Board & Staff

Board and Staff

Board of Directors

Mark Flores

President

Director, Recreation and Community Services

City of Lynwood

Mark Flores is Director of Recreation and Community Services for the City of Lynwood. Mr. Flores has over 25 years of experience managing and developing municipal recreation and community programs, facilities, and large-scale public events. He received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University.

Stephen Faulk, Esq.

Vice President

American Honda FinanceCorporation

Stephen Faulk is the Business Operations Compliance Manager for American Honda Finance Corporation where he uses his experience as a lawyer for 15 years to ensure large companies protect the public and follow the rules. He joined Honda in 2012 as part of its Corporate Legal Department working with legal matters concerning product liability and finance law. Prior to Honda, Stephen worked for a law firm Bowman and Brooke. Stephen is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Pepperdine University School of Law.

Theresa Price, Dr. h.c.

SECRETARY

Founder & Executive Director

National College Resources Foundation

Theresa Price is founder and president of the National College Resources Foundation and The College Expo, which connect students to colleges, universities, and post-secondary certification programs, as well as scholarships and college preparatory programs and resources. Ms. Price began her career in radio and television working for KGFJ-AM, KACE-FM, KCBS-TV, and Cox Broadcasting before founding her own marketing firm, Jabez 3 Enterprises, serving entertainment and recording companies, as well as local businesses. She attended California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

Lalo Trujillo

TREASURER

President

Mission Trail Advisors, LLC

Lalo Trujillo is the founder and principal of Mission Trail Advisors, LLC, which specializes in advising school districts and municipal entities on financing for facilities improvement programs. He has over 25 years of experience in the commercial banking and municipal bond industry and has held leadership positions at the municipal bond departments of major commercial banks, investment banks, and in the financial advisory industry. Mr. Trujillo has served as Director of Finance for a city and a governmental agency in southern California. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Teresa Blanco

Director of Community Engagement & Wellness

NORTHGATE GONZÁLEZ MARKET

Teresa Blanco, the Director of Community Engagement and Wellness at Northgate González Market since 2010, is a passionate advocate for community well-being. Her role integrates her dedication to community service with her work on behalf of Northgate Market, a family-owned business committed to uplifting its store associates and the communities it serves. She spearheads "Viva La Salud," a health and wellness-focused cause-related marketing program. Teresa also manages company donations, and initiatives to combat food insecurity, and supports community grants, such as the Southern California Nutrition Incentive Program, "Mas Fresco, More Fresh" in collaboration with UC San Diego. Furthermore, she coordinates the annual "Cooking Up Change," a high school healthy lunch culinary competition. In 2016, Ms. Blanco co-founded and continues to manage "Nueva Esperanza," a cancer support group for Northgate Market associates and their families.

Shawna Petit-Dinkins, Ed.D.

Deputy Superintendent,
Education Services

Lynwood Unified School District

Dr. Shawna Petit-Dinkins is Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Lynwood Unified School District. She has over 25 years of experience in education and has worked for Los Angeles Unified and Chino Valley Unified school districts as a teacher, instructional coach, secondary literacy expert, program administrator, principal, director of special education, and director of program improvement. Dr. Dinkins dedicated her professional career to serving students and families and advocating on their behalf. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles a Doctorate of Education in Urban Leadership from the University of Southern California.

Natalia Flores, M.Ed.

Deputy Chief of Programs and Operations

THINK Together

Natalia Flores is the Deputy Chief of Program and Operations at THINK Together, the largest provider of expanded learning programs in California serving over 100,000 students at more than 400 locations in over 40 school districts and charter partners. Through this work Ms. Flores works closely with leadership to provide programs and services to students with the goal to Change the Odds for Kids. Ms. Flores is the daughter to immigrant parents from Jalisco, Mexico, a Lynwood Unified School District alumnus, and continues to be a Lynwood resident. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master’s degree in Education from Cal State University, Long Beach. Ms. Flores loves to travel, spend time with her family and friends, and looks forward to the impact that the foundation will have in the Lynwood community.

Luna Gonzalez

12th Grade Student

FIREBAUGH HIGH SCHOOL

Luna Gonzalez is a dedicated and ambitious junior at Firebaugh High School. She is actively involved in the PLTW (Project Lead The Way) Engineering Program, which nurtures her passion for engineering and technology. In addition to her academic pursuits, Luna is a member of MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement), where she collaborates with peers on various STEM projects and competitions. Her leadership skills shine through as the president of the Evergreen Gardening Club. In this role, she promotes sustainable practices and environmental awareness among her fellow students. Luna's commitment to her studies, extracurricular activities, and leadership roles demonstrates her determination to make a positive impact both in her school and her community.

Gary Hardie Jr.

Board of Education

LYNWOOD UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Gary Hardie, Jr., has served on the Board since 2014 when he was elected at the age of 26. He is a proud product of Lynwood in the culturally rich Southeast Los Angeles, with demographics consisting of predominantly African Americans and Latinos, to which he credits his grit and resilience. After pursuing a degree in English at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Hardie dedicated his life to building healthy individuals and leading by example, to further promote the broader vision of community building and goals of society. Hardie enjoys more than 15 years of experience working and volunteering in public, non-profit, and school settings that include management, public relations, marketing, and administration. Before joining the Social Justice Learning Institute as Director of Policy and Advocacy, Hardie worked as a Policy Advisor to a member of the 115th and 116th Congress. Hardie has also served on several boards and commissions, including the City of Lynwood Personnel Commission, California Advancing Pathways for Students Joint-Powers Authority, President of the California Association of Black School Educators, and the California Student Opportunity and Access Program Advisory Committee. Hardie's vision to affect real change in his community has led him to launch The Village Project - in response to President Obama’s My Brother's Keeper initiative - to address the issues of equity and access for our most vulnerable student populations.

Anqui Renise Heming

Lynwood Unified Parent

Owner, A.R. Starlite Productions

Anqui Renise Heming has been a parent volunteer with the Lynwood Unified School District (LUSD) for 15 years. She has four children who have attended LUSD schools including: Mark Twain, Rosa Parks, Lynwood Middle School, and Firebaugh High School. Anqui works with and supports the Lynwood African American Parent Advisory Council and the Equity Department. She also is the owner of A.R. Starlite Productions (ARSP),which promotes growth, development and appreciation of music through the arts, with the Nova Troubadours Big Band, The Compton Conservatory of Music, and The Compton Sheriff's Annual Benefit and Toy Drive for the children of Compton, Lynwood and surrounding cities.

David Henriquez

Deputy Manager of Flight Electronics

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

David A. Henriquez is Deputy Manager of Flight Electronics for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. He interest in space began in childhood pretending a tree in his backyard was a rocket ship he could use to explore the solar system. Today, Mr. Henriquez is responsible for managing development of the command, data handling, and motion control electronics used on JPL robotic missions, supervising a team of 120 employees. He has over 20 years of experience working on planetary missions from the Cassini Mission to Saturn to the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rover missions to Mars. Mr. Henriquez holds a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Martha Maldonado

Vice President, Branch Manager, Downey branch

CALIFORNIA CREDIT UNION

Martha Maldonado is a Financial Services Professional who has served in the retail banking industry for 18 years. She is the current VP, Branch Manager of the Downey branch, which is located in the premises of the Los Angeles County of Education. She holds a Master’s degree in Education, and a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. She has a passion for helping people, which has translated to the financial retail sector in the way she advocates for clients; always guiding and educating them towards achieving financial success. Martha’s passion for helping people stems from her background as a first-generation immigrant, a mother of a child with special needs, and someone who can identify as having been a part of underserved communities.

During her tenure as a Branch Manager, Martha and her team have reached the highest levels of achievement in sales, service, membership growth, and retention, achieving the highest ranking for three years in a row, and number two for the fourth year. This is largely due to the culture of support and care provided to the clientele at the Downey branch, which leads to a steady flow of member referrals. Her efforts in business development throughout the community include active participation in chamber events, job fairs, being a judge in academic decathlons, outreach to local city officials, etc. She is also a member of the group Long Beach Professional Women for Good, which is centered around business networking opportunities while assisting fund raising efforts for various charitable organizations.

Outside of her role, Martha is a mother of two sons and she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends as well as traveling.

Jessica McFadden

12th Grade Student

LYNWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

Jessica McFadden is a 12th grade student at Lynwood High School. Jessica is ranked in the top 10 of her class. She wants to become a CEO of her own company in the future. She loves television and dancing, and would love also to pursue being a film producer and continue dancing as a hobby. She’s a kind-hearted person and loves making people feel great!

Rev. Rudy Rubio

Pastor, Reformed Church LA

Spiritual Care Coordinator

MLK Community Hospital

Rev. Rudy Rubio is married to Edna, they have4 children, and one granddaughter. He planted and serves as Pastor to" Reformed Church of Los Angeles" and alongside his family they minister to the communities of Lynwood, Compton, and Watts. He also serves as Spiritual Care Coordinator at MLK Community Hospital, and is passionate about leadership development. He was raised on the streets of Los Angeles, involved with the gang-life, drugs, and had a spiritual awakening in prison. He holds a Bachelor in Human Services Mgmt. from the University of Phoenix, Master of Divinity and soon to be Doctorate of Ministry from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan.

Darrell Stewart

Business Development Manager

Retired from Intel Corporation

Darrell Stewart was a Business Development Manager for Intel Corporation in its State, Local and Education group and retired in 2023. He joined Intel in 2000 as part of its Reseller Channel Organization working with school districts to leverage E-Rate funding strategies and retired in 2023. Prior to Intel, Mr. Stewart worked for Anixter, Lucent Technologies and Brite Voice Systems. He serves on the board of the California Emerging Technology Fund, Loyola High School, and Classroom of the Future. Mr. Stewart is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Nisan Stewart

Senior Pastor

Greater emmanuel temple

Pastor Nisan C. Stewart is the senior pastor of Greater Emmanuel Temple Church. Nisan is a musician, born and raised in Inglewood California. He has been operating professionally in the music industry as a Music Director, producer, song writer, and musician for many years. His first professional hiring as a musician was by former MCA Records A&R executive Randy Jackson, with Puff Johnson. Shortly after that Nisan connected with Grammy Award winning super producer, Timbaland. From that point he began his song-writing and producing career. He has been nominated for a Grammy, received ASCAP awards, and many others. His producing and writing credits includes artists such as Beyonce’, Nelly Furtado, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, MaryMary, Busta Rhymes, Patti LaBelle., Tweet, and many more.

Throughout his producing career, Nisan maintained his love for the stage and live performances. He has a love for developing live performances from beginning to end. Nisan currently is the drummer for the hit TV show Dancing With The Stars. Some of his recent TV credits also include the 2013 Emmys, house band for the MTV Awards, BET Awards house band for the last 6 years, and BET Comic View’s One Mic Stand featuring Kevin Hart. Nisan has been the Music Director and/or touring drummer for Jay Z, P. Diddy, Beyonce, TGT, Patti LaBelle, El DeBarge, Jessie J, NAS, Chris Brown, Jessie McCartney, Busta Rhymes, Leona Lewis, Tweet, 50 Cent, Marcus Miller, Flo-Rida, T.I., The Dream, Lady Gaga, etc. He currently is the Music Director/Drummer for Jamie Foxx, Nelly, Brandy, Tamar Braxton, and Nicole Sherzinger. He continues to push the artists’ creative buttons to make their songs and performances come to life through live music!

Lori Williams

Executive Director

retired Kaiser Permanente

Lori D. Williams recently retired as an Executive Director at Kaiser Permanente, leading the Program Management Office for the Military Health team. In this role, she is responsible for developing the program structure and managing the implementation of Military Health-related initiatives. Ms. Williams holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in Human Factors Engineering from California State University, Northridge, a Master of Science degree in Integrated Design, Business and Technology from the University of Southern California (USC), and she completed the Harvard School of Business, Executive Leadership Program.

Carlos Zaragoza

Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources

LYNWOOD unified school district

Carlos Zaragoza is the Interim Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for Lynwood Unified School District. He began in the Lynwood community in 2010 when he became the Principal of Lynwood High School (LHS).During his tenure at LHS, Mr. Zaragoza demonstrated exceptional leadership by spearheading initiatives to eliminate tracking, promote heterogeneous classes,and champion open access to Advanced Placement courses. These efforts culminated in Lynwood Unified being recognized as the 2017 AP District of the Year by the College Board.

Carolyn R. Williams

Professional Life Coach and Principal

Southern California Consulting Associates

Carolyn Williams is a Professional Life Coach and Principal at Southern California Consulting Associates working with nonprofit leaders, corporate managers, and others seeking to achieve their full potential and address key life transitions. She consults on matters of corporate philanthropy, board leadership, and community investment. From 1999 to 2015, Ms. Williams worked for Southern California Gas Company in corporate philanthropy, operations, and management development where she created and led innovative, community-based initiatives in education, philanthropy and community involvement and trained hundreds of managers and executives. Ms. Williams is a certified life coach and nonprofit board consultant, and holds a B.A. in Psychology from Louisiana Tech University, an M.P.A. from U.S.C., and completed her Ph.D. coursework in Applied Behavioral Science also at U.S.C.

Gudiel Crosthwaite, Ph.D.

Superintendent

LYNWOOD unified school district

Dr. Gudiel Crosthwaite is Superintendent of the Lynwood Unified School District, and joined the district in 2010 as Director of Elementary Reform. He began his career in education in 1994 as an eighth-grade teacher and later served as a high school English and English Language Development teacher before becoming an administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Crosthwaite earned an undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles. He holds two master’s degrees; one from California State University, Los Angeles in Educational Administration and another from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his Ph.D in Education from Claremont Graduate University.

Board and Staff

Superintendent’s Council

Randy Barth

Randy Barth is the founder and CEO of THINK Together, the largest provider of extended learning time programs in California serving over 100,000 students at more than 400 locations in 40 school districts. Prior to founding THINK Together in 1997, Mr. Barth began his career as an investment advisor with E.F. Hutton, Drexel Burnham, Smith Barney and later served as CEO of National Management, a $40 million privately held regional transportation company. He has served as chair of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce and a member of the board of the California Afterschool Network. Mr. Barth holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA and has attended the School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

Les Callahan

Les Callahan established Callahan Risk & Insurance Services, Inc., in 2004, as a specialty retail insurance brokerage with emphasis on the placement of professional and management liability for insurance, legal and financial service organizations. Les holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over the years he has been involved in his community through the coaching of youth sports and is currently active in domestic and international business networking and affinity groups.

Carl Cohn

Dr. Carl Cohn is professor emeritus at Claremont Graduate University. In a distinguished career in education, he has served as the former executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a former member of the California State Board of Education, and past superintendent of the San Diego Unified and Long Beach Unified school districts.

Maria Jackson, Esq.

Maria Jackson is the Senior Director and Associate General Counsel at Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America. Mrs. Jackson oversees a wide variety of regulatory and legal matters at the company and advises the business teams on various e-commerce issues, including compliance with consumer protection, environmental laws, and other regulations. Prior to Instacart, Maria worked for Lyft, Campari America, and Latham & Watkins. Mrs. Jackson is a product of the Lynwood Unified School District and a former member of the Lynwood Board of Education. Mrs. Jackson earned her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and her B.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University.

Mark Kudler

Mark Kudler is the President of Bulletin Displays, LLC outdoor advertising in Los Angeles. He is the third generation in his family to be in the sign business. Mr. Kudler is President of two real estate holding companies, Kudco Diversified, Inc. and Kudco Diversified, LLC. He is past President for the California State Outdoor Advertising Association and founded its Public Service Announcement (PSA) Committee. He serves on the boards of Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum and Compton Chamber of Commerce, and Executive Board of the Anti-Defamation League Orange County/Long Beach Region.

María G. Rendón, Ph.D.

Dr. María G. Rendón is a professor at UC Irvine. She’s a sociologist who examines the integration process of Latino immigrants and their children in the United States. She is the author of "Stagnant Dreamers: How the Inner City Shapes the Integration of Second-Generation Latinos" (Russell Sage Foundation 2019), a longitudinal study that follows a group of Latino young men as they transition to adulthood. Dr. Rendón received her Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy at Harvard University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Political Science from UC Berkeley. Dr. Rendon is a graduate of Lynwood High School (Class of '96).

Benjamin A. Vega

Mr. Benjamin A. Vega is a corporate lawyer with over 20 years of experience in complex business transaction and litigation. Prior to joining Glass House Brands Inc., Mr. Vega served as General Counsel for the Meruelo Group, as Senior Counsel for Sony Pictures Entertainment, and as Associate General Counsel for Ascent Media Group. Mr. Vega began his legal career as a Mergers and Acquisitions lawyer in the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Vega grew up in La Puente, California and is the son of Mexican immigrants. He was the first person in his family to graduate from high school. He graduated from Harvard College in 1995 and from Harvard Law School in 1999.

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