Leadership Team

Youth Development Director,  YMCA of San Joaquin County

John Acosta is the Youth Development Director for the YMCA of San Joaquin County. At the Y, he manages, directs and coordinates the after school program and day camps, assuring high-quality programs. He has been working in the after-school setting for over ten years and is very passionate about the significant impact it makes in a student’s life. Joining the CAN Leadership Team gives John the opportunity to share his knowledge and experiences to other afterschool leaders

Regional Director, LA’s Best

Maria holds an LA’s BEST Regional Director position with the Los Angeles Unified School District, in which she is responsible for providing support and development to a Region. Her role includes monitoring program sites to ensure that program values are implemented and that sites are in compliance with terms and conditions of grants. As well as creating and supporting continuous learning opportunities for staff in successfully integrating ideas and strategies towards quality student engagement. Maria’s passion comes from 26 years of experience in the afterschool movement. Maria has seen first hand the memorable impact afterschool programs have in the communities we serve and through the experience has assimilated the understanding needed as an afterschool practitioner into the various field positions she has held within the LA’s BEST Afterschool Enrichment program.  Maria was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team because she is committed to working to develop the growth and progress of our staff so that our children have a safe place to engage in meaningful learning experiences. 

Co-Regional Lead,  Ventura County Office of Education

Director of High School Programs, A World Fit For Kids!

Bill Fennessy is the Director of Community Partnerships and Work-Based Learning for Think Together. In his role at Think Together, he supports High School ASSETs Programs in collaborating with Career Technical Education Programs at school districts and sites to better support Workforce Readiness and Work-Based Learning activities, with a special focus on internships.  Bill is passionate about out-of-school time because he believes in the great potential of Older Youth, and wants to support their dreams by providing opportunities for their greater success.  Bill was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team because he feels this is the next significant step in his over 15 years of being able to serve the Expanded Learning Field as a thought leader, pioneer, innovator, and practitioner.

Grants and Funding Programs Manager, Los Angeles Unified School District ​

Pablo Garcia-Hernandez is the Grants and Funding Programs Manager for Los Angeles Unified School District’s Beyond the Bell Branch. Pablo has worked in the youth development field for 25 years. His first experience was as an arts educator for Los Angeles Conservation Corp’s Clean and Green Program at Carver Middle School in South Los Angeles. He has worked in a wide variety of capacities and job titles in the field since then. He is currently responsible for overseeing grant operations for over 600 ASES, ASSETs, and 21CCLC-funded schools within LAUSD. He is also currently on the Founding Advisory Board for a new Los Angeles-Based organization, Rainbow Labs, that will pair Queer and Gender Non-Conforming Youth with mentors and leadership programming. His strong commitments to authentic youth-led programming and empowering young people to shape their own communities have made True North throughout his career, and in his choices for groups that he works and volunteers for.

Program Director Marin – Bay Area Community Resources

Mariana Lopez Quintanilla is a native of Venezuela who started her journey in the educational field in 1998 working in early childhood education and academic support for students with ADHD. In 2007, she worked with refugee youth in Miami Dade County to ensure that families understood the educational system and that students received services that supported their academic and social development.

In 2009, Mariana joined Bay Area Community Resources, where she has worked in the afterschool field in different capacities serving thousands of students every year, and supporting a team of 60 afterschool and family services professionals. A few years later, continuing her efforts to support marginalized communities, Mariana started training volunteers in Cultural Sensitivity to equip them with tools before they started helping students in Title I schools. For the last seven years, she has been an active board member of San Rafael City Schools Foundation, HeadsUp, where she continues to be an advocate for immigrant children and families in Marin County.

In 2014, Mariana received the BACR Best Practices Award for After School Programs and a Golden Bell Award from the Marin County Office of Education. She completed a fellowship program in 2016 with the National Equity Project and a fellowship with the National After School Matters Initiative in 2020. She is passionate about equity in education, implementing strategies to develop quality after school programs, and finding resources that inspire students to learn.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ProYouth

Dr. Marie M. Pinto is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for ProYouth, a nonprofit, Expanded Learning organization based in the Central Valley of California. In her role at ProYouth, Marie oversees the operation that serves 15,000 students, on 50 school sites, in six school districts and two counties. Marie is passionate about out-of-school time because it provides opportunities to those children who may not access to academic support, enrichment, a healthy meal, and a caring adult. Marie was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team because it allowed her to participate in the process that can effect positive change for the field of expanded learning, and to work and interact with the change agents of the state.

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.

 Interim Executive Director, University-Community Links (UC Links)

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.