Leadership Team

In 2012, a group of business, technology and talent leaders in Southern California saw the need for skilled talent and a lack of diversity in technology jobs first-hand, plus recognized the economic gap. See Something, Do Something. We formed STEM Advantage.

We manage our non-profit like a business and an “investment” in the future. Through partnerships, collaboration, and a collective impact model, we have a cost effective and efficient approach to advancing gender and racial equity in the STEM workforce driven by an active, engaged Board of Directors and Advisory Board. We provide economic and social mobility to underserved groups, while providing a vetted pipeline of diverse talent to businesses. Our goal is a diverse, equitable and inclusive skilled workforce.

Board of Directors

Lee Ann Kline

President and Founder, STEM Advantage

Cindy McKenzie

Vice President and Co-Founder, STEM Advantage

Melanie Hildebrandt

Secretary, STEM Advantage
SVP & CIO,
Endeavor

David Buckholtz

Treasurer, STEM Advantage
SVP, Deputy Head of Global IT Infrastructure, Sony

Christina Shareef

Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging & Emerging Talent, Reddit

T. Fox

Director of Student Success & Advising, College of Business and Economics, Cal State LA

Photo of Maben Jimenez

Maben Jimenez

Associate Principal Director, The Aerospace Corporation

Danielle Yamane

STEM Advantage Alumna
Senior Information Security Engineer, The Trade Desk

Thomas Phelps

Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy & CIO, Laserfiche

Charles Sims

Chief Technology Officer,
United Talent Agency

Brandon Reilly

Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Arlene Semwezi

Arlene Semwezi

Personal Lines IT APMO Director, Farmers Insurance

Helen Norris headshot photo

Helen Norris

CIO and VP, Chapman University

Photo of Marisa Diaz, STEM Advantage board member

Marisa Diaz

Campus Outreach Manager, Google

Photo of Milan Plavsich

Milan Plavsich

Vice President of Engineering, Qualcomm

Photo of Octavio Martinez

Octavio Martinez

Vice President of Product and Test Engineering, Qualcomm

Photo of Raj Senugupta

Raj Sengupta

Managing Director, Deloitte

Photo of Raquel Marquez

Raquel Marquez

Director of IT Agile PMO, HP

Photo of Bernice Maldonado

Bernice Maldonado

President, Catalyst Era

Advisory Board

Barbara Lubash

Atlantic Pacific Advisors

Emily Allen

Emily Allen

Dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at California State University, Los Angeles

Angela Gardner

Partner, Media, Entertainment & Digital Practice, Heidrick & Struggles

Gwen Spertell Gluckman

Advisor to Startups and Non-profits

Lu Ann Talley

VP, Strategy & Innovation, Teladoc Health

Marlo Donate

VP, Global Technology Strategy & Management, HP Inc

Stephen Alessi

Senior Managing Director, Accenture

Ron Guerrier

Global CIO, HP Inc.

Leadership

Lee Ann Kline

President & Founder

Tania Velazquez

Program Manager for Mentorships and Talent Development

Jasmyn Masters-Culpepper

Program Manager | Career Programs

Photo of Beatriz Garcia

Beatriz Garcia

Program Associate | Career Programs

Photo of Stephanie Manaster

Stephanie Manaster

Program Associate for STEM Career Pathways

Cindy McKenzie

Vice President, STEM Advantage

Marketing and Communication Committee

Isala Gray

Social Media Manager

Photo of Renee Gellaty

Renee Gellaty

Marketing Strategy and Support

STEM Advantage Scholars & Alumni Advisory Group

Darrielle Carrington

Technology and Operations Management major, Computer Information Systems minor, Cal Poly Pomona 

Abanoub Ghaly

Security Consultant at Accenture

Karina Martinez

Software Engineer at The Aerospace Corporation

Rubi Mora

AV System Design Engineer at General Motors

MaryLiza Walker

Cyber Security Analyst at Air Force Civilian Service

Scholar Community Leads

Kelly Duangrudeeswat

Computer Science major, Cal State Long Beach

Makayla Riley

Computer Science major, Cal State Dominguez Hills

Gary Boze

Computer Science major, Cal State Dominguez Hills

Han Pham

Computer Science major, Cal State Long Beach

Plus, 200+ mentors provide one-on-one mentorship to STEM Advantage Scholars