Paul Blaise
Board President
Paul Blaise recently retired after a career as a Sacramento producer/writer of marketing media since 1976. Along with his wife, Lizz, he operated one of Northern California’s premier video marketing companies. The Blaises have two children and moved to Wilhaggin in 1992. Blaise joined the Wilhaggin Neighborhood Association at its inception in 2006. He became board president in 2011 and helped orchestrate the merger of Wilhaggin and Del Dayo into the current neighborhood association.
Pat Landgraf
Vice President
Pat Landgraf has lived in the Del Dayo area for more than 30 years. She and her husband have three boys who attended Del Dayo School, Our Lady of Assumption School and Jesuit High School. She attended a Sheriff’s Department neighborhood training session in 2011 and became block captain for her area. When the Wilhaggin Neighborhood Association expanded into Del Dayo, she got involved and joined the WDDNA board.
Debbie Desselle
Secretary
A native of Dallas, Texas, Debbie Desselle has a degree in photography with a minor in journalism from the University of North Texas. She has lived in Wilhaggin since 2012, enjoys daily walks on the American River Parkway and is a do-it-yourselfer, taking on many of her own home repairs. She is studying guitar and enjoys traveling with her family. Her daughter graduated from Rio Americano High School and is a student at Chico State.
Kathy Rodriguez
Treasurer
Kathy Rodriguez and her husband, Larry, moved to the Wilhaggin Del Dayo area in 2012 after she retired from Kaiser, where she had worked as a financial analyst in capital projects. She chose the neighborhood because it was close to the bike trail and she joined WDDNA’s board of directors in 2016 because she wanted to contribute to the neighborhood.
Adam Anderson
Membership Team
Adam and Raffaella (Raffie) Anderson moved into Wihaggin in October of 2020 after living in College Greens for the previous nine years. They moved to Sacramento in 2011 from Kansas City after buying a small business here. They have one son, Reilly, who lives in Denver. Adam plays golf at Northridge Country Club and Raffie enjoys tennis and plays at Rio Del Oro.
Merilee Colton
Membership Team
Merilee Colton and her husband Joe had lived in Palm Desert and the Bay Area in the past and moved to Sacramento in 2022 to be closer to family. “We chose the neighborhood because of its wonderful amenities. We have always been mid-century modern enthusiasts and are loving our Streng Brothers’ flat-top,” she notes. Her career included 22 years in the private sector primarily in advertising sales and education, and 20 years in the public sector, including work in social services and statewide computer database testing and implementation. She retired from Caltrans, where she worked in public affairs, design and environmental evaluation divisions. Since retiring, she has served as statewide membership chairperson for California State Retirees, an organization with 42,000 members that works to protect the pensions and health benefits of the more than 200,000 retired state workers. Prior to moving to Sacramento, she was on the board of directors of the Historical Society of Palm Desert and continues to produce their quarterly newsletter. She graduated from UC Riverside with a double major in anthropology and religious studies and was Phi Beta Kappa.
Kathleen Newton
Communications Director
Kathleen Newton moved to the Wilhaggin area in 2011 after a career as a newspaper journalist, editor and publisher. She was a reporter for several northern California newspapers, an editor at the Modesto Bee and the Los Angeles Times and managing editor of the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. As a publisher, she managed a group of McClatchy Newspapers in Amador and Calaveras counties, a large newspaper group in Riverside County and owned two weekly newspapers on the Oregon coast. She also operated her own marketing and custom publishing firm. She joined the WDDNA board in 2012 and is in charge of all the organization’s communications, including the patrol reports, newsletters, alerts and printed materials.
Brian Smith
Sheriff’s Liason & Website Administrator
Brian Smith has lived in Del Dayo since 1981 and retired after a 35-year career in auditing and budgeting. Since 2013, he has been on the WDDNA board of directors, serving as the organization’s website administrator and liaison with the Sheriff’s Department. He also manages the association’s street signs.
Steve Swatt
Member At Large
Steve Swatt is an author and former journalist. He and his family have been Wilhaggin residents for more than 30 years. Steve was a reporter for United Press International and spent more than two decades covering politics, government and public policy for KCRA-TV. He also was a partner in a statewide public affairs firm and taught political communication at Sacramento State. Steve is the lead author of “Game Changers: Twelve Elections that Transformed California,” and “Paving the Way: Women’s Struggle for Political Equality in California.”
Fern Waddell
Member at Large
A native of El Dorado County, Waddell graduated from CSUS with a BS in business. She became a CPA and partner in a local accounting firm. She was active in the California Society of CPAs, serving on the board and as president of the Sacramento Chapter. In 1980, she was active in the formation of Point West Bank and served as a director until the bank was merged with First Interstate Bank in 1988. She served on the board of KVIE and the Child and Family Institute. She retired after 40 years in her profession and became active in the Neighborhood Accountability Board under the guidance of the Sacramento County Probation Office. She has four children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her hobbies include quilting, needlepoint, knitting, taking piano lessons and participating in an Italian-speaking group.