SJPLA’s Growing Board and New Leadership
2023 brought significant changes in SJPLA’s board, as we welcome four new members, bid farewell to two valued members, and welcome a new Board Chair.
Welcoming four new board members
We expanded our board this year by two for a total of eleven members to align with our growth as an organization. Longtime board members Alina Sanchez and Mark Loranger finished their six-year terms in 2022. We’re so grateful for their years of service and are thrilled that they will still be involved as Partners and volunteers.
The nominations committee met the task of filling four seats by nominating four dynamic candidates with a diverse set of skills and experiences to bring to the board. We were so honored that all four accepted the nomination and were voted in unanimously.
Eric Ares
Eric serves as Housing and Homelessness Director for Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. Prior to this, he was at United Way of Greater Los Angeles, where he worked closely with us as a member of our Racial Equity Initiative Advisory board.
Margaret Hardin
Margaret is a global products CEO and board director who has worked closely with us in Accelerator selection, Fast Pitch Coaching, and LA2050 Grant review.
Paul Hernandez
Paul is the Chief Strategy Officer at Fenton with over twenty years of experience engaging and influencing decision-makers.
Chris Ko
Chris serves as VP, Impact & Strategy for the United Way of Greater LA. He has worked closely with SJPLA as a member of the Racial Equity Initiative Advisory board.
New board leadership
With Alina’s six years of Board service complete, we also lost a longtime Board Chair. We were thrilled Sam Prater was elected to step into the leadership role as our new Board Chair.
Sam is the Founder and Executive Director of LA Room & Board. He joined our board in 2021 and is an alum of our Systems Change Accelerator. Learn more about Sam →
One of the ways we live out our values is through the community we build, and our Board members embody our values so powerfully. We can’t wait to work with the entire Board to continue to create meaningful change in Los Angeles.