Staff | Personal
To see full bios, click on the picture or the name of the staff member.
Executive Team
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×Andrea Bazán
Andrea Bazán is the Chief Executive Officer of PUENTE Learning Center, responsible for the overall management of all aspects of PUENTE’s operations, including programs, fundraising and personnel. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President, Resource Development for United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, where she was the Chief Fundraiser for the organization and built and led a team that during her three-year tenure raised over $165 million in revenue from corporate, individual and foundation sources. She oversaw corporate relations, major gifts, volunteer services, labor and affinity groups and helped implement the strategic vision for the United Way Neighborhood Networks throughout Chicagoland.
Andrea has had a career in philanthropy, nonprofits and politics, having served as the National Operation Vote Regional Director for the South for President Obama’s 2012 campaign. She also served as National Vote Director for Seniors for Obama and People with Disabilities for Obama. For several years, she was the President of the Triangle Community Foundation in Durham, North Carolina, a philanthropic organization with substantial assets invested in general grantmaking. She was the first Executive Director of El Pueblo, North Carolina’s largest Latino nonprofit organization, and served as the first Latina lobbyist in the North Carolina General Assembly. Andrea worked closely with Governor Jim Hunt to establish the Governor’s Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs and its office. He also appointed Andrea to a number of roles during his service, including the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, the North Carolina Medical Care Commission and others.
Throughout her career, Andrea has volunteered her time to various organizations and mentored many young people. She has a Latino scholarship named in her honor and has been recognized with a number of awards. She has served on several Boards, nonprofit and corporate positions, such as the National Council of La Raza, where she served for many years. Currently, she is on the Board of Farmworker Justice in Washington, D.C. Andrea has an MSW and MPH from UNC-Chapel Hill and is the proud mother of three daughters.
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×Blas Laino
Blas Laino is PUENTE’s Director of Finance and is responsible for the Center’s accounting, budgeting, auditing and reporting functions. Blas has over 30 years of experience in financial, accounting and administrative operations. He previously held the position of Associate Director of Finance and Operations at Triangle Community Foundation in Durham, North Carolina, where he oversaw several key aspects of the management of the $145 million philanthropic organization and staffed the Audit, Investment and Finance Committees.
Blas attended Bronx Community College and has extensive training in sales and strategic planning. He has served on several boards and committees for various nonprofits over his career, including the Christian Life Church, the Trinity Christian School, and the Open Bible Church.
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×Tatyana Branham
Tatyana Branham is the executive assistant to CEO Andrea Bazan and is responsible for facility rentals and grants administration. She comes to PUENTE from graduate studies at the University of California, Riverside, where she served as an instructor, writing tutor, grant writer, and mentor for the diverse student population. An advocate for undocumented and first-generation college students, Tatyana has volunteered for college access and student retention programs and tutored high school seniors in college application essay writing. Originally from Ohio, she received her BA in Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College before beginning her westward migration, receiving an MA in English from Texas Tech University along the way. An avid reader and writer, her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Booksand Ploughshares.
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×Rodolfo Acosta
Rodolfo Acosta is the Vice President of Programs at PUENTE Learning Center. He is responsible for the design, coordination, and evaluation of the curricula and programs which serve children, youth, and adults, including ESL, After School Enrichment, High School Diploma, Job Training, College Access, and summer programs. Previously, he worked as the Senior Research Coordinator for a Comprehensive Needs Assessment of the San Diego and Orange counties’ Migrant Education Program in partnership with faculty from the California State University of Fullerton.
Rodolfo has over seven years of strong research experience. During 2010 through 2014, he worked in a longitudinal multisite evaluation of federal after school programs. Rodolfo worked to in collaboration with a team of researchers within 3 different universities and 6 different states, to analyze after school programs in an effort to increase programming and visibility to underserved populations including English Learners and students with diverse learning needs. Rodolfo has also worked in the field of parent engagement by analyzing California’s Parent Empowerment Law within the City of Los Angeles. He conducted a two year ethnographic study, taking the time to listen to the voices of Latina/o and African American parents in regard to their experiences implementing the law. Rodolfo has also worked with undocumented populations by helping teachers increase awareness in providing culturally responsive practices in their classrooms to serve said populations.
Rodolfo is passionate about being an educator. He started his career as a 7th grade teacher in the South Bronx working with a beautiful group of students that empowered him to strive for excellence and elevate his craft. He continued to teach in South LA at the KIPP Academy of Opportunity with an inspiring set of 5th graders. He continues his teaching at Cal State Fullerton, and works with school leaders by teaching them the lessons that he learned from his former students to ensure that excellence and equity are at the forefront of their leadership.
He holds a B.A. from UC Santa Cruz, a M.S. in Education and Teaching from Pace University, and a Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the Rossier School of Education at USC. During his free time he likes to dance, cook, and box.
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×Tesa Marquez
Tesa Marquez is PUENTE’s Human Resources Coordinator, a position she has held since 2002. Tesa is responsible for the implementation of the organization's policies and procedures that ensure compliance with local, state, and federal employment laws. Additionally, she leads the administration of the organization’s payroll.
Tesa’s involvement with PUENTE dates back over twenty years, and her knowledge and years of experience significantly contributed to the development of the Human Resources department. After volunteering in PUENTE's youth programs, Tesa was recruited to the staff in August 1994 to manage and administer a new government grant program from the City of Los Angeles. Over the years she has also served in supporting roles for development, finance, operations, and the CEO. In addition, she played a key role in the preparation of PUENTE's initial application to LAUSD for a Charter Kindergarten.
Tesa holds an Associate Degree in Accounting from the National Education Center and received her certification in Human Resources Management from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Born and raised in East Los Angeles, much of Tesa’s personal and professional life is invested in the community served by PUENTE.
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Staff
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×Michele Wolfe
Michele Wolfe is PUENTE’s ESL Coordinator. She has served on PUENTE’s staff for 23 years, taking on this role after 18 years of classroom instruction. Michele wrote the ESL curriculum currently in use at PUENTE, which combines traditional classroom instruction with online learning programs. She has also given workshops at the LAUSD adult division ESL conference on team-teaching and multi-level interactive practices in the classroom. Michele moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to teach elementary school. It was while volunteering with the Latino community in East Los Angeles that she decided to teach adults. She is committed to PUENTE’s mission because it connects with her own personal and professional vision of serving the community: by serving as a bridge to English fluency and citizenship, her adult students are able to reach their goals and improve their lives. She is proud to work with a dedicated team of instructors and to know and teach the hard-working and committed students that study at PUENTE.
Michele is a writer as well as educator. Her first novel was published in 2014. She has been published in the L.A. Times and is currently working on her second novel. Further, she has served on various boards for different organizations over the years, currently serving on the board of the Women’s Chorus at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Michele obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree English and Education from Regis University in Colorado. She holds a California teaching credential and is part of the California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO) and Outreach and Technical Assistant Network for Adult Educators (OTAN). Michele is happily married and has two sons.
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×Marissa Rojas
Marissa Rojas is the Program Coordinator for the PUENTE Charter Kindergarten and Preschool Readiness programs at our South Los Angeles campus. She oversees daily program operations and maintains an active partnership role with the parents and staff. Marissa works closely with the Charter Administrator to ensure program alignment across the two sites.
Ms. Rojas has over 15 years of experience working with children and families in the areas of education, community building and parent empowerment. She successfully directed a large Supplemental Educational Services program in Southern California serving close to 400 students and extending across 3 school districts. In this capacity, Ms. Rojas ensured compliance with federal mandates and provided efficient fiscal management of program operations. Marissa received her BS from the University of Southern California. She enjoys going to Dodger games with her son, listening to country music and volunteering in the summer to build houses for families in Tijuana, Mexico.
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×Hector Espinoza
Hector Espinoza is PUENTE’s IT Network Administrator and currently teaches Computer Repair. He first attended PUENTE in 1995 as a student in the Job Training program. Working with computers became his passion and PUENTE could tell. He was hired as an assistant for the Computer Applications classes.
After teaching Computer Applications classes for several years, Hector was asked to start a Computer Repair class. He received his CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications in 2007 and also worked as a Network Administrator assistant for several years.
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×Brock McKenzie
Brock McKenzie is the Facilities Manager at PUENTE. Brock has been with PUENTE since 1991 when it was known as “the old trailers school” and functioned within doublewide trailers on a lot purchased by former Los Angeles Mayor, Richard J. Riordan. He was present for the opening of the new building in 1995 on that same lot.
Brock enjoys working with his hands and takes a liking to landscaping and architecture. He also enjoys working with youth and young adults. Brock and his fiancé are currently developing a program for young adults at their church, Highland Avenue Community Church.
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×Lucille McElroy
Lucille McElroy is PUENTE’s Controller and has served PUENTE as an Interim Director of Finance. She monitors daily fiscal operations and her responsibilities include creating and completing financial reporting systems for its Executives, Board of Directors, Finance & Audit Committee, LAUSD, external auditors and other government entities.
Lucille earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of San Carlos in the Philippines. She earned her MBA with a concentration in Accounting from the Keller Graduate School of Business Management and also gained training from PUENTE's Computer's Certification Class. She was a Controller for the Liberace Foundation for Creative & Performing Arts for 3 years. Lucille also served in the US Navy from 2002-2011 and was recently honored as an extraordinary woman veteran by United Way of Greater LA at its Women's Summit.
Lucille singly raises and supports her 11 and 9 year old sons' athletic and creative talent pursuits.
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×Marissa Peden
Marissa Peden is responsible for all marketing communications at PUENTE. She has extensive experience in managing communication efforts; including monitoring media coverage, producing promotional material, and maintaining successful social media strategies. Marissa enjoys communicating PUENTE's message and informing the community about the many diverse programs PUENTE can offer those eager to learn.
Marissa holds a BA in Sociology and Marketing from California State University, Long Beach and an MA in Human Rights and International Relations from Roehampton University, London. The focus of Marissa's MA focussed on women's rights, her dissertation looked at the relationship between women's role in extremist groups and sexual slavery. In addition to being passionate about women's rights, Marissa feels strongly about working with refugee and immigrant communities. In her spare time, she loves to travel and looks forward to adding to the list of 17 countries visited!
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×Gloria Rojas
Gloria Rojas has been an instructor at PUENTE since 1995, where she serves as the coordinator, counselor, and teacher advisor of the High School Diploma Program in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Ms. Rojas has had the privilege of working with adults as well as concurrent students from our local high schools who have the desire and motivation to earn their high school diploma or to pass the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET).
She started her career in 1977 with LAUSD as an instructor in the English as a Second Language program. She transferred into the Academic Program in 1994. Ms. Rojas graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish and received her teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach.
One of Gloria’s favorite things to do is spend time with her three daughters and three grandsons.
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Charter School Leadership
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×Diana Juarez
Diana Juarez has worked at PUENTE from its early years as a preschool and kindergarten teacher. She also currently serves as the Vice-principal of the PUENTE Charter School. She implemented the Charter Kindergarten curriculum, devised an efficient teaching rotation and created the report cards currently in use at PUENTE.
Diana can often be seen toting around a camera on her shoulder. She enjoys implementing video and technology into the classroom and is a LAUSD Video in the Classroom (VIC) award recipient. She also authors a weekly newsletter in English and Spanish for PUENTE families to strengthen the home and school connection.
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Our Teams
Adult Education
Leo Leider, Hector Espinoza, Aimee Noel, Antonio Gomez, Jorge Rodriguez
After School Enrichment Team
Grethel Padilla, Lupita Santana, Maria Gomez, Norma Perez
Facilities Team
Brock McKenzie, Socorro Orozco, Jose Pineda, Janet Griffin (not pictured)
High School Diploma Program Team
Gloria Rojas, Guillermo Rincon
Preschool and Charter Kindergarten Team
Jennifer Estrada, Jerome Greening, Diana Juarez, David Ortiz, Graciela Aguilar, Jannette Canas, Bobby Yu, Marie Elena Pinedo, Irene Ortiz
Registrar Team
Montse Orozco, Helen Lara, Gracie Flores