Gabriele Burkard manages the Community Experience Partnership, an initiative designed to mobilize the experience, talents and skills of baby boomers (born between 1946-1964) to benefit the communities where they live and work.

Burkard previously oversaw the foundation's human development portfolio as a program officer. Prior to the foundation, she worked at a social services agency for 20 years where she developed, implemented and evaluated programs serving vulnerable youth and families; partnered with county and state agencies to develop best practices; developed a network of service providers to improve coordination of services; and managed performance-based contracts, among other things.

Burkard graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.  She received a Master in Social Work from Smith College and is a licensed clinical social worker.

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As the first Joan Palevsky Fellow, Sandy Escobedo works on the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative.  This project will increase support for quality preschool among elected officials and key community leaders in Los Angeles by building constituencies, mobilizing communities and advocating for related public policies.

Previously, Escobedo was a data analyst with the SchoolStat project in Philadelphia.  She tracked performance in the areas of student achievement, attendance and school climate.  She worked closely with two regional superintendents to share her monthly findings with 46 elementary, middle school and high school principals.  The principals used her research to improve student performance and accountability. 

Escobedo also taught pre-kindergarten in New York City’s South Bronx as a Teach for America corps member.  She has a master's in government administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in teaching from Fordham University.  Escobedo received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

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Linda Itson is often the first point of contact for CCF constituents. As a member of the foundation’s administrative team, she supports CCF’s office services.  A native of Los Angeles, Itson received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and education from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Silvana Miller oversees the foundation’s office services and human resources team.  Miller received a Senior Professional Human Resources certificate from the Human Resources Certification Institute in July 2000.                                            

She is a graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.Ed.) in secondary education with a concentration in math.  Miller was a teacher for 12 years in New Jersey and also worked in retail accounting and management at Bullock’s/Macy’s before joining the foundation. 

She has been a member of the Human Resources Committee of the Fiscal and Administrative Officers Group (FAOG), an affiliate organization of the Council on Foundations.  Miller is also a member of the Professionals in Human Resources Association, the California chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management.

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Virginia Mosqueda oversees the foundation’s efforts to convene nonprofit and community leaders to learn about and help solve challenges faced by community-based organizations working in the foundation’s priority areas. 

Mosqueda has seven years combined experience in the public and nonprofit sectors.  Before joining the foundation, she was a policy advisor and legislative director for U.S. Rep. Linda T. Sánchez.  Mosqueda handled a broad array of issues including immigration, education, civil rights and labor issues.  She also oversaw the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus and the Immigration, Border Security and Claims Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.  Before her tenure with Sànchez, Mosqueda was the Youth Enrichment Program Director at the Delhi Community Center in Santa Ana.  At Delhi, she developed and implemented a comprehensive afterschool program for Latino youth and their families.

Mosqueda holds a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California, Irvine.

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Melina Sanchez oversees the Los Angeles Preschool Advocacy Initiative, a countywide campaign to build support for increased access to quality preschool among key constituencies, community leaders and elected officials in Los Angeles.  The initiative is led by the California Community Foundation in partnership with the David & Lucile Packard Foundation. 

Before joining the foundation, Sanchez served as a policy advisor to U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, managing a broad portfolio of legislative issues.  Sanchez was also a liaison to the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

In addition to working on several U.S. Congressional campaigns, Sanchez was a research analyst for the 2004 presidential campaign for John Kerry and participated in the campaign’s debate rapid-response operation.  Sanchez began her advocacy work at Public Campaign, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting the public financing of elections. 

A native of Los Angeles, Sanchez received her Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and is fluent in Spanish and French.

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Rachael Sonntag-Bloom provides administrative and project support for the Civic Engagement and Communications departments.

Beforeo joining the foundation, Sonntag-Bloom interned and assisted the public affairs team of Manning Selvage & Lee, a public relations firm in Los Angeles. As a student at the University of Southern California (USC), she was a board member of the Political Science Undergraduate Association and founded ‘SC Housing Opportunities Made Equal (H.O.M.E.), a student advocacy group that addresses on-campus affordable housing issues. Sonntag-Bloom worked at USC’s Office of the President for two years.

Sonntag-Bloom holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Southern California.

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Stephanie Talavera-Castillo primarily supports the foundation’s office services and departments.

Talavera-Castillo was previously with 211 LA County, a division of Los Angeles County that provides around-the-clock access to a range of human services for county residents.

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Linda J. Wong oversees the foundation's civic engagement and administrative and human resource operations.

Her areas of expertise include:economic and workforce development; public policy work on educational equity, immigrant rights and economic opportunity; and coalition building with diverse constituencies.

Wong has worked as a legal services and civil rights attorney and served as executive director for local and statewide nonprofits.  In the course of her work, she has addressed policy implications of the increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity of California’s population and implemented sectoral strategies in economic and workforce development.

In June 2006, she was appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Review Commission and in April 2007 to the city’s Workforce Investment Board.  Wong has a Juris Doctor in law and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Southern California.

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Shirley J. Young oversees CCF’s office and administrative processes, supervises the foundation’s receptionist and provides support to all departments.

Young is responsible for coordinating administrative support for all office operations and is the primary liaison between the foundation and the building management.

Before joining CCF, she was at Kraft/Breyers, Inc. for 14 years working in customer relations, account reconciliation, accounts receivable and payable. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Young was a Social Worker for the Methodist Children’s Home in Little Rock, Arkansas. Young received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and history from the University of Arkansas.

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Rosie Diaz provides programmatic and administrative support to CFLT. She compiles research on real estate and community issues and works in the planning and permitting process of the property acquisition and construction phases of development projects. 

Before joining CCF, Diaz managed all public, media and community relations for Crystal Stairs, the largest private, nonprofit child care development agency in California.  While at Crystal Stairs, she increased the organization’s profile among government agencies, local media and other community-based organizations. 

Diaz graduated with honors from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she was awarded Outstanding Graduate in Public Relations, and was elected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.  She holds certificates in Grantwriting and Administration, and in Special Event and Meeting Planning from Dominguez Hills and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. 

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With nearly 20 years of experience in the affordable housing field in Southern California, Lynn Hansen oversees potential land trust site acquisitions and analysis for the Community Foundation Land Trust.

Previously, Hansen was the National Farm Workers Service Center’s director of real estate development for California. Her extensive experience in affordable housing also includes working at: the City of Los Angeles Housing Department as assistant general manager for housing development; the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) as Southern California director; Bank of America as senior vice president and Southern California regional manager for affordable housing lending; the Los Angeles Community Design Center as project manager for its affordable housing developments; and the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission as principal development specialist. 

Hansen earned a Master of Arts in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Loyola Marymount University.

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Ann Sewill oversees all aspects of strategic planning, management and administration of CFLT activities. Sewill has 28 years of experience in the area of affordable housing finance and development, serving in leadership positions in both the public and private nonprofit sectors.

Before joining CFLT, she was vice president of Enterprise Community Partners; assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department; executive director of the Los Angeles Community Design Center; and housing director for the City of Santa Monica. She also worked with the Los Angeles offices of the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Sewill received a Master of Arts from UCLA’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Arts in political science - public administration from University of California, Davis. She chairs the Affordable Housing Advisory Council of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and is the immediate past chair of the Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing. In 2005, she was appointed to the board of directors of the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

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Edgar Aguirre helps individuals fulfill their charitable goals through various philanthropic vehicles.  Aguirre oversees the foundation’s Diversity in Philanthropy initiative, which seeks to increase CCF’s partnerships with Los Angeles’ diverse ethnic, gender, geographic, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities. 

Aguirre chairs the Southern California membership chapter of Hispanics in Philanthropy, an affinity group for grantmakers dedicated to strengthening Latino communities by increasing resources for the Latino and Latin American civil sector and by increasing Latino participation and leadership throughout the field of philanthropy.  He is also a member of the California Lutheran University Alumni Board of Directors, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1999.  A Jesse M. Unruh California State Assembly Fellow, he completed his Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning, and Development in 2005. 

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Carol Bradford advances the foundation’s fundraising efforts by assisting donors and professional advisors with technical aspects of charitable and planned gifts and working with nonprofit organizations to capture significant gifts that they may have difficulty managing.

Bradford previously worked at the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, where she provided technical assistance and support to donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations seeking to create planned gifts. Bradford started her career in planned giving in 2001 as a gift planning officer at CCF.  Before her move to CCF in 2001, Bradford practiced law in Los Angeles, with an emphasis in employment and defined benefit plan litigation. 

Bradford earned a BA in music history and theory from California State University, Fullerton.  She graduated with honors from Loyola Law School in 1989. She is a member of the California Bar, the National Committee on Planned Giving, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Recording Academy (Grammy®).  She was a board member and singer with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Angeles Chorale. 

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NAMJU CHO Director of Communications ext. 229

Namju Cho oversees the foundation's marketing, communications and public relations strategies and activities to position the foundation as a philanthropic leader.

Before joining the foundation in 2006, Cho was the communications and policy director at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), a nonprofit human rights organization that works to end forced labor and human trafficking of adults and children around the world. 

Cho was also a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Asian Wall Street Journal based in Seoul, Korea, and worked at the Division for the Advancement of Women at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York City.  She is the first Korean woman to sit on the Women’s Health Council of the California Department of Health Services and is a member of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum as well as Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.

She holds a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and received a journalism degree from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. She is proficient in Korean and Spanish.

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Gerlie Collado contributes to CCF’s marketing, communications and public relations activities.  She was previously with Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, a health and human services agency serving multi-ethnic youth and families in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown. 

Before working in the nonprofit sector, Collado worked in marketing for a national test preparatory corporation, supporting the organization’s western regional marketing efforts.

Collado holds a Bachelor of Science in international business from the University of San Francisco. 

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Amy Fackelmann assists donors in exploring their philanthropic passions, helping them develop and implement effective as well as fulfilling charitable plans.  Her team provides educational opportunities for donors that include group learning and one-on-one consulting as well as ways of involving family members in philanthropy. 

Fackelmann was previously a program coordinator at the Council on Foundations in Washington, D.C., where she supervised projects that addressed management, governance and investment issues at community foundations.  Before joining the council, she worked at several nonprofit organizations, including the Smithsonian Institute’s Friends of the National Zoo and Connecticut’s Science Center, formerly the Children’s Museum.

Fackelmann is a graduate of Villanova University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. She is a founding member of the Excellence in Family Philanthropy Initiative, a peer driven program to strengthen the body of knowledge and expertise in working with philanthropic families. 

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Courtney Gross works with donors and their families to maximize their grantmaking efforts by connecting donors to organizations and causes that best meet their philanthropic goals.  She also provides educational resources to inform donors of current giving trends, practices and immediate community needs.

Before joining CCF, Gross was the managing director of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancer by providing funds for research and training.  Gross also worked as a casting agent in the Los Angeles entertainment industry.

A native of Los Angeles, Gross was born and raised in Santa Monica. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University in French literature.

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Agnes Hess coordinates both onsite and offsite foundation events. She also provides administrative support to the senior vice president of external and donor relations and the donor relations team, and responds to donors’ requests.

Hess was previously employed by various Los Angeles museums over the course of 16 years.

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Crystal Jones works to develop the infrastructure to grow CCF’s discretionary funds, and as a result increase the foundation’s annual competitive grants.   

Jones has more than 15 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector.  Her prior positions include: associate director of development for UCLA’s Division of Social Sciences; director of development for L.A. Family Housing in North Hollywood; associate director of the Art Center College of Design’s Special Programs including Art Center at Night and Saturday High in Pasadena.

In addition to her nonprofit experience, Jones worked in the entertainment industry managing the careers and public relations campaigns of musical and theatrical artists Vanessa Williams and Babyface.  She also served as creative assistant at the Myers/Shyer movie production company at Disney Studios. 

Jones is currently a member of the board of trustees of her alma mater, Scripps College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.  She has served on the Pasadena Commission on the Status of Women and the Pasadena Arts Commission.

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John E. Kobara is the chief development and marketing officer for CCF and oversees the foundations’ efforts to raise funds, serve and expand the donor base, as well as promote the foundation’s impact in the community through the media, publications and Web site.

Kobara was previously CEO of the CK12 Foundation, a nonprofit technology startup that seeks to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market domestically and abroad. He has been involved in education, social justice, mentoring and community service for more than 30 years. Kobara also was president/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters serving the Greater Los Angeles area; senior vice president of Sylvan Learning Systems; president/CEO of OnlineLearning.net; vice chancellor of UCLA; and vice president and general manager of Falcon Cable TV. He serves on a wide variety of charitable and corporate boards, including the Japanese American National Museum, Capital Group’s Endowments, Homeland Security Advisory Council for Region 1, and Walden University.

Kobara received the 2007 City of Angels award from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for his service on behalf of children and families. He was a Coro Fellow in Los Angeles and earned degrees from UCLA, USC and Occidental College.

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Barry Peterson oversees the foundation's life income plans including charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts. 

Peterson assists nonprofit organizations establish and strengthen their planned giving programs.  He also helps individuals achieve their philanthropic goals through the use of donor advised funds and planned giving vehicles. 

Peterson has worked for Families In Schools, a legacy organization of the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP) that expands LAAMP’s comprehensive work to successfully engage parents in their children’s education.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Whittier College and double-majored in political science and Spanish.  He will soon complete the Certified Specialist in Planned Giving program at California State University, Long Beach.

Peterson currently serves on the board of directors for the Summerbridge Breakthrough Alumni Network.

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Leondra Rachal supports the foundation’s donor cultivation activities and provides customer service to donors and partners.   

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As the scholarship administrator, Chris Salazar administers CCF’s scholarship program and works with external scholarship committees to ensure awards are processed in a timely manner.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in business management from California State University, Northridge, Salazar has worked in Greater L.A.’s private sector for six years.

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Greg Shepard manages activities and projects that are essential to maintaining and enhancing the foundation’s services to donors and fundholders.  His responsibilities include responding to information requests from donors and fund-holders as well as overseeing CCF’s donor relations database and donor communications.

Shepard has more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit field.  He worked for more than 11 years in the development department of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA), where he managed the agency’s gift processing and donor services. Shepard worked for several years at various Los Angeles businesses before transitioning to the nonprofit sector.

An Oklahoma native, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

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Neela C. Silva processes and manages charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, gifts of real estate and other complex gifts made to the foundation.  She also oversees supporting organizations, administers the foundation’s Legacy Society and assists donors, professional advisors, community organizations and external foundation committees with their philanthropic goals. 

Before joining the foundation, Silva worked at Pomona College’s Institutional Advancement Department as a trusts and estates specialist for 10 years.  She has also worked as the corporate secretary for Los Angeles Medical Center.

Silva earned a Bachelor of Science in legal studies with a minor in English, and a paralegal certificate from the University of La Verne.  She also holds an Associate of Science in management from Chaffey College and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at the University of La Verne.  Silva is a notary public and is a member of the National Notary Association.

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DENISE TOM Writer/Editor ext. 231

Denise Tom is writer/editor for the foundation’s marketing, communications and public relations activities. Before joining the foundation, Tom was the journalism program specialist at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a private foundation that works to improve journalism and communities. Tom helped develop grant proposals and managed a portfolio of 150 active grants.

As an award-winning editor for USA TODAY, she won an Exceptional Merit Media Award for a project that examined gender equity at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I universities in 1996.

Tom’s 26 years at daily newspapers include nine years as a reporter for the Oakland Tribune. A founding member of the National Association for Women in Sports Media, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism at San Francisco State University.

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Roy Allen oversees CCF’s investment portfolios and partners with external investment managers to ensure the health of the foundation’s assets. 

For more than 15 years, Allen has managed the portfolios of high net worth individuals, family trusts, foundations, endowments, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Highlights of his experience include investment and risk analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, depletion analysis, asset allocation analysis, pension evaluation, real estate value projections, portfolio implementation, investment manager selection and evaluations, as well as investment portfolio optimizer applications.  Allen also holds the Series 7, 31, 65 and 66 licenses. 

Allen earned a Bachelor of Arts in business economics and a minor in finance from Wayne State University. His career and initial training occurred with Merrill Lynch and Pierce, and Fenner & Smith. Allen’s past employers include: Morgan Stanley, Sony Entertainment, Bank of America Capital Asset Management and Kayne Anderson Rudnick.

In addition to his work in finance, Allen is a board member of the Los Angeles Food Bank and a volunteer basketball coach for the YMCA.

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Steve Cobb oversees the foundation's investment management, financial reporting and cash management activities. Before joining CCF in 1998, Cobb was the chief financial officer for the Milken Family Foundation, a leading Southern California private foundation, and the Weingart Center, a comprehensive health and human services complex in Los Angeles's Skid Row.

Cobb was also an auditor with Ernst & Young and an assistant controller for the Ticor Title Insurance Company of California.

Cobb is a certified public accountant and a graduate of The UCLA Anderson School of Management, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Ventura College.

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Yvonne Dennis generates financial reports, processes credit cards contributions and bank deposits, assists finance staff, performs notary obligations and other appointed duties.

Dennis is a 1995 graduate of Santa Monica College with an Associate of Arts in office information systems. She is a certified administrative assistant and a notary public. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in international business at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

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MIKE DOBSON Grants Coordinator/Accountant ext. 212

Mike Dobson works directly with the grants coordination team to process donor-recommended grants and ensure grant recommendations compliance with current IRS charitable fund guidelines. Before joining the foundation, Dobson worked for nine years with nonprofit organizations, including some with a variety of foundations.

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Elizabeth Hernández assists the accounting manager with financial reporting and works on special projects for the Finance department.  She monitors fund activities, weekly contributions, audit schedules; maintains and reconciles general ledger accounts and monthly bank statements; and summarizes monthly activities of CCF’s investments. 

Hernández has more than 10 years combined experience in the public and nonprofit sectors.  Before joining the foundation, Hernández worked in the finance department of Public Communication Services as well as the Home Savings & Loan Association, now known as Washington Mutual.

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CHRIS HUBBARD Grants Coordinator/Accountant ext. 260

Chris Hubbard works with the grants management team to conduct general fund management for all donors, administer donor-recommended grants and ensure each grant complies with current IRS charitable giving guidelines. 

Hubbard previously worked for seven years in the private sector in health care, law, marketing and real estate. He also worked internationally in Greece and Sri Lanka.

A graduate of California State University, Northridge, Hubbard holds a Bachelor of Science in finance and real estate.

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OLIVIA KORAN Grants Coordinator ext. 275

Olivia Koran works with the grants management team to conduct general fund management for all donors, administer donor-recommended grants and ensure each grant complies with current IRS charitable giving guidelines

Before joining CCF, Koran worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala for 27 months. She taught basic business and marketing practices to rural farmers and women’s groups and art classes to a school of 90 children. A photographer, Koran previously worked as a photo shoot producer and wedding photographer. In addition she is also a veteran of Amigos de Las Americas, having spent a summer volunteering in the Dominican Republic.

Koran graduated from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with an emphasis in marketing.

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Agnes Luansing prepares the organization’s monthly financial statements, oversees the foundation’s income and fees allocations, provides support to the chief financial officer and the controller to prepare financial reports, and manages CCF’s accountants and finance assistant.

Before joining the foundation, Luansing worked in the private sector in accounting and real estate lending.  While there, Luansing’s responsibilities included supervising an accounting department, preparing tax returns, processing payroll, and creating financial statements and management reports.  Luansing also worked for a major nationwide mortgage lender where she analyzed tax returns and financial reports.

Luansing holds Bachelor of Science in business administration from New York University.

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Summer Moore manages the accounting and financial activities related to daily operations and the grants coordination team.  This oversight includes charitable contributions received by CCF and more than 6,000 annual charitable disbursements.

Before joining CCF, Moore worked for Family Assessment Counseling and Education Services (FACES), Inc, a nonprofit counseling center based in Fullerton that serves children and their families experiencing divorce and/or other family trauma.  She also volunteered as a grant writer for Koo’s Art Café in Santa Ana.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American and Latino studies with an emphasis in cultural anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Jilma Rodriguez ensures that the foundation’s daily financial operations run smoothly.  Her responsibilities include processing daily cash receipts, cash disbursements and reimbursements, credit card donor contributions and vendor payments. 

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Teresita Vega monitors and troubleshoots the foundation’s technology network, maintains and upgrades CCF’s electronic hardware and software and ensures the network’s overall security.  

Born and raised in the Philippines, Vega received a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from the University of Mindanao in Davao City. 

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EMILY A. ZIETLOW Grants Coordinator ext. 261

Emily A. Zietlow works with the grants management team to conduct general fund management for all donors, administers donor-recommended grants and ensures each grant complies with current IRS charitable giving guidelines.

Zietlow earned a Bachelor of Arts in English (creative writing) from the University of Southern California in December 2007. While at USC, she was a program assistant for Art in the Village, a USC Fisher Gallery arts education outreach program. Art in the Village facilitates K-5 student arts exhibitions and encourages arts education in local elementary schools in South Los Angeles. She also worked as a politics and creative works editor for AngeLingo, a USC student-run online journal.

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