Recent grants from Inland Empire Community Foundation through the Joyce A. Montgomery Donor Advised Fund, the Todd Barajas Legacy Fund, and Martha’s Village and Kitchen Food Fund Endowment will further assist with those efforts.  

Rosa E. Verduzco, Chief Operating Officer of Martha’s Village & Kitchen, said the new funding will help several expansion measures at the nonprofit, particularly in the Child Development Center and the center’s playground.

“Those resources will help us increase our capacity from 24 kids to 50,” Verduzco said, expressing gratitude for expansion funding overall.  

It is just one of many success stories in the organization, which has become one of the largest providers of homeless and disadvantaged services in Riverside County and Coachella Valley.  

The nonprofit offers life-changing programs based on the “continuum of care model,” which aims to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. Launched in 1990 as a noble endeavor to serve hot meals to homeless neighbors, the project thrived with just a parish kitchen, a group of volunteers, and $5 donations. It has grown considerably since, expanding its services considerably. 

Its Career and Education arm, for instance, has been a valued resource for the community. So too have the nonprofit’s emergency housing and its vast array of healthcare services. Case management, a homeless recuperative care program, an exemplary food services program, and a revered cooling center during hot months round out some of the other offerings. 

Verduzco has been with the organization for 12 years, serving in a few capacities. 

“I am very fortunate to have done every position there is,” she said. “I started as a part- timer, moved into the rec program, then some management. It’s been a journey, but it’s easy to work for an agency whose mission is to serve the community and the less fortunate, and to do it with such grace. 

“We all strive to provide high-quality service,” she added, noting how the organization stands out for its significant support for the community. 

Martha’s Thrift Store in Indio, for instance, has become a go-to with the sheer amount of items it houses. Consumers may feel a sense of peace realizing their purchases and donations help the nonprofit to continue serving the region by responding to food, clothing and shelter needs. 

There are many other ways for the community to contribute.  

One standout initiative, dubbed Adopt-A-Room, strives to help “transform lives.” Interested individuals can offer an annual $5,000 donation to adopt one of the nonprofit’s 35 residential rooms. These are where families and individuals live during their stay at Martha’s Village & Kitchen. 

“We’ve been around for more than 35 years, but yet many members of the community still don’t know a lot of things we provide,” Verduzco said. “We can impact more than 8,000 members of the community, not just the homeless individuals, but those at risk of homelessness, meaning that they might have their home, but they can access our services. 

“Maybe they are needing a part-time job and they need to build up their interview skills before becoming homeless,” she added. 

Verduzco also noted her passion and joy for a key project revolving around early education.  

“Some folks don’t know that service is there,” she said. “They don’t know that we have a fully licensed child center offering high-quality care for children. And it’s not just to the clients here, but it’s also for the members of the community. That is unique.” 

Learn more at marthasvillage.org. 

This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, December 2025.

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An East Valley extension of The Center (The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert), the portal has found success being a safe and inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community in East Coachella Valley. With its diverse programming and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, the haven is now a valued resource, especially for LGBTQ+ youth in Coachella, Thermal, Mecca, and North Shore. 

Miguel Navarro, Director of East Coachella Valley Programs at The Center Coachella, calls those younger individuals important change agents, people capable of creating a sea change in the East Valley.  

It all filters into a diverse mix of offerings at The Center Coachella and Navarro is quick to express gratitude for community support and recent grants, like the one the organization recently received from Inland Empire Community Foundation through the FitzDell Gifting Fund.

“The grant funding allows us to continue doing our work,” Navarro said. “It allows us to help LGBTQ+ folks who don’t have the easiest access to transportation to healthcare, resources, connection, and meeting other folks. We create our programming and engagement around that and give them access to all those resources.” 

That can include anything and everything from the organization paying for transportation and/or making sure people have bus passes, especially younger individuals.  

“The resources are vital,” Navarro added. “We have facilitators that will do workshops throughout the year or special invitations to therapists or other non-profit organizations that bring resources to our allies. It all connects.” 

A recent East Valley Pride Festival in October stood out.  

“It was a big celebration in Coachella, and we brought a full day of entertainment, resources, and vendors,” Navarro noted. “All that was supported by the grant.” 

The Center itself is a kind of lighthouse in the East Valley with its resource center and community room that is open to support groups, meetings, small events, and other activities.  

Navarro hope The Center Coachella will continue offering resources to LGBTQ+ individuals living in the East Valley, especially in those unincorporated areas—from Mecca to North Shore. 

One local program close to Navarro’s heart is Mis Amores (My Loves), which serves parents and family members of Spanish-speaking LGBTQ+ people.  

“A lot of the time, we don’t have enough literature and resources with Spanish terminology,” Navarro said. “It’s been mostly kept in English. There isn’t a lot of Spanish translation of what it means to be ‘gender expansive’ or what it means to be ‘nonbinary.’ There isn’t a lot of language around hormone therapy, so it takes a lot of time for all of that to be translated in Spanish. It takes lot of effort and research.” 

To that end, The Center Coachella offers a support group twice a month for Spanish-speaking families and allies. 

“We study and we bring education and knowledge to parents and grandparents who have never heard about any of these terms,” Navarro said. “And all those conversations happen in Spanish. If there isn’t something available, we have to translate it and present it to the folks who come.” 

Over time, the initiative has become one of Navarro’s main priorities. 

“I want to continue bringing more awareness around this because I know there’s a lot of farm-working parents and possibly undocumented parents, who have LGBTQ+ kids, and they may feel very alone and isolated,” he said. “When parents come for the first time, they often share that they never realized there was a center or a support group that would be culturally sensitive and it would be in Spanish.  

“And that it would really cater to specific needs of farm-working people, undocumented people, and single mothers that don’t speak English,” he added. 

He points out the importance of continually reaching out to as many parents as possible because the East Valley has a significant number of unincorporated communities.  

“Those communities are some of the most underserved and under-resourced,” Navarro said. “Engagement is even more important for those communities. And even though we have an office in Coachella, I’ll tell you, if someone lives in Oasis or Mecca, it’s still at least 30 to 35 minutes to get to, so that becomes a challenge.  

“In the new year, we’re going to be promoting Mis Amores as much as possible,” he added. 

Learn more at thecentercv.org. 

This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, December 2025.

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Which makes the road ahead in 2026 and beyond unique for her and the organization she champions. In fact, the first-generation Tongan American-born leader is ready to take MALO to the next level. 

“We’re a movement,” Soakai said. “MALO is fighting for social justice in any way possible, and that’s by making sure that we stay strong, because if we stay strong, that’s us showing that we are fighting against any systems that may have been put in place for us not to thrive.” 

MALO launched as a non-profit organization nearly 10 years ago, springing from Soakai’s dedication to family and her education. Her father was a founder of the First United Methodist Church in Ontario, a place where MALO now holds its meetings.  

But back in the 1970s, Soakai’s home was a haven for many Tongan immigrants looking for a safe place to live while they established their own homes in the region. These early days planted the seeds of what would later grow into a bona fide change agent. 

When a Master’s in Ethical Leadership project emerged, Soakai saw it as a chance to expand her work and ideals. MALO sprang to life thereafter, serving the Tongan and Pacific Islander community in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Its primary focus revolves around empowering through youth mentorship, health initiatives, cultural preservation, and job readiness.  

Soakai stressed that the organization wants to bridge the space between the Tongan community’s youth and elders. Connecting people with vital local resources and promoting cultural heritage through various activities and events factors into the mix. 

Recent grants from Inland Empire Community Foundation through the Gates Educational Advancement Grant and Youth Grantmakers will further fuel MALO’s efforts in the coming months. 

“The grant allows us to continue dreaming big about what we can do with our youth, and what youth leadership looks like,” Soakai said. “We have the backing of a very big organization, and getting funding allows us to give our youth space to dream, then implement those dreams.” 

“Instead of dreaming up and waiting for more funding, the resources we received allow us to move forward with the kids and the project they’re working on right now,” she added. 

That project is being kept under wraps for now, but Soakai calls it “one of a kind,” adding that, “it will be a four-year project that gives youth the space to see the potential of what can be done when we put it our hands onto something.” 

Elsewhere, the nonprofit offers a broad range of programs—from health initiatives, cultural heritage efforts, and leadership development to education and local partnerships with organizations like Pomona College’s Asian American Resource Center (AARC). 

Today, the nonprofit is a rare entity. It’s the only Tongan-led, Tongan-serving organization in the Inland Empire that actively assists the Tongan, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) community, linking them to local resources within San Bernardino and Riverside counties. 

“We need more,” Soakai stressed. “There’s just more that needs to happen for our community. Unfortunately, we thought that it was already out there. But what we found is that we’re the ones that have to create what works for our community.” 

Learn more at malotongaie.org. 

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, November 2025.

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And empowering. 

Inland Empire Prism Collective, a non-profit organization that supports the development and well-being of QTBIPOC youth through a variety of resources and networking, wants to keep that traction going, building on its early beginnings nearly 10 years ago. 

A recent Gates Educational Advancement Grant via Inland Empire Community Foundation will help on that front. 

“These resources will allow us to stay focused on many school issues, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ student rights,” said Miguel Rivera, IE Prism Collective’s Development Director. “The grant will help with youth organizing and education. We’re really strained and overall, it’s a challenging situation throughout the Inland Empire. 

“The grant will help our student organizers in the community or help with covering those salaries partially,” Rivera added. 

Championing LGBTQ+ wellbeing across the Inland region has always been one of the collective’s main goals. Launched in 2018, the endeavor began with mostly volunteers fueling the cause. Today, it’s bloomed into a mission-driven enterprise with a staff of part-time and full-time employees.  

The nonprofit’s scope covers effective youth mentorship, healthcare needs and access, cultural programming, and shrewd policy advocacy. 

The organization’s programming aptly covers a broad spectrum of areas, ranging from such things as Peer Connection and Queer Up Space Outside—a great model for recreational activities with a community-building focus—to Trans and Non-Binary Hangouts and other wellness initiatives. 

One standout is the Pride Pathways initiative, which creates LGBTQ+ job seekers with key LGBTQ+ friendly employers.  

Other alliances, such as those it maintains with TruEvolution, a nonprofit that advocates for health equity and racial justice for LGBTQ+ people, and Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, filter into the mix.  

Voter outreach and housing advocacy efforts also stand out. 

Rivera, who is also one of the founders of Inland Empire Prism Collective, said the evolution of the organization was organic if not necessary and timely. 

“My personal struggles growing up as a gay child informed my decisions,” he said. “I knew from a very young age that I was gay. I grew up in a very Catholic household and I never had much community. I got kicked out when was in high school when I came out. There just weren’t many resources in the area.” 

Part of the struggle growing up, he added, was wanting to change those kinds of circumstances. 

“I wanted to make sure there were places, community, and support right for queer students,” he said. “I wanted there to be a place where it could get better. We all saw a need for advocacy and creating safe spaces for queer folks in the IE.” 

Rivera encourages people to get involved. Reaching out via its Facebook or other social media channels, as well as the nonprofit’s website, offer ways for deeper connection and involvement. And events, such as the nonprofit’s Lavender Gala, which honors community leaders, also create viable pathways for new alliances. 

“We’re growing as an organization and trying to create change in the IE,” Rivera stressed. “We want it to be more equitable for everyone, not just LGBTQ+ folks. They are our priority here at Prism, but we have a big vision of creating safe spaces, third spaces, and permanent third spaces.  

“We also want to make sure that LGBTQ+ folks are prepared for the workforce, and we’re trying to create a real queer economy in San Bernardino,” he added. “That’s very important to us.” 

Learn more at ieprismcollective.org

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, November 2025.

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By generating inclusive, thoughtful, multicultural, and community-driven coding practices for the future, CCC hopes to strengthen communities with new educational opportunities coloring a broad spectrum—from health and wellness to art, culture, entertainment, and technology.

A recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) will further fuel those efforts. 

CCC Executive Director Tizoc DeAztlan said the recent grant not only falls in line with what IECF offers the community but that the resources come at a pivotal time. 

“This support has allowed us to continue providing programming for our community at a really critical time when there are a lot of budget cuts and funding is harder part to come by,” he added. “It’s very enormous to have a partner like this.” 

The resources, distributed through IECF’s Gates Educational Advancement Grant, will further allow CCC to enhance a world where intellectual curiosity prospers, community connections deepen, and cultural enrichment is accessible to all. 

“Collective well-being is prioritized,” DeAztlan said. 

Those four pillars, he added, were established to inspire and empower individuals and communities to fully explore, connect and celebrate diversity. 

Supporting one another in a shared journey towards an even more inclusive future is vital, too. Providing people with the strength and confidence to shape their own destinies generates an impactful ripple effect. 

And while coding—that seemingly ethereal process of writing specifications for a computer to perform a key task using a significant programming language—happens behind the scenes, CCC is certainly out there among the community, too. 

The organization is aligned with several notable community initiatives. They include The Mobius Experience, which unites brainstormers to address the current environmental and global conditions that require attention. 

The much-anticipated event unfolds April 15-16, 2026. 

Elsewhere, CCC’s support of Run with Los Muertos (Nov. 1), helps honor the centuries-old tradition of uniting dozens of community groups, teams, artists, musicians, runners, and many thousands of attendees throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Canada for an empowering event that celebrates wellness, art, music, and culture.  

Workshops and workouts filter into the mix and an impressive block party in Old Town Coachella stands out. It also features the popular 5K run, a colorful procession, art walk, car show and a vendor village, along with three stages of festive live entertainment. 

“It’s obviously a very empowering event,” DeAztlan said. “It’s very big on arts and culture, and we feature dozens of local artists. Our car show is popular, which is a big deal for the Latino community.” 

More than 20 local schools participate and compete in the popular Day of the Dead procession.  

“It’s just a way to create a community environment,” DeAztlan said. “At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for bringing folks together and being able to celebrate.” 

The diversity of the event is significant. 

“It brings folks from throughout Coachella Valley,” DeAztlan stressed. “A lot of times East Side stays on the East Eide, West Side stays there. But with our partnerships, we’ve been able to foster an evening that brings folks not only from out throughout the Coachella Valley. 

“Now, with our communities seemingly under attack, it’s just really feels great to be able to have organizations like IECF on our side,” he added. 

Learn more at codexcreation.com. 

This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, November 2025.

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Recipient BLU Educational Foundation, which has long been promoting healthy, productive communities through educational and human services programming, will use those valued resources for staff support and creating deeper connections with young people.

“We’re excited about this grant because it allows us to also bring young people into the fold so that they, too, have a voice and can advocate for the issues that affect them,” said BLU Educational Foundation President and CEO Dina Walker. “We’re already gearing up to build out our student leadership cohort so these young people can begin to advocate for the issues, not only on their campus, but in their community and then also statewide.”

“We’ve got at least eight schools in the Inland Empire on board,” she added. “We’ve also started our civic engagement internship. And thank goodness for this grant, because it’s allowed us to build on our internship for advocacy for college students.” 

The Foundation’s impact is considerable. It has long provided educational and human services programming to youth, adults, and organizations to build healthy, productive communities. 

It does that through various means of advancing opportunities such as civic engagement, assistance with college and career access, leadership development, artistic and cultural opportunities, Black Agenda education, and overseeing the launch of the Uhuru Education Project, an initiative designed to open a charter high school founded on African-centered principles. 

“It’s important for us to help build the voices of students and have them being players in shaping their own kind of destiny,” Walker said. “The grant helps us do this locally and to also engage with young people that are doing this work across the state. This is so important now because resources are definitely have tightened up around equity.” 

“We were in a position recently where we immediately lost almost half a million dollars this year, around some of the work we do,” she added. 

Many nonprofits have been affected by government cuts to funding this year, but Walker remains optimistic.  

“These resources help us fill the gap,” she said. “It also helps us make sure we can at least begin and or continue some of the work with our young people specifically, so they can use their voices for systemic change around educational access.” 

Walker, who founded the organization after being an educational consultant for many years, says there was one important reason for her to launch the endeavor. 

“As a consultant, my services were for people who could pay for them,” she said. “And I realized that I could not serve the very people that had come back to the Inland Empire, which are students like me who had been first-generation college, low-income, and had limited opportunities here.” 

“And that was strictly because of finances,” she added. “I was like, ‘Okay, how do I get enough resources so that folks who can’t pay for it can benefit? There’s already money so that I can actually do this for them?’ And that was the birth of the foundation.”  

Learn more at bluedfoundation.org. 

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, October 2025.

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There’s more than a hint of pride in Sandy Ramirez’s voice when she speaks of Riverside Life Services. The nonprofit’s executive director wants to ensure individuals feel supported in their pregnancy decisions and that everybody has the tools they need to move forward with confidence.

“All of our services to the community are at no charge,” Ramirez shared. “That’s all of our pregnancy tests, our ultrasounds, our material goods, such as diapers, the boutique and clothes we have available, and more. Every dollar we get goes straight into our patient services.”

Which makes everything from grant funding and donations a well-needed bonus for the nonprofit. To that end, Ramirez expressed gratitude for a recent grant the nonprofit received from Inland Empire Community Foundation, which will support several offerings.

Some of those include pregnancy services, such as pregnancy confirmation, as well as counseling and mentorship. Funding also supports education programs, such as an “earn while you learn” component—for every class an individual takes at the nonprofit, they can then shop in the organization’s Baby Boutique, “earning” such things as clothes, diapers, wipes, equipment, and other items.

Other standout classes include Newborn and Postpartum Care, which provides information on the first 40 days after giving birth, and why that determines how well and how quickly somebody recovers from the experience. Postpartum depression and new baby care are also covered in this class.

Support groups also filter into the mix. With an emphasis on community, the nonprofit offers individualized monthly groups for women experience a broad range of issues—from healing from miscarriages or challenges with breastfeeding to post-abortion support. 

A monthly support group designed specifically for fathers, Dads for Life, further showcases the organization’s commitment to the individual’s well-being. The nonprofit also offers referrals to other community resources if needed. 

“I just love our goal and mission of loving and encouraging moms, families, and babies,” Ramirez added.

Riverside Life Services was founded more than 50 years ago by several women hoping to create a safe haven that assisted women in their pregnancy. The idea was to hold space for women to feel “loved, cherished, and respected.” Five decades later, the organization stands out in the region, and is often praised for the mindful ways it assists women with life planning and moving through life’s “unexpected” twists.

Looking ahead, Ramirez wants people to know that the nonprofit happily takes donations.

“We’d love for people to donate gently used maternity clothes and baby clothes,” she said. “A lot of places that families would go to to donate those items would later be resold, and we don’t do that. All of our donations—what we call material goods, such as maternity clothes and baby clothes up to age 2—we make available for moms and families in our community.“Those are free,” she added. “So anytime anybody gives away baby clothes or baby items, we would love for them to consider us.”

Learn more about Riverside Life Services at riversidelifeservices.org

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, July 2025.

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Justness and community are important to Cynthia H. Breunig,

“We’re all about female equity and female empowerment,” Breunig said of the Girl Scouts. “That’s our thing and has been for 113 years.”

A recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation has buoyed the organization’s efforts, helping with general operation expenses and its focus on several vital issues.

“We have different regions, they’re called councils, and each is a separate 501c3,” Breunig said. “We reflect the interests and challenges in each of our communities. The focus here—all over Riverside and most of San Bernardino—is about the wage inequity between males and females, especially in the Inland Empire.”

“Women in Vermont have probably the closest disparity at .89 cents for every dollar for a white male,” she added. “In the Inland Empire, it’s.75 cents for Black women, and for Hispanics, it’s.51 cents. About two-thirds of the low-paying California jobs are in our region.”

These issues are “top of mind” for Breunig and the San Gorgonio arm of Girl Scouts, and while she is quick to say that the organization can be “all hearts and rainbows and lots of little girls and cookies,” there’s something deeper running beneath the surface.

“The underpinnings of all those things have to do with financial literacy, which is a huge thing for us,” she said. “The cookie sale is one of the most successful in the country because so many people participate. But what you may or may not know is that all that money stays in the local economy and regrows this year. It was about $12 million in this local council.”

About 5 percent of that cookie sale is overhead. The rest goes into the girls. 

“This would be girls’ programming and such,” Breunig said. “It goes back to their troops. They’re traveling the world—it goes back to the individual girls so that they can pay for camp and other things like college applications, driver’s education, Letterman jackets, and the whole senior package. 

“It really helps the girls in our community,” she added. “That’s the pay and equity part. The whole cookie sale is set up so that the girls are learning how to run their own businesses.”

Breunig became President and CEO of the organization in 2011. She is a proud Gold Award Girl Scout and quickly credits Girl Scouts with shaping her leadership and business skills. Over the years, she’s been impressed with the impact the organization makes.

She also points out the many famous women who were Girl Scouts, such as American labor leader and feminist activist Dolores Huerta, now 95, who has been a big advocate for Girl Scouts. 

“She said to us that she was a shy little girl and that she found her voice in Girl Scouts,” Breunig added. “And every [female] secretary of state was a Girl Scout. And 90 percent of [female] astronauts were Girl Scouts, and 80 percent of all of our tech leadership.”

Other “famous” Girl Scouts include: Lucille Ball, Katie Couric, Martha Stewart, Venus Williams, and Queen Elizabeth II.

When asked why the organization may be more relevant now than ever before, particularly in an era of extreme political shifts, Breunig is candid:  “It has a lot to do with neighborhoods and communities and participation.”

This links together families and neighborhoods around projects that the girls are working on. 

“Community service has been our thing for the full span of 113 years,” she added. “One example is during the Suffragette Movement and the Right to Vote endeavors—one of the reasons that you don’t see a lot of kids in those photographs of the ladies marching is because Girl Scouts organized nationally to babysit. So, we’re participating at all levels.”

Meanwhile, if there’s a credo that keeps these creative troops motivated, it comes from a reputable source.

“The Brookings Institute says, ‘If you want to change the world, invest in girls,’” Breunig said. “And that’s where we stand.”

Learn more about Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio at gssgc.org.

This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, July 2025.

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IECF is proud to announce a new initiative aimed at advancing educational equity

One of the key elements of this grant is the formation of a Youth Advisory Council, bringing together 15 students from various high schools in the Inland Empire. These students will be directly involved in shaping educational programs, participating in research, and leading discussions on topics like dual enrollment and career pathways.

Additionally, the grant will fund strategic investments in local community organizations, supporting efforts around financial aid awareness, career development, and student support services.

This exciting initiative will also include an Education Learning Series, where the Foundation will bring together educators, students, and community leaders to collaborate and share insights throughout the course of the program.

“Students are the experts of their own educational experience,” notes Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan, IECF’s Education Equity Program Officer. “This initiative ensures their voices are central to discussions about dual enrollment, career pathways, and college access. We deeply appreciate the Gates Foundation’s vital investment in empowering these voices.”

To learn more about IECF’s education initiatives, contact Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan.

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Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) is pleased to announce Jesse Melgar as the next Chair of its Board of Directors

IECF also welcomes three new Board members, Felicia Alexander Elizabeth Romero, and Lou Monville who will serve four-year terms.

“I want to thank Nefertiti Long for her dedication and leadership. As Board Chair these past few years, she continued our board’s long tradition of high caliber leadership and guidance to maintain an engaged and diverse board, all while supporting her passion through our Women’s Giving Fund,” said Michelle Decker, President and CEO of IECF. “I am thrilled to welcome Jesse as our new Board Chair. Jesse has proven to be a changemaker and force for good in philanthropy, becoming an immediate leader on our board through his work as founder and chair of the CIELO Fund at our foundation. Importantly, he is a locally-grown leader who has used his talent to serve in senior leadership roles in government, academia, and in the private and nonprofit sectors. His skills, vast network, and strategic mindset will help us continue building a stronger culture of philanthropy in the IE.”

“We are in a critical moment for our region—one that calls on all of us to dream big, invest in lasting change, and work across and through our differences to ensure that our neighbors can live dignified lives,” said Melgar. “As the largest and oldest foundation in the Inland Empire, our board looks forward to advancing inclusive, thoughtful philanthropy that drives forward the ambitions of our communities, fosters new partnerships and attracts more resources to fund efforts that help our region thrive. As board chair, I am eager to collaborate with our board, the talented IECF team, and partners across foundations, government, nonprofits, faith-based institutions, and our generous donors to continue building a region our future generations can be proud of.”

New Appointments

Chair – Jesse F. Melgar, M.P.P., joined the Board of the Inland Empire Community Foundation in 2021, having recently served as Vice Chair, and as a member of the Policy and Marketing & Grants Committees. He is the founder and chair of the CIELO Fund at the Foundation, where he has led a regional committee in raising over $2 million to support Latino organizations and scholarships in the region. Professionally, Melgar is Senior Advisor for Strategy and Public Affairs at the University of California Possibility Lab where he advises state departments and agencies on engagement strategies and policies that support an inclusive democracy. He is a Governor’s appointee and Vice Chair of the California Volunteers Commission where he advocated to bring millions in funding to the region for the California College Corps program. He is also a co-founder of the Inland Empire LGBTQ+ Center in downtown Riverside, and an advisory board member for the UCR School of Public Policy and Equality California. Melgar spent a decade in state government serving as a communications director and spokesperson for some of California’s top leaders including Gavin Newsom, Alex Padilla, Ricardo Lara, and led communications for the California Latino Legislative Caucus and Equality California. Melgar earned a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in Political science and Chicano Studies from UCLA, and a Master of Public Policy from UC Riverside as a member of the inaugural cohort and full-tuition merit scholar. In 2024, he received the UCR Chancellor’s prestigious Young Alumni of Distinction Award and was an inaugural UCLA Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award recipient. He lives in Palm Springs with his husband, Angel.

Board Member – Felicia Alexander is a San Bernardino City Unified School District Trustee. She is also an Aerospace and Defense executive who has led global supply chain efforts for over 30 years. She is also an adjunct professor at California State University Long Beach teaching courses in operations management and supply chain management. She earned her BA from UC Santa Barbara and MA from JFK University, as well as a certificate in Project Management and Systems Engineering from California Institute of Technology. Mrs. Alexander is very engaged in the community. Some of her activities include San Bernardino County Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. (Past President of Kappa Omega Chapter), President-elect San Bernardino Assistance League and American Legion Auxiliary. Mrs. Alexander is married to Damon L. Alexander and they have a blended family of 5.

Board Member – Elizabeth F. Romero is the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Government & Community Relations at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Prior to joining UCR, Elizabeth served as the Director of Community and Government Relations for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest in Riverside and Imperial Counties. Elizabeth also managed the Building Healthy Communities Initiative funded by The California Endowment. She has also worked for Desert Arc, University Center for Developmental Disabilities and served as a Legislative Assistant to the late Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor Roy Wilson and Supervisor John J. Benoit. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. She also holds a Masters of Politics, Economics and Business from Claremont Graduate University. Elizabeth is an alumnus of the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Leadership Institute and Women’s Policy Institute, sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Desert Regional Medical Center and Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert.

Board Member – Lou Monville is Senior Vice President of the Raincross Corporate Group, a collection of businesses involved in real estate development and entitlement, convention center management, operations and catering, and convention and sports sales and marketing. He also serves as the Senior Vice President of the Riverside of the Building Industry Association of Sothern California, Riverside County Chapter and is the former Chair of the Riverside County Economic Recovery Task Force focused on the economic recovery in the County of Riverside post COVID-19. Monville is a Trustee Emeritus and a past Chair of the Board of the California State University Board of Trustees and a former member of the California Community College Board of Governors. Lou holds a BA in Communications and Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from California State University, San Bernardino.

Inland Empire Community Foundation’s Board Officers for 2025-2027 are: Chair – Jesse Melgar, MPP, UC Berkeley Possibility Lab Vice Chair – Joseph Williams, Rialto Unified School District Chief Financial Officer – Brian McDonald, Chemehuevi Indian Reservation Secretary – Neal Waner, Matson Waner

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