Staff Leadership

Master Chief (SEAL) Rick Kaiser, USN (Ret.)

Chief Executive Officer
Rick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After attending Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUD/S) training Class 109 in Coronado, California, he was assigned to SEAL Team TWO in 1980. Rick deployed three times with SEAL Team TWO 2nd Platoon, specializing in Winter Warfare, Sniping, and Combat Swimming.

He was assigned to SEAL Team SIX in 1985 acting as lead diver, breacher, and sniper. In 1993, Rick received the Silver Star for Valor during the Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down). He served as the training chief and lead sniper from 1993-2000. He then served as Deputy Operations Officer from 2001-2013, overseeing and managing numerous combat deployments post 9-11 of SEAL Team SIX personnel to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and many other locations around the world.

Rick is currently employed as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Navy SEAL Museum and lives in Vero Beach, Florida with his wife Barbara.

Captain (SEAL) Todd Perry, USN (Ret.)

Executive Director
Todd is from Escondido, CA, and enlisted in the Navy in April 1982. Upon graduation from BUD/S Class 123, MMFN Perry reported to SEAL Team 3 as a Plank Owner. During these 40 years of active-duty service, he also served at ST-8, ST-1, NSWU-2, NSW CEN, WARCOM and 18 years at a Special Mission Unit. He conducted over 20 operational deployments to Asia, Europe, Africa, and Central America, with the majority in support of Afghanistan or Iraq combat operations.

His three Command Tours included Advanced Training Command; CDR, Combined Joint Special Operation Task Force – Iraq (CJSOTF-I 19-2), and his final command at NSW Leadership Education and Development (NLEAD) until retirement.

Todd’s wife Jackie has been along for the full ride, raising three great kids during Todd’s lengthy absences and served as NSW’s longest serving spouse in NSW’s 80-year history. Todd is now proudly serving as the Executive Director of the Navy SEAL Museum San Diego; he and Jackie are excited to see the long-overdue NSMSD brought to their hometown of San Diego.

Captain (SEAL) Brian “Beef” Drechsler, USN (Ret.)

Deputy Executive Director
Brian “Beef” Drechsler is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a bachelor’s degree in economics. He was a member of the Navy Football Team and was elected to both the Naval Academy Hall of Fame and the Navy Marine Corps Stadium 50th Anniversary team. Drechsler also holds a master’s degree in organizational management from The George Washington University.

He retired from active-duty June 1, 2024 after 25 years in Naval Special Warfare as a SEAL Officer. Drechsler graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) class 224. He served at SEAL Team ONE, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, SEAL Team FIVE, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, Naval Special Warfare Command, and US Special Operations Command Office of Legislative Affairs.

He served as the Commanding Officer of SEAL Team FIVE, where he was awarded the Navy’s 2017 Stockdale Leadership award. He also commanded the Naval Special Warfare Center overseeing the production of all new SEALs and Special Warfare Combat Crewman.

Brian and his wife Susan of 26 years have three children and reside in Chula Vista, California.

Chief Warrant Officer (SEAL) Lance Cummings, USN (Ret.)

Operations and Special Events Director
Lance is a native of Macon, Georgia. He enlisted in the Navy in 1981 and served in the fleet as ships navigator before reporting to SEAL Training in 1983. After graduating in Class 124, he became a plank owner (original member) of SEAL Team THREE, where he deployed to the Western Pacific theater. Subsequent duty as a BUD/S instructor and at Defense Language Institute took him to SEAL Team FOUR and three deployments in South America, working with US Drug Enforcement until 1995. He then transitioned to SEAL Reserves while going to Chiropractic College, receiving his Doctorate in 2000.

After 9/11/01, he mobilized to active duty and four deployments to the Middle East in support of US foreign policy. Retiring from the Navy in 2011 as a Chief Warrant Officer, Lance lives in San Diego with his teenage children.

Lance serves as the Navy SEAL Museum San Diego Operations and Special Events Director, and conducts adventure fundraising events for the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Kim Rhinehelder, CFRE

Director of Development & Capital Campaign
Kim is a successful, passionate, and effective nonprofit leader and fundraising professional. Driven by her fervent belief in the value of philanthropy, Kim is described as a masterful relationship builder. Constantly, thinking about the donor’s wishes and how to connect those wishes to the mission of her organization earned her the coveted role of Director of Development for the Navy SEAL Museum San Diego.

In her previous position as the President of Eskaton Foundation she was charged with building the philanthropic arm of the largest senior health care organization in the Sacramento region. With the experience of successfully building from the ground up, after 9 years as President, Kim took on a new role as VP of Communications, Outreach and Philanthropy at the same organization. In that position, her immediate goal was to build from the ground up a comprehensive communications department. Under Kim’s leadership her team created Eskaton’s first-ever Brand Message – “Age is Beautiful!” As Kim would later say, “Age is Beautiful” is a legacy that will be with the organization for years to come.

When asked the question, what was one of your proudest accomplishments, Kim enthusiastically would say the founding of an advocacy Think Tank which brought together the brightest and most influential individuals in the Sacramento Region. Its purpose was to ignite human stories and inspire local change in the belief that seniors are relevant.

After living in Sacramento for over 25 years, Kim and her husband Charles set out on a new adventure landing in Carlsbad, CA. Kim is a Master Gardner, a piano enthusiast, bread baker, and mentor to several nonprofit fundraising professionals.

Matthew Schiff

Assistant Director of Marketing
Matthew is a twenty-two year marketing industry veteran with experience on both the agency and client side of the desk. Additionally, he holds two Masters degrees (MBA and Public History) and wrote his thesis on San Diego’s changing economy after World War II and has a vast working knowledge of the region’s history enabling him to speak comfortably, and with perspective, on a number of local topics. He has written a biography of a local business leader (Douglas Pardee) as well as a number of scholarly articles and book reviews.

His prior positions have provided him with the opportunity to represent and promote a number of businesses, products, and services including: museums, (San Diego History Center and San Diego Natural History Museum), fancy food products (Gourmet Garden), and government agencies (San Bernardino Registrar of Voters and Riverside Department of Public and Social Services).

In his most recent post with Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, he increased resident move-ins during the unimaginable obstacles put forth by the COVID pandemic via an aggressive online push that rapidly incorporated virtual tours, enhanced website buildouts, and social media campaigns that kept his company top-of-mind with our prospects. Through targeted email campaigns that drove traffic to the website he was able to segment their audience via Google Analytics and meet them with convincing messaging where they were in the marketing funnel.

During his time at the San Diego History Center he promoted several high-profile exhibitions including The Ingenious World of Dr. Seuss gaining national media coverage several times. He worked collaboratively with other museums, including the Midway Museum, on a multi museum exhibition: Presidio to Pacific Powerhouse. He was media spokesperson for the organization, appearing several times on morning and evening news and Historic Places with Elsa Sevilla. He was active in the San Diego Museum Council and sat on various Balboa Park committees.

Matthew is married to his wife, Kerri, and lives locally in Carmel Valley with a dog and cat. He is active on his HOA board and also volunteer with Jewish Family Services. In his free time he enjoy walking with his wife, baking artisan bread, and working on his golf game.