Steering Committee
Eric Morrison Smith
Alliance for Boys & Men of ColorEric Morrison-Smith is the Executive Director for the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC). He formerly was the Policy Director for the Alliance and supported the network’s operations and communications. As the Executive Director, Eric works to center directly-impacted people and grassroots organizations to translate their vision and aspirations into structural change and works with network partners to build power to abolish systems of oppression and transform the material conditions of Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.
Zima Creason
California EDGE CoalitionZima Creason is the Executive Director of the California EDGE Coalition and President of the San Juan Unified Board of Education. At EDGE, her work seeks to address workforce shortages in high road industries, create pathways to the middle class, and to advance shared prosperity for all Californians. She is committed to stakeholder empowerment and coalition building to establish and sustain thriving communities.
Robert Sainz
New Ways to WorkThanks to a clear vision for how to reengage young people, Robert established the City of Los Angeles YouthSource System, Los Angeles Performance Partnership Pilot (LAP3) and is a founding member of LA:RISE – an innovative model serving homeless and re-entry populations. He also established HIRE LA, one of the nation’s largest public-private youth employment initiatives that combined the visibility of corporate America with solutions designed by policy experts.
Kim McNulty
OneFuture Coachella ValleyKim’s leadership has influenced college and career pipeline development across the region since 2005, when she launched the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership’s Career Pathways Initiative. As OneFuture’s Vice President of Regional Strategy, Kim is responsible for building workforce, education and community partnerships to further implementation of the Regional Plan, including providing staff support for eight of the region’s Alignment Teams. Kim currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Riverside County Workforce Development Board’s East Region Committee and on the National Leadership Council for the Ford Motor Company Fund’s Next Generation Learning Network (Ford NGL). Locally, she serves on the Palm Springs Historical Society Board of Directors, the St. Theresa Catholic Church Parish Council and as a Regent for Xavier College Preparatory High School, which she helped to found.
Joe Herrity
Stuart FoundationAs Senior Manager, Partnerships, Joe leads grantmaking and partnership efforts to support the educational success of young people furthest from opportunity. Joe is motivated by the Stuart Foundation’s commitment to educational equity and to working with partners in the field beyond the grant dollars. Joe has spent the past 20 years traversing the social sector with a primary focus on youth development, workforce development, holistic career pathways, and collective impact systems change efforts. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University where his graduate research focused on the evaluation of personalized guidance and support for Opportunity Youth in reengagement education settings. Joe has also earned the BoardSource Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting and a certificate in Human Centered Design from IDEO.
Michelle Fuentes Miranda
YouthBuild Collaborative of Southern CaliforniaAlliance for Community Empowerment
Michelle is a community leader and human development professional with over 25 years of experience as a teacher, school principal, program director and nonprofit administrator. Michelle is the grandchild of migrant farm workers who became successful business owners and community leaders in California’s Central Valley. Inspired by the spirit of service and entrepreneurialism demonstrated by her grandmother, Michelle founded Alliance for Community Empowerment (ACE) to help disenfranchised individuals transform their lives and their communities through leadership development, education, and civic engagement. Michelle expanded ACE’s programming providing community intervention and case management services for gang-affected families in the city’s largest GRYD service area. ACE continues to expand its services to meet a wider range of community needs through collaboration, service, and community action.
Claire Snyder
Youth WillClaire (she/her) was raised in Sacramento and made her move to San Diego in 2016. She has a B.A. in Sociology from San Diego State University. During her time there, she was an active member of Planned Parenthood Generation Action and organized around reproductive justice. After graduating, Claire began her career providing services for system involved youth and youth experiencing homelessness. She has also been involved in mutual aid efforts and community organizing in San Diego since graduating. Claire combines her passion for supporting youth and organizing towards youth liberation and safe communities in her role as the Youth Organizer for Youth Will.
Liliana Soriano Garista
Youth WillLiliana (she/they) was born and raised in San Diego. She holds a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis on Race and Ethnicity from the University of California San Diego. There she worked on mutual aid projects and voiced support for policies that would advocate for better opportunities for the youth, affordable housing, and equitable transportation. Liliana has past experience working in local government and leading youth in a non-profit organization. They interned with Youth Will in 2020, in which she mobilized voters to support affordable housing. Most notably, the values Liliana holds of community and youth power are based on the principles Youth Will instilled in her.