Tom HersantProfile Photo

Tom Hersant

President

Tom retired after a career as a public administrator with the state of California. At retirement he was the regional manager for childcare licensing for San Diego and Imperial counties.

Around the year 2000 he and his wife Tonya were vacationing in Europe and happened to drive through Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic on the way from Prague to Berlin. It was entirely serendipity and both fell in love with this beautiful Bohemian city nestled in the thermal spring river valley.

Upon retirement in 2008 he was now looking for ways to serve Carlsbad and attended the Carlsbad’s Citizens Academy. Shortly thereafter he was appointed by Mayor Bud Lewis to the then Carlsbad Sister City Committee.

In 2008 Carlsbad, like all cities, was suffering financially and cut back on inessential programs; the Sister City Committee was one. They were told to form their own entity and find their own financial resources but the city would still stand by them officially for any delegations or related events.

Of the five committee members at the time of its dissolution, Tom was tasked with forming a 501 C3 corporation. He had been a government bureaucrat all his professional life and he was sufficiently familiar with forms, procedures, terms and titles that this was able to be done in 2009.

It now has the name of Carlsbad Sister City Ambassadors.

Since the official separation from the city, the ambassadors have sent juried art and high school kids to Futtsu in Japan, and Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. W. They have also hosted several delegations from those locations and given them home stay opportunities.

Its mission is to “Bring Carlsbad to the world and bring the world to Carlsbad on court there’s so much more they want to do.

Tom feels that it’s time to take his old gray head and have it replaced by a young more brightly colored head more full of hair and energy in order to realize those dreams that the board has.

Aug. 2, 2022

Ep. 46 Carlsbad Sister City Ambassadors Tom Hersant and Polly Yu Create Meaningful International Connections

The mission of Carlsbad Sister City Ambassadors is to create active and meaningful connections between Carlsbad and internationally dispersed communities.
Guests: Tom Hersant , Polly Yu