Meet the Team

AJ Hewitson
Fleet & Commercial Director

Hometown: Palm Desert, CA

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I’m married with 2 kids (13 and 10) living in San Diego, CA. I’ve been working for General Motors in the Fleet Segment for over 20 years and out of nearly 30,000 Salespeople for General Motors in the nation, I have been in the top 100 for 13 years and top 20 for 8 years in Fleet and Small Business segments. I started our Commercial Fleet Department here at Paradise Chevrolet about 14 years ago and since then, we’ve won the Business Elite Mark of Excellence only awarded to 10 dealers in the country 8 consecutive times. My goal is to help our team hit the top 5 ranking nationally by offering Fleet Management for our customer’s fleets and exceeding their expectations of service and value as a dealership partner.

Hobbies: Our family loves going to pretty much any kind of sporting events but especially Baseball and Football. All of us love to travel and our favorite family spot so far is Cabo San Lucas. We could stay there for months at a time if we could. My wife and I love going to Comedy Shows, Concerts, and trying out new restaurants throughout San Diego County and beyond. I’m a bit of a tech nerd and enjoy learning about emerging tech like AI and Drones. I guess we never grow out of being kids. 😊

Jeffrey Pratt
Commercial Fleet Sales Manager

Hometown: Born and raised in Orange County, CA, spent 26 years in the Pacific Northwest (Washington State) and currently here to stay in Temecula CA!!!

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I spent 20+ years with Lowe’s Home Improvement most recently holding the position of Lowe’s Pro Regional Director of Outside Sales for the West…I joined the Paradise Team in 2023 and am excited to learn a new industry while leveraging my Business to Business and Outside Sales Expertise for the Pro Customer to impact the Commercial Fleet Industry.

Hobbies: I enjoy Working Out outside in the form of Trail Hiking, Trail Running and Playing Golf … I also enjoy travelling to experience new adventures with the Love of my Life!!!

Becky Young
Fleet Manager/Community Relations

I sell New, Used, Commercial and Retail Vehicles
Hometown: I was raised in my small town of Duchesne, Utah which I loved and am still friends with most of my classmates

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I have been with General Motors for over 40 years and have enjoyed every year and all the friendships that I have developed.

Back when GM was giving out awards, I was awarded Best of the Best for the top 20 in the Nation for truck sales which is one of my favorite awards.

In the community, my favorite award was “The Professional Women’s Joan Sparkman Unity Award”.

I am competitive, driven, and passionate about all I am involved with including My Family, My Work, My Community and My Friendships.

Hobbies: I love going to Country Concerts with my friends and rarely miss one.

I enjoy being involved in my community while representing Paradise and my local Rotary Club.

Rich McGrath
Senior Account Manager

Hometown: Newburgh New York

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: Truck Professional for over 20 Years

Hobbies: Family Time

Craig Mckenzie
Fleet & Commercial Sales

Hometown: Wildomar, CA

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: 8 years in the US NAVY, 23 years at Paradise Chevrolet, and will retire in 5 years.

Hobbies: Nascar, Go Kart Racing, Watching TV

Ramiro Perez
Fleet & Commercial Sales

Hometown: Alice, TX

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: 18 year employee at the dealership, have won multiple awards for sales which include sales person for the month and the GM Mark of Excellence, My goal is to retire from Paradise.

Hobbies: Playing Poker, Golf, & Salsa Dancing

Mike Nemec
Fleet Service Advisor

Ryan Schwarz
Commercial & Fleet Consultant

Hometown: Ventura, CA

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I am passionate about bringing people together and building strong connections. In my previous roles as President of the Graduate Business Student Association at San Diego State University and President of the Solar Turbines Professional Development Network, I thrived on creating opportunities for people to build meaningful relationships. I continue to look for ways to create and enhance relationships for my clients, colleagues and partners.

Hobbies: Being a jungle gym for my daughters, listening to podcasts, calling family and friends.

Michael Bertelson
Commercial Fleet Account Manager & Sales

Hometown: Garden Grove, CA

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I've thrived in diverse fields, from food service, construction, real estate, and now at Paradise Chevrolet . This journey has equipped me with a unique blend of skills which I think make me pretty well rounded. My goal it to own a few investment properties in the near future.

Hobbies: Working out, music, travel

Daisy Sepulveda
Commercial & Fleet Account Manager

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I graduated from Cal State Northridge and started my fleet career on the east coast. I am dedicated to continuous improvement and committed to achieving excellence in every project I undertake. I'm excited to grow both professionally and personally here at Paradise.

Hobbies: I have two dogs, so I love to spend my free time going to beaches and exploring with them! I am also a huge foodie, if you have recommendations send them my way!

Shellie McGrath
Fleet & Commercial Finance Manager

Sierra Kirkpatrick
Finance Typer

Hometown: Temecula, CA

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: Big sister to 5 other siblings, a promotion from sales to finance, and to be the most healthy, mentally and physically, by 2026!

Hobbies: My hobbies are singing, going to the gym, making flower frames, and fishing!

Cody Dugard
Fleet BDC

Hometown: Temecula

Personal/Professional Achievements, Accomplishments, and Goals: I love that I get to spend all day making friends and solving problems over the phone. What could be cooler than that?

Hobbies: I love to bake, and play hockey.

Jerwin Mendigorin
Photographer