Alumni

Director of Student, Family, and Community Engagement​, 
Lassen County Office of Education

James Hall serves as Program Manager of Prevention and Expanded Learning for the Lassen County Office of Education.  In his role at the Lassen County Office of Education, he serves as an ASES Program Director; plans and implements expanded learning opportunities for students in TK to 12^th grade; and serves as the county lead for Visual and Performing Arts, Tobacco Use Prevention Education, and Federal Program Monitoring.  James is passionate about out-of-school time because he was involved in after school activities as a student and saw the benefits and the awesome opportunities that were available to help expand his horizons.  He loves to see the same happen for students and adults today.  James was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team because he desires to help address the need for high-quality programs, share knowledge, and lend support to make this a reality, no matter the size or location of the program. 

Homeless Innovation Program Coordinator, San Luis Obispo County Office of Education

John has worked in the out-of-school time setting for over ten years with the YMCA. His experience started in his hometown Stockton, CA where he was Program Leader mentoring and tutoring at-risk youth. John eventually moved up and became a Program Director providing leadership and mentorships to his team, and students that were in his program. During his time with the YMCA, he joined the YMCA’s Employee Resource Group: Asian Pacific Islander Leadership Network, where he assisted staff of Asian Pacific Islander heritage in their career development within the organization.  In 2018, he joined the California Afterschool Network Leadership Team and is still currently serving on the team. 

John is currently working at the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education as the Homeless Innovation Program Coordinator, educating and training educators, and community leaders about how to serve youth and families who are facing homelessness through the county’s system of care. 

 Executive Director, University-Community Links (UC Links), Strategy Committee

Mara Welsh Mahmood is the Interim Executive Director for University-Community Links (UC Links), a network of university and community partners working together to develop expanded learning programs that connect K-12 young people with university faculty and students in engaging, informal learning activities. Mara has been involved with UC Links since 1996, when she was a graduate student at UC Riverside, teaching the UC Links undergraduate practicum course and serving as the site coordinator for the UC Links program at a local elementary school. Mara went on to join the UC Links statewide office in the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley as the Director of Site Development and Evaluation and later as Associate Director. Mara has explored, studied, and written about learning within and across multiple contexts including K-12, higher education, and after-school across California and the US, as well as out-of-school (OST) learning in São Paulo, Brazil, and other countries. Mara was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team to leverage this unique “pandemic as portal” moment and work collaboratively to re-imagine expanded learning opportunities and rebuild the systems and structures to support California’s children, youth, families, and the OST field.

Director of Programs & Operations, Think Together​ 

Harlyn Santos is Director of Programs and Operations for Think Together in the Santa Fe Springs Region. Harlyn has been in the Expanded Learning field for over 20 years. In her role, she leads strategically, acts intentionally, and works collaboratively across several platforms in order to ensure that students benefit from participating in OST programs. Her primary responsibility is to ensure the quality and fidelity of all programs by supporting daily operations, and oversight of the region. She collaborates with district partners and community partners to ensure that policies, procedures, and protocols are followed to benefit the students served. Harlyn was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team because she is passionate about closing the achievement gap and giving all students an opportunity to develop as a whole. She wants to be part of the catalyst for change that is needed across our state for benefit of those in the field and for the field.

Co-Regional Lead,  Ventura County Office of Education

Co-Director, Temescal Associates