Michael Tubbs

What were you doing at age 26?

Michael D. Tubbs was making history. In 2016, he was elected Mayor of Stockton at 26-years-old. He was the city’s first African-American Mayor and the youngest Mayor of any major city in American history. As Mayor, Tubbs was lauded for his leadership and innovation. He raised over 20 million dollars to create the Stockton Scholars, a universal scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Additionally, he piloted the first mayor- led guaranteed income pilot in the country. Currently, he is the Special Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility and Opportunity; the Founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI); and the Founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC).

Under his leadership, Stockton was named an “All-America City” in 2017 and 2018 by the National Civic League. The city saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019, led the state of California in the decline of officer-involved shootings in 2019, and was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California. Additionally, it was recognized as one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the nation and was featured in an HBO documentary film, “Stockton on My Mind.”

Tubbs has been named a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics and The MIT Media Lab, a member of Fortune’s Top 40 under 40, a Forbes 30 under 30 All-Star Alumni, the “Most Valuable Mayor” by The Nation, the 2019 New Frontier Award Winner from the JFK Library, and the 2021 Civic Leadership Award winner from The King Center. Prior to his tenure as Mayor, Tubbs served as a Councilmember for the City of Stockton District 6, a high school
educator, and a fellow for the Stanford Design School and the Emerson Collective.

On November 16, 2021, Tubbs released “The Deeper The Roots: A Memoir of Hope and Home,” published by the Flatiron Books imprint, An Oprah Book. The book — which the LA Times describes as “intimate and insightful”—not only relates Tubbs’ story of growing up in poverty but lays his vision for leadership and policy that is more empathetic and responsive
to people who are struggling.

Josefina Lopez

Josefina López is best known for authoring the 1988 play and co-authoring the 2002 Sundance Film Festival Audience and Jury Award-winning film Real Women Have Curves, which were the source materials for the 2025 Broadway production of Real Women Have Curves:  The Musical, which garnered critical acclaim and 12 award nominations, including “Best Musical” nominations from the New York Drama League and Outer Critics Circle, as well as nominations for the New York Drama Critics Circle and two Tony Award nominations.

López started her writing career at 17 and has had productions produced of her many plays throughout the country.  López’s first short play, Simply Maria or the American Dream was filmed as a PBS special and won a Gold Award from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and an Emmy Award.

Other plays include:  Confessions of Women from East L.A.; Boyle Heights; Remembering Boyle Heights I and II, Hungry Woman in Paris; Detained in the Desert (which was also made into a feature film); Trío Los Machos (now in development as a musical); A Cat Named Mercy; Piñata Dreams; Drunk Girl; Lola Goes To Roma; A Cat Named Mercy; Hpysteria; A Woman Named Gloria; An Enemy of the Pueblo, Queen of the Rumba, Electrico and the 2025 award-winning film, 20 Pounds To Happiness (Eat. Love. Joy.) which López executive produced and wrote.

López has been working as a professional screenwriter for over 30 years, with many established producers like Norman Lear and Jaime Paglia to bring Latinos to television.  She has been the recipient of dozens of awards and accolades, and has penned seven books as an author.  López is the Founding Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, CA (founded on April 1, 2000).  Learn more at:  www.Josefinalopez.biz and www.casa0101.org @JosfinaLopezRWHC @realwomenhavecurvesthemusical @20PoundsToHappiness

Jose Serrano

José is driven by a simple yet powerful belief: every newcomer deserves to feel safe, welcomed and at home. As Director of Orange County’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA), he brings more than 12 years of experience in immigration law and refugee resettlement, along with a deep personal connection to the immigrant journey.

Between 2013 and 2016, José helped resettle over 800 refugees from across the globe—including Syria, Iraq, Iran, Uganda, Burma, Afghanistan, Armenia and Palestine—and represented dozens of asylum seekers in their immigration cases. His leadership extends beyond the courtroom and government office: he serves on immigrant and refugee task forces across California, sits on the Board of the Arab American Civic Council and co-creates spaces of belonging through the Refugee Highway Partnership of North America.

In 2017, he founded Little Brushstrokes, a creative sanctuary where refugee and immigrant children can heal and express themselves through art.

José’s passion is rooted in his own story—immigrating as a child, living nearly two decades without status and learning to navigate systems for his parents and community. He carries with him the resilience of his family and the love and welcome that have shaped his life, channeling both into building inclusive communities for the next generation of New Americans.

Gustavo Arellano

Gustavo Arellano is author of Orange County: A Personal History and Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and has been an essayist and reporter for various publications and a frequent commentator on radio and television. He was formerly editor of OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Orange County, California, and penned the award-winning “¡Ask a Mexican!,” a nationally syndicated column in which he answered any and all questions about America’s spiciest and largest minority. Gustavo is the recipient of awards ranging from the Los Angeles Press Club President’s Award to an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition and was recognized by the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a 2008 Spirit Award for his “exceptional vision, creativity, and work ethic.” He was part of the Los Angeles Times team that won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News and was a 2025 finalist for Commentary. Gustavo is a lifelong resident of Orange County and is the proud son of two Mexican immigrants, one whom came to this country in the trunk of a Chevy.

Jessica Escalante

Jessica Escalante, MA is the Director of CIELO’s Childcare Business Incubator Program and a first-generation Latina with over 20 years of experience serving children and families. She develops scalable programs that empower Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) and licensed childcare providers to grow as entrepreneurs, creating pathways for families to exit poverty and build thriving communities. Beyond her role at CIELO, Jessica enjoys traveling and uplifting her community through her enthusiasm and love for their growth journey.

Steve Kim

Steven Kim is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Project Kinship, a community-rooted organization where he has dedicated over two decades to supporting individuals impacted by incarceration, gang involvement, and systemic trauma. A leader in forensic social work, he has guided multidisciplinary teams in high-profile death penalty cases, uncovering early childhood trauma, and serves as a trusted trainer and consultant at state and federal levels. He formerly served on faculty at USC, where he co-created and taught the adolescent gang intervention course at the School of Social Work. He is now completing a Doctorate in Education and Organizational Leadership with a focus on trauma-informed systems. His work is grounded in the belief that healing begins through connection, dignity, and the understanding that people are more than their worst mistakes.

Tam Nguyen

Dr. Nguyen has over 20 years of experience as a business, community, and philanthropic leader. Currently, Mr. Nguyen is the President & co-owner of Advance Beauty College with campuses in Garden Grove and Laguna Hills, in Orange County, California. Additionally, Mr. Nguyen teaches business management at California (Cal) State Fullerton University as a member of their faculty since 2016. Mr. Nguyen serves on numerous boards such as the Orange County United Way as Vice Chair, Cal State Fullerton Philanthropic Board of Governors as Vice Chair, Garden Grove Community Foundation as President, Genesis Bank, Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce past chairman, Pacific Trade Culture Alliance, Orange Coast Memorial Community Benefits Foundation chair, and Orange County Transportation Authority director. Additionally, from 2010-2016, Mr. Nguyen served on the national board of directors for American Association of Cosmetology Schools and he holds a MD & MBA. 

Tam lives and works in Little Saigon, Orange County. He and his wife have three children active in music and sports.

Ryan Foland

Ryan Foland is a global keynote speaker, author, and personal branding expert. As Director of the UCI ANTrepreneur Center, he helps founders launch companies and tap into the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He wrote Ditch the Act and created the Getting Your SHIP Together series, beginning with SpeakerSHIP. A sailor, podcaster, and four-time TEDx speaker, Ryan is known for simplifying complex ideas with stick figures and storytelling. Learn more at https://ryan.online.

Teresa Blanco

Teresa Blanco is the Director of Community Engagement and Wellness at Northgate González Market. In her role, Ms. Blanco oversees the company’s wellness program, Viva La Salud, a cause-related marketing program in health and wellness for the retailer. 

She has 28 years of experience in marketing, with the last 19 years developing and managing partnerships with nonprofits. Her true passion lies in helping the community, and she feels proud to work for a Hispanic family-owned business with owners who are committed to helping store associates and their customers. 

Ms. Blanco manages monthly wellness theme events at the store level averaging more than 70 per month. In addition, she works with all store sales departments to bring in healthier products, oversees the bilingual nutrition tags at the shelf level, supports community grants involving the retail sector, including Southern CA Nutrition Incentive Program with UCSD, manages the yearly Northgate 5K’s and Cooking Up Change Orange County. Ms. Blanco has sat on the advisory board for Kid Healthy Obesity Prevention Program since 2011

Under her leadership, Northgate Market has been recognized and awarded multiple times by many community partners and the retail industry for efforts in education for consumers and associates on chronic disease and nutrition at the store level, free health screenings, and wellness resources within the community.  These combined efforts are helping the stores become health portals. 

Kelly Bruno Nelson

As Executive Director, Medi-Cal/CalAIM, Kelly Bruno-Nelson is responsible for oversight of the agency’s main health plan and its further development through the statewide California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative. She brings more than 25 years of experience serving vulnerable populations in Southern California through innovative work in health care and nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining CalOptima, Kelly was President and Chief Executive Officer of National Health Foundation (NHF), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization working to improve the health of underserved communities. Prior to NHF, she was Vice President of ONEgeneration in Van Nuys, California, a nationally recognized organization that provided an intergenerational program of adult day health care and childcare that brought together frail elderly and young children. Her earlier career also included leadership roles at a nursing home and in hospital-based social work. Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Azusa Pacific University, a master’s degree in social work from California State University, Long Beach and a Doctorate in social work from University of Southern California.

Emily Parker

Emily Parker is the Executive Director of the Butterfly Equity Foundation, a foundation that is committed to supporting food equity in Los Angeles County. Prior to joining the Foundation, Emily worked in grants management and operations at Fundamental, a Los Angeles-based philanthropic advising firm. Most recently Emily was the Director of Development for Food Forward, where she worked in partnership with nonprofits, philanthropists, and businesses to raise awareness and funds to fight hunger and food waste in Southern California.

Emily serves as the Vice President of the Board for Safe Place for Youth, is a member of the LA County Food Equity Roundtable and Food as Medicine Taskforce, serves on the Membership Committee for the Sustainable Ag Food & Systems Funders, and is a Co-Founder of and leads the LA Food Funders. She previously served as an advisor for Farm2People and was on the Board of The Road Theatre. Emily graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre.

Mark Lowry

Mark Lowry is Director of the OC Food Bank. During his tenure, the quantity of food distributed by the Food Bank has grown from two million pounds per year to over 26 million pounds annually. Over 300,000 vulnerable people now receive food from the OC Food Bank each month.  During the Food Banks’s COVID disaster response work in 2020, over 63 million pounds of food was distributed. 

Mark also secured funding to launch the OC Diaper Bank during 2020.

As an advocate, Mark works closely with elected officials on the local, state and federal levels, on issues related to social and economic justice. 

Mark has served on the Board of Directors and as an officer of several local, state-wide and national groups, including having served as President of the California Association of Food Banks.  Mark has received numerous awards including having been identified by the Orange County Register as one of Orange County’s 100 Most Influential People, 2015, 2019 and again in 2020.

The OC Food Bank is a program of the Community Action Partnership of Orange County, a private non-profit charity.

Heather Dion

Heather brings a unique skill set and professional background to her role as Chief Health and Wellness Director for the City of Irvine, Office of Health & Wellness. With over 25 years of experience in executive leadership across Orange County and a strong background in State legislative affairs, she is exceptionally well-equipped to drive impactful initiatives in this role. Dion has served as Chief Administrative Officer for Housing for Health OC, Interim Chief Administrative Officer at Be Well OC, and Interim Executive Director at Irvine Adult Day Health Services. She also led the Association of California Cities – Orange County, an organization that advocates for the interests of California cities on regional public policy issues. As Chief Health and Wellness Director, Dion leads the City’s efforts to develop and implement a strong safety net for Irvine-based at-risk populations.