Our Future Governors
Meet the Rotarians preparing to lead District 5330 in the years ahead.
Each year our District Governor serves while their successors prepare to lead — the Governor-Elect, Governor-Nominee, and Governor-Nominee-Designate. Get to know the leaders who will guide District 5330 in the Rotary years to come.
Meet District Governor-Elect Brian Pellis
District Governor-Elect Brian Pellis is a lifelong resident of the Inland Empire and of Rotary District 5330. He was born at March Air Force Base Hospital in Riverside County and raised in Redlands. Brian was first introduced to Rotary in 1994 when he was selected by the Rotary Club of Yucaipa to participate in a Rotary Youth Exchange program in Newmarket, England. In 2020, Brian joined his current club—the Rotary Club of San Bernardino—which was founded in 1918 and is the oldest club in District 5330. He held several club-level positions including President, Director, Foundation Trustee, Program Chair, Sergeant-at-Arms, and author of his club’s weekly newsletter, the Orange Peal.
Brian’s commitment to volunteerism and the concept of Service Above Self took root in 1996, when he decided to attend the police academy and become a volunteer Reserve Police Officer with the San Bernardino Police Department. Over the next decade, Brian volunteered many of his weekends to serve as a Reserve Police Officer on the tough streets of San Bernardino while he completed college and law school, and while practicing law as an attorney handling police civil rights litigation and employment law matters in state and federal courts. Brian was later appointed as the Acting Assistant Inspector General for the Los Angeles Police Commission where he was responsible for monitoring and oversight of LAPD operations. In 2008, Brian decided to make law enforcement his full-time career, working a wide variety of assignments as a police officer, serving in every division of the San Bernardino Police Department, and rising to the executive level of Police Captain. Following the conclusion of his law enforcement career in May 2024, Brian resumed practicing law as an attorney and formed a new law practice in Redlands where he represents clients in estate planning and related matters.
Brian is a 1995 graduate of Yucaipa High School and he holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in Government from Claremont McKenna College, a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) Degree from the University of Southern California, a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree from Loyola Law School, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Wealth Management from Texas A&M University School of Law.
Meet District Governor-Nominee Dess Benedetto
Dess Benedetto joined Rotary after speaking to the Walnut Creek club in 2007 about Estate Planning. Dess immediately felt welcomed and was drawn to the camaraderie of good people committed to ‘Service Above Self.’ She was awarded the “Rookie of the Year” award in 2008, became the Club Secretary, then the Membership Chair, then Club President in 2015–2016. She was invited to participate in the district’s Leadership Academy in 2017 and she served as an Assistant Governor for two Governors. She is a Paul Harris Society member, Polio Plus Society member, and Bequest Society member.
Born in Florida and raised in San Diego, California, Dess was a competitive swimmer throughout her youth and into college. At UC Berkeley, she played women’s water polo on the intercollegiate team. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1990, worked in sales and tech for several years, then earned her law degree in 2000 from University of San Diego. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit and great mentors, she founded her own estate planning law firm called the Family Trust Law Center, later incorporated to Family TLC, Inc., and has helped families and individuals for over 25 years as an Estate Attorney.
Dess has one son, Guyvin, who was 3 years old when she joined Rotary. She raised him to appreciate the value of service, bringing him to countless Rotary events over the years, and making many friends who became like Rotary family. When Guyvin went off to college at SDSU, Dess moved back to Southern California and landed in Palm Springs. She joined the Sunup club in early 2025, making new friends and sharing lots of ideas from her prior Rotary district in the SF Bay Area. She discovered that Rotarians everywhere are the same: good people who care and want to make the world a better place.