Staff

Naya Bloom is an Executive Coach and Independent Consultant at Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), a national nonprofit leadership development organization working to end the injustice of educational inequity by inspiring and supporting a diverse set of leaders with classroom experience to engage civically and politically. Naya’s coaching work focuses in the areas of policy, advocacy and non-profit management. Prior to LEE, she spent ten years in senior leadership roles at Teach For America most recently as Vice President of Social Innovation & Alumni Leadership Development. Before this, Naya served as the Executive Director of Norwood Healthy Start Family Resource Center, a school-based non-profit in South Los Angeles for six years. Naya began her career as a teacher in Washington DC Public Schools as a Teach For America Corps Member. Naya holds a BA in Latin American Studies and Latin American Literature from Smith College and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Pepperdine University. She joined the board in January 2014.
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James K. Bray is an equity investment analyst for Capital Research Global Investors in Los Angeles, with research responsibilities for U.S. small-capitalization companies. He earned a B.S. in Information Systems Management from New York University and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. Mr. Bray joined the board in October 2010.

Juan Bustamante is an associate at Bocarsly Emden Cowan Esmail & Arndt LLP, where he practices real estate law with a focus on affordable housing and community development. He represents developers and investors in connection with the acquisition, financing and development of real estate, primarily in transactions involving federal low-income housing tax credits and New Markets Tax Credits. Mr. Bustamante received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he was a Frank J. Guarini Government Scholar and a researcher at the Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy. Mr. Bustamante earned his B.S. in Earth Systems and his M.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. He joined the board in 2017.

Veronica is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who received her Bachelor's in Science from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, CA. She received her Master's in Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration from Dominican University in River Forest, IL. Dominican University was also where Veronica completed her dietetic internship, providing nutritional services to communities in the inner cities and suburbs of Chicago. Since then Veronica has been utilizing her dietetic skills to help individuals, families and communities re-define their relationship with food. In addition, her specialization in nutrition informatics, weight management, disordered eating, adolescent and pediatric nutrition, mindful eating, and food service management, has allowed her to be successful in her previous role at Cedars-Sinai. Her leadership skills have contributed to developing sustainable healthy choices for consumers in both the English and Spanish speaking communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Veronica enjoys sharing her passion of cooking and "fun facts" with others about nutrition. She also enjoys the outdoors, playing soccer and sharing her yoga practice with friends and family. She is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the California Dietetic Association.

Grant L. Cambridge has served on the Value Schools Board since 2007 and chaired it since 2011. He is a Partner and equity portfolio manager at Capital Group, which he joined in 1997. Mr. Cambridge earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, a master’s degree from Suffolk University, and a bachelor’s of science degree from Bentley University. Mr. Cambridge has been involved with many civic and community organizations. He also Founded the Back East Scholars Trip (BEST) for Value Schools students. In addition to serving on the School Board and Foundation Board of Value Schools. He is currently a member of the Board of Overseers of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in Pasadena, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut, and serves as a Trustee of the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria.
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Ms. Chavez brings a lifetime of experience to the role of Chief of Operations and Compliance at Value Schools. Ms. Chavez began working with Value Schools In 2005 as a 7th grade Math and Science teacher. She was promoted to Assistant Principal in 2007 and took the role of Principal in 2012. In those roles, Ms. Chavez worked collaboratively with teachers, staff, administrators and parents to ensure that students at Downtown Value School were academic achievers, goal seekers, respectful scholars, and global citizens. From 2017-2019, Ms. Chavez held the role of Attendance Specialist and helped raise ADA considerably and secure over $100,000 in additional educational funding for our schools each year. With a BS in Psychology from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), an MA in Education and Administrative Credential from the California State University, Sacramento, Ms. Chavez has supported students throughout her career. Her work with children in inner-city schools has been and continues to be her passion as she strives to remain knowledgeable about current community and education issues that impact students and their families.

Rudy DeSantiago worked over fifteen years for Sodexo a French based food services and facilities management company as an operations manager and accountant. During his years with Sodexo he worked for Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Toyota’s North American Corporate Headquarters, California Science Center, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Kaiser Permanente and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. His experience with a diverse pool of industries and management of staffs large and small have proven to be an asset with employee and vendor relations. Rudy was born in Los Angeles and raised in nearby Sunland, CA. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Colorado Tech University.

Mr. David Doyle began his teaching career as a journalism teacher in 1984 when he joined Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He took the role of Vice Principal at Notre Dame in 1989, and Principal in 1991. During his Principalship, Mr. Doyle implemented a student-centered curriculum based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and Fr. Basil Moreau’s philosophy of educating the “hearts and minds” of students, and earned the school an Excellence in Education Award from the U.S. Department of Education. In 1997 Mr. Doyle left Notre Dame High School for an academic counseling position at Crespi High School in Encino, California, changing the educational approach there as he did at Notre Dame. In 2003, Dr. Jerome Porath, Value Schools founder and former Superintendent of Catholic Schools in Los Angeles, hired Mr. Doyle as Values Schools’ first high school Principal. In 2014, Mr. Doyle left Central City Value to lead Value Schools’ second and newly-chartered University Prep Value High School. In 2017, Mr. Doyle was hired by the Board of Directors of Value Schools as the President and CEO of Value Schools and President of the Value Schools Foundation. In 2022, The Board of Directors expanded the role of the Value Schools Foundation, and asked Mr. Doyle to continue as its President. Mr. Doyle received his B.A. in American Studies from University of Notre Dame in 1984, and a M.A. of Education from University of San Francisco in 1995.

Jose Esquivel came to the United States when he was 17 years old. Jose joined the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA) as a day laborer and became aware of the root causes of poverty. In 1995, he began teaching Spanish literacy, and later, taught English as a Second Language and US Citizenship classes. In 1997, he started teaching basic computer literacy to day laborers, domestic workers, ESL, and literacy volunteers. He became a self-taught computer specialist and provided technical support to staff, members, volunteers, and other organizations, continuing at IDEPSCA in the role of Director of the Technology Project. He also developed training programs and related materials for IDEPSCA's different projects. His involvement with IDEPSCA helped him learn to plan and facilitate workshops on popular education. Mr. Esquivel had a personal commitment to helping the poor, Latino immigrant and the disenfranchised. His bilingual and biliterate skills help to ensure the democratization of institutions as society come to grip with our current political reality.

Kate Farrar has spent nearly 3 decades as an education and non-profit leader. She began her career as a middle school English/ELD teacher in the Compton Unified School District and continued as a teacher and guidance counselor in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and as a charter school principal in Los Angeles. In the non-profit sector, Kate has served in multiple roles for Teach for America and also at Leadership for Educational Equity, a nonprofit leadership development organization inspiring and supporting a network of civic leaders to end the injustice of educational inequity. Kate is currently the Chief of Staff at Equitas Academy Charter Schools. Kate has proudly served as a Value Schools Board Member since 2017.
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Jody Foldesy is a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group, based in the Los Angeles office. As a core member of BCG's Corporate Development practice area, he has extensive experience in developing corporate strategy. Mr. Foldesy has devoted a significant amount of his time at BCG to non-profit clients, including several in the public education space. He helped Los Angeles Unified School District develop its innovation division (I-Division) and its school report cards. He also helped Cleveland Metropolitan School District to launch a major transformation and the State of Arizona to develop its education strategy and policies. Mr. Foldesy holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

Jeffrey Garcia is an Investment Analyst at the Capital Group Companies, where he is responsible for coverage of Latin American equities. Before joining Capital, Mr. Garcia graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Management Science and Engineering. Passionate about access to high-quality education, Mr. Garcia has worked at the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education and as an educator at Stanford College Prep. Mr. Garcia began his involvement with Value Schools as a volunteer tutor at Central City Value High School, and was invited to join the board in June 2012.
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Vincent (Vince) Gonzales is an Investment Analyst at the Capital Group Companies, where he is responsible for research coverage of fixed income structured products. Mr. Gonzales earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in management science & engineering from Stanford University. Before joining Capital Group, Mr. Gonzales was an associate at Newstone Capital Partners and an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs. Throughout his academic and professional experience, Mr. Gonzales has volunteered with several youth mentoring and education organizations. As a Los Angeles native and graduate of the local public school system, and a first-generation college graduate, he is passionate about increasing student and parent awareness of higher-education opportunities and financing alternatives.
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Peter Hildebrandt is a core member of the Technology Advantage; Financial Institutions; Technology, Media, & Telecommunications; and Operations practices at The Boston Consulting Group. Peter leads the Agile topic for BCG in North America and has strong experience in process optimization, robotics, Agile at Scale, and Lean. Peter focuses on helping organizations change their ways of working and their decision-making paradigms to become faster, nimbler, and more responsive by leveraging Agile principles and approaches. He is interested in applying Agile principles across industries and functional areas, from financial services to industrial goods and from consumer goods to the public sector in areas as diverse as finance, HR, call centers, back office operations, and even large capital projects. Before joining the firm, Peter was a Research Scholar in Computer Science at University of California Berkeley. Peter joined the Value Schools Foundation Board in 2018.

Rhonda Hoffarth has been a senior executive with broad business acumen and multi-discipline experience in small- to mid-size ($10M to $500M) companies for many years. Blending strategic focus with management execution, Ms. Hoffarth helped companies maintain their competitive advantage, mitigate corporate risk and grow four-fold. Ms. Hoffarth capitalized on learning agility which has allowed her to take on new, never-before-experienced challenges and successfully manage Value Schools' success.

Joshua Julian has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit education, curriculum development and technical training. He focuses currently on fundraising, communications, event planning, and material production.

Tom Levee is a television broadcast sales professional, currently serving as Vice President and Local Sales Manager of KABC-TV, Los Angeles. Prior to taking this position, Tom served as Vice President and National Sales Manager, and Account Executive at KABC-TV. Before joining KABC-TV, Tom was an Account Executive at television rep companies United Television Sales, Telerep and Seltel. He attended UCLA earning his BA in Political Science in 1986, after graduating from Palisades High School here in Los Angeles. Tom is a native Angeleno and currently lives in Manhattan Beach with his wife and their two children. Mr. Levee joined the board on March 20, 2012.

Jennifer Lopez grew up in the Koreatown Downtown Los Angeles Community since childhood. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a B. A in Anthropology in 2015 with an emphasis on culture and graduated with an M.Ed in School Counseling and Pupil Personnel Services credential in 2020 from the University of Southern California. Her commitment and passion for her community comes from her academic influence that considers history of culture, meaning making, and narrative to frame her understanding of other individuals’ lived experiences as an emergence of realities. These narratives provide a framework in which Ms. Lopez evaluates and analyzes the proximal and distal factors and the interconnected web of power dynamics that directly and indirectly impact the lives of individuals and how we as educators respond to their concerns and needs. Ms. Lopez had previously worked with Value Schools as a substitute Academic Counselor for Central City Value High School to support our students matriculate through the expectations and requirements for high school graduation, college applications, and social emotional support. After her departure, her husband and Ms. Lopez accepted a business opportunity and became the new owners of Castillo’s Burgers, formerly known as Burger Factory. After some time, Ms. Lopez decided to return to her true passion in Education with Value Schools. In her position, Ms. Lopez intends to collaborate with school leadership and the overall community to encourage systemic change and provide resources to families to promote self-advocacy.

In her role as Attendance Specialist, Ms. Nancy Lopez provides support to Value Schools students experiencing high levels of absenteeism. Partnering with students, parents and teachers from all four schools, Ms. Lopez combines her personal and professional experience in the field of education and academic training to support students’ academic, social and emotional needs as they reach their fullest potential. Ms. Lopez holds a Master’s in School Counseling from Loyola Marymount University, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Human Biology and Society from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has worked with students of all ages as a tutor, teacher’s assistant, and early childhood teacher from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Her passion for education and desire to serve at-promise students originates from her own upbringing. As the daughter of indigenous Mexican immigrants growing up in South Los Angeles, Ms. Lopez and her family experienced first-hand some of the same obstacles our students face and overcome. Ms. Lopez strives to remain knowledgeable, open and empathetic to the many unique challenges currently affecting our students and their families.

Erika Martinez is the proud mother of a Downtown Value School student and a Central City Value High School graduate. Ms. Martinez has been an active member of the Value Schools community, having served at Downtown Value School as PTO Treasurer and a member of the School Site Council. She currently volunteers her time teaching computer classes for Downtown Value School parents. Originally from Mexico, Ms. Martinez has lived in Los Angeles for the past 20 years. A graduate of Manual Arts High School in South Los Angeles, Ms. Martinez is Accounts Manager at D'Alessio Law Group’s Los Angeles office.
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Matthew (Matt) O’Connor is President of American Funds Distributors in the Los Angeles office of Capital Group and a Chartered Financial Analyst®. Before joining Capital Group, he was the managing director of business development at Putnam Investments. Mr. O’Connor holds an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Saint Anselm College. He began his Value Schools Foundation service in 2017.

Jose Ramos is the Director of Community Services for Los Angeles County at the Children’s Bureau of Southern California, where his responsibilities include staff oversight and evaluation, grant writing, and representing the bureau to Los Angeles communities. Mr. Ramos has worked closely with community leaders to strengthen the community and to make positive changes to the lives of families. He holds a Master of Social Work degree from California State University at Long Beach, has worked for the Children’s Bureau since 1994, and has more than two decades of experience working in the child welfare field. Mr. Ramos also shares the immigrant experience, having been born in Ecuador and coming to the United States at the age of 10. Mr. Ramos joined the board in June 2011.
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Ms. Riley holds a bachelor's degree in History from California State University, Fullerton, and a master's in Educational Leadership from Loyola Marymount University with a specific focus on Charter School Leadership. She has over 15 years of experience as a teacher, principal, and administrator, and has been a major contributor to student success in primary and secondary educational environments. With a long history of understanding and implementing best practices on an instructional level, Ms. Riley fundamentally grasps the importance of our values. She understands that student potential, respect for oneself and others, developing caring communities and giving back all require a strong focus on academic excellence.

Amanda Sweeney is a UX Design Lead in the Los Angeles office of Capital Group, which she joined in 2016 after leading national marketing campaigns at CBRE. Ms. Sweeney also taught AP English Literature at BASIS Tucson North, a highly ranked Arizona charter school. Through Capital Group, in conjunction with the Riordan Leadership Institute, Ms. Sweeney completed a nine-month fellowship with Value Schools in 2017, where she drove the creative strategy and effort behind the We Climb campaign, the first Value Schools’ capital campaign. Currently, Ms. Sweeney is a member of the Foundation Board and chairs the To and Through Committee to get kids both to and through college successfully. Ms. Sweeney holds a BA with highest honors from Wesleyan University, a certificate from Worcester College at Oxford University, and a MA from the University of Chicago.

Annie Wu works in Investor Relations at Public Storage. She has over 15 years of experience working in real estate and financial services in roles including investment product management, investment banking, equity research, private wealth management, and investor relations. Prior to her current role, she worked in Investor Relations at a private real estate investment firm. She has worked in firms including Capital Group, Bessemer Trust, and Citigroup and worked in Beijing, New York and Boston. She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.