Ten Questions is a series in the Point Loma-OB Monthly that shines a spotlight on notable locals. This month’s featured personality is Shelly Parks, the recently appointed president of the Ocean Beach Community Foundation.
Parks has been in the center of a storm of sorts the past few months. She was serving as interim president of the Ocean Beach Town Council when the group stopped using that name under legal advice after a financial scandal was publicly revealed in January.
The Town Council had discovered that former board President Corey Bruins — who was ousted in January — had become the sole authorized agent and signatory of OBTC’s two primary bank s, including that of the Ocean Beach Community Foundation, a charitable nonprofit 501(c)(3) acquired by OBTC in November 2020.
OBTC also learned it had lost its 501(c)(4) nonprofit designation in February 2021 for failing to file required tax forms since 2017, the year Bruins became the board’s treasurer.
Parks was chosen president of the OB Community Foundation in March. An independent auditor is exploring the Town Council’s finances over the past several years.
Here’s what Parks writes about herself:
I was born in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. My first time in San Diego was on a family vacation when I was 5 years old. As my mom tells me, when we were flying back, I leaned against the window exclaiming: “There are houses down there. We don’t have to go back. People live here. We can just stay and make this home!”
When I turned 24, that dream of living in San Diego was still alive in my heart. After researching grad schools, all I could think about was transplanting to California. Drawn by the gorgeous campus of San Diego State University and the memories of wanting to live in San Diego as a child, I packed up my Chevy Blazer in 2004 and drove across the country.
I landed first in Serra Mesa, but I would move closer and closer toward the ocean at the end of each lease until I made it to Ocean Beach.
Even when I didn’t live in OB, a group of friends was able to coordinate our work schedules to meet at the beach every Wednesday. We’d spend all day in the sand, sun and surf at the end of Brighton Street until the sun started to go down and we were hungry. We’d hit a local restaurant, maybe play a game of pool and drive home. I felt so lucky when, in 2007, I finally was able to afford to live in OB and walk to the ocean.
Celebrating my graduation from SDSU with my master’s in social work in 2008, my parents and friends and I went out to Pac Shores on Newport Avenue in downtown OB. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was to meet my future husband that night.
My mom thought it was a good idea to help the bouncer check IDs. She was curious to see how many people were visiting from out of state. Jeremiah, the Pac Shores bouncer, and I were introduced. Then, as they say, the rest is history. We fell in love that night and were married in 2016.
Working in the nonprofit field for 22 years, I have gained valuable insight and expertise focusing on the operations of a nonprofit organization, from programs to operations to finance and istration.
My first introduction to the Ocean Beach Town Council was in 2018, when OBTC became a partner of the San Diego Food Bank, where I was working as the director of programs. Several years later, the Town Council recruited me to serve as co-chair of the annual Holiday Food & Toy Drive, which was a very rewarding experience.
The next year, I was encouraged to run for a seat on the board of directors and won election in 2023.
In March, I was elected to serve as president of the Ocean Beach Community Foundation. I’m proud to serve alongside very dedicated volunteers who serve on our board and dedicate their time to create so much positive energy and amazing events in our special OB community.
As a board, we have a lot of responsibility for both the operations of the organization and the external-facing activities and events that the OB community loves and looks forward to every year. It’s May and we are already gearing up for the holiday season, pulling permits and securing rentals for this year’s Near the Pier Pancake Breakfast and OB traditions like the annual holiday tree at the end of Newport and the annual Holiday Parade that bring our community together.
My personal favorite remains the event I started volunteering for — the Holiday Food & Toy Drive. It gives me such pride and satisfaction to be a part of giving back to the community by bringing together volunteers, donors and community to provide for those in our community who need a little extra lift during the holidays.
In June, we are expanding the OB Community Foundation board with the election of additional directors. The board is committed to the future of our community by continuing to provide enjoyable events and activities that help make OB the special community we have all come to love.
Now on to the 10 Questions:
Q. What attracted you to the Point Loma-Ocean Beach area as a place to live and/or work?
A. OB, with its quaint, sleepy, surf culture, is exactly what I was seeking when I moved to California from Minnesota. It just feels like home! I love that our community is so walkable where I can go to all of my favorite restaurants and bars on foot, grocery-shop, get my feet in the sand and enjoy amazing sunsets after dinner, all without driving my car.
Q. What are your favorite places to go in Point Loma and Ocean Beach?
A. I’m a bit nervous putting this out there because it’s a local secret, but launching my paddleboard at Kellogg Beach is my absolute favorite place to go on the peninsula.
I also love to take long walks along Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, over to Dog Beach or down the river and up the other side to Cat Jetty.
Q. If you could snap your fingers and have it done, what might you add to improve Point Loma or Ocean Beach?
A. I would ensure all the service providers in San Diego had sustainable funding to provide resources and housing for our unsheltered community . Helping to ensure that all OBeceans have a roof over their head and can reach their full potential would be my dream.
Q. Who or what inspires you?
A. My parents have always served as my inspiration in life. They raised me with core values of integrity, courage and comion. They live in Minnesota, but I talk to them every week and they continue to serve as my guidepost and moral com in life’s everyday challenges. They are both also my No. 1 ers to celebrate my life’s successes.
Q. If you hosted a dinner party for five guests, who (living or deceased) would you invite?
A. Assuming all of my family and friends could come, I’d also invite:
• Jane Addams, the founder of social work
• Buddy Guy, for musical entertainment
• Michelle Obama, a down-to-earth, very accomplished role model
• Hunter S. Thompson, my husband’s favorite
• Jesus, who will be in charge of bringing the wine
Q. Tell us about what you are currently reading or watching on TV.
A. My copy of “Kinda Funny” by JJ Barrows just arrived from Amazon. I’m excited to dive in and read it. I met JJ in OB through a mutual friend, Catt, who once owned Artbox on Cable Street. She has such a variety of artistic talents and what some would consider an odd love for Dollywood.
Q. What would be your dream vacation?
A. If I won the lottery, the first place I would travel to with my husband, Jeremiah, would be Bora Bora in the French Polynesian islands to stay for a month in one of those resorts on stilts off a dock looking over the water.
Q. What are your five favorite movies of all time?
A.
• “The Great Outdoors,” my favorite John Hughes film
• “Forrest Gump,” a fantastic movie with a killer soundtrack
• “Goonies,” because “Goonies never say die”
• “Teen Wolf,” another classic ’80s flick
• “Fight Club,” the movie that introduced me to Chuck Palahniuk, my favorite author
Q. What is your most prized possession?
A. My Paradise Board Co. stand-up paddleboard. There is a certain quietness when I get out on the water each week that centers me, clears away all tension and allows me to start each week with a clear mind. Plus, Paradise is an OB locally owned family business. It’s got to make you proud to a company in our community who is creating paradise and succeeding.
Q. What is your motto or philosophy of life?
A. “The best time to start was yesterday. The next-best time is now.”
Do you know someone you’d like us to ask 10 Questions? Send an email with your suggestion to [email protected].
