Our Leadership – Redeemer Community Partnership

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Richard Parks is the president and founder of Redeemer Community Partnership. He moved to the neighborhood in 1986 to study at the University of Southern California and never left. Today, he and his wife Anna, are raising their three children in the neighborhood. Prior to taking his current position with the organization in 2019, he played a catalytic role in launching and leading a series of urban research centers at USC including: the Southern California Studies Center, the Urban Initiative, the Provost Initiative on Immigrant Integration, the Center for Social Innovation, the Preservation of Life Initiative, and the Center for Sustainability Solutions. He founded Redeemer Community Partnership to help create a safe, nurturing community for children and their families through leadership development, community transformation and resident partnerships.

Richard Parks

President

Karina was born and raised in southern Los Angeles. A devoted wife, and mother of two, she graduated high school setting her sight on the medical field. She spent over 10 years as a certified allied health assistant. Working closely with the Christian community and underprivileged families her focus shifted to assisting non-speaking English children, including her own daughter, in their educational journey. Her path led her to a wonderful program called Adventures Ahead and spent much of her time assisting and volunteering in the program. Karina is currently a teacher in the program where she has been inspiring kids with her passion for math and love of reading.

Karina Del Cid

Adventures Ahead, Associate Director

Nancy grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and Phoenix, and recently moved back to LA. After receiving her BA in Global Studies and Political Science from Arizona State University, she spent 2 years working on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, TX/Ciudad Juárez, CHIH. There, she coordinated a high school program at a community development nonprofit focusing on career, college, life skills preparedness as well as holistic formation in mental, spiritual, and emotional health. She also supported migrant shelters on both sides of the border, taught groups in border/immigration education experiences, and advocated for humane, dignified migration at the local, state, and federal level. She is excited to partner with RCP on its environmental justice campaigns to end neighborhood oil drilling and extend health and air quality protections to all frontline communities.

Nancy Lam

Director of Organizing and Policy

Sharis Flores is a proud South Los Angeles native and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She is currently a senior at the University of Southern California, majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in Urban Sustainable Planning. Growing up in South LA, Sharis witnessed firsthand the environmental inequities impacting her community. As a child, she attended the Adventures Ahead program during the school year and summer, where she learned about local environmental harms, which include the impacts of neighborhood oil drilling, and it is an experience that deeply shaped her commitment to environmental justice. At USC, Sharis is part of Dímelo’s Sustainability Sin Fronteras newsletter, where her team explores the intersection of environmentalism and the Latine community. In addition, she supports the project through community events that promote sustainability, accessibility, and environmental justice. In her free time, Sharis enjoys exploring LA’s hidden gems with her family. She is driven by a deep love for her community and a commitment to helping build an equitable, sustainable future for South Los Angeles.

Sharis Flores

Intern

Levi Williams is a born and raised California Native. He enjoys long walks on the beach with his soon to be wifey, Kristie.

Adventures Ahead Teachers

Wendy Garcia was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, an experience that deeply shaped her passion for education and community advocacy. Growing up and attending school in South Los Angeles, she witnessed firsthand the challenges many students face, including unequal access to opportunities, language barriers, and limited resources. These experiences inspired her commitment to giving back and supporting youth in her community.

Wendy is currently a dedicated undergraduate student at California State University, Los Angeles, where she is pursuing a degree in Communications with a minor in Child Development. As a first-generation college student, she is driven to use communication as a tool for social change, particularly in improving educational systems for underserved communities.

Approximately three years ago, Wendy joined Adventures Ahead, where she found a meaningful opportunity to give back to the same community that shaped her. In her role, she supports students’ academic growth and confidence while creating a positive and inclusive learning environment. Her work is rooted in empathy, cultural understanding, and a strong belief that every child deserves equal opportunities to succeed.

Wendy Garcia

Teacher

Iris Santos brings over 20 years of customer service and retail experience, shaped by resilience and heart. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, she faced and overcame significant health challenges, building a strength that carries into everything she does. Her journey led her to Adventures Ahead, where she found her passion for guiding and inspiring young learners—nurturing their reading skills while encouraging creativity through drawing and arts and crafts. Iris creates a space where curiosity grows, imagination thrives, and every child feels supported as they learn and express themselves.

Iris Santos

Teacher

Jorge Porras was born in Lynwood, California, and raised in the city of Lennox. He is proud to be part of the Latino community and the son of two hardworking parents who inspire him to go after his goals with confidence and perseverance. Jorge’s passion for education began in high school when he began volunteering at Buford Elementary in their after-school program called LEAP. Through this program, Jorge helped students with their homework, and while doing so, he discovered how much he enjoyed guiding students to reach their full potential. This experience helped him realize that he wanted to become a teacher. But not just any teacher; Jorge wanted to become a mentor whom students can trust and look up to, but most importantly, he wanted to shape students to become good citizens of society. Jorge wanted to plant a seed so that his teachings and words could spread like roots in a tree. His ultimate goal is for his students to teach others and create a chain reaction of learning, helping make the world a better place. To make this dream become a reality, Jorge is currently attending Cal State LA and majoring in Child Development. Not only that, but Jorge recently joined Adventures Ahead, where he is excited to act on his goal of helping children blossom with confidence and love for learning.

Jorge Porras

Teacher

Board of Directors

Rev. Gay serves as the Pastor of men’s discipleship at Faithful Central Bible Church. Prior to taking this position he worked in the fundraising field for many years, including time with the Covenant Church’s Pacific Southwest Conference and as Promise Keepers’ West Coast Development Director. For almost 20 years, he served as senior deputy for Gil Lindsey, Los Angeles’ first African-American City Council member in a community just east of RCP’s neighborhood.

In 1996, Mr. Strand founded Nova Composites, a Seattle-based company that designs and fabricates high-tech parts for the aerospace industry. He came to know RCP through a week-long church mission trip, during which time he refurbished our tutoring center and coached basketball clinics for our grade-school students. Mr. Strand recently sold his company to Park Aerospace Structures Corp. and now serves as president. He and his wife Kathy have three daughters, the youngest of whom has traveled to Los Angeles twice to teach dance clinics for our summer program. Mr. Strand has an engineering degree from Seattle Pacific University and an MBA from the University of Washington.

Richard Parks is the president and founder of Redeemer Community Partnership. He moved to the neighborhood in 1986 to study at the University of Southern California and never left.

Read full bio above.

Michael A. Mata has designed and administered community and faith-based programs for over 30 years, particularly in the areas of community development, congregational redevelopment, intercultural programs, organizational and leadership development, ministry/nonprofit management and community youth development. Recently appointed to direct the Los Angeles Program in Masters in Transformational Urban Leadership at Azusa Pacific Seminary he is also the Community Transformation Specialist with Compassion Creates Change, Inc. and an affiliated faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to his current assignments he was the Urban Development Director for World Vision U.S. Program where he was responsible for guiding the department’s implementation of its Signature Programs Model (community transformation focused on community youth development). Mata was the Mildred M. Hutchinson Assistant Professor of Urban Ministry (the first endowed chair in urban ministry) and Director of the Urban Leadership Institute at the Claremont School of Theology (1993-2003). As an ordained minister, he served fifteen years as part of the pastoral team at Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene (a multi-ethnic/multi-congregation church with a highly regarded community program and prominent youth program) and two years as Pastor of Urban Mission at Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene. He is also the former Director of the Bresee Institute (a key resource for faith-based community and leadership development efforts, which gained distinction among the academic, business and political leaders of Los Angeles under his leadership).

Ms. Parks moved into the community in 1998 and led the Adventures Ahead steering committee during the program’s first three years. Most recently, she developed Redeemer’s School Choices brochure and conducted extensive trainings with parents across South LA. When not juggling the needs of her three children, she serves part-time as Redeemer’s administrator and part-time as the Student Services Coordinator for the USC Professional Doctorate Program in Policy, Planning and Development. She has a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California (USC) and a B.A. degree in Philosophy from Pomona College.