OUR BOARD
Board Officers
Mr. Oscar Marquez currently serves as the president of El Monte Promise Foundation. He is a retired administrator from EL Monte City School District, where he spent sixteen years as the Director of Student Support Services. Mr. Marquez also spent eight years as an English teacher at South El Monte High School, and before then he was an elementary and middle school teacher in the El Rancho Unified School District for eleven years. He has served in the Executive Committee for El Monte Promise Foundation since its inception in 2012.
Dr. Ocegueda is the Vice President of Instruction for Coastline College and the former Dean of Academic Affairs for Pasadena City College.
El Monte City Councilmember
Mr. Velasco is the Board Vice President of El Monte Promise Foundation and City Council Member for City of El Monte. As a prominent actor, producer, and publicist, he is considered the “Information Voice” of Hollywood and Hispanics and is sought after as a speaker in the United States, Mexico, and Latin America. He is a successful actor who appears in both American and Mexican television and films. Mr. Velasco is involved with many local, national, and international non-profit organizations. Mr. Velasco was raised in the city of Los Angeles and is a native of Jalisco, Mexico.
Director of Parks and Recreation, Los Angeles County
Ms. Garcia is a founding member of the El Monte Promise Foundation and an ardent believer in building better communities. Ms. Garcia currently serves as the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for Los Angeles County. She is the first woman and first person of color to serve in that position since the founding of the department in 1944.
She works to achieve her vision through her active participation in numerous civic and professional organizations. She serves on the Board of the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials (NACPRO), Baldwin Hills Conservancy, Baldwin Hills Regional Conservation Authority (BHRCA) and the El Monte Promise Foundation. She served as a member of the Rio Hondo College Board of Trustees, the Chair of El Monte City Planning Commission and on the Board of the Watershed Conservation Authority (WCA), the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles River and Mountains Conservancy (RMC), the California Community Foundation’s Community Building Initiative, and on the Board of New Economics for Women.
Ms. Garcia was honored as the 49th Assembly District Latina of the Year for Community Involvement. She attended Citrus Community College, transferred and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and a M.A. in Urban Planning. Ms. Garcia enjoys traveling, attending Dodger games and spending time with her growing family. Ms. Garcia is a life-long resident of the beautiful community of El Monte.
Community Member
Mr. Seymour is a retired teacher and administrator of the El Monte City School District for 43 years, where he served as Superintendent for the last 25 years. He has also taught for the last 20 years at Cal Poly Pomona in the Administrative Masters Program. He is active both in the El Monte community and at Boys Republic in Chino Hills, where he has served on the Board for over 25 years. Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, he attended local schools and graduated from the University of Southern California.
BOARD MEMBERS
Educational Advisor
Ms. Berg worked for many years in conjunction with the El Monte Promise Foundation from its infancy and formally joined the Board of Directors four years ago. She has been a longtime educator and advocate for higher education in the Greater El Monte Community since 1987. Ms. Berg holds a B.A. in Spanish Translation, a M.A. in School Counseling and a M.Ed. in School Leadership. She has lived abroad and attended school in both Argentina and Wales and has travelled throughout South America and Europe. Ms. Berg has deep ties to many students and families in the Greater El Monte area spanning her 34 years in education as a College and Career Counselor and advocate for all students to have the opportunity to attend college and succeed in their personal educational endeavors. She has served on the Cal-SOAP Board in the Los Angeles region for 25 years to support underprivileged youth to pursue their higher education goals. Ms. Berg is a staunch believer that it is important to be a community volunteer and “give back” to others. She has been a longtime volunteer with the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Programs with her own children in addition to being an active participant in civic activities.
Mr. Correa is a long-time parent advocate and is passionate about making the community better for all children. He is a founding member of the El Monte Promise Foundation and was a part of the El Monte Community Building Initiative. He helped to found Community Leaders for a Better El Monte and Soccer for Success. He is the owner of M-Co Electric.
Community Member
Ms. Gutierrez was born in Concordia, Sinaloa, Mexico and has lived in the City of El Monte for more than 30 years. Her education includes receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the Centro Universitario de Mazatlan. Ms.Gutierrez has worked as a volunteer with the Mexican American Legal Defense Educational Fund (MALDEF) to advocate for and promote education in our communities. Ms. Gutierrez, in cooperation with other members of her community, founded the Jeff Seymour Family Center in El Monte. She has been recognized by the Los Angeles County Bilingual Directors’ Association in 2011, and by the Golden Apple Awards in 2012 for her commitment as a parent to improve educational services in the El Monte School District. Ms. Gutierrez was a recipient of the award “Unsung Heroine, Woman of the Year 2014” by California State Senator Dr. Ed Hernandez and Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, for her community work in the City of El Monte. Ms. Gutierrez has served on the El Monte Promise Foundation Board since 2014. Ms. Gutierrez is an avid reader and loves to travel.
Ms. Hwang is the SVP, Head – First Line Risk Management Program at City National Bank. She brings in 10+ years of risk and governance experiences across the three lines of defense and holds CA, CPA, and CIA designations. Prior to joining City National, Ms. Hwang spearheaded design and implementation of regional risk program strategies across Operational Risk, Enterprise Risk, and Credit Risk at Royal Bank of Canada’s Holding Company in New York. She is an active volunteer with City National’s Colleague Resource Groups. She graduated from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Community Member
Mr. Lopez-Mena is the Director of Special Education for the El Monte City School District.
Community Member
Tracy Moronatty is a parent advocate for her son and all the children of her community. Her experience directly involves high need communities within the El Monte and South El Monte region. She volunteers with the First 5 LA Community Partnership, and with the Parents as Leaders Support Group (PALS). She received the 2013 Women of Achievement award for her volunteer work with the El Monte Alliance to Keep Youth Tobacco Free. Ms. Moronatty attended Rio Hondo Community College and studied Chicano Studies. She is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona with a BS in Communications, PR option. She is currently working as a Research Analyst at Special Service for Groups Research and Evaluation.
Parent Advocate
Ms. Perez has been active member of the El Monte and South El Monte communities for more than 20 years with different organizations that are working with different projects to improve the lives of children and their families. She believes working together in our communities will make a difference in the lives of our children. Ms. Perez hopes that her work with the El Monte Promise Foundation leads to all children having the opportunity to go to college for better opportunities in their lives.
El Monte / South El Monte Chamber Of Commerce
Mr. Rausch is the Executive Director of the El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown El Monte Business Association. His focus is to reach out to the business community and provide the tools necessary to assist in their success. Before joining the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown El Monte Business Association in 2011, Mr. Rausch was owner and operator of Edward’s Steak House in El Monte and Chairman of the Board of the California Restaurant Association in 2004. Mr. Rausch earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Southern California.
Community Member
Mr. Vu is an administrator for the El Monte Union High School District and he is on a mission to save the world.
Historical Resources
STANFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW WINTER 2011
A PLEDGE AND A PROMISE: BUILDING A SEAMLESS PATHWAY TO COLLEGE FOR EL MONTE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
EL MONTE COMMUNITY BUILDING INITIATIVE: REFLECTIONS OF A DECADE (2007-2016)
EL MONTE COMMUNITY BUILDING INITIATIVE OUTCOMES EVALUATION REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
