Who We Are

Rich is a 20-year entertainment, consumer products, and sports marketing veteran who has conceptualized and executed award-winning product launch campaigns. He is currently the Executive Vice President of Brand & Community at the Los Angeles Football Club. Prior to LAFC, he co-founded American-made menswear brand Exley, Vice President of Marketing at Warner Bros. Television, and Executive Director of Advertising and Promotion at CBS Paramount Television. Rich is a co-founder of the LAFC Youth Leadership Program and a member of the Delta Aeromexico Latino Outreach Leadership Advisory Board.

As a commercial banking relationship manager, Maki is responsible for providing comprehensive expertise to help clients navigate an increasingly complex environment. Maki has worked in the banking and financial services industry since 1996. She spent a few years at U.S. Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and is active in her community, sitting on the Bresee Board of Directors. She enjoys food, wine, and international travel.

Heidi is a partner in the PwC deals practice. For over 16 years, she has advised public and private companies primarily in the entertainment, media, and technology sectors. Heidi is a certified public accountant and a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She attended UCLA and graduated with high honors, majoring in business economics and minoring in accounting, with a specialization in computing. She is fluent in English and Chinese.

Juan is a Vice President in J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank with over 13 years of banking and investment management experience. He received his M.B.A from the Johnson School at Cornell, his B.A in History with a Psychology and Business concentration from the University of San Diego, where he was a member of the Division I soccer team. Juan resides in Eagle Rock with his wife and two sons and is an avid volunteer (since 2000) at St. Francis High School’s soccer program.

Linda is a Senior Vice President, Private Client Manager with Bank of America Private Bank. Linda’s main objectives are to help identify their needs, provide guidance and coordinate with the appropriate representatives of the Bank of America Private Bank platform of extensive resources to support each client’s overall wealth strategy. Linda is a four-time recipient of Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Award. Linda has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2020 for Women’s Leadership “Volunteer of the Year” finalist. Linda earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Portland State University and an MBA from the Executive program at USC Marshall School of Business.

Hailing from Belfast, N. Ireland, Tim moved to the U.S. in 1982, working in the restaurant industry before entering the tech industry in 1994. In 2001, he founded DataMate Global, Inc. providing one of the first Corporate Instant Messaging platforms. Since 2009, he has been leading the Business Development team in the U.S. for Action Point. In addition to sitting on Bresee’s board, Tim mentors several young tech entrepreneurs, and he is on the Board of Directors for The Martin Trust and helped establish the LAFC Youth Leadership Program.

Craig is a Partner in KPMG’s Private Equity practice. He serves as the global lead partner on some of the Los Angeles office’s largest and highest priority private equity clients and is focused on bringing the best of KPMG’s talent and information to private equity owned companies and their capital providers. In addition to his service on the Bresee board, Craig serves as the Partner Sponsor for the Los Angeles Chapter of KPMG Family for Literacy, where he's part of a commitment to provide over 60,000 books to students in the LA school system.

Ramon serves as the Chief Compliance Officer at First Republic Bank. He joined First Republic in 2018 with over 20 years of experience in the legal, trust, and private banking industries. Previously, he managed the Trust Administration and Estate Settlement Departments at CIT Bank within their Private Bank Division. Ramon earned his Juris Doctor degree from USC, his bachelors in sociology, cum laude, from UCLA, and his high school degree, cum laude, from Loyola High School.

Chris is the Community Reinvestment Officer and Foundation President of Banc of California. He maintains company-wide responsibility for community reinvestment performance in lending, investments and services with a primary focus on low and moderate income individuals and communities. Chris was introduced to Bresee thru the Bank’s partnership with the LAFC and the YLP program. He is inspired by the work that Bresee does in a community that lacks exposure to opportunities and works to further their mission and vision in the battle against poverty.

Fidel serves as Manager of Government Affairs for PepsiCo. Prior to his current role, he worked with the Small Business Development Center - LA Network under the College of Business & Public Management. Growing up in México City, Fidel developed a desire to study and emerge himself in International Business from an early age. He received his B.A. in International Business from CSU, Fullerton, and earned his MBA with an emphasis in Marketing & International Business from the University of La Verne.

Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Mirei is a marketing strategy and consumer insights consultant, and is the founder and CEO of Illumirai, LLC. In her work, she focuses on helping organizations understand cross-cultural differences in people’s psychology and behaviors. She has always been passionate about education and social equity, and is inspired by the lasting positive impact Bresee makes on the community it serves and beyond. She earned her PhD and MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, and her BA in psychology from Cornell University. She also holds a certificate in sustainability from UCLA.

Jennifer is an account manager at Western Audio Visual, and has served on the Bresee Board of Directors since 2004. Her involvement with Bresee started in 1999 and for Jennifer, it was both the programs and staff that captured her attention, both of which strive to meet the people at their deepest needs and make those needs their own. Jennifer is inspired by the way the Bresee affirms the dignity of all people, and is able to motivate them to take responsibility for and improve their situation.

John is an American songwriter and recording artist from Los Angeles, California whose music has been featured on various television shows, as well as multiple short and feature length films. As a songwriter, John has received numerous honors including a John Lennon Songwriting Award, an L.A Stage Alliance Ovation Award, and nominations by the American Independent Music Awards. He’s a founding member of the indie folk band, Towers of Temple City. Most recently Torres co-composed the music and lyrics to the now award winning musical theater adaptation of the 1980 Warner Bros film “Bronco Billy.”.

Ljupco is Founder and President of E3 Management Solutions, a management advisory company that partners with clients to drive operational excellence and navigate change. Ljupco has over 20 years of experience working at top global organizations ranging from Disney, Comcast’s NBC Universal, and 20th Century Fox. In addition, Ljupco serves on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management Alumni Board of Directors and holds MBA’s from the UCLA Anderson and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Ljupco also holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley.

Ani is a Sr. Vice President and Relationship Manager for U.S. Bank’s Commercial Banking, focusing on middle market companies in Los Angeles with revenue of $25 million to $1 billion. Ani is responsible for leading a team of specialists focused on understanding each client’s unique needs to deliver strategic financial guidance and solutions. With 26 years of experience, Ani began her banking career at Bank of America where she spent 24 years in various capacities, joining U.S. Bank in 2019. Ani was born and raised in Los Angeles, and graduated with a B.S. degree in Business with an emphasis on Business Law from California State University, Northridge