Formerly Executive Director of the Training and Research Institute for Residential Youth Centers in New Haven, CT; San Diego Youth and Community Services; and Watson and Associates International. Paul began his career as a youth organizer at the age of 17. He has a Master’s degree from Springfield College. He began a consultant organization in 1998 and specialized in Community Development, Youth Development, Child Welfare, and Organizational Development. He successfully completed International projects in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan), The Netherlands, Brazil, Jamaica, and Egypt. He is a national trainer in Youth Development and a member of the Community Youth Development Design Team. He was trained as an ICA Participatory Facilitator. Paul has also served as faculty at Springfield College, New School of Architecture and Design, San Diego City College, and UC San Diego. Paul has won numerous awards and has published both books and articles.

Khea Pollard (she/her) is a Justice Program Manager for the National Association of Counties, County Innovations Lab, serving County governments across the United States. Khea’s work focuses on the intersection of behavioral health; criminal justice reform; and equity, supporting counties participating in NACo’s flagship initiative “Stepping Up” to reduce the number of individuals with mental illness in county jails. Prior to this role, Khea was the Health and Human Services Policy Advisor and Community Representative for County Supervisor Greg Cox, advising the Supervisor on issues pertaining to children and youth, child welfare, juvenile justice, safety net and eligibility programs, behavioral health and the County Probation Department. She coordinated the Neighborhood Reinvestment and Community Enhancement grant programs on behalf of Supervisor Cox, allocating millions of dollars to community-based organizations over the course of six years. A native San Diegan, Khea graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) with a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies. She held multiple leadership positions during her time at USD and is a recipient of the prestigious Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges, an award recognizing academic excellence, leadership in extracurricular activities, citizenship and services to the school, and potential for future achievement. She obtained her master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management at the University of San Diego and has worked on numerous nonprofit consulting projects in the areas of finance, strategic planning, civic engagement, human resources and more. Khea’s passion project is her coffee shop co-owned by her and her mother, Cynthia Ajani. Café X: By Any Beans Necessary’s mission is to build a sacred space that nurtures Black cultural heritage in San Diego while creating generational wealth for its members and surrounding community. Blending advocacy with organizational precision, Café X is connecting people throughout the San Diego region, developing a shared vision to improve the quality of life in marginalized communities – one cup of coffee at a time. Khea also serves on the Executive Committee of the Black Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (BWILD) and is a proud RISE Urban Leadership Program Alumni.

Ashley Rodriguez (she/her) is the Director of Development at Voice of San Diego. Originally from Northern California, she’s made San Diego her home after receiving her B.A. from San Diego State University and an M.A. in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from University of San Diego. She is passionate about the nonprofit sector and serves as the President of the Sherman Heights Community Center, Programming Chair for the San Diego Leadership Alliance, and member of the Victory Fund Campaign board. Ashley spends her free time bopping around San Diego with her two small dogs.

Joshua Piedra (he/him) joined the Board in 2022. Growing up in a working-class immigrant family, Joshua learned the importance of community from a young age. His lived experiences have shaped his values of empathy, compassion, and justice. Personally, he is committed to empowering his community as a grassroots organizer and advocate for public policy that centers on social and racial equity. Professionally, he has worked in both labor and local nonprofit work.

Margie de Ruyter (she/her) is a coordinator with the San Diego County Office of Education’s College and Career Readiness department, providing career technical education support to K12 school districts and the County’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools. She participates on the community college regional consortium’s Strong Workforce Program workgroups to help inform priorities and goals for K-12 funding and provides support to the College and Career Readiness team in developing strategies to enhance and develop career pathways for K-12 districts. In addition, Margie has over 20 years of experience in the administration and oversight of workforce development funds for the San Diego County region. She led the design, development and implementation of youth and adult workforce training programs, managed procurement processes, monitored annual performance accountability and provided workforce board support. As a consultant with the Public Consulting Group, she led projects within the public workforce development domain, providing subject matter expertise to state and regional clients, designing and implementing best practice solutions. Margie is a workforce development coach for CA Workforce Development Board’s Workforce Accelerator Fund grantees. Margie currently serves on the board of Youth Will and Harmonium Inc. She has a B.A. in Human Services Administration from Springfield College, an Executive Management Certificate from UCLA, and will complete her MPA from Univ of Mass Global in June 2021. Margie enjoys travel and exploring the outdoors hiking throughout SD county.

James Halliday (he/him) is currently the Executive Director of A Reason To Survive (ARTS), a creative youth development nonprofit and community arts center located in National City, CA. In previous roles, James was Regional Manager of Collective Shift/LRNG, an MacArthur Foundation-funded education technology platform focused on credentialing out-of-school learning; before that, he was Program Director for the Education Synergy Alliance, where he advanced excellence and equity in school districts across San Diego. After graduating from Stanford, James completed graduate studies abroad, then worked as a journalist for a decade in Eastern Europe and Turkey. James is a serial social entrepreneur; a member of the Rotary 33 chapter in San Diego; board member for the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation and Youth Will; and sits on the City of San Diego’s Citizens Advisory Board on Police-Community Relations. When he’s not working, he’s cooking. When he’s not inside, he’s on hiking or playing tennis. When he’s not here, he’s across the border, in Valle de Guadalupe or at a Xolos match.