Board of Directors

Having spent a good portion of our first 30+ years working to establish Strive, we now move forward on the solid foundation that created.  Fully renovated; debt free; 100% equity in our facility; 120+ students daily with a perpetual wait list.

As we’ve now reached our 36th anniversary in 2026, we are seeking new blood, ideas, energy, and funding for Strive’s Board and our future. We seek those who have a heart for the social and community landmines our little miracles navigate every day and the willingness (through Board service) to help us impart to them that they can overcome their challenges & grasp the opportunities offered to them in this great country.

Please consider your circle of family, friends, and associates who may have an interest in helping take Strive into our next chapter… and forward this to them or have them contact me directly.  

If interested in scheduling a visit to Strive to discuss involvement, please call Jim at 323.779.1064 or email Jim@Strive-la.org. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Board of Directors

  • Donald Anderson Jr.

    Co-Founder, Retired 2023

  • Patricia Brown

    Executive Director
    Bettingen Foundation

  • Claire Cacciapaglia

    Board Chair
    Gries Family Charitable Fund

  • Andrew Chung

    Executive VP & Chief Risk Officer
    PCB BANK

  • E. Martin Estrada

    Co-Managing Partner
    Munger Tolles & Olson LLP

  • Esenia Fombona

    Parent & Community Representative & Business Owner
    National Communications
    Metro PCS Dealer

  • Jack Gample

    Retired Founder & President
    Paramount Global Services

  • Bridget Gless Keller

    President
    The Colleagues

  • Banyon Hutter

    Senior Vice President
    Security, Health & Technology
    Caruso

  • Heather Lynn Lucas

    Attorney / Principal
    Lucas Browning Design

  • Bret Nielsen

    Chief Operating Officer
    Bolthouse Properties

  • Erin Siminoff

  • John Wood Jr.

    Director of Media Development
    Braver Angels


Board of Directors
without portraits

Jane Booke
Fashion Designer
Janebooke.com
@janebooke

John Coughlin (Emeritus)
Community Liaison Officer, LAPD
Founder of Operation Progress

Graham Culp
Partner
Meriwether Companies, Co.

Austin Dragon
Education Activist, Author
Vice-President of Recruitment
City National Bank

Jim Tetreau
Founder & Project Director

Howard Waldow
Entrepreneur, Investor, and Philanthropist Founder & CEO, Michael Howard Furniture Inc.
and Katapult, LLC

Gary L. Wilson (Emeritus)
Wilson Foundation Chairman Emeritus, Northwest Airlines
Former Director of the Walt Disney Company
Board of Overseers for the Keck School of Medicine of USC

Advisors to the Board

Ongoing gratitude and enduring respect to our friend and former Board Member Joe R. Hicks