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MEET OUR TEAM

Board Volunteers

Educating Empowered Voices For CHANGE 

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Neyda Yaneth

Founder 

Chief Executive Officer

Neyda Yaneth  was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States at seven years young. Her background is from very humble beginnings and lived in a poverty stricken community as a child.  Hard work and values were instill in her by watching her grandpa get up every day at 4 in the morning to work.

 

Her grandfather was her positive role model as a child. In the United States, her elementary years came with challenges as she was bullied for not knowing English and her accent. She was raised in South Central Los Angeles from the age of twelve until High School. Neyda lived in the toughest neighborhoods of the Florence-Graham community, and during this phase of her life, she was not raised in an environment that valued nor supported her education.

 

Attended Elementary in Bridgeport, Conn and finished sixth grade at Loren Miller Elementary school, graduated Bethune Junior High School and John C. Fremont High School. Neyda received a Business Administration Degree with an Option in Human Resources and Organizational Systems Management from Cal State University Northridge. Recently, she obtained her Masters Degree from her Alma Mater in Public Administration and Leadership and graduated Summa Cum Laude. During college she served as a peer mentor and helped recruit students of color into the Minority Business Program. Her career experience is in the private sector working for a top five engineering firm as a recruiter and project manager. She has in debt-experience and knowledge in the field of entreprenuership.

 

Neyda after receiving dire reports of the plight of the students, school, and community founded the Fremont High School Alumni Foundation. Neyda is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer. She oversees, manages and implements program development such as the Pathfinder Educational Scholarship, The Pathfinder Alumni Youth Council Volunteer Program and Pathfinder Legends History Project.  

 

Neyda also has authored two books the first book is focused on journeys of eleven youth from John C. Fremont High School, “Voices of our Youth”. All sales for the book help fund the Pathfinder Educational Dream Fund Scholarship. She also self-publish a poetry book where she shares her journey through poetry to help empower others in their path. 

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Neyda’s  Christian background  is the drive to her work in her community and hopes to inspire others on the importance of mental health, financial literacy, and higher education to break the cycles of trauma  from  being raised in challenging environments.

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Maria Izabel

Co-Founder

Vice- President

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Luz Tapia

Finance Director

Luz Tapia was born in South Central Los Angeles. She is the daughter of immigrant parents and is proud of her multi-cultural heritage. Luz graduated from John C. Fremont High School in 2015. She began serving on the Board in 2017 and is currently the Treasurer and Finance Director of the foundation. Luz is an active member in her church and community.

 

Family, and Christian values are her strength to persevere and wants to help her alma mater by inspiring other youth from Fremont to keep working towards their dreams. Luz graduated from University of California Riverside with a degree in Business in the field of Finance. Her career is currently at Wells Fargo Bank

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Hobbies: Playing guitar, singing, volunteering at church, and helping host her church’s service.

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Jaime Lopez

Board of Directors

PAYC Youth Activity Director

Jaime Lopez Alvarez was born in Veracruz Mexico and came to the United States in 1996. He graduated from John C Fremont High school in 2008 and from Cal State Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in communication disorders in 2014. He currently works at a Speech therapy agency as a speech therapist assistant, early intervention coordinator, and infant development specialist.

 

He hopes to continue helping families of children with special needs to find the resources that they need so that they can improve their quality of life. He also leads a middle and high school board game group at the enrichment center called Strive in South Los Angeles. The board game group helps students improve their social skills and critical thinking through playing immersive and engaging board games. Jaime enjoys reading fantasy and science fiction books, hiking the mountains around LA, and playing board games.

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Jaime joined the Board in 2019 and has been an asset in developing and leading the Pathfinder Programs.

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Javier Sanchez

Board of Directors

Javier Sanchez is the Chief Executive Officer of Jonathan Louis, one of the largest fashion forward furniture manufacturers in the United States with operations in Los Angeles, Mexico, and North Carolina. 

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He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Southern California. He is a native Angelino, raised in South Central Los Angeles where he attended Fremont High School Class of 1988.

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Javier also serves on the Board of Directors of American Business Bank

I am honored to serve as a board member for the Fremont High School Alumni Foundation. I get to work with talented and passionate individuals who walked the same streets as I did and overcame barriers to succeed in life—we are an awesome team and we strive to give back every year to the Pathfinder community through our programs.

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As a mentor and college advisor I support the student leadership and development of underrepresented students of color. I believe that college should be accessible to any student who wants to acquire an education despite race, socio-economic status, intersectional identity, disability or lack of academic preparation that can prevent one’s confidence in achieving excellence. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles and later in Southeast L.A. (Huntington Park and Bell) taught me that despite the limits in my community, I should always strive for a better future. The key ingredients are also based on a strong moral compass to “do the right thing," finding mentors, asking a lot of questions, and recognizing that success is celebrated in community.

 

As the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, and wife to a Mexican national (and educator in the community), my passion lies in supporting first generation and undocumented students. I am the first in my family to complete college and I know that many new first generations of college students find this as a pivotal identity.

 

In San Diego, I am the founder of the Las Comadritas Project, a program in the Sherman Heights and Barrio Logan downtown area that aims to prepare young Latina girls pursue higher education through the development of leadership skills, volunteering, and academic success.

 

I am a graduate of:

 

  • Huntington Park High School (Class of 1991)

  • San Jose State University (Bachelors in Art ‘00)

  • New College of California San Francisco (Masters in Humanities and Leadership ‘06)

  • Antioch University (Ph.D. in Leadership and Change ‘23)

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Proud moments:

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  • The day my parents saw me graduate from the University for the first time.

  • Graduating with a 4.0 from my Master’s program and speaking at commencement.

  • Meeting some Latino/a heroes and learning their stories of struggle: Dolores Huerta, Jose Hernandez, Sandra Cisneros, Junot Diaz, Supreme Court,Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Jorge Ramos, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala.

  • Giving back to my community in any way I can.

  • Spending one week at Harvard University with six of my students for the Latino Leadership Institute.

 

Hobbies: Art, world music, social justice advocacy, travel, food, and being a beach bum!

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