SF LGBT Center, Director of Program Strategy and Impact

Board Term: 2025-2027, Internal Committee

Erika Céspedes (she/they/ella) is a senior leader with 15 years of experience working across education equity, racial justice, and youth development. Erika’s diverse leadership spans non-profit, grassroots organizing, K-12, and higher education efforts on a regional, statewide, and national level. She has served as a CSU and community college adjunct professor in Race and Resistance Studies and Ethnic Studies for the last ten years. Erika holds an M.A. in Ethnic Studies and will complete a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) focused on Educational Leadership, Social Justice, and Equity from San Francisco State University in 2025. As the daughter of a single, immigrant mother from Colombia and a former community college student, Erika’s career has proudly been committed to education initiatives and organizations centering low-income, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, systems-impacted, and first-generation college-bound communities.

San Francisco Beacon Initiative, Workforce Development Program Manager

Board Term: 2025-2027, Internal Committee

AJ Frigillana entered the youth development field at the age of 15 as a camp counselor in her hometown of Long Beach, California. In her current role as a Workforce Development Program Manager with the San Francisco Beacon Initiative, she works to support the staff of vital programming through her commitment to job quality, leadership development coaching, facilitation, and collaboration with workforce development practitioners both locally and state-wide. Her life’s work is to create intentional spaces where staff at all levels can continue to amplify their skills and cultivate their leadership. AJ earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies from the University of San Francisco and has shared her work on several regional and national panels. Her work has also been recognized by the National Afterschool Association as a Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders honoree and she is a proud alumnus of CalSAC’s Leadership Development Institute for Emerging Leaders of Color.

Junior Achievement of San Diego County, Vice President of Impact

Board Term: 2024-2026, President of Governance Committee

Hanna Jensen is the Vice President, Impact at Junior Achievement of San Diego County (JA San Diego), bringing over 10 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit youth development. In this capacity, Hanna is responsible for leading the development, programs, and marketing teams at JA San Diego. Prior to JA, Hanna was the Director of Community Outreach for the YMCA of San Diego County. Hanna is native to Southern California earning her B.A. in Liberal Studies from San Diego State University and her M.A. in Social Entrepreneurship from Pepperdine University. Hanna is dedicated to building a brighter future for San Diego’s youth through her participation as a Board Member for the Toby Wells YMCA and her involvement in the San Diego Women’s Foundation. Most recently Hanna was awarded San Diego Business Journal’s “Top 40 Next Business Leaders Under 40”. In her spare time Hanna enjoys rooting on the Lakers with her dachshund Kobe Bean.

David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Communications Officer

Board Term: 2025-2027, External Committee

Andrew has nearly fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic fields using communications for good. He is passionate about supporting young people and inspiring a lifelong love of education. He is currently a communications officer at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where he leverages strategic communications to advance the Foundation’s grantmaking in support of children and families. Previously, Andrew worked at Blue Shield of California Foundation, working to use communications to help break the cycle of domestic violence in California and improve the well-being of all Californians. He holds a B.A. in history from the College of New Jersey. A native of New Jersey, Andrew enjoys exploring California with his wife and their dog Charlie, motorcycling, and baseball. 

Healthforce Center at UCSF, Program Manager

Board Term: 2026-2028, Vice President of Governance Committee

Gina Lima has over 10 years of leadership development experience and a deep passion for promoting access to quality education for all. Gina is currently a Program Manager at UCSF where she oversees program implementation and evaluation for a leadership development program for health care leaders throughout California. Prior to UCSF, Gina worked at Genentech supporting the implementation of global IT projects. She started her professional career at CalSAC, which sparked her interest and motivation in the field of education. Gina received a BA in International Relations from San Francisco State University. In her spare time, she trains jiu jitsu and loves to travel. 

Moreland School District, Expanded Learning Opportunities Program Manager

Board Term: 2026-2028, Board Secretary & Governance Committee

Gizzele Linayao has over 20 years of experience in the expanding learning field.  Most of her work focuses on developing and creating systems for fee-based before and after school programs in San Jose.  As a former site coordinator, she was passionate about helping parents build confidence in their parenting styles and providing opportunities for youth to explore their interests, exercise their independence, and build life-long friendships.  As a CalSAC Senior Certified Trainer, Gizzele is committed to uplifting the expanded learning workforce.  During the height of the Covid pandemic, she was recognized by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for her contributions to the community.  She designed a remote tutoring program for Moreland School District's students that was staffed by expanded learning front line staff. Gizzele is a member of the West Valley College Child Development Advisory Group and a TA Fellow alum from the inaugural cohort of the California Expanded Learning School of Leadership and Facilitation.  One of her most significant accomplishments in the field after receiving her graduate degree in Human Development and Educational Leadership from Pacific Oaks College was co-creating the framework for the Site Coordinator Network and launching it at the Site Coordinator Symposium. She currently works as the Expanded Learning Opportunities program supervisor for Moreland School District.  Gizzele enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and archery in her spare time.

Minds Matter Southern California, Sr. Development Manager

Board Term: 2025-2027, External Committee

With over a decade of experience in early childhood development, after-school programming, college access, and donor relations, she has led initiatives that enhance education quality, participation, and student outcomes through various programs. Kira has recently equipped herself with tools to champion equitable leadership in youth-based organizations through a mid-level leadership cohort from her previous organization, Playworks’ internal Advancing Equity in Leadership Program.

A proud graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills, Kira is committed to fostering trust, collaboration, and meaningful relationships in diverse school communities. Her journey began in 2014 as an AmeriCorps VISTA, where she expanded college access for high school students, igniting her passion for supporting grades 6-12 in under-resourced communities. This is when her passion to better school communities began. She realized it takes connecting external resources with schools to ensure all students can be successful.

As a lifelong learner, she brings a foundation of trust and collaboration to everything she does. Outside of work, Kira enjoys time with family and friends, writing, exploring new foods, and embracing the outdoors. Family and friends, writing, exploring new foods, and embracing the outdoors.

CultureThrive, Founder & Principal Researcher and Strategist

Board Term: 2025-2027, External Committee

Denise Montgomery is founder of CultureThrive, a consulting practice through which she works globally, nationally, and locally to grow and guide investment in youth programs, healthcare, and the arts, and to strengthen youth program quality. 
Globally recognized for her expertise in creative youth development (CYD), she has contributed more than a dozen publications to the field of CYD and is author of the National Blueprint to Advance Creative Youth Development. Her work has been covered by National Public Radio, The Washington Post, and Youth Today, among other media outlets. 
Denise is an invited member of World Education Resource Association's Task Force on Global Research in Extended Education and a founding member of GELYDA, the Global Expanded Learning and Youth Development Association.
Denise is an education advisor to the National Museum of the American Latino and serves on the board of the New Children’s Museum. She lives with her family in San Diego, California.

Partnership for Children and Youth, Co-CEO

Board Term: 2025-2028, External Committee

Aleah Rosario has over ten years experience advancing equity in the youth development field and is currently the Co-Chief Executive Officer with the Partnership for Children and Youth. Previously, with the California AfterSchool Network, she led the development of responsive policies and strategies that uplift, advance, and bring dignity to the youth worker workforce. Her commitment to the workforce was honed during her time with the California School-Age Consortium where she engaged with hundreds of committed, skilled, and equity-centered youth-serving leaders and advocates. Born and raised in rural central California, Aleah is descended from five generations of women of color activists in the Central Valley, received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from CSU Stanislaus, and is an alum of the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship which aims to equip participants with a real-world understanding of the art, science, possibilities, and realities of policymaking around afterschool and expanded learning.

Woodcraft Rangers, Chief Program Officer

Board Term: 2024-2026, Vice President of External Committee

Danny Salas, Chief Program Officer, oversees the Woodcraft Rangers expanded learning programs that cover a range of specialty areas including STEM programming, Visual & Performing Arts, Literacy & Numeracy, etc., while guiding a team of Directors and Program Managers who are responsible for over 950 passionate and highly trained site-based site coordinators and club leaders. In this role, Danny has overseen Woodcraft Rangers Back 2 Woodcraft Rangers Training Academy, PLAY Conference , a Peer Learning and Youth conference, Site coordinator training Academy, and a County wide Continuous Quality Improvement efforts in Expanded Learning. He has been instrumental in the formation of partnerships that support inclusion of neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ youth. As a native Angelino from the Boyle Heights neighborhood, Danny has a deep commitment to communities that are historically underserved. He is passionate about mentoring and coaching youth and staff to achieve their greatest potential and has successfully led the program team to develop and leverage partnerships that uplift communities.