Executive Director

Natalia Flores is the Deputy Chief of Program and Operations at THINK Together, the largest provider of expanded learning programs in California serving over 100,000 students at more than 400 locations in over 40 school districts and charter partners. Through this work Ms. Flores works closely with leadership to provide programs and services to students with the goal to Change the Odds for Kids.  Ms. Flores is the daughter to immigrant parents from Jalisco, Mexico, a Lynwood Unified School District alumnus, and continues to be a Lynwood resident. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master’s degree in Education from Cal State University, Long Beach.  Ms. Flores loves to travel, spend time with her family and friends, and looks forward to the impact that the foundation will have in the Lynwood community.

Mark Flores is Director of Recreation and Community Services for the City of Lynwood. Mr. Flores has over 25 years of experience managing and developing municipal recreation and community programs, facilities, and large-scale public events. He received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University.

Theresa Price is founder and president of the National College Resources Foundation and The College Expo, which connect students to colleges, universities, and post-secondary certification programs, as well as scholarships and college preparatory programs and resources. Ms. Price began her career in radio and television working for KGFJ-AM, KACE-FM, KCBS-TV, and Cox Broadcasting before founding her own marketing firm, Jabez 3 Enterprises, serving entertainment and recording companies, as well as local businesses. She attended California State University, Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

Lalo Trujillo is the founder and principal of Mission Trail Advisors, LLC, which specializes in advising school districts and municipal entities on financing for facilities improvement programs. He has over 25 years of experience in the commercial banking and municipal bond industry and has held leadership positions at the municipal bond departments of major commercial banks, investment banks, and in the financial advisory industry. Mr. Trujillo has served as Director of Finance for a city and a governmental agency in southern California. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Roberto Andrade is a 12th grader at Lynwood High School. He is proud of his ability to overcome obstacles and adapt. Despite the countless challenges he has faced from school, personal life, and physically, he is always encouraged to persevere to reach his full potential. He strives each day to get closer to his goal of stability and to have the means to help support his friends and loved ones.

Jazmin Castellanos is an 12th grade student at Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School (FHS).In addition to managing her AP and IB classes, she is currently in ASB and holds the position of junior class president and commissioner of spirit. She has also received the titles of class president her freshman year, and class vice-president her sophomore year. Jazmin was voted Homecoming princess and was able to help bring spirit on campus during festivities. In addition, Jazmin is in the National Honors Society and is the FHS Girls Empowerment club president.

Maylin De Leon is a Sr. Account Executive at Google. Maylin has specialized in the U.S. Hispanic and African American markets for her entire career in sales & marketing, and brings over 15 years of experience tapping into cultural expertise, audience data/insights and innovative mediums of digital communication to help brands and advertising agencies effectively connect with multicultural consumers.

Julian Del Real-Calleros was raised in Lynwood with his sisters by proud Mexican immigrants. He attended Will Rogers Elementary, J.P. Abbott Elementary, Lynwood Middle School, and Lynwood High School before graduating from Vista High School in 2008.Julian was not an ideal student in his youth, and he did not receive any special recognitions. He did, however, have support from teachers and counselors, enough support to motivate him to enroll at Cerritos College. He was heavily involved with the student organization before transferring to the University of California, Davis. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with an emphasis in Literature, Theory, and Criticism and a minor in Film Studies. While a UC Davis student, Julian joined the international law co-ed fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, and served as its Community Service chair. During this time, he found a job as a high school tutor, and I found my passion for teaching. Julian returned to SoCal and worked for Volunteers of America Los Angeles while working on his teacher’s credential at CSU Dominguez Hills. He is currently a full-time teacher with Los Angeles Unified School District. As a member of the school board, Julian hopes to inspire young Lynwoodians to pursue higher education. In addition to being a board member and full-time teacher, Julian is also involved with the Lynwood community as a planning commissioner and baseball coach with Lynwood Youth Baseball & Softball. When he is not working, coaching, and advocating for our community, Julian enjoys reading books, watching movies, and spending time with my family and friends.

Dr. Shawna Petit-Dinkins is Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Lynwood Unified School District. She has over 25 years of experience in education and has worked for Los Angeles Unified and Chino Valley Unified school districts as a teacher, instructional coach, secondary literacy expert, program administrator, principal, director of special education, and director of program improvement. Dr. Dinkins dedicated her professional career to serving students and families and advocating on their behalf. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles a Doctorate of Education in Urban Leadership from the University of Southern California.

Stephen Faulk is the Business Operations Compliance Manager for American Honda Finance Corporation where he uses his experience as a lawyer for 15 years to ensure large companies protect the public and follow the rules. He joined Honda in 2012 as part of its Corporate Legal Department working with legal matters concerning product liability and finance law. Prior to Honda, Stephen worked for a law firm Bowman and Brooke. Stephen is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Pepperdine University School of Law.

Patrick’s professional experience includes serving as the Assistant Superintendent of Innovation for the San Diego County Office of Education where he led county-wide efforts around career technical education, educational technology, professional learning and data science. Patrick has also served as an executive board member of the Classroom of the Future Foundation, a non-profit located in San Diego focused on innovation in education. Prior to San Diego, Patrick served as the district’s Asst Superintendent of Education Services and as the district's first Chief Technology Officer, setting the vision and course for Lynwood Unified’s technology operations and providing leadership and expertise regarding information and technology systems within the district. Patrick has also served as the Director of Educational Technology and Information Services with the Huntington Beach Union High School District in Orange County and has held executive and administrative positions with the Montebello Unified School District. Patrick is a credentialed administrator and teacher and began his career teaching mathematics at the secondary level. Patrick has experience working in the private sector as a web and software developer, project manager, and programmer. Patrick received his Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California in 2013 and has additional degrees from Cal State Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona.

Anqui Renise Heming has been a parent volunteer with the Lynwood Unified School District (LUSD)for 15 years. She has four children who have attended LUSD schools including: Mark Twain, Rosa Parks, Lynwood Middle School, and Firebaugh High School. Anqui works with and supports the Lynwood African American Parent Advisory Council and the Equity Department. She also is the owner of A.R. Starlite Productions (ARSP),which promotes growth, development and appreciation of music through the arts, with the Nova Troubadours Big Band, The Compton Conservatory of Music, and The Compton Sheriff's Annual Benefit and Toy Drive for the children of Compton, Lynwood and surrounding cities.

David A. Henriquez is Deputy Manager of Flight Electronics for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. He interest in space began in childhood pretending a tree in his backyard was a rocket ship he could use to explore the solar system. Today, Mr. Henriquez is responsible for managing development of the command, data handling, and motion control electronics used on JPL robotic missions, supervising a team of 120 employees. He has over 20 years of experience working on planetary missions from the Cassini Mission to Saturn to the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rover missions to Mars. Mr. Henriquez holds a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Rev. Rudy Rubio is married to Edna, they have4 children, and one granddaughter. He planted and serves as Pastor to" Reformed Church of Los Angeles" and alongside his family they minister to the communities of Lynwood, Compton, and Watts. He also serves as Spiritual Care Coordinator at MLK Community Hospital, and is passionate about leadership development.  He was raised on the streets of Los Angeles, involved with the gang-life, drugs, and had a spiritual awakening in prison. He holds a Bachelor in Human Services Mgmt. from the University of Phoenix, Master of Divinity and soon to be Doctorate of Ministry from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan.

Darrell Stewart is Business Development Manager for Intel Corporation in its State, Local and Education group.  He joined Intel in 2000 as part of its Reseller Channel Organization working with school districts to leverage E-Rate funding strategies.  Prior to Intel, Mr. Stewart worked for Anixter, Lucent Technologies and Brite Voice Systems.  He serves on the board of the California Emerging Technology Fund, Loyola High School, and Classroom of the Future.  Mr. Stewart is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dennis Wang has over 15 years’ experience in strategy consulting and corporate development in the technology industry. Dennis Wang serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Golden Star Technology (GST) executing business operations and exploring new solutions and markets. Dennis’ experience encompasses building company culture to the development of sales and engineering to a wide range of industry clients on a national and global level.Prior to joining GST, Dennis worked as a financial due diligence analyst for M&A deals at KPMG and a Senior Strategic Consultant at Galt & Company, a NYC-based boutique consulting firm.Dennis serves as a Board of Regents for Georgetown University as well as the member of the Georgetown Finance Board. He is Secretary for the AJ Scholarship Foundation which grants over 50+ scholarships to community college students each year. He is a member of the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Partner Advisory Council, member of the Hewlett-Packard Inc. Public Sector Advisory Council and member of the Lenovo Advisory Board.Dennis currently resides in downtown Los Angeles and received his Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University and an Executive MBA from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Gudiel Crosthwaite is Superintendent of the Lynwood Unified School District, and joined the district in 2010 as Director of Elementary Reform. He began his career in education in 1994 as an eighth-grade teacher and later served as a high school English and English Language Development teacher before becoming an administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Crosthwaite earned an undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles. He holds two master’s degrees; one from California State University, Los Angeles in Educational Administration and another from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He earned his Ph.D in Education from Claremont Graduate University.