We are looking for people that are passionate about Carmel-by-the-Sea and aren’t afraid to push forward to get things done quickly and efficiently. We are passionately persistent, don’t let things get in our way, and enjoy inspiring others to get involved to help out.
There are many ways you can help out. We have discovered that, over time, little things can make a big difference and you can help with light gardening, adopt a median island, or help pick up litter, or help us with bookkeeping tasks.
Of course, you can also make a donation of any size
Co-Founder, President, and Chief Caring Officer
Leader – Forest Theater Restoration Project
Dale grew up in Southern California and developed a passion for hard work early on, helping with his family’s construction projects as a child. After earning a BS in Business and an MBA from the University of Southern California, Dale embarked on a successful career in sales and as a founder of international retail software companies. His work included consulting with over 250 major retail businesses and managing a company with 250 associates across 12 offices worldwide.
Dale and his wife Margaret discovered Carmel 22 years ago with their miniature poodle, Spencer, eventually moving full-time to Carmel-by-the-Sea seven years ago. They’ve since completed five hand-crafted homes, each reflecting their love for the village. In retirement, Dale has dedicated himself to volunteering and enhancing Carmel’s beauty and livability.
In 2018, Dale joined the Carmel Residents Association (CRA) board, where he strengthened ties between residents and the business community, created innovative programs, and helped modernize the organization’s operations. During this time, he also volunteered with the Carmel Chamber Visitors Center and co-created 12 Monterey Peninsula VoiceMap GPS Audio Tours.
Dale founded Carmel Cares in 2018 as a grassroots effort to study traffic calming and transitioned it into a full-time community initiative in 2020 to address needs created by COVID-related cutbacks. Under his leadership, Carmel Cares has become a dynamic volunteer organization that works tirelessly to keep Carmel beautiful, safe, and inviting. Dale’s efforts have earned him the CRA Citizen of the Year and Carmel Chamber Community Champion awards.
In addition to his work with Carmel Cares, Dale serves as the volunteer Grant Coordinator for Carmel Gives, a fund that has distributed over $2 million in grants to support the community.
Dale’s passion for Carmel drives his commitment to bringing people together to create meaningful, positive change. He invites everyone to join the movement, saying, “Carmel Cares is more than an organization; it’s a community of like-minded individuals working together to transform our Village. Come be part of the fun and fulfillment of making a difference!”
In June 2024, he stepped down from the Carmel Cares board to make room for new members and focus on public service. Dale is now the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea and continues to actively volunteer with Carmel Cares.
Co-Founder
Tim was a founding Board Member of Carmel Cares, encouraging the team to “think big” and create a movement that can be transformative to this special place. Born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula, Tim came from a family steeped in Carmel’s history with his father Bud Allen owning, and Tim working, in the iconic La Playa hotel. He attended local schools, including Stevenson High School, raised his three children in the area, and owns homes throughout the Peninsula.
Beyond his love for family and real estate, Tim’s other passion is the game of lacrosse. A successful collegiate player himself, Tim has become an avid supporter of the game. The teamwork, skills and overall discipline required to play at a high level have translated to his professional career as one of the top agents in the world and operator of a successful premium vacation rental business.
In March, 2020, he founded Carmel Gives Fund to assist nonprofits, businesses, and individuals impacted by COVID challenges. Working with Carmel Cares President Dale Byrne, the Fund has issued over $2 million through over 300 creative Win/Win grants that have resulted in over $5 million in benefit to nonprofits in Monterey County and beyond.
Tim resigned from the board in June, 2024 but remains an active financial supporter and advisor.
Co-Founder and Board Member
Margaret grew up on the east coast and graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a BA in Business Management. She worked her way up through support and marketing jobs with tech companies including Vice President Marketing for an international software and consulting company and President of the US division of a Swedish technology company. During these positions she moved from Connecticut to Dallas, TX and later to Manhattan Beach, CA.
Margaret and Dale married in 2003 and they have lived in Redondo Beach. They began visiting Carmel with their miniature poodle 23 years ago, bought a cottage in Carmel in 2011 and, after doing 5 major construction projects in Carmel, moved there full-time in 2017. After retiring from mainstream employment in 2012, she now enjoys working to support Carmel Cares initiatives as well as going out to lunch with her husband and doggies in Carmel. She loves to laugh, enjoys time with friends in Carmel and CT, and appreciates the beauty of our town and beach every day.
From 2018 to 2020, Margaret volunteered as the membership chair and assisted in coordinating The Voice newsletter for the Carmel Residents Association (CRA). Working with Dale, she helped install a new CRA membership management and website system to automate their business and communication processes and created the Village Incentive Program (VIP) by signing up over 50 local businesses to provide special offers to CRA members.
A founding Carmel Cares Board Member, she also helps manage the back-office accounting and donor management systems for Carmel Cares and assists with marketing and husband-management activities.
Vice President, Board Chair
Mark DiOrio has had an amazing career. Growing up in Norwalk CT, at 18, he became one of the youngest USCG licensed boat captains in the country, piloting a ferry boat between CT and Long Island. He attended the University of Connecticut where he played Division 1 Lacrosse and graduated with a dual degree in Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
Upon graduation, Mark moved to Cupertino, CA and embarked on a career in technology as Engineering Manager for National Semiconductor which included time in Southeast Asia. He then took a Swiss capital equipment and automation company public while living in Singapore as CEO of their Far East operations.
Mark then became the co-founder of a company specializing in technology development. After it was acquired, Mark left the Silicon Valley and moved to Carmel where he reverted back to love for sports and the sea by becoming the Asst. Boys Lacrosse Coach at Carmel High School. He also became the Director of Capital Campaigns with the National Marine Sanctuary in DC where he was responsible for raising the funding necessary to build the NOAA Exploration Center in Santa Cruz. In his spare time, he pursued a lifelong passion and built the DIORIO Cellars winery business.
Mark then ran the electro-optics division of the 500 year old Italian firearm company Beretta in Monterey, turning around the operation and achieving the Monterey County award for Best Manufacturing Operation of the year. When Beretta moved their operation out of state, Mark moved to the Pebble Beach Company as a Project Manager for capital construction. His projects included Lodge 2 and Lodge 3 renovations along with renovations at Spanish Bay 1 and Spanish Bay 2. It was during the Covid shut down that Mark departed and joined Carroll & Strong Builders as their Director of Project Management where he now coordinates building custom homes in Carmel and Pebble Beach.
Mark’s background in nonprofits includes the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Greater Farallones Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Monterey Chapter of the American Red Cross, The Smart Tech Foundation of San Francisco, The Bridge Restoration Ministries in PG, and the Carmel Foundation.
Board Member, Chief Financial Officer
Starting her life in the USA with her mother as non-English speaking immigrants, her life since then has been one of ambition, persistence, and commitment to helping others. Working long hours to support the two of them, she overcame the language barrier and earned a BA in Business (Cum Laude) and MBA from Sacred Heart University. She then worked her way up the ladder in New York and Connecticut, becoming a Treasury and Working Capital Analyst for Omnicom Group, a Senior Equity Analyst for Lehman Brothers, and Financial Analyst & Market Researcher for AON World Consulting.
Moving across the country to Carmel with her husband Peter, she became the Director of Finance, Operations, & Human Resources for All Saints Episcopal Day School, a job that entailed running all phases of that business. She then became the Executive Director/General Manager for the Yellow Brick Road Benefit Shop with broad responsibilities for this successful nonprofit organization.
For three years, Tea was the Director of Finance and Development for the Gateway Center of Monterey which provides live-in and day-care services for developmentally challenged individuals. In addition to oversight of finances and accounting, she took on the responsibilities of community engagement and fundraising activities and has also spearheaded raising funds for and managing a $300,000 project to renovate Gateway’s central courtyard.
She is now the Managing Director for Del Mesa where she is in charge of all operations for an active adult community of 289 condominium units.
Tea began herr work with Carmel Cares as a volunteer on the Scenic Pathway team and she plans to be a big part of Carmel Cares’ future growth and fundraising efforts. She has previously volunteered with CHOMP, The Carmel Foundation, The Lyceum of Monterey County, and is the founder of a startup nonprofit called Celebrityclosets.org. She has attended the Leadership Carmel program. She and Peter have an innovative and hardworking daughter, Kea, who is a student at Clemson. They live in Carmel with their 2 French bulldogs.
Board Member, Secretary
From working on Wall Street to taking teams to lacrosse tournaments in Australia, Bruce Dini has led a very exciting life, with all of his ventures eventually taking him back home and now to his current position as a Carmel High School history teacher.
His love for the Monterey Peninsula started when he attended Stevenson school as a boarder. He had a career in finance in New York and San Francisco but eventually made his way back to Carmel. He has now lived in Carmel for over 30 years and has had his kids go to both Stevenson and Carmel schools.
Dini retired from his busy businessman lifestyle and moved into teaching as it was more fulfilling to him and allowed for better family time. He has coached lacrosse and football but, since he didn’t have a teaching credential, he started his teaching career at Stevenson where he worked for six years. However, public school was where he wanted to end up, so when a long-term substitute history teacher position opened up at Carmel High School in 2020, Dini took the chance and went for it.
Like longtime friend Tim Allen, Bruce has always had a passion for the sport and grew it into a business venture when he and his brother, Stephen, started USA West Lacrosse, a program where they took kids to play lacrosse globally. Dini was also the first lacrosse coach CHS ever had when the team officially started in 2003, but then left for 10 years.
In his free time, Dini loves to play with his quarantine puppy, fish at his cabin in Truckee and make and play guitar whenever he gets the chance.
Bruce has extensive experience on nonprofit boards.
Board Member, Project Management Coordinator
Katie is a Senior Project Manager for LB Builders. She recently attended the Leadership Carmel Program where she was instrumental in planning and executing the Scenic Pathway Outlook project.
She is now helping coordinate Carmel Cares’ larger projects.
Board Member
Bibi attended CSUMB, Sonoma State University, and Harnell College, studying Business Administration. She is a Financial Service Supervisor for Monterey Credit Union. In that role she supports the business operations by managing staff, coordinating operations, and ensuring exceptional customer service. I aim to create a positive and productive work environment by communicating with team members, setting clear goals, and monitoring performance.
Bibi has volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club and assisting with golf tournaments at Pebble Beach. She recently attended the Leadership Carmel Program.
Leader – Scenic Pathway Restoration Project
Born and raised in Indiana, Shirley obtained her B.S. Degree in Elementary Education from Ball State University in Indiana. From the first time she saw Carmel-by-the-Sea in the early 1970’s, she was captivated by the charming Village and the stunning beauty of the area. Moving here in 1973, she bought her first Carmel cottage two years later which she still owns as an investment property. She happened to move here when the school districts were flush with teachers, so she obtained her real estate license and started a new career.
Thirty-plus years of being a Realtor and an independent contractor further honed the skills she used in teaching: creating goals and being disciplined and organized. She feels like she never really sold real estate; she only taught people what they needed to know about real estate in order for them to make sound decisions.
In her 47 years on the Peninsula, 42 of them have been in Carmel-by-the-Sea. She has led several other beautification projects in Carmel-by-the Sea where she coordinated volunteer efforts with support from the City. She brings those organizational skills and determination to Carmel Cares as she leads the volunteer team for the Scenic Pathway Restoration Project which has had over 180 weekly maintenance sessions with 5-13 volunteers and 3 professional gardeners. She also created the Pick Up Posse concept and leads the Scenic Pathway Posse. Shirley has used her marketing skills to develop some of the key messaging for Carmel Cares and is instrumental in planning, supervising, and fundraising for the many significant projects taking place on the Pathway.
Leader – Downtown Detail
Volunteer, Downtown and Scenic Pathway Pick Up Posse
Co-Creator Carmel Cares Business Partner Program
Kelly grew up on the Monterey Peninsula living at the Presidio of Monterey and in Carmel. She is a High School graduate of Santa Catalina School for Girls which provided a stellar education and a foundation of good work ethics. Kelly attended The University of Southern California, graduating with a B.A. in Sociology and while there was a proud member of the Women’s Tennis Team for 2 years. After college, she moved to the east coast living in Manhattan and Connecticut. Kelly’s career was in Corporate Real Estate, focusing on the Relocation Industry by selling Corporate owned properties and being an Account Manager for GE.
After leaving corporate life, she moved to Los Angeles and became a dedicated mother to her son, Sean. Her other interests included traveling, photography, tennis, cycling, and polo. Kelly has invested in several real estate projects over the years including designing and remodeling her home in Montecito and her ranch in Santa Ynez.
In 2018, Kelly returned to living full time in Carmel and is happy to be back home. Growing up surrounded by such natural beauty gives her a deep aesthetic appreciation of the nature around her. In this way, Carmel Cares has become a passion in which Kelly can help keep Carmels’ beauty the way she remembers it growing up.
Kelly has been working with the Downtown Detail team from the beginning, recruiting a dedicated group of volunteers that come together every Thursday and Saturday morning to attack a street or area in downtown Carmel. You will see her white Range Rover, filled to the gills with gardening tools, the Carmel Cares signs, and orange cones next to a group that are having fun, laughing a lot, and working hard while pulling weeds, planting, and talking it up with passersby and local businesses. Their efforts are very visible to visitors and residents and greatly appreciated.
She is also a co-creator of the Carmel Business Partner program and will be rolling it out to local businesses over the next 6 months. Kelly has also volunteered with Meals on Wheels training new volunteers.
Kelly represents what being a volunteer is all about…dedication to the mission, spreading the positive message of how everyone can make a difference, and representing the organization with a smile that brings joy to everyone she is around.
Leader, Cigarette Litter Prevention Program
Co-Creator Carmel Cares Business Partner Program
Volunteer, Downtown Detail
With over 25+ years in the real estate industry, Carol Crandall has developed a stellar reputation as one of the top real estate agents for Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula. Leveraging her expertise in this real estate market and her loyalty, integrity, and professionalism, Carol is sought out by Silicon Valley tech founders, community leaders and people who appreciate the life that Carmel has to offer. The most important reason that people choose Carol is that she truly cares. Carol loves her clients and treats them like part of her family. You don’t step into her office; you step into her home, which has become a popular spot for impromptu Carmel Cares meetings.
Carol brings that caring attitude to Carmel Cares where she embraced the job of leading the charge to capture and recycle every single cigarette butt in the village as the leader of Carmel’s effort with Keep America Beautiful’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP). She has managed the process of putting 55 new cigarette receptacles in key hot spots around the village and makes sure they are regularly emptied and the butts recycled with Terracycle.
Carol has also been instrumental in developing the Carmel Cares Business Partner Program and is a regular, along with her miniature poodle Emma, on the Downtown Detail team. As she says, “Once you see the problems around town clearly, you cannot unsee it, and it is important for all of us to take steps to become part of the solution.”
Leader, Downtown Pick Up Posse
Volunteer, Scenic Pathway Pick Up Posse
Jen Thompson is a 7th generation Californian, born & raised in Carmel. She graduated from Carmel High School and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She served as a San Francisco Police Officer until her retirement in 2019, when she was fortunate enough to move back home to Carmel.
Leaders – Vista Lobos Park Restoration
Andi is originally an “LA girl” and moved to Carmel in 1976. She taught school for a number of years, raised two daughters, and now is enjoying her two young grandchildren. Andi has a very active life playing bridge and golf, baking unique cookies, and walking their Havanese puppy. She is excited to be involved in restoring the downtown Vista Lobos Park.
Leaders – Carl Cherry Center for the Arts Restoration
When Covid entered the world, it set Nance and Denny on a new path in Carmel. As they walked around their own neighborhood it was as though they had new eyes to see and an excess time to fill every day. Nance, having been raised on a farm, found it not so strangely therapeutic to pull weeds on medians and easements in the neighborhood and replace them with low maintenance succulents.
Their next project was the grounds of the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, a hidden gem right in their neighborhood. In the Sculpture Garden, they found weeds, limbs, pine needles, dying plants, and even a kitchen sink buried in the earth. In the end, there were eight truckloads of debris which were hauled away. Now, three years later, Denny & Nance have pruned, transplanted and revived every living plant, shrub and tree struggling to survive. There are now stone pathways meandering around grounds with benches for sitting and relaxing. There is a cherry tree, a flowering peach, and a meyer lemon tree. There are also 30 cymbidium orchids perched on old telephone poles of various heights. It has become a serene beautiful environment meant to be enjoyed by locals and visitors. Donations are always helpful to support the Cherry Center garden.
It’s hard to believe that Denny and Nance have been married 60 years but their two “children” have given them seven grandkids and 8 great grandkids, most of whom live nearby. For years, Denny was a Veterinarian and Nance a “professional volunteer”, mostly working with teenagers. Currently, Denny is a docent at the Carmel Mission and is a starter at Poppy Hills Golf Course. Nance dances in San Francisco and Los Angeles and teaches Argentine Tango Classes at The American Legion in Carmel. Of course, there are also frequent beach walks.
Construction Advisor
Tim has been an incredible addition to our Scenic Pathway Restoration Project team from the beginning. He has been involved in the building industry in Carmel for over 50 years and a General Contractor for 40. In that time, he has built over 70 homes on the Peninsula and has the distinction of building all the wooden stairways on the Scenic Pathway under a contract signed by Clint Eastwood. For under $100,000 and taking only 2 months to build, they were designed to last 5 years but have lasted over 30!
He has been helping Shirley Moon coordinate the growing team on their Wednesday cleanup days and he developed the business model of hiring professional gardeners and the fundraising efforts to pay for them. He developed the plans for and managed the contractors who conducted several significant safety improvement projects on landings on the pathway and the recent renovation of the landscape barriers. He is hoping to play a key role in renovating the wooden stairways for a fraction of the cost it would normally take. You’ll may see Tim and his wife on the Pathway every day with their adorable 3-legged dog Dixie.
