Staff and Board
Staff and board are made of volunteers with differing sets of skills.
If you would like to be a board member please email the FirstServe team at Firstservesouthbay@gmail.com
William Hurst
Executive Director
Bill Hurst is the Executive Director of FirstServe Senior Services, and Senior Pastor of First Lutheran Church and School in Torrance CA. He is a graduate of Queens College (CUNY), and holds the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.
Originally a working actor, Bill also managed telemarketing and sales teams in the healthcare and technology industries before becoming an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In addition to serving three parishes, he served as Assistant to the Bishop for communication and interfaith affairs in Metropolitan New York from 1996 to 2004.
Bill has served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including Wartburg Lutheran Services in Metropolitan New York, the Diakonia Lay Education program, the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association, and California Lutheran Homes and Community Services.
Bill also serves FirstServe as a program leader for bereavement and counseling services, as well as representing our programs in the Greater South Bay area. A published author, he also enjoys songwriting and other literary pursuits, as well as consulting with area non-profit organizations.
Board of Directors
David Julifs
President
David has served on the FirstServe Board of Directors since 2011 and has been President since 2021. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the University of Southern California, respectively.
He retired from Raytheon Company in 2022 as a product line director and provides technical and project management consulting services to aerospace companies as well as engagement content providers.
He is a member of the Project Management Institute and was a past church council member, a member of the UIUC Electrical Engineering Department Alumni Board, and tournament division coordinator for youth basketball tournaments.
Martha A. Avila
Treasurer
Martha A. Avila joined the FirstServe Board of Directors in 2021, and currently serves as Treasurer. She is a member of First Lutheran Church in Inglewood CA. Ms. Avila graduated from UC Riverside with a Bachelors Degree and Teaching Credential, and later completed two Master Degrees from Cal State Los Angeles.
She has been an Elementary School Teacher for LAUSD for 13 years. A leader in her local congregation, Martha has served on Church Council, and among her many roles is also also a member of the church's Praise Band. She has served the wider Lutheran Church as a member of the Southwest California Synod Council, as well as with their Executive Committee.
She enjoys singing, cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family. Serving God and community is a major focus of her life.
As she says, "Jesus was the perfect example of how to serve -- especially to the less fortunate -- and we should follow in his footsteps."
Board Members
Deborah is thrilled to support the FirstServe organization as a board member. She lived in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Alaska prior to the South Bay area in Southern California. Moving to Hermosa Beach was an easy decision after living in Fairbanks and Anchorage for 12 years.
She raised her children in Torrance – Amy who now lives in London, UK and Greg lives in Torrance and Lomita.
Deborah worked for 24 years as a Registered Dental Hygienist and 25 years as a financial advisor. She is currently a Wealth Advisor with Madson Wealth Advisors for families and organizations.
Her leisure time is spent entertaining family and friends, playing tennis, gardening, and learning new recipes. She also enjoys travelling to Canada and Europe as often as she can.
Margarita joined the First Serve Board in 2021. She is also the South Bay Conference representative of the Southwest California Lutheran Synod.
Margarita is retired, after careers in business and educational fields. Born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is a member of the Rotary e-Club of Puerto Rico y Las Américas, a non-profit organization.
Margarita graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a BBA in accounting, and her M.Ed. from State University of Texas and M.A. in Counseling from Loyola Marymount University.
Her passion is to serve the community through organizations that promote the well-being of the community.
Patrick Henry
Board Member
Deborah Hurwicz
Board Member
Margarita C. Gonzalez
Board Member
Patrick Henry retired to Assistant Professor Emeritus as faculty at the Lloyd Greif Center from Entrepreneurial Studies at University of Southern California in 2020. He is an evangelist for entrepreneurs and helping them to connect and acquire resources to support their ventures. Patrick’s passion is working with the next generation of entrepreneurs as he believes that entrepreneurs have been and always will be the growth engine of the U.S. economy.
Twice students have recognized his contribution to their college journey by awarding him the Golden Apple Awards in 2006 and 20012 – the highest teaching award, voted on by graduating seniors. He also received the Ivan C. Thomson Award for Student Mentoring.
Previous to Patrick’s faculty position, he had an extensive career in Consumer Products and Consumer Electronics as a Consultant, Advisor and New Venture Executive with Mattel, Sega Genesis, Tyco Toys (acquired by Mattel), Duracell, Sea World, and Caesars Casinos. Patrick has an MBA degree from University of Southern California and an Undergraduate degree in business administration from California State University at Northridge.
During his retirement he is involved with three valuable non-profit groups:
- Board member of FirstServe (first-serve.org) to provide wide array of service and support to South Bay seniors.
- Board member and volunteer to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (nfte.com) that provides entrepreneurship education for high school youth in underserved communities.
- Volunteer for Youth Business Alliance (youthbizalliance.org) that delivers life skills like financial literacy, resume and job interviewing skills into underserved high school students
Advisors
Dean Nelson
Advisor
Bishop Emeritus Dean Nelson was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1944 and attended public schools in that city. He was confirmed at St. Timothy Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago in 1958. He graduated summa cum laude from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota in 1966, with a major in English and minors in German and philosophy.
He attended Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts, interned at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Santa Rosa, California and graduated from Luther Seminary in St. Paul in 1970.
He was ordained in the former ALC, a predecessor body of the ELCA, in 1970. He served congregations in Enid, Oklahoma, Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was Senior Pastor here at First from 1995-2001. In 2001 he was elected as the third bishop of the Southwest California Synod, ELCA, and served two terms, retiring in 2013.
He is married to the former Marianne Anderson, a retired fourth grade teacher from First Lutheran School, and is the father of Kirsten Nelson Calabrese and Mark Nelson, and the grandfather of Henry and Lena.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of First Serve, he chairs the Synod’s Middle East Peace Task Force, serves as an area representative for Bright Stars of Bethlehem, and serves on the boards of both Opportunity Palestine and Providence Little Company of Mary Hospitals of Torrance and San Pedro. He continues to provide pulpit supply both at First and at congregations throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and sings with the Long Beach Camerata Singers.
He and Marianne also enjoy traveling both nationally and globally.
Thom Spadaro
Advisor
Thom, over the years has worn several hats, including the one you see here. He has driven future movers and shakers toward furthering their education and changing the world as a school bus driver.
He has done a fair bit of acting, directing, writing and producing in the theatrical, video/TV, and radio realms. And, along with his wife and partner Susan, is Co-Curator of the (mostly) annual “Broadway At First” benefit series on the Faith Hall Stage.
At present, he’s Senior Support Specialist for CRS Solutions, a reseller for Restaurant Manager point of sale systems and Shift4 Payments.