Foundation Board
Directors
Todd McKinney
Chair, RRHF Board of Directors
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Todd is a General Building Contractor who has a passion for hunting and
the great outdoors. He has been in the building trade since 1975 and a
contractor in Ridgecrest since 1980. Todd has always been involved in
the local community serving non-profits such as RidgeProject, Habitat
for Humanity, local churches and hunting organizations and now the RRH
Foundation.
He believes is this community and he feels that it is up to each of us to work together to make our world a better place. When not working and donating his time to service projects he loves to barbecue for his friends and family.
Leslie O'Neill
Vice-Chair, RRHF Board of Directors
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Leslie O’Neill has lived and worked in our community for over 40
years. She spent her first 18 years here working for the Naval Air Warfare
Center – Weapon’s Division as a computer specialist supporting
the F/A-18 program for most of that time. As a microbiology major from
San Jose State, in 2006 she decided to return to her first love, health
care. She has been an RN at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital for nearly 15
years, first as a Critical Care RN before moving into Infection Prevention
5 years ago. Leslie is passionate about our hospital, our community and
seeking out opportunities to promote wellness through engagement and teamwork.
As a Foundation Board member she is excited to give of her time, talent
and resources to see new capabilities, technologies and services brought
to our hospital. Leslie and her husband Tom raised two sons who are now
off pursuing their own dreams and passions. They now share their home
here in Ridgecrest with their German Shepherd Morgen.
Stephanie Hudson
Vice-Chair, RRHF Board of Directors
Stephanie Hudson has lived and worked in our community for over 30 years and shares her life here with her husband Peter who she met and married in San Diego before they relocated to Ridgecrest. She retired in 2021 from Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division as a Deputy Department Head of Infrastructure Business Operations Department and now together they enjoy travelling, socializing with friends, and supporting the Ridgecrest community in many ways.
Stephanie’s passion has always been community service whether through supporting the schools their daughter attended or by serving as Chair for the Committee for Safe Graduation (the valley's Safe and Sober night celebration for graduating high school seniors) since 2014. She remains active with several non-profit groups in town and in 2026-27 is serving as Director Community Service and President-Elect for the Rotary Club of China Lake in preparation for her Presidency the following year.
She looks forward to serving as a board member for the RRH Foundation and continuing to do good things for this community and positively represent the RRH Foundation’s mission.
Sandra Brown
Secretary
Sandra's journey to Ridgecrest 11 years ago not only marked the beginning
of her new life with Scott, an Engineer at China Lake, but also set the
stage for a life filled with adventure, family, and philanthropy. Together,
they are the proud parents of four sons, with whom they share their love
for traveling and attending music concerts, creating unforgettable memories.
Sandra's commitment to her community extends beyond her personal life.
With nine years of dedicated service at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital,
she has become a part of the RRH Women in Philanthropy. Her strong belief
in giving back to the community drives her continuous efforts to support
and uplift those around her.
Board Members
Rita Read
RRH Foundation Board Member
Rita is a retired Real Estate Broker, having sold real estate in the Ridgecrest
area for over 35 years. She initially owned and operated her own firm
and then settled in with Coldwell Banker Best Realty for 31 years, where
she remained until her retirement. She grew up in Ridgecrest and graduated
from Burroughs High School and Cerro Coso Community College.
Throughout her long career she had many accomplishments which include being President of the local Association of Realtors for two terms, Realtor of the Year in 1989 and 2015, speaker at the IWV Outlook Conference in 1992, earning her CRS Certified Residential Specialist designation and serving as the Chair of the California Association of Realtors Region 27 for two terms.
Rita has always been active in community service. She has been a member of the Altrusa Club of IWV for 30 years having served as a past President and has been the Chair of one of their major fundraisers, The Holiday Home Tour, for the past 20 years. Rita has also served on the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Board for over 20 years and currently serves on the RRH Executive Board where she served one term as the Executive Chair. Rita was also on the Board of the prior RRHDF before becoming a member of the Board supporting the new RRH Foundation. She is also a member of the RRHF Women in Philanthropy. She has been a member of the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce and enjoyed participating in their Chamber Follies for 25 years.
Rita has been married to her husband, David, for 39 years. Her hobbies include RV travel, Jeep off-roading, hiking, photography, and scuba diving in Cozumel, Mexico. Rita has a vested interest in our community and local health care system which is why she is dedicated and committed to the goals and missions of the RRH Foundation and their goals in supporting RRH.
Donald Beene
RRH Foundation Board Member
Don has been a member of the Ridgecrest community since 1970, graduating from Burroughs High School and attending Cerro Coso Community College for 2 years before attending UC Davis. After living in the Soviet Union for 1 year and Japan for 4 years, where he learned some Russian and Japanese, he returned to pursue a career in public education. In his years as a classroom teacher, he had the opportunity to teach students in first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades. Transitioning from the classroom into administration, he served as Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and as Superintendent.
A pivotal moment in Don’s life was when his father had a motorcycle accident from which he was resuscitated back to life and was left permanently disabled. Don made a commitment to support his father however possible for the remainder of his life. Through the next twenty four and a third years, they learned about the ins and outs of hospitals and the health care system, both locally and throughout Southern California. Dozens of surgeries and hospital visits in the early years, and the decline of his father’s health in the later years, left Don with a strong impression of the time, effort, and passion of health care employees. The caring staff at RRH really helped Don see the importance of the organization to his father’s wellbeing: physically, emotionally, and mentally. Now able to give back to those who gave to his father, Don is thrilled to be part of the RRH Foundation Board, whose mission statement is to engage the community in a partnership to facilitate excellent care and to secure resources to support sustainability and growth of the hospital.
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