Our Team
Ricardo Mexia, Executive Director
Ricardo began his career as a teacher working for the Colombian Ministry of Education in Medellín, Colombia and has since managed nonprofit teams in Chicago and New York. Ricardo is a Vice President at major financial institution in Los Angeles. He holds a BS in Journalism from St. John’s University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a Consortium and Net Impact Fellow.
Dulce Mexia, Director of Donor Relations
Dulce has a 15+ year proven track record of success in sales and corporate development throughout Southern California. She is a licensed commercial life and health insurance representative in several states, including California, New York and Illinois. An accountant by trade, she has focused her career on developing client relationships.
Raquel Garcia, Director of Operations & Finance
Raquel, an LA native, is an operations professional with over 8 years of experience running teams in both multinational organizations, as well as small franchises across the East Coast. She holds a BS in Business Administration and Management from Cal Poly - Pomona.
Board of Directors
Daniel Mexia, Chairman
Daniel is a consultant at a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology startup based in Orange County. He has worked as an engineer and manager at several major pharmaceuticals firms throughout Southern California. Daniel holds a BS in Software Systems Engineering from Colorado Technical University.
Wajdie Ahmad
Wajdie is a biopharmaceutical executive with over 19 years of industry experience. He is the co-founder of three early stage Biotech startups and is an active investor in the biotech / pharma sector. He served as the co-founder and COO of Bonti until the company was acquired by Allergan in 2018 for the upfront payment of $195M. Prior to Bonti, Wajdie worked at Allergan for over 13 years in various roles within the Biologics manufacturing and development groups, which includes Botox and other biologics programs. Wajdie received his BS in Biology from the University of California, Riverside and his MBA in Management from the University of California, Irvine.
Humberto Mexia, Jr.
Junior is a Building Automation Manager with over 20 years of experience working throughout Southern California. He began his career at A & G Instruments and gradually progressed through positions in programming, management and sales at various organizations. Most recently, Junior was an instrumental leader in the nearly 3x divisional growth of a large engineering firm in Los Angeles. He is currently the Client Relations Director at Next Level Energy Management, a nationwide engineering firm. Junior currently holds two technical degrees in Electrical Engineering and Automation Technology as well as an MBA.
Nancy Guzman
Nancy Guzman is a real estate developer with experience in residential investing, hospitality, and affordable housing. She is Director of Development at the Housing Authority of Cook County where she manages projects from conception through financing, design, entitlements, construction and disposition. Nancy has her BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Cornell where she was a Consortium and Forte Fellow.
Cynthia Luquin
Cynthia is an insurance professional and a partner at DTLA Benefits, a benefits enrollment firm based in Los Angeles. She has invested in providing people and businesses the insurance protection they need for more than 18 years. Cynthia's clients would describe her as honest, helpful and hardworking. She is happily married and has one child. Outside of work, she enjoys being a mother, volunteering and spending time with family and friends. Cynthia graduated from UC Santa Barbara.