for club presidents and Rotarians involved in the programs. David has been District Interact Chair and Interact club advisor. For RYLA, he served as RYLA Director, Counselor, Treasurer, Program Content Planner, and manager of the RYLA staff youth protection certification.

A long-time Rotarian, Lane Calvert chose a professional career working as a staff executive with the Boy Scouts of America in southern California. He has combined the opportunities for youth in the Interact program with the Exploring program of Boy Scouts to prepare local youth for positions of leadership now and in the future. Lane served as DG of D5320 in southern California in 2006-07. He has served as the District Youth Chair and currently is the District 5320 Interact Chair. He is a member of the Zone 26, 27 Youth Task Force. In addition, Lane is the southern California Representative to the RI Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians. Lane is a member of the Rotary Club of Anaheim.

Leo Lawrenson has been in Rotary for over 25 years. He has held every club officer position, President in three different clubs, one an E-Club, and several District Officer positions in two districts including Interact Chair, Youth Services Director, Tech Team Chair, Conference Chair, and will be District Governor for 2027-28. Leo holds a BS and MS degrees in Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, and Artificial Intelligence, and has worked for 46 years in computer and related fields. Leo provides expert technical assistance for MyRotary, DACdb and ClubRunner. A retired USAF Colonel, Leo has taught many leadership and planning courses at Air University and in Rotary. A trained and experienced Facilitator with the Center for Community Mediation and Facilitation, he can also help facilitate difficult situations in organizations. With several years experience doing both legal and financial work on Wall Street, he also can advise on budgeting and other financial matters.

Melody is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Hollywood and served as Governor of D5280 in 2019-20. She has a 25 year history of work andsupport of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program (RYE). Over the years, she and her Rotarian husband Paul have hosted 22 RYE students. Melody served for five years as Chair of SCANEX, the multi-district consortium that provides training and support for the RYE in nine Districts in the western U. S and Hawaii. She is the 2023-25 President of the North America Youth Exchange Network (NAYEN) which provides training, support, and administrative help for RYE in 160 Districts in Canada, U. S. , and Mexico. Melody has received extensive training and is very knowledgeable about Rotary International and U. S. State Department regulations regarding youth protection, travel restrictions, injury, illness, discipline, monetary stipends, and any other question that may arise involving RYE.

Mike is a member of the Rotary Club of Boise Southwest, Boise, Idaho. D5400 covers southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Mike has served as club president and AG. He has been involved with RYE for 15 years, serving as a host parent; counselor; and D5400 RYE Chair. Currently, Mike is Learning and Development Director for the North American Youth Exchange Network (NAYEN). He serves on the Youth Services Task Force for Zones 26 and 27 and is Vice-Chair of the Western States Student Exchange (WESSEX). Mike created an award-winning crisis management plan for RYE and is working on training materials for DGs to learn about Rotary Youth Exchange.

Peter joined the Rotary Club of Boulder, CO in 1990 when his daughter was selected to go to France by the D5450 Rotary Youth Exchange Program (RYE). He immediately began working on the club RYE Committee and later served on the District Committee. Peter's service on the Committee was interrupted in 2014-15 when he served as Governor of D5450. In 2020 Peter relocated to Port Townsend, WA, joined the Rotary Club of Port Townsend, and began service on the D5020 RYE Committee as Compliance Coordinator. He also serves unofficially in that capacity for adjoining D5050, which has clubs in U. S. and Canada. Peter brings 30 years of deep experience, knowledge, and passion to his work with the RYE.

Sandi is a member of the Rotary Club of St. George Sunrise, Utah, District 5420. She is past president of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield East, California, and served as District Governor of District 5240 in 2018-19. Sandi has been an RN for 53 years in adult medicine, including great experience in home health and hospice care as well as dialysis. A four-year member of the Cadre of Technical Advisors serving the area of Disease Prevention and Treatment, Sandi has advised on grants for hemo and peritoneal dialysis in acute and chronic settings in Asia and Africa. Sandi and her husband Richard are Major Donors, Level One, and members of the Paul Harris Society. She has served as Chair of the Operations Committee and GElS and GNlS administrtor at Zone 26, 27 Institutes.

Steve is a member of the Rotary Club of Arcadia in D5300, which covers southern Nevada and parts of southern California. He served as DG in 1994-95. Steve is a strong advocate and supporter of Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program. He has been a facilitator at RI RYLA workshops and served two years on the RI RYLA Committee. A believer in the ability of RYLA to develop leadership in young people, Steve has many videos, PowerPoint presentations, and Whitepapers which can be found at www.ryla.stevegarrett.com. Steve also has expertise in training club Boards of Directors to be productive and efficient. See videos and materials at www.bod.stevegarrett.com. A third area of expertise in which Steve can assist clubs is mediation of disputes. He is an enrolled mediator with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He is called on by Rotary groups to mediate disputes.