Board of Trustees

BOARD MEMBERS

MS. JUANA MARIA VALDIVIA, BOARD CHAIR

Director of Student Outreach and Recruitment, California State University, Northridge

Juana Maria Valdivia was born in Pacoima where she currently resides.  She is the youngest of nine children raised by hard working parents who migrated from Guanajuato, Mexico.  Though her parents did not speak English and only completed some grammar school, they knew an education would make a difference in the lives of their children.  She obtained a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts and a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy studies from California State University Northridge (CSUN), where she currently serves as the Director of Student Outreach and Recruitment. She has worked in the field of higher education for more than 18 years, promoting college awareness to students and parents. She is a proud parent of a current student at PUC Triumph Charter High School as well as an alumna of the same school who now attends university.

MR. MARTIN NAVA, BOARD VICE PRESIDENT/TREASURER

Martin Nava is currently the CEO for the Old Timers Housing Development Corporation, a non-profit housing corporation in Huntington Park. Mr. Nava has a great deal of experience in the health field, in the non-profit sector, and in working with and serving his community. A native of Boyle Heights, he attended Roosevelt High School and is an alumni of California State University, Northridge. Early in his career, Mr. Nava served as an elementary school teacher. He has worked in various jobs within the non-profit sector and within low income communities. He has been a social worker, working with HIV/AIDS patients, and has worked extensively in management. Currently, he is managing a $35 million budget. Mr. Nava has been a dedicated and enthusiastic board member since his election to the Board of Trustees in December 2018.

MRS. MONICA MONGE-GARCIA, BOARD SECRETARY

Dean of Student Learning, Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA

Monica Monge-Garcia is a native of the San Fernando Valley. Born and raised in Pacoima and San Fernando, Mrs. Monge-Garcia attended the local area public schools. She attended Los Angeles Mission College before transferring to Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Arts Degrees in Human Development with a specialization in Social Change. Mrs. Monge-Garcia has worked in higher education for the last 18 years. Currently, as a Dean at Moorpark College, her areas include English, Humanities, ESL credit/noncredit, Student Activities, Student Conduct and chairs the Behavioral Intervention Team. She is now ecstatic that she has the whole spectrum of education as a board member for PUC Schools. Her passion is in providing access to education to children and adults and being a board member allows her to serve her community.

MR. ANTONIO PIZANO, BOARD MEMBER

CRA, Senior Credit Manager, Ally Bank

With over 20 years of financial services experience, Antonio has held various positions in the industry mostly dedicated to serving underbanked, underserved, and credit-challenged communities. Currently, he serves as CRA Senior Credit Manager for Ally Bank where he is tasked with originating, underwriting, and closing CRA-eligible loans and investments as part of the Bank’s CRA Strategic Plan. Previously he served as a Consultant to the small business and economic development community in which he provided high-level strategic support in the areas of credit/underwriting, business development, operational efficiencies, staffing, product development, etc. Specifically, Antonio has spent nearly 15 years in various management roles primarily focused on small business lending activities for community development organizations within the CDFI and CDC industries.  He is fluent in Spanish and is active in the areas of business development, public speaking, and workshop facilitation while having served on executive boards for various organizations over the years.

MR. XAVIER REYES, BOARD MEMBER

Founder & CEO, Alta Public Schools, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Reyes is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alta Public Schools, open-admission, tuition-free, public, International Baccalaureate charter schools that serve inner-city Los Angeles students. Mr. Reyes previously served at the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) as the Director of School Development and Outreach. In his capacity at the CCSA, he created and administered a statewide program called Charter Launch that trained and assisted charter school development teams to start their schools in San Diego, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Bernardino and Oakland. Before his tenure at CCSA, Mr. Reyes worked at the LAUSD as a New Facilities Outreach Organizer concentrating in the South and Southeast part of LAUSD as part of a new schools development team. He also has over fifteen years of marketing and business development management experience.