In the spirit of Thanksgiving, The San Diego Sun is recognizing individuals and organizations that deserve thanks for their giving to downtown San Diego. This is the inaugural list of The Sun’s SHINING LIGHTS.
The people on this list go above and beyond the norm to combat homelessness and human trafficking. They help kids learn to read, go to college and turn job skills into employment. We’re recognizing local leaders of nonprofits and foundations as well as CEOs of for-profit businesses and community volunteers who care. They represent so much selfless effort.
The list includes: Jenny & Robert Barber (Talitha Coffee Roasters); Melinda Cooper (Words Alive); Tamara Y. Craver (Reality Changers); Cindy Cook (East Village Doers); Mike Georgopoulos (RMD Group); Rachel & Hernán Luis y Prado (Workshops for Warriors); Michelle Metter (San Diego Food + Wine Festival); Drew Moser (Lucky Duck Foundation); Grant Oliphant (Prebys Foundation); Brandon Steppe (David’s Harp Foundation); Ruth-Ann Thorn (Exclusive Collections); and Deacon Jim Vargas (Father Joe’s Villages).
Slight bias alert: Every SHINING LIGHTS honoree was featured in a 2025 San Diego Sun story. Scroll down and read about the good deeds of folks who are the backbone of our downtown San Diego community.
JENNY & ROBERT BARBER, TALITHA COFFEE ROASTERS
Jenny Barber is a survivor from the world of human exploitation. She and her husband, Robert, co-founded Talitha Coffee Roasters. The flagship store is in Liberty Public Market and the roastery is on National Avenue in Barrio Logan. The couple aim to reduce human trafficking by employing survivors through a referral network and providing them with the necessary resources to stay self-sufficient. In 2025, Talitha partnered with the San Diego Convention Center to offer meeting planners holding events at the convention center the opportunity to upgrade beverage service with an exclusive Talitha custom blend. THE FULL STORY
MELINDA COOPER, WORDS ALIVE
The nonprofit Words Alive focuses on childhood literacy. It recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and moved into a downtown San Diego facility on Park Boulevard. Program Director Melinda Cooper says the mission is to help young students develop good reading habits. Their Read Aloud Program sends roughly 300 empathetic and fun volunteers out into more than 100 classrooms each year. Words Alive also has an Adolescent Book Group initiative for grades five through 12. And a Family Literacy Program for children under the age of five. THE FULL STORY
TAMARA Y. CRAVER, REALITY CHANGERS
To be eligible for the Reality Changers program, a San Diego County student must be entering 9th to 12th grade, have parents who did not attend college and be in a free/reduced lunch program and/or be considered low income. President & CEO Tamara Y. Craver says teaching young people with no real-world concept of what it takes to enter the realm of higher education is what Reality Changers has been doing since 2001. In that time, the East Village-based nonprofit has helped more than 3,500 local high schoolers get into college. Reality Changers served 632 students during the 2023-04 school year. The Class of 2024 earned more than $12.8 million in scholarships and grants for four years of college. THE FULL STORY
CINDY COOK, EAST VILLAGE DOERS
Cindy Cook formed the East Village Doers neighborhood watch group in 2023. Since then she hasn’t stopped…doing. Cook was a vital voice in The Sun’s 2025 award-winning investigative feature “Blighted Fault Line Park In East Village Remains A Monument To Bad Management.” As a private citizen she continues to keep an eye on unsavory activities in East Village, alerting local politicians, police and The Sun about incidents of drug use and a lack of follow-through on promises made to make improvements to her neighborhood. Stay tuned for another upcoming feature sparked by Cook. THE FULL STORY
MIKE GEORGOPOULOS, RMD GROUP
RMD Group‘s Mike Georgopoulos was a key voice in The Sun’s recent story about dysfunction in city government pertaining to oversight of the Gaslamp Quarter. RMD runs several restaurants on Fifth Avenue and has a hand in a plethora of other San Diego and regional hospitality businesses. A 20-year veteran in the Gaslamp Quarter, Georgopoulos bravely stepped forward to help shine a light and hopefully spur a new and better way of doing business in the city’s entertainment district. BTW: Check out the story about RMD hiring a homeless individual who in 2025 became the company’s Rookie of the Year employee. THE FULL STORY
HERNAN & RACHEL LUIS Y PRADO, WORKSHOPS FOR WARRIORS
Married couple Hernán and Rachel Luis y Prado run the nonprofit Workshops for Warriors. Based in Barrio Logan, it’s the only adult vocational school in the country primarily aimed at teaching welding and machinery skills to veterans. “Hernán built the programs. Rachel built the organization. They complement each other, having been married for 20 years and working together fulltime for 11. Exponential growth is happening for Workshops for Warriors. In 2012, Hernán had 18 students. That grew to 112 in 2023; and 260 this year. With a new facility set to open in 2026, the program could soon accommodate 960 students per year. THE FULL STORY
MICHELLE METTER, SAN DIEGO FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL
This year marked the 21st time co-founder Michelle Metter’s San Diego Food + Wine Festival has been held in and around downtown San Diego. The event is a source of pride that draws local, regional and national praise. Not only is the festival’s Grand Tasting the undisputed best local party of the year, the whole festival is a source of food education and a showcase of the best culinary talent in San Diego and across the border in Mexico. To date, the festival also has granted more than $600,000 in scholarships to help aspiring culinary professionals. THE FULL STORY
DREW MOSER, LUCKY DUCK FOUNDATION
The Lucky Duck Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization that makes noticeable dents in local homelessness, especially downtown. Under the watchful eye of CEO Drew Moser, Lucky Duck maintains a core belief in creating housing, but taking care of needs promptly – like handing out sleeping bags before winter each year. In March, Lucky Duck hit the 2-million milestone in delivering meals. In July, the foundation announced it would spend $1.5 million to help the San Diego Rescue Mission build 150 new shelter beds. Recently, the organization helped co-launch the $5-million United4Youth initiative to serve San Diego County’s foster system. THE FULL STORY
GRANT OLIPHANT, PREBYS FOUNDATION
When Grant Oliphant was hired as CEO of the Prebys Foundation in 2022, he expanded the staff and board. And moved the offices downtown. The team is bigger, and still devoted to funding arts, medical research, programs that support youth issues, and many more efforts all over San Diego County. But Oliphant took a hard look at downtown San Diego and is making philanthropic moves to revitalize the city, starting with the buildings and the land around Civic Center Plaza. It’s not unprecedented, but it is rare — and welcomed — for a foundation to to fund civic goals and look to grant projects that could revitalize an urban area. THE FULL STORY
BRANDON STEPPE, DAVID’S HARP FOUNDATION
Founder Brandon Steppe calls David’s Harp “an ecosystem of student-owned media production companies.” The East Village nonprofit uses music and media production as a platform to earn mentoring relationships with youths. Many found themselves on the wrong side of the law. In 2024, 48 students graduated from David’s Harp, taking away real-world skills to start businesses or work for other companies. In 2021, David’s Harp received a prestigious windfall. Billionaire philanthropist McKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Foundation gave the organization one million dollars. In part, the organization used the money to buy a six-bedroom house. Since so many students had been homeless, the building is now called Transformation House. THE FULL STORY
RUTH-ANN THORN, EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS
A member of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, Ruth-Ann Thorn is likely one of the only Native Americans to own property in the history of the 200-year-old Gaslamp Quarter. She runs the Exclusive Collections art gallery at 621 Fifth Avenue. Thorn recently bought the neighboring and historic Yuma building. She opened a retail store called Native Star on the first floor. The store features works of Native Americans that honor the culture and heritage. Thorn’s also opened a speakeasy under the Yuma building. “It’s like we’re taking back space that was once ours,” she says. THE FULL STORY
DEACON JIM VARGAS, FATHER JOE’S VILLAGES
Devoid of flash but proficient in its mission to house and aid homeless individuals, Father Joe’s Villages continues to takes positive strides. Led by Deacon Jim Vargas, Father Joe’s Villages opened what could be a trend-setting, 44-bed detox facility for homeless San Diegans seeking to recover from substance use. Before this new facility, there were only about 100 detox beds in all of San Diego County, including just two beds within the city of San Diego. In 2022, Father Joe’s opened a brand-new, 407-unit affordable housing project in East Village, fittingly called the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Villa. THE FULL STORY SDSun
