Board of Directors

Dr. Beatriz María Solís is Director, Healthy Communities, South Region at The California Endowment. Dr. Solís is responsible for advancing the vision and strategic direction of the foundation’s Building Healthy Communities: California Living 2.0 initiative, as well as helping achieve established goals and outcomes through The Endowment’s philanthropic efforts in Southern California. Her professional experience includes service as the Director of Cultural and Linguistic Services for L.A. Care Health Plan. She has co-authored numerous articles, books, technical reports and policy briefs and is a lecturer/trainer to health care providers.

Nike Irvin most recently served as Vice President of Programs at the California Community Foundation (CCF), where she provided strategic leadership in priority program areas and managed special initiatives. Before joining CCF, Irvin served as President of the Riordan Foundation for seven years and as a consultant and coach for nonprofits and foundations. She also has more than 20 years of experience in both nonprofit leadership and consulting to numerous nonprofit organizations, foundations and charitable arms of for-profit companies and organizations. A native of Los Angeles, Irvin serves on several boards of directors and is a trustee for regional and national organizations such as the Riordan Foundation and is a Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute.

Melissa Harman has been in public accounting since 1998. She provides professional services to a wide variety of nonprofits, primarily institutions of higher education, private foundations and other nonprofit organizations. Harman is the national not-for-profit practice leader for Moss Adams LLP.

Joe Lumarda is Senior Vice President and Investment Counselor for Capital Group Private Client Services and a Vice President of Capital Guardian Trust Company, a Nevada Corporation. Capital Group Private Client Services provides investment management and financial planning services for individuals, families, trusts, foundations, and nonprofit institutions. Prior to joining Capital, Lumarda spent 16 years at the California Community Foundation in various roles including Program Officer and Chief Operating Officer. He is the board chair of the Center for Nonprofit Management, and a member of the boards of Asian American and Pacific Islander Legal Center, Give2Asia, Drucker Institute, Pasadena Child Health Foundation, and Saint Joseph Healthcare Foundation.

Wendy Garen became President and Chief Executive Officer of The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation in 2008, after working for the Foundation in increasing levels of responsibility for more than 20 years. She was a founding staff member of the nonprofit Crystal Stairs and headed the Los Angeles Child Care and Development Council. Garen is a member of the Philanthropy Leadership Group and The Trusteeship, and serves on the California advisory board of the Milken Institute.

Christine Essel joined SCG as President and CEO on February 1, 2013. As president, she sets the strategic direction and priorities for the organization, overseeing programming, communications, member services and public policy. Prior to joining SCG, Essel held leadership roles in the government, corporate, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, where she has shaped legislation and public and corporate policy. For over three decades, she worked at Paramount Pictures, serving as Senior Vice President, Government and Community Affairs, a department she built from the ground up. She has been named to numerous Boards and Commissions over the years, serving as chair of the California Film Commission, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, the Hollywood Community Advisory Council, Alternative Living for the Aging and Central City Association. She also served as Vice‐Chair of the California Workforce Investment Board and FilmLA and was a member of the powerful Los Angeles World Airports Commission, Grand Avenue Project Joint Powers Authority and Los Angeles Development Fund.

James Alva serves as Senior Vice President and as the Southern California Market Manager for Citi Community Development. In his role, he oversees the bank's strategic efforts to progress financial inclusion in underserved communities by focusing on youth economic empowerment and urban transformation. Prior to joining Citi, Alva worked for six years with the Small Business Development Centers in which he managed innovative programs in both Los Angeles and San Francisco targeting the underserved.

Kim Belshé was named Executive Director of First 5 Los Angeles in 2012. Prior to joining First 5 LA, she served as senior policy advisor of Public Policy Institute of California and as Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency in the Administration of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Belshé previously served as Director of the California Department of Health Services and Deputy Secretary of the then-Health and Welfare Agency under Governor Pete Wilson. Belshé currently serves on the five-member board of the state's new Health Benefit Exchange, Covered California, and is a member of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

Marsha E. Bonner joined the Annenberg Foundation in September 2015 and has over 30 years of grantmaking experience. At the Annenberg Foundation, she is responsible for oversight of Programs, Grants Administration, the Alchemy program—a capacity building and training initiative, and the new impact investing program. She previously served as the Director of Grantmaking and Evaluation at the Marguerite Casey Foundation in Seattle, WA; Vice President for Programs at the Marin Community Foundation in Novato, CA; Associate Director and Program Officer at the Aaron Diamond Foundation in New York City; and Executive Director of the North Star Fund in New York City. A graduate of Princeton University, she is a member of the Board of Directors for Carlos Santana’s Milagro Foundation in San Rafael, CA.

As Draper Consulting Group’s (DCG) Founder and President, Dr. Lee Draper is involved in all of the firm’s consulting projects and provides project design, strategic thinking, and depth of expertise. She has led major efforts to shape philanthropy, including serving as one of the lead consultants to Blue Cross of California in creating all aspects of The California Endowment and the California HealthCare Foundation. In 2007, Dr. Draper founded the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers and is currently Steering Committee Vice Chair.

Cara Esposito is the Executive Director of the Leonetti/O’Connell Family Foundation which funds innovative projects and initiatives that benefit Los Angeles County and improve the wellbeing of its communities. Prior to her role as Executive Director, Cara spent nine years as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, with special emphasis in Juvenile Prosecutions.

Cara graduated with a BA from Harvard University, a JD from Loyola Law School, an MPA and a Doctorate in Policy Analysis and Planning from USC’s Price School of Public Policy where she is an adjunct instructor. She currently sits on the boards of Children’s Institute, Inc., The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, The Colleagues and The Center for Excellence in Education.

Michael Fleming is the Executive Director of the David Bohnett Foundation, a grantmaking foundation charged with "improving society through social activism".

Fleming has served on numerous boards and commissions including the Los Angeles Board of Water Power Commissioners―the five member panel that oversees the nation’s largest public utility. He previously served as the President of the East Los Angeles Area Planning Commission and as a Commissioner on the Board of the Los Angeles Convention Center. In 2010, President Barack Obama named Fleming to the White House Council for Community Solutions.

He is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of public radio powerhouse KCRW, a Trustee of the NPR Foundation and is an adjunct professor of organizational development and public policy at UCLA and NYU.

Shane Murphy Goldsmith is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Hill Foundation. Goldsmith previously served as Liberty Hill's Vice President and Chief Program Officer. Prior to joining Liberty Hill, she was the Executive Director of PATH Ventures, an affordable housing development agency. Before that, Goldsmith served as a Senior Advisor to then-City Council President Eric Garcetti, overseeing a variety of field and legislative projects, including housing, economic development, the city budget, public safety, and LGBTQ issues. She currently sits on the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners and is the co-chair of the California Executive Alliance for Boys and Men of Color So-Cal Region. Goldsmith is on the Steering Committee of Hope and Heal: The Fund to Stop Gun Violence in California. She also sits on the Board of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) and the selection panel for the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship.

After serving 5 years on the Board of Directors, John Kobara was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the California Community Foundation in 2008. He currently serves on the boards of the MLK Community Hospital Foundation, Japanese American National Museum, LA Kitchen, Coro-Southern California, SCGA Foundation, and Walden University. He was a Coro Fellow in LA and earned degrees from UCLA, USC, and Occidental College.

Deidre Lind previously served as the President of the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles where she drove public/private partnerships for the City. She formerly served as Director, Corporate Affairs for Mattel, Inc., and Executive Director of the Mattel Children's Foundation. She was responsible for leading Mattel's global sustainability programs and philanthropic presence internationally in support of building Mattel's reputation as a responsible corporate citizen. Previously, Lind served as Kaiser Permanente’s California Division associate director for government and community relations and worked on social policy for the chief of staff to Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

Connie Malloy serves as Portfolio Director at The James Irvine Foundation. She leads grantmaking in the areas of fair work, voter and civic engagement, immigration, elections policies and practices and social impact bonds. Connie is Vice-Chair of California’s first-ever Citizens Redistricting Commission. As a Commissioner, she has overseen the design and implementation of fair and impartial district maps for Assembly, Senate, Congressional and Board of Equalization representation. She is also national co-chair of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation and an urban planner by trade.

Steve Nissen is Senior Vice President of Legal & Government Affairs at NBCUniversal. He also serves on the Executive Committees of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA), Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, and Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Nissen has served as Executive Director of the State Bar of California, and prior to that served in the Administration of California Governor Gray Davis as Interim Staff Director, Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and as Senior Special Assistant for Innovation in Government.

Gabriela Robles is the Vice President of Community Partnerships at St. Joseph Health, a 16-hospital health system serving California, West Texas, and eastern New Mexico. She is responsible for defining strategic direction and executing grantmaking programs. Her areas of specialization include strategic planning, community investments, program evaluation, and community building. Robles has two master’s degrees, one in Business Administration from NYU Stern School of Business and one in Urban and Regional Planning with an emphasis in Community-Based Planning for Health from UC Irvine.

Tara Roth is the President of the Goldhirsh Foundation. Prior to this role, Roth bridged the worlds of marketing, media, and philanthropy as the founding Chief Operating Officer of GOOD and as a Social Strategy Advisor. Roth began her career in marketing and business development for NBCinternet and Infoseek. She has worked with organizations such as Participant Media, Fifteen Foundation, and the New Schools Venture Fund. As a Senior Advisor to GOOD, Roth helped launch the Pepsi Refresh Project. She is a member of the LA n Sync Bell Commission and serves on the Advisory Boards of 826LA and the Imagination Foundation.

Gerald Solomon serves as the Executive Director for the Samueli Foundation overseeing Samueli Philanthropy. Prior to this position, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Public Health Foundation Enterprises (PHFE) for seven years.

Belen Vargas joined the Weingart Foundation in 2000 as the Foundation’s first Program Associate. In 2003, she was promoted to Program Officer and to Senior Program Officer in 2007. She became Associate Vice President, Grant Operations in 2008 and then subsequently, Vice President, Grant Operations. In 2014, she assumed the role of Vice President, Programs, where she oversees the Foundation’s grant strategy and planning, communications, and overall program assessment. Prior to joining the Weingart Foundation, Vargas worked at Public Counsel on the Childcare Law Project.

Adrienne Wittenberg is the Executive Director of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Wittenberg was a senior tax accountant in the Los Angeles office of Deloitte & Touche, LLP. She is licensed in the State of California as a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the AICPA. She received a Bachelor's of Business Administration Degree in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Wittenberg has served as a member of the board of trustees of Alvemo Heights Academy in Sierra Madre, California. She was a member of the finance committee at Hill & Dale Family Learning Center in Santa Monica, California. She also served as a board member and president of the Los Angeles Running Club.