Xiomara Peña is a passionate mission-driven leader with over a decade of experience and a keen interest in power building efforts to restore power to community members who have been locked out of wealth building opportunities through policy and programmatic interventions. As Vice President of Innovation & Community Engagement at HOPE, Xiomara works to lead and inspire a team to achieve organizational goals. Her role provides strategic insight in collaboration with the CEO and other senior leaders to execute HOPE’s strategic plan, inclusive of overseeing national and regional expansion of HOPE’s programs. She develops targeted engagement strategies for various stakeholders including community leaders, funders, partners, elected officials and others. She’s recognized as an effective public speaker having been invited to over 500 conferences, panels, and presentations. Xiomara has nearly 250 media mentions in national, state, and local media markets including the Wall Street Journal, Univision, Telemundo and many others. She serves in an advisory capacity to several thought partners promoting a level playing field for POC and marginalized communities.

Lanae O’Shields is a Public Affairs Manager for SoCalGas supporting 18 communities throughout San Gabriel Valley. In her role, O’Shields provides opportunities to share the SoCalGas story and achieve operational goals safely, efficiently, and always with the customer in mind. Additionally, Lanae coordinates company relations with local city and community leaders to develop and enhance SoCalGas partnerships. Prior to joining SoCalGas, she encouraged community engagement through water education with the City of Pomona and Walnut Valley Water District. Having spent her entire career in the utility industry, Lanae has developed a unique talent for connecting her organization with its surrounding community. Educating communities about the importance of resources through education has been a driving force for Lanae.

Lanae holds a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Governance from the University of La Verne, and Bachelor of Psychology degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Currently serving on many non-profit boards including: Pomona Community Foundation (Vice President), Mount San Antonio College Foundation Board (Secretary), San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, San Gabriel Valley Public Affairs Network, La Verne Chamber of Commerce, and Pomona Chamber of Commerce. Lanae resides in San Dimas with her husband, Ryan and son, Maddex (10), Harper (5), and new addition Nolan (2). In her spare time, Lanae enjoys hosting dinner parties with family and friends, exploring new places with loves ones, watching college football, and traveling.

Associate Director, Advocacy & Community, AARP

Dr. Adriana M. Mendoza is the Associate Director for Advocacy and Community Engagement at AARP California, where she leads initiatives to strengthen AARP’s presence in diverse communities and oversees the organization’s Hispanic/Latino community engagement strategy.  With over 25 years of experience in gerontology, public policy and community organizing, Dr. Mendoza is a recognized leader in multicultural outreach, caregiving, and aging-related issues. 

She holds a PhD in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University, and master’s degrees in Social Welfare from UCLA and Public Policy from Claremont Graduate University.  Dr. Mendoza has received several honors, including the Community Aztec Award for her leadership in advancing the Latino community.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Partners in Care Foundation and the UCLA L.A. CAPRA Community Advisory Board.   

Irma Galicia is an Assistant Director, Constituent Engagement for the Office of LA County Supervisor, Holly J. Mitchell. In her role, Irma over sees a team who serves the Unincorporated Communities of the Second district by addressing their concerns or connecting them to county resources, local CBOs, or overlapping government offices. Prior to this role, Irma was a Senior Field Representative for Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer and served the communities of South Los Angeles and Unincorporated Florence Firestone. During the COVID pandemic, Irma helped organize food drives, secure PPE for local clinics and assist with constituent casework. As a first-generation Latina, Irma understands the importance of language access and activating communities. Irma has devoted much of her career to educating individuals about government services and uplifting Black and Brown voices. Irma earned her bachelor’s degree in History from California State University, Long Beach.

California Assemblywoman Blanca Pacheco was elected in 2022 to represent District 64, encompassing parts of southeastern Los Angeles County and northern Orange County. Blanca chairs the Assembly Rules Committee and serves on the Judiciary, Appropriations, Governmental Organization and Local Government committees.

Before coming to the Assembly, Blanca served two terms as the Mayor of Downey, the largest city in her district, becoming the first Latina to be elected to that position. She was elected to the Downey City Council in 2016 and became Mayor in 2020. Blanca also served as President of the League of California Cities Los Angeles Division, where she chaired the Housing, Community, and Economic Development Policy Committee and was an at-large director on the League of California Cities’ State Board.

Blanca is a proud alumna of UCLA, receiving her bachelor’s degree in political science with a specialization in Chicano/a studies in 1998. She furthered her education at Loyola Law School and has been an attorney since 2003. The daughter of a nurse and a public school bus driver in a working-class neighborhood, Blanca’s upbringing instilled in her an appreciation for hard work and the importance of community.

In and out of the legislature, Blanca is known for her warm, approachable demeanor. But don’t let that fool you, she is a frequent boxer and holds a black belt in karate.

Senior Financial Advisor 

Vice President – Investment Officer 

I am a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠. I have over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Through my experience as a Financial Advisor I have come to focus on families and their wealth management needs. Seeing clients achieve their most important financial goals is truly gratifying. It provides me the motivation to continue this noble calling. I have also gained the understanding that in today’s complicated world, it is my duty to bring clarity, sincerity, and integrity to my clients’ financial lives.

Giving back to the local community is important to me. I have established a platform for local women professionals to come together to share ideas, knowledge, and opportunities. I also find pleasure in offering a lending hand to the transitional youth population of a local non-profit organization, Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services.

The last 28 years have blessed me with a wonderful marriage to my high school sweetheart. Eric and I have raised two beautiful children who are now young, thriving adults. As an empty nester, I enjoy spending my free time trying new cooking recipes (the spicier the better), catching a good movie, working on small home improvement projects, and being an active member of a book club. 

Executive Director Philanthropy & Community Impact | Los Angeles & Orange Counties, Wells Fargo & Company

Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights

Nora leads Free Press’ democracy and tech initiatives, including its policy, legal and campaign efforts to curb disinformation, hate and other manipulation online while protecting digital civil rights, privacy and free expression.

Nora works at the intersection of law, tech and democracy, elevating interdisciplinary solutions to complex threats facing our society. Benavidez leads Free Press’ democracy and tech initiatives, including its policy, legal and campaign efforts to curb disinformation, hate and other manipulation online while protecting digital civil rights, privacy and free expression. Benavidez has appeared before the U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, the Canadian House of Commons and other regulatory bodies. She is the lead author of the Free Press research reports Big Tech Backslide (2023), which examines how tech companies’ retreat from platform integrity harms democracy, and Empty Promises (2022), which analyzes the role social-media platform policies play in elections.

Previously, Benavidez served as director of U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, guiding the organization’s national agenda on First Amendment and free expression issues. She led PEN’s victorious and groundbreaking First Amendment lawsuit, PEN America v. Donald Trump, to hold the former president accountable for his retaliation against and censorship of speech he disliked. Benavidez launched and led PEN America’s media-literacy and disinformation-defense program. She was the lead author of several PEN America reports on constitutional rights, including Arresting Dissent (2020) and Closing Ranks (2021).

Benavidez is the founder of Build the Bench, a network for Latina women entering law and public service. She sits on Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media, serves on the Georgia First Amendment Foundation board and chairs the Georgia State Bar Section 1983 Litigation conference.

Her writing and commentary appear regularly in The Atlantic, CNN, NBC News, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and The Washington Post. She previously worked in private practice and at the ACLU of Georgia, where she litigated significant voting rights, First Amendment and appellate cases.

Senior Manager

Lanae O’Shields is a Public Affairs Manager for SoCalGas supporting 18 communities throughout San Gabriel Valley. In her role, O’Shields provides opportunities to share the SoCalGas story and achieve operational goals safely, efficiently, and always with the customer in mind. Additionally, Lanae coordinates company relations with local city and community leaders to develop and enhance SoCalGas partnerships. Prior to joining SoCalGas, she encouraged community engagement through water education with the City of Pomona and Walnut Valley Water District. Having spent her entire career in the utility industry, Lanae has developed a unique talent for connecting her organization with its surrounding community. Educating communities about the importance of resources through education has been a driving force for Lanae.

Lanae holds a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in Governance from the University of La Verne, and Bachelor of Psychology degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Currently serving on many non-profit boards including: Pomona Community Foundation (Vice President), Mount San Antonio College Foundation Board (Secretary), San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, San Gabriel Valley Public Affairs Network, La Verne Chamber of Commerce, and Pomona Chamber of Commerce. Lanae resides in San Dimas with her husband, Ryan and son, Maddex (10), Harper (5), and new addition Nolan (2). In her spare time, Lanae enjoys hosting dinner parties with family and friends, exploring new places with loves ones, watching college football, and traveling.

Jennifer Medina is the Hydrogen Engineering Manager for SoCal Gas.  She joined the company in 2011 after graduating from California State University, Long Beach with her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.  She joined the SCG hydrogen team in 2020 where she works with engineers internally and externally to help design new hydrogen and hydrogen blending station projects.  She was the lead engineer for the [H2] Innovation Experience project that was commissioned in January 2023 which was one of the first hydrogen microgrids in North America. Her team’s current focus is to prepare SoCalGas’s gas infrastructure to safely receive hydrogen blends. 

Strategic Regulatory Leader in Clean Energy 

Rosie Magaña is a seasoned regulatory and policy strategist with over two decades of experience driving clean energy innovations and customer-focused solutions at SoCalGas. As the Manager of Regulatory Policy & Strategy for Angeles Link, she leads the development and execution of regulatory frameworks for one of the nation’s most ambitious green hydrogen infrastructure projects. 

Rosie’s career spans leadership roles in distributed energy resources (DER), project management, and customer programs, where she has consistently delivered impactful results—ranging from securing multimillion-dollar rate case authorizations to pioneering statewide clean energy initiatives. 

Rosie is also a co-author of the National Petroleum Council’s 2024 report Harnessing Hydrogen, Rosie is also a certified Change Management Practitioner and holds professional credentials from USC, Stanford, and UCLA. Her academic foundation includes a B.S. in Business Administration from Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. 

Sarita Figueroa is a Senior Manager at SoCalGas, where she leads a high-performing team managing a multi-million-dollar community investment fund focused on safety, sustainability, and social impact. She’s passionate about creating real change through initiatives that support clean energy access, higher education, and environmental stewardship. Sarita enjoys helping her team grow—mentoring and encouraging them to build strong partnerships and make a lasting difference. 

With over ten years at SoCalGas, Sarita has taken on a variety of leadership roles in external affairs, always bringing a strong sense of purpose, creativity, and collaboration to her work. Her hands-on, solutions-focused approach has helped deliver meaningful results across Southern California. 

Sarita earned her B.A. in English Education and Communication and her M.B.A. from Cal Poly Pomona University. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she’s been happily married for twelve years and is a proud mom of two young kids who keep her grounded, inspired, and smiling every day.