KidWorks is honored to welcome three new members to our Board of Directors. They join a diverse and talented team of leaders who help set our strategic direction, governance and oversight.
We also deeply thank departing board members Brandon Howald, of Paul Hastings and Steven Craig, Chief Executive Officer of Craig Realty Group, who have completed their prescribed board terms. Steven continues to actively serve as Chairman of our Advisory Council and Brandon continues to serve on our Technology Committee.
We’d like you to get to know our three new board members:
Ethan Kay is founder and principal of Pacific Rim Capital Management, LLC. Prior to launching PacRim, Ethan successfully established businesses in a variety of industries from online social networking, global textiles and commercial real estate. In 2011, Ethan started an option-based strategy, which is now known as Pacific Rim Structured Alpha. He received his B.A. in International Studies from Southern Methodist University and returned to his alma mater for his MBA with a concentration in Finance.
Ethan decided to become involved with KidWorks because of our longtime stated mission: “To restore at-risk neighborhoods, one life at a time.”
“I’m a firm believer in education and KidWorks offers the best afterschool and after-hours programs for both students and parents,” he says. “My sincere hope is for KidWorks to continue to be the pillar to the local community, to parents and students--from a being and a doing perspective. Moreover, I would like to see the preschool education component grow. That’s important to me since early childhood education is one of my passions.”
Ethan grew up in Orange County. He and his wife, Nina, have two small boys who have already toured KidWorks preschool.
“My hobbies are learning about early childhood education and combat sports,” he says. “I enjoy visiting local preschools and combat gyms whenever I travel.”
Dr. Susie López-Guerra, Ed. D, is Director of Community Relations for the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), where she has developed a comprehensive network of partnerships with stakeholders throughout the county. She collaborates with local businesses, community organizations, parent groups, other SAUSD departments and school sites to establish and leverage mutually beneficial relationships. A first-generation college graduate, Susie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside; Master’s Degree from California State University, Fullerton and Doctorate Degree from the University of Southern California in Teacher Education in Multicultural Societies. She and her husband, Isidro, are the proud parents of Isabella, 14-years-old.
You could say that Susie’s Santa Ana roots go back further even than KidWorks!
“My father's father's side of the family has lived in Santa Ana since the 1880's,” she says. “My grandfather migrated his family back to Santa Ana in the early 1970's and lived just down the street from KidWorks main Dan Donahue Center. I first learned about KidWorks through a family whose children I had the privilege of teaching during my tenure as a teacher. Since then, it has been with admiration and honor that I am committed to share the vision and support KidWorks.”
Susie adds, “I was born and have chosen to live and work in Santa Ana because it is my community and I feel a moral imperative to give back. I come from a very large and loving extended family comprised of over 150 first cousins who reside mostly throughout Orange County. Because I know what our future is capable of achieving, I am dedicated to our youth and families.”
Susie’s hobbies are reading and traveling with her family.
David Oh is an Executive Vice President at PIMCO and co-leads the firm’s U.S. institutional business development. He is also an account manager in the Newport Beach office, focused on managing relationships with corporations and healthcare organizations. David has 13 years of investment and financial services experience. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and undergraduate degrees in mathematical methods in the social sciences and economics from Northwestern University.
PIMCO is an active KidWorks supporter, and David became involved with us through the corporation’s Purpose at PIMCO Foundation.
“My family moved to Santa Ana from Seoul, Korea when I was only three-years-old, living in a modest apartment not too far from where the Dan Donahue Center is now located,” David says. “As a board member, I want to do all I can to make a positive impact on even more students through education, mentoring and college success.”
David is married to Connie, an information technology professional at a law firm. They have two daughters, Victoria, 11 and Addison, eight. The entire family is active in a variety of sports. David also has an adventurous side. “As a university graduate, I participated in the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona,” he says. He survived the event without so much as a scratch!
Please join us in welcoming our three new board members and thanking our two departing board members for their service and dedication to KidWorks.