Shop Talk

Since October 2007, Nicole Patterson has been a dedicated Detention Supervisor in Scottsdale. Originally from New York, she's the youngest of eight, with a passion for the Dallas Cowboys, Yankees, and Lakers. A true dog lover, Nicole enjoys life with her 3-year-old red Doberman, Buddy. Snacks are her jam!!!

Kelvin Rawlins grew up in Oxnard, California before coming to Arizona in 2005. Sports has always been a passion and played baseball until his junior year in high school and basketball that allowed an opportunity to play at the junior college level, at the Division 1 level (Boise State), and two full seasons in Melbourne, Australia. Later, he developed an interest in the law enforcement profession that gave experience and also worked in the beverage industry prior to moving to Arizona. Once in Arizona, he began a career as a service advisor in the auto industry and hired on with the Scottsdale Police Department in 2007. He worked as a detention officer for about 10 years, promoted to sergeant and eventually detention manager as a lieutenant. The experience and relationships built over the course of his career are those that he will never forget.

Dom Vattuone grew up Germantown, Maryland, played varsity baseball for UNC Greensboro Spartans, spent three and a half seasons in the minor leagues with the Oakland Athletics before starting with Scottsdale PD in 2016 where he currently serves as a member of the Downtown District Bike Unit. During his professional career posted 84 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched all out of the bullpen as a set up/ closing pitcher.

Rob Katzaroff hails from Seal Beach,  California, played varsity baseball for UCLA, spent six and a half seasons in the minor leagues with a .300 career average before starting with Scottsdale PD in 1997 where he currently serves as the Foothills District Crime Prevention Officer. 

The Thunderbirds, hosts of the WM Phoenix Open Presented by Taylor Morrison, have named George Thimsen the Tournament Chairman for the 2024 edition of “The People’s Open”, which is set to tee it up Feb. 5-11 at TPC Scottsdale. Additionally, The Thunderbirds announced that Matt Mooney has been named Assistant Tournament Chairman for the 2024 event.

Thimsen assumes the role of Tournament Chairman after serving last year as Assistant Tournament Chairman alongside Pat Williams. He will guide The Thunderbirds organization in the planning and execution of all facets of the 2024 event, including sponsorship generation and renewals, security and safety, community relations, logistics, and development of on-course venues.

A Southern California native from Rancho Palos Verdes, Thimsen earned his degrees in Marketing and Communications from California State University, Chico. He’s been a member of The Thunderbirds since 2017 and has called Phoenix home with his wife, Natalie, and their two children, Gia (age 10) and Jayde (age 8), since 2013. Thimsen’s business background includes serving in various leadership roles at Red Bull for more than 11 years before becoming a Partner and Chief Revenue Officer at Timeless, LLC in 2019.

“Being named Tournament Chairman of the WM Phoenix Open is not only an honor, but a responsibility to uphold this group’s incredible legacy of giving back to the community,” Thimsen said. “I am excited to work alongside my fellow Thunderbirds, our partners, volunteers, and our amazing sponsors – including the best title sponsor in professional sports, WM – to create another unforgettable ‘People’s Open’ for the players and the greatest fans in golf.”

Alessandra “Alex” Sachs is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, but grew up in the US and France. In 1993, she moved back to Brazil and pursued an undergraduate degree in Physical Education at FEFISA. She followed with a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology at UNIFMU, where she worked under Brazil’s top Sports Psychology, Dr. Regina Brandao. In 2000, her Master’s thesis was published at the Sports Psychology World Conference in Skiathos, Greece. She met Dr. Darren Treasure and Dr. Cristina Versari at the conference and in 2001 was invited to be a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University under the guidance of Dr. Treasure. Unfortunately, a year later Dr. Treasure left the university and Alex transferred to San Diego University of Interactive Studies under the leadership Of Dr. Versari.

Alex played professional soccer for 11 years on the Brazilian Women’s National Team. She has a silver medal from the 2004 Olympic Games and a gold medal from the 2007 Pan American Games. She was inducted into the Brazilian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005. Alex worked at the Jewish Community Center for 11 years, was a program manager for Playworks Arizona for 3 years and now works for the Scottsdale Police Department as the Crime Prevention Police Aide for the Via Linda District.

Elissa Nowacki has worked with children most of her life, starting in her early teens, babysitting the neighborhood kids. She worked with the YMCA after school programs in high school and while getting her teaching degree from ASU.  She spent many summers working at residential summer camps in the mountains of Prescott AZ and the Pocono Hills in Pennsylvania.  She started teaching in Maryvale in 1996 and spent the next 20 years at the same school.  She spent most of her years teaching 5th grade.  In 2016, she stepped into a new role as an instructional coach. In 2018 she started on her School Administrator journey!  She loves her current school community and hopes to be able to serve there for many years.

Joe Iturri brings nearly 30 years of hospitality experience to Caesars Republic Scottsdale, previously serving as General Manager of Saguaro Scottsdale for nine years, the opening Director of Sales and Marketing at W Scottsdale for six years, and Regional Director of Revenue Management for all of Starwood’s Southwest hotels for 13 years. During his tenure with Starwood, he was also a leader in their process improvement effort, acting as a “Black Belt" in Six Sigma at the Phoenician Resort.  A Scottsdale resident with longstanding roots in the community. Joe Iturri serves on many boards in the community, including Vice Chair of the Board at Experience Scottsdale Education Chair at the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association, (AZLTA), is a board member of Scottsdale Police Chief Walther’s Community Engagement Group and the Scottsdale Police Foundation.

About Caesars Republic Scottsdale

Caesars Republic Scottsdale is a new lifestyle hotel experience and the first non-gaming hotel by Caesars Entertainment in the United States. Located adjacent to Scottsdale’s premier luxury retail destination, Scottsdale Fashion Square, the new concept taps into the unique pulse of the surrounding city to form a one-of-a-kind experience. The 11-story, 265-room hotel and conference center is scheduled to open in February 2024.

October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a period dedicated to discussing measures that can guide those affected towards understanding the situation and finding avenues to escape harmful circumstances.

Data from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reveals that over 10 million adults in the United States face domestic violence each year. Closer to home, Scottsdale’s Victim Services extended assistance to approximately 1,200 domestic violence victims in the fiscal year spanning July 2021 to June 2022. Their support encompasses facilitating victims in obtaining orders of protection or injunctions against harassment, directing them to relevant support services, aiding in applications for the Address Confidentiality Program, accompanying them to court, clarifying aspects of the criminal justice process, and championing their rights.

Sergeant Marcus Dunton, with a tenure of 17 years at Scottsdale PD, initiated his journey as a Police Aide and presently holds the position of Supervisor for the Domestic Violence Unit.

Kasia Bouise-Oropeza and Ellen Larson are integral members of the Victim Advocate Department of Victim Services. They are committed to assisting every domestic violence victim and guiding them through the necessary procedures.

Sarah Kearney leads Blue Zones Project Scottsdale as the Executive Director. Her leadership experience is diverse and rooted in community well-being, service, and forward-thinking optimism. She most recently worked for Experience Scottsdale, whose mission is to enhance the Scottsdale community through tourism. In Sarah’s 16+ year tenure at the organization, she held several leadership roles and specialized in worldwide leisure sales, partner development strategy, membership and community engagement, program development, and more.

Driven by her passion for the Scottsdale community, Sarah has served, led, and guided several local organizations, leaving a cross-sector imprint. She has served as the Board President for Scottsdale Leadership, the Board President for Community Celebrating Diversity, a Board Member for Scottsdale Sister Cities, the Officer of Membership for Millennials in Travel, and the Vice President of Community Outreach at GiGi’s Playhouse Phoenix/Scottsdale.

Sarah holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a B.A. in Communication from Arizona State University. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading, sports and spending time in the Scottsdale sunshine. She is a proud wife and hockey, dance, and dog mom to her two children and golden retriever.

https://bluezonesprojectscottsdale.com/

Chris and Jihae Watson have been married for 18 years and they have 7 amazing children ranging from age 7 to 30. Chris and Jihae have been actively involved in the foster/adoptive community since 2015 and Chris currently serves as the president on the boards of the Jaxon Foundation and Men’s Practice.

Jihae is an HR generalist for Showit Inc in Chandler, where she has worked for the past seven years. Jihae started the Fostering Voices Podcast to help those involved in the foster and adoptive community. Jihae has also trained and certified new foster parents for the past three years. Chris and Jihae were keynote speakers at the Foster Arizona Gala in 2020 and continue to speak to various groups in the foster care and adoptive communities. Chris and Jihae could not have done any of these things without the incredible support from the City of Scottsdale and the community around them.

Chris is currently a Police Commander serving in the Foothills District with the Scottsdale Police Department. Prior to his work in law enforcement, Chris spent 6 years in the U.S. Marine Corps with assignments in Yuma AZ, Quantico, Liberia and Korea and then served for a year in Iraq as a security contractor working for Triple Canopy Security.

Chris has a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Arizona State University and Jihae has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto.

John Loleit has been with the City since 2000 after spending 25 years with the National Park Service. He has his spent entire career in the Northern part of the Preserve starting with the opening of Pinnacle Peak Park in 2002. When Browns Ranch Trailhead opened in 2013 he moved there and most recently to the new trailhead at Pima Dynamite. As a Natural Resources Supervisor,  his job is constantly evolving and varied every day. John also conducts guided hikes,  manage trail maintenance projects, train staff and volunteers, provide fire mitigation, invasive weed control and various other natural resource projects.

Ofc. Saylor has been employed with the Scottsdale Police Department since 2011.  He has been an active part of the training unit for many years as an adjunct instructor and is currently a designated marksman for the agency. He is a 4th generation Arizonan with a passion for the outdoor community and can be regularly found on the trails in the preserves hiking with his wife and dogs.

Chris Henningson starting as a Cadet in 1998, then served as a parking control checker and police aide, and evolved to a crime analyst, he's now leading the groundbreaking team of the Scottsdale Police departments Real Time Crime Center.

He is also the National President of the real Time Crime Center Association https://www.nrtcca.org/