Michael Barnard
Michael Barnard is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Desert Samaritans for the Elderly in Indio, California. Barnard previously served for six years as Executive Director of the Joslyn Senior Center in Palm Desert. Before going to Joslyn, he was Marketing and Development Director at the Mizell Senior Center in Palm Springs. He currently serves on the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Palm Desert Park and Recreation Commission and the Riverside County Office on Aging Advisory Council. He previously served on the Leadership Coachella Valley Board of Directors and is past President of the Aging Community Team 1 (ACT1). Michael received his Bachelors of Arts from San Diego State University in Physical Education with an emphasis in Athletic Training. He was born in San Diego and moved to the Coachella Valley in 1998. He resides in Palm Desert with his wife Talia.

Ira Berman

Leo Chu
Owner, Hollywood Park Casino; Chairperson, CCPG Fundraising Committee; Advisory Board Member, Southern California Special Olympics; Advisory Council Member, University of Southern California, School of Engineering; Secretary & Board Member, Golden State Gaming Association

David Frankes
Former President, CCPG; Chairperson, CCPG Bylaws Committee; Co-Founder, Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling; Former Director, National Council on Problem Gambling; Past Member, National Board of Trustees

Linda Frankes
Former Treasurer, CCPG; Intern, California Counselor for Problem Gamblers; Co-Founder, Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling; Former Peer Counselor for families, Connecticut In-Patient/Out-Patient Treatment Center for Problem & Compulsive Gamblers; Delegate, International Board of Delegates of Family Recovery Program

Eric Geffner, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist; California Certified Gambling Counselor; Full Time Gambling-Specific Practice; National Certified Gambling Therapist

Wes Goldberg
Retired Sales and Marketing Executive; CCPG Treasurer; Chairperson, CCPG Budget Committee; Owner, W.G. Enterprises, Palm Desert CA

Charlie Hoar
Private psychology practice in Del Mar, CA and Senior Clinical Psychologist, San Diego County Health and Human Services. Former program manager of EAP programs in Tampa, FL and San Diego, CA Army Hospital in Washington, DC., Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, SC, and Charleston (SC) Naval Hospital. Volunteer for Give An Hour, Semper Fi Fund, and Red Cross Disaster mental Health

Steve Kobashigawa

Suzanne Koch Eckenrode

Gary Lange, Ph.D.
Chair of the Training Committee and board member for CCPG; licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Rancho Mirage, CA; National and California Certification as a Gambling Counselor; Board Approved Clinical Consultant (BACC), supervisor for NCPG; Supervised the Family Program at the Betty Ford Center where he completed his dissertation on the recovery symptoms/patterns of family members; Certified Addictions Specialist; Professor of Psychology with Cal State University, San Bernardino, Palm Desert campus; Numerous professional presentations on problem gambling as well as the quarterly trainings for counselors seeking their Certification as a Gambling Counselor. Past topics included, “You Bet Your Life”, “When Luck Runs Out”; Published articles for The Counselor, The Therapist magazines and is currently writing a book for treating families of gamblers. GaryLangePhD.com

Marc Lefkowitz
Director of Training, CCPG; Former Secretary, CCPG; California Certified Gambling Counselor; AS Degree in Human Services; Certified in Alcohol/Substance Abuse Studies; Board Chairperson, International Compulsive Gambling Recovery Program; Trainer, Responsible Gambling Workshops, CCPG

Tom Marriscolo
CCPG President; Retired Police Commander, City of Burlingame; Former Chief Deputy Coroner, County of San Mateo; Consultant, Marriscolo & Associates Management Consultants; Chairperson, CCPG Personnel Committee

Sunnyo Pak
Director of Union of Pan Asian Communities, Addiction Recovery and Treatment Division (UPAC ART). Ms. Pak is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a California/Nationally Certified Gambling Counselor in private practice in San Diego. Ms. Pak currently serves as the treasurer of the San Diego Alcohol and Drug Services Providers Association, Executive Committee. Ms. Pak has given numerous presentations and participated in the training of other providers in the area of co-occurring disorders, mental illness and substance/gambling addiction. Ms. Pak is a long term advocate for the need of gambling prevention and treatment services for San Diego residents.

Richard J. Rosenthal, M.D.
Full-time private psychiatric practice; Founder, first president, CCPG; California Certified Gambling Counselor;Clinical Supervisor; Co-author, DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling; co-investigator, first genetic study; National Academy of Science, Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling; approximately 40 publications; National Council on Problem Gambling Research Award (1993) and Herman Goldman Award (1995); Clinical faculty, UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Ethics Committee, Southern California Psychiatric Society (1992-present); Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Lanny Russikoff
Retired From the Advertising Department for the Los Angeles Times; Current Member of Gamblers Anonymous; Past Board member of Gamblers Anonymous BOT & BOT

Bob Weinstein
Retired Business Owner; Board of Directors, Inland Empire Self-Help Center (IESHC); UCLA, Graduate School of Business, Executive Program

Viejas Enterprises, Inc.

California State Lottery

Advisory Board
Roger Bensinger
Fundraiser; Businessman; Former Special Assistant to Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity

Tim Fong, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute; Co-Director, UCLA Gambling Studies Program; Director, UCLA Impulse Control Disorders Clinic, California Council on Problem Gambling Advisory Board Member

Al Gertler
Member, National Gambling Recovery Organization

Paul Good, Ph.D.
Clinical and Forensic Psychologist; California Certified Gambling Counselor; Clinical Supervisor; Assistant Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; Past California Council on Problem Gambling President

Melanie Morgan-Swanson
Talk-Show Host, KSFO San Francisco; Past California Council on Problem Gambling President

I. Nelson Rose, JD
Professor of Law, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa CA; Former CCPG Vice President of Legal Affairs

Louise Lecklitner