Our Leadership Team

our advisory board

Jonathan Carmona

Jonathan Carmona (he/him/el) is a DEI executive practitioner with 15 years of designing operations, capabilities, and strategies to solve complex problems and drive progress along every stage of the employee lifecycle. As one of few openly LGBTQ+ Latino leaders in the field, he has dedicated his life’s work to addressing systemic inequities, uplifting historically marginalized communities, and enabling organizational change across a wide spread of sectors including academic institutions, startups, healthcare, technology, and environmental. Jonathan is celebrating three years at Patagonia Inc's as Director, Global Justice & Belonging.

Juana V. Chavez

Juana “Juanita” Chavez is the Director of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. She leads efforts to protect the environment, address climate change, and advance environmental justice throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
Before joining the Sierra Club, Chavez served at the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF) alongside her mother, civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, where she directed Communications and Development and raised funds for DHF’s Peace and Justice Center Capital Campaign.
A graduate of San Francisco State University, Chavez spent more than a decade teaching in underserved public schools in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She co-founded and served as staff advisor to Mission High School’s first Gay-Straight Alliance, and as a United Teachers of Los Angeles Chapter Chair.
Chavez’s career reflects a lifelong commitment to equity, education, and empowering communities to create lasting social and environmental change.

Jessica Smith

Jess is a lifelong student of social change with an appreciation for all the stakeholders needed to make progress. From organizing grassroots efforts in an under-resourced school district on the Dominican-Haitian border to implementing trust-based grantmaking practices for the corporate foundation of a multi-billion dollar company, their commitment to creating equitable change ripples out into every aspect of their work. Jess is relentless in their (un)learning journey, making them a perfect fit for organizations committed to aligning their social impact with their intentions. Their goal is to infuse equity into funding and grantmaking practices to uplift community programs prioritizing the voices of the very people an organization serves, with special consideration for historically excluded and underserved people. They draw from their lived experiences, coupled with their sociological expertise and nonprofit experience, to apply a uniquely inclusive lens in corporate spaces. They also enjoy traveling, biking, and music.

Pamela A. Aguilar

Pamela A. Aguilar is an Emmy-winning media executive and creative leader known for shaping programming that’s bold, resonant, and built to connect. She has spent her career at the intersection of creative storytelling and strategic leadership—developing scripted and unscripted content, building hit series, and driving brand growth across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms.
Most recently, Pamela served as Senior Vice President, Head of Smithsonian Channel at Paramount, where she oversaw original development and international format adaptation across documentary, competition, lifestyle, and food and travel genres. Under her leadership, Smithsonian achieved record audience growth and expanded key franchises including Ice Airport Alaska and Extreme Airport Africa. She also oversaw hit series such as the long-running Aerialfranchise, How Did They Build That?, and How Did They Fix That?—strengthening Smithsonian’s position as a global destination for premium factual entertainment.
Previously, Pamela was Vice President of Original Documentaries at MTV Entertainment Studios, where she led the development and strategy of documentary programming across MTV, VH1, and Smithsonian Channel. Earlier in her career, she was part of the senior editorial team at PBS, where she developed and oversaw acclaimed series including No Passport Required with Marcus Samuelsson, Somewhere South with Vivian Howard, and Big Pacific, narrated by Daniel Dae Kim.
She began her career writing, producing, and directing scripted and documentary projects exploring culture, identity, and social change—including America by the Numbers, The Graduates/Los Graduados, and Between Two Plates, a bilingual telenovela-inspired health series.
Today, Pamela continues to develop original content across both scripted and unscripted spaces, and advises on creative strategy, bringing her signature blend of creative instinct, business acumen, and leadership to stories that cut through the clutter and connect with audiences worldwide.
She serves on the boards of Women Make Movies and Justice for My Sister, and is a graduate of The New School in New York City. Originally from California, Pamela remains a passionate advocate for inclusive, globally resonant storytelling that inspires, empowers, and entertains.

Mayte Sanchez

Mayte Sanchez is the Senior Director of Energy at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, where she oversees its public-private Clean Energy Partnership that is accelerating the move to 100% clean energy while ensuring we meet the needs of transportation electrification, building decarbonization, and grid resiliency in the Greater Los Angeles Region ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prior to LACI, Mayte worked as the Senior State Affairs Liaison at the California Independent System Operator, advancing initiatives that supported California’s clean electric grid transition. Mayte began her work in energy serving as a Legislative Aide for the California State Assembly, where she led a coalition that passed at the time the nation's largest investment in clean energy for low-income renters.