OUR TEAM

Our Staff

Dennis Agnos

Director of Development

  • Dennis joined La Luz as development director in 2024. Previously, Dennis was Chief Development Officer for Social Advocates for Youth, an organization that served children, youth, and their families through crisis stabilization, housing, counseling, and career services throughout Sonoma County. He led and managed all aspects of fundraising of SAY’s $8M annual budget. Dennis' 20-plus years of professional experience includes cultivation and solicitation strategy, board and volunteer management, and corporate investing in community at organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a native of Chicago and a graduate of Bradley University located in Peoria, Illinois yet considers California his home having lived in the sunshine state since 2002. He and his partner reside in Healdsburg with their two daughters.

Elvira

Parent Educator

Maria

Direct Services Advocate

  • Maria was born in Zirahuén, Michoacan. Her family immigrated to the United States when she was seven years old. She has lived in Sonoma Valley since then and she considers herself a Sonoman at heart. Maria lives in the Valley with her husband and her two children. Part of her roll at La Luz is to assess the needs of families, connect them to community resources, and to provide one-on-one coaching and support, as needed. She also assists in coordinating the Volunteer Program.

Yuliana Camarena

Family Services Manager

  • Yuliana was born in Michoacán, Mexico and grew up in Sonoma. She earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Dominican University of California, with concentrations in accounting and marketing. From a young age, Yuliana has been connected with La Luz. She received the Language Award from La Luz while in both elementary and middle school and received the La Luz Scholarship in high school. Yuliana started as an intern in 2014 and joined the full-time staff later that year. Yuliana enjoys creating learning opportunities through programs.

Maura Campbell

Community Engagement Manager

Lindsay Davis

Staff Accountant

James Galindo

ESL Instructor

Patricia

Senior Services Coordinator

Alejandra Granados

Program Assistant

Araceli Gutierrez

Economic Advancement Manager

  • Araceli Gutierrez was born and raised in Salinas, California, to hardworking parents who immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico. Araceli grew up in a close-knit family and values spending time with them. She attended San Jose State University, where she pursued her passion for communication and earned her B.A in Communications Studies.For the past three years, Araceli has worked in the non-profit sector, where she has focused on making a positive impact in her community. Araceli's outgoing personality makes her a natural leader and collaborator. She is comfortable working with people from different backgrounds and has a talent for bringing people together to achieve common goals. Her ability to connect with others is a true asset in her work and in her personal life. Araceli is committed to giving back to her community and making a positive impact in the lives of those around her.

Nena Gutierrez

Parent Educator

Zuleima Hurtado

ECE Teacher

Adriana Jacinto

Direct Services Advocate

  • Adriana Jacinto was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She graduated from the University of Guadalajara with a major in Business Administration. A few months after graduation, she moved to the United States and into a new world. She now lives in Napa with her husband and two daughters. For the last 20 years, Adriana has worked for Low Income Housing -- 13 years in the Housing Administration Department in Income Qualifications and Enforcement of House Rules and 7 years in the Resident Service Department as a Health and Wellness Advocate. She has a strong background and experience working in the community. One of her biggest passions is to better the quality of life and provide equal opportunity for the underserved.

Rosi Ledezma

ECE Teacher

Leonardo Lobato

Executive Director

  • Leonardo has more than 20 years of international business and education experience. He was founder and CEO of the International Center for Reciprocal Training (ICRT), an organization supporting Latinx higher education students with international internships. At IAESTE Mexico (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience), he facilitated internships for STEM and life sciences students in more than 80 countries. His business experience includes positions at Coors Brewing Company and Johnson and Johnson. Leonardo is a native of Mexico and holds master’s degrees from Stanford University and Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Ivan Macedonio

Financial Advancement Coordinator

  • Ivan was born in the State of Mexico. At the age of 2, his parents immigrated with him to America, seeking a better life in Sonoma. Being the oldest of three siblings, Ivan was the first in his family to go directly to a four-year university. Earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Business Economics from the University of California, Merced in the spring of 2019. At the age of fifteen, Ivan was introduced to La Luz Center when he chose to volunteer at the front desk and events. Ivan was a La Luz Scholarship recipient as a Senior in high school and learned early on the value of volunteering, and he grew a yearning to give back to his community. Ivan is motivated to help generate economic growth and bridge the gap between local resources and Hispanic business owners. Ivan has extensive knowledge of small business development and licensing. When he is not at work, you can find him assisting his family's business, fishing, or watching sports. He is proud to be a first-generation immigrant.

Marisela Martinez

ECE Teacher

Sonia Mendoza

Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator

Rocio Monter

Parent LEAD Manager

Andrew Olding

Director of Finance

Adriana

Direct Services Resources Associate

  • Adriana, Immigrant to the United States with her parents and two brothers at the age of 10-years-old. Her parents wanted to build a better life for their kid. Her first two years in the United States was in Los Angeles until her parents decide to move to Sonoma for a better environment and jobs opportunities. Adriana continued her education from L.A. to Sonoma Valley High School. She has lived in Sonoma for over 20 years with daughter and partner.

Marisol Reyes

Parent and Community Navigator

Ana

ECE Teacher

Sandy Sanchez

Director of Programs

  • Sandy was born and raised in Sonoma Valley. Wanting to give back to her community, she began volunteering at La Luz Center and became an intern while attending university. In May 2015, Sandy graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelors in Sociology. While doing a year of service work through AmeriCorps, she was able to assist La Luz Center by developing the infrastructure for the Volunteer Program. Sandy has held several positions with La Luz Center since 2015 and hopes to continue a lifelong career in the nonprofit sector. In addition to her passion for service work, she is the proud mentor of Sahudy, a local middle- schooler.

Josie Santoyo

Employment Training Coordinator

  • Josie was born and raised in Sonoma Valley. She earned a B.A. in Humanities and a minor in Gender Studies from Dominican University of California. From a young age, Josie has been passionate about helping others and giving back to the community through volunteer work. After college, she joined Americorps and provided tutoring and mentoring to students. Josie worked with the Napa County Office of Education for 8 years and has experience with education, training and running after school programs. Now she is pleased to be working in her hometown, at La Luz as the Employment and Training Coordinator.

Lauren Sugihara

Accounting and HR Manager

Miriam Zenon

Community Engagement Coordinator

Our Board

Jose Alvarez

  • Jose Alvarez moved to Sonoma Valley in 1999 from Janamuato, Michoacan, Mexico. He attended Sonoma Valley High School and Santa Rosa Junior College. Shortly after graduating from high school, Jose started his banking career and has worked in financial services for 16 years. Jose is very passionate about financial literacy and has been partnering with local organizations over the last several years, sharing vital banking and money management information with the Sonoma Valley community. Jose has been recognized at the county level providing financial education. In 2018, Jose received the Forty Under 40 Award from the North Bay Business Journal, and in 2019 he was also recognized by the Business Journal with the Latino Leadership award for his work and dedication to improving financial literacy in our community. Jose is a former board member for the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center and he also serves as a board member and is part of the executive committee for the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Kelli Anderson

  • Kelli Anderson grew up in Hollister, CA, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Anthropology before starting her career in journalism as an intern at the Point Reyes Light. After moving to New York City, she joined Sports Illustrated, where she covered college basketball and the Summer Olympics, among other things, for more than 20 years. As a freelance writer, she has written about a range of subjects, from ground-breaking brain cancer research to innovative educational technology to the comparative coffee cultures of San Francisco and Seattle. She has lived in the Sonoma Valley for the last 24 years and is a member of Sonoma’s Impact100, a woman’s philanthropic organization.

Kent Anderson

  • Kent Anderson is semi-retired retail executive, having spent the majority of his career with the Macy’s Corporation where he served as head of Marketing and Sales Promotion, Chief Financial Officer of Macys’ West Coast division, founder and longtime President of macys.com and finally Managing Director of Macy’s China. He is a transformative executive who introduced new technologies, built a multi-billion-dollar division, and brought the Macy’s brand to mainland China. Today, he is the CEO of Gear Up Consulting where he advises startups in the consumer-focused use of artificial intelligence and block chain technologies. Kent has been a board member of the San Francisco YMCA, the Global leadership Council of the College of Business at Colorado State University and the New York Fashion Institute of Technology focused on emerging retail concepts. He is a founding board member of the Village of Sonoma Valley and a mentor in the Sonoma Mentor Program. He has lived in Sonoma since 2017, and enjoys a variety of sports, gardening and wine making. He has been married for 45 years and has three adult children and 6 grandchildren.

Vanessa Balderrama

  • Vanessa Balderrama, was born in Merida, Yucatan and lived there for 6 years before migrating to California. Vanessa has called Sonoma home over 35 years, she attended Flowery, Altimira and Sonoma Valley High School. Vanessa fell in love with our beautiful small town and community and feels truly fortunate to raise her two boys here with her husband Sean. Before serving as Sonoma’s Branch Manager at North Bay Credit Union, Vanessa’s career began at Basque Boulangerie Café and span over 21 years starting in the deli department with promotions to café manager and onto office manager/sales representative. Vanessa is passionate about her community and dedicated to volunteering her time and leadership. Vanessa’s values align with La Luz’s mission, on family services, economic advancement, and community engagement. She is also a member of Rotary Sonoma Springs, Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce and Sonoma Valley High School Booster Club. Vanessa volunteers at local park clean ups, partnered with La Luz’s tutoring program at El Verano School, local job fairs and events. She participates in Octoberfest, John’s March Against Stomach Cancer and Relay for Life and loves to attend the Sonoma International Film Festival, Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival, and many more events Sonoma Valley has to offer. Vanessa likes to spend time with her family barbecuing, listening to music, dancing or just sitting on the couch relaxing watching a Giants game.

Kimberly Blattner

  • Kimberly Blattner moved to Sonoma in 1982. She was raised in Oregon and came to California in 1967 to attend Stanford where she received a B.A. in Political Science and captained the women’s varsity swimming team.  She received an M.A. and elementary and secondary teaching credentials from UC Davis and taught high school from 1975-1990.  She chaired the English Department at Sonoma Valley High School from 1988-90. In 1994, she and her husband, Simon, remodeled an 1881 farmhouse and received the League for Historic Preservation Award. Since coming to Sonoma she has served on the boards of the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley Fund (VP), Sonoma Valley Collaborative, Valley of the Moon Music Festival (President), Catalyst Fund Steering Committee. For the SV Art Museum, she chaired Wet Paint and Great Places Great Spaces. She also served on the city’s Community Services and Environment Commission for eight years. For La Luz, she co-chaired Noche de Luna and the Capital Campaign, chaired the Board of Directors twice and has served on the governance, strategic planning and development committees. In 2020 and 21 she and her husband were selected as the city’s alcaldes (honorary mayors) and as the Muses for the Community Center in 2023, both honors for their service to the Sonoma community.  

Bill Blosser

  • Bill Blosser grew up in Oakland, California and moved to Sonoma in 2011 with his wife Dorinda.  In 1970 he co-founded Sokol Blosser Winery in the Dundee Hills of Oregon, building it to one of the largest wineries in the state.  The winery is now operated by one of his sons and his daughter, leaving Bill time to continue his long history of public service. In Oregon, he successively served as chair of three state commissions and served on numerous industry and non-profit boards. He also worked many years for an international engineering firm; his work took him to live and work throughout Latin America. Prior to joining the Board, he served on the La Luz Latino Leadership Program committee.

Ligia Booker

Founder & Board Emeritus

Rayne Dessayer

Secretary

  • Rayne Dessayer Before serving on the Board, Rayne Dessayer served La Luz on its Advisory Board and NOCHE Committee. Rayne moved to Sonoma from San Francisco, where her career was in the hospitality industry, in management at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hyatt Regency (Monterey), and Four Seasons Hotel. Rayne established and operated The Hospitality Group, a staffing service for San Francisco’s hotels and private clubs. In Sonoma, she substitute teaches and, in addition to La Luz, is active with Sonomas Mentoring Alliance, the CERES Project, Teen Services Sonoma, and Impact100.

Bill Hake

President

  • Bill Hake was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He and his wife Laurie moved to Sonoma in 2006. His involvement with La Luz began when his wife joined La Luz’s Noche Committee in 2008. Bill is a graduate of San Jose State University and UOP’s McGeorge School of Law. He has spent over 35 years as a Trial Attorney, mediator, and lecturer on various legal topics, including advocacy, corporate governance, and ethics. His teaching experience includes appointments at Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of San Francisco, and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. Bill’s community involvement includes various volunteer activities and service on non-profit boards, including Valley of the Moon Natural History Association, Central Marin Soccer League, Ross Valley Soccer Club, Tidalwave Swim Club, and The American Wild Horse Campaign. His work in the non-profit sector has focused on governance and same sector partnership development. Bill serves on La Luz’s Nomination/Governance and Human Resources Committees.  In his spare time Bill enjoys traveling with his wife Laurie, visiting family and their grandchildren.

Meg Kellogg

  • Meg Kellogg has lived in Sonoma since 2018 and Berkeley, SF and Atherton before that. Serving the Latinx community is Meg's priority.  She is a Spanish translator for FISH and on the Board, PR and Noche Committees for La Luz. In College years, Meg worked with the economically disadvantaged in Morelia, Michoacán. Meg is also part of Sonoma's Impact100 and on the San Francisco Opera Guild Board.  Meg has experience in all spheres of health care management: medical groups, hospitals, health plans, government and medical technology investments.  She served as Director of Strategic Planning and Product Development at Kaiser Permanente, Founding Co-editor, Medical Technology Stock Letter, Director of Corporate Planning for Pacific Medical Center and has held leadership positions in the US Health Care Financing Administration, Washington DC. Her last "gig" was as Founder and Director of the Global Health Leadership Forum based at UC Berkeley and Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Meg is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a masters in Community Health from Stanford University. Meg speaks French and Spanish.

Paige Locke

Beth Stelluto Dunaier

Vice-President

  • Beth Stelluto Dunaier and her husband, Howard, have lived in Sonoma County for nearly 20 years, moving from Kenwood to Sonoma in 2018. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and the Wharton Graduate School of Business. After a rewarding career in Personal Finance as a marketing and business line executive with Charles Schwab and other organizations, Beth shifted her attention to the intersection of philanthropy and business. She is an advisor to the Marin Sonoma Impact Venture Fund, invests in start-up organizations and serves on several non-profit boards addressing systemic change in environment, social justice and economic opportunities. Beth joined the La Luz Board in 2020 and serves as the Board Vice President and chair of the Microloan Committee. Beth enjoys being outdoors here in beautiful Sonoma, singing with the Free Spirits Gospel Choir, learning Spanish – poco a poco, and simply enjoying life with a rich network of amazing friends and family.

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