Board of Directors
WE BELIEVE IN BLCI! Leaders from the business, education, media and non-profit communities serve alongside parents and staff to ensure our success as a thriving, sustainable organization.
Chairperson
Laura K. Fleming
Nonprofit Consultant
M.Ed., Educational Leadership
B.A., European Studies
Laura has over 15 years experience in philanthropy and education. In the past, she served as the Executive Director for the national membership organization Grantmakers for Education, managed the La Jolla-based Girard Foundation, and worked in development for the University of San Diego.
Laura has been active as a mentor and community supporter of BLCI since its inception in 1996. She joined the board in 2002.
Vice-Chair
Gregg Choe
TPL Group
Manager of Strategy and Corporate Finance
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
B.A. Political Science - International Relations (with Honors)
In his seven years in the field of finance and investment, Gregg has served as an associate at Relational Advisors, a boutique investment banking firm, and as an investment analyst at Nicholas Applegate Capital Management. He began his career at Wells Fargo & Co.’s Private Client Group.
Gregg is a member and former Chair of the Asian Business Association Government and Community Affairs Committee. In addition to his work on our board, he has served as a mentor for BLCI alum Edgar Mendoza ('06).
Treasurer
Ken Little
Brandes Investment Partners, L.P.
Partner
DUKE UNIVERSITY
M.B.A.
UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE
B.S., Accounting
Ken has more than 10 years of experience in the investment management industry. Prior to his tenure at Brandes Investment Partners, he was a senior accountant with the international public accounting firm of KPMG. Ken also currently serves as Treasurer/CFO and a member of the board of directors of Helix Community Conservancy.
Dr. James V. Cimino
Wells Fargo Private Client Services
Executive Vice-President/Managing Director, Southwest Region
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
Ph.D.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
M.B.A., Finance and Security Analysis
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON
B.S.
Jim has more than 25 years of experience in the high net worth (private banking) financial services industry. He has been regional manager of San Diego and Santa Barbara for Wells Fargo PCS, and the senior vice president and community banking division manager of the southern California region for Bank of America.
Jim currently serves on the board of directors for the San Diego Chapter of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, the California Trust for Public Land, the San Diego Museum of Art and the University of California, San Diego Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
Jim served on the Barrio Logan College Institute Board of Directors from 1999-2007 and was instrumental in developing sustainability strategies to ensure that BLCI services would be available to local students for years to come!
Board Members
Penny Adler
Registered Nurse
Assesor for long-term care
B.A.
In addition to serving on the BLCI Board, Penny serves as a mentor for students at San Diego High and The Preuss School at UCSD. Additionally, she has served on the education committee of the League of Women Voters, the High School Drop Out Task Force, and BLCI's Educational Advisory Committee.
Joseph N. Casas
Casas Law Group, P.C.
Managing Attorney
Chicago-Kent College of Law: ILLINOIS INST. OF TECHNOLOGY
J.D.
Stuart School of Business: ILLINOIS INST. OF TECHNOLOGY
M.B.A.
B.A.
Prior to starting his own practice, Joseph was a litigation associate for the national firm of McKenna, Long, and Aldridge, LLP (MLA). While serving as a lieutenant in the Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps from 2001 – 2004, he prosecuted cases involving serious assaults, narcotics, child exploitation, white-collar crime, and national security; before that, he served as Corporal for the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
Joseph serves on the board of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is affiliated with the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the National Council of La Raza, and the Federal and San Diego Bar Associations.
Carlos Delgado
XETV: Fox 6 News
Reporter
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
B.A. Broadcast Journalism/Spanish
A native San Diegan, Carlos has covered news along the border for KYMA (Yuma, AZ), crossed over into Spanish news reports with Telemundo, and reported for stations all over California, including KMAX, UPN (Sacramento), KESQ (Palm Springs), Orange County News Channel (Los Angeles), and Fox KMPH (Fresno).
Carlos is passionate about working with at-risk youth; he took two years off to teach at a juvenile hall in Los Angeles. As the newest addition to the BLCI board, he continues to be involved with community service.
Greg Rippel
Brandes Investment Partners, L.P.
Senior Analyst
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
M.B.A.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
B.A., BUSINESS ECONOMICS
Greg has more than ten years of experience in investment management, finance, and accounting. Prior to joining Brandes, Greg worked for Greyrock Capital and Coopers & Lyband (now PricewaterhouseCoopers).
Mark Silver
Middle School Principal
Francis Parker School
University of San Diego
Currently pursuing PhD Educational Leadership
Stanford University
M.A. HISTORY
Amherst College
B.A. AMERICAN STUDIES
A career educator, Mark moved with his family to San Diego three years ago to accept the position as the Middle School Principal at Francis Parker School, a local independent school. Prior to Parker, Mark worked for eight years at Crystal Springs Uplands School, a 6-12 independent school in the Bay Area. During that time, Mark served in a variety of administrative roles, including as the Head of the Middle School, and also taught U.S. history to 8 th and 11 th graders.
In addition to his work at independent schools, Mark devoted several summers to two programs – Aim High and Summer Bridge – that provided additional educational opportunities for low-income students in the Bay Area. Mark also served as the 2 nd Vice President for the Coyote Point Museum Board of Trustees while in the Bay Area. As part of his graduate work at USD, Mark is conducting research on local charter schools as well as seeking ways to make independent schools more accessible and inclusive.
Sylvia Tenorio
San Diego County District Attorney's Office
Deputy District Attorney
BOALT HALL SCHOOL OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
J.D.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
M.A. LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
B.A. SOCIAL ECOLOGY WITH A MINOR IN SPANISH LITERATURE
Sylvia shares BLCI's passion for higher education. She is the first in her extended family to attend and graduate from a university and then law school. She received her B.A. from UC Irvine; her M.A. in Latin American Studies from UC Berkeley; and her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley. Prior to working with the San Diego District Attorney's Office, she was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services General Counsel's Office in Washington, D.C.
In addition to her involvement at BLCI, Sylvia is active in thecommunity, and is a member of La Raza Lawyers Association, the San Diego District Attorney's Diversity Pipeline Committee, and the Francis Parker Community Council.
Sylvia will be working on several projects to put BLCI students in touch with the legal community including a job shadowing and mock trial programs.
Jose Luis Vallejo
CityLink Investment Corporation
Junior Consultant
B.A., Economics
Jose is a BLCI alum and bas been an active member of BLCI since its inception in 1996. Currently employed by CityLink Investment Corporation, he serves as a junior analyst working under the guidance of acclaimed developer and former San Diego City Council Member William Jones. In addition to serving on our board, Jose currently serves as a board member of San Diego Summer Bridge and Any Body Can Youth Program.
Jaime Velasco
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
Admissions Officer & Manager of the Triton Center
Denise Whisenhunt
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Associate Dean of Outreach
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, COLUMBUS SCHOOL OF LAW
J.D.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
B.A., Political Science
Denise Whisenhunt has over twelve years of experience working in higher education. She currently serves as the Associate Dean of Outreach, responsible for overseeing the district outreach efforts for the San Diego Community College District.
Honorary Board
Louis Ferrero
Retired
Stedman Graham
Stedman Graham and Partners
Luis Natividad
National City Councilman
Kimberly Querrey
Querrey Enterprises
Arturo Rivera
Washington Mutual
Louis Simpson
GEICO