Board
Leadership

Ilene joined Covenant House California’s Board of Directors in 2015 and currently serves as Chair of the Governance Committee. She and her husband Jim live in Newport Beach, CA. Ilene and Jim are proprietors of SoMa Cellars a premium wine brand. Ilene retired in 2014 from Western Asset Management Company, a global investment management firm. While at Western Asset, she was responsible for their Enterprise Risk program. Ilene serves as Chair of the Board of CREST Education Center a program for special needs for children with special needs.

David Ambroz is a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate. He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. Currently serving as the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, Ambroz previously led Corporate Social Responsibility for Walt Disney Television, and has served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as well as a California Child Welfare Council member. After growing up homeless and then in foster care, he graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is a foster dad and lives in Los Angeles, CA.

RACHAEL CHAMBERS, is a 19-year Cisco veteran with experience in multiple organizations including People and Communities, Sales Operations, and IT. Before Cisco, her career includes tenures at Google, Netscape, Excite and MCI. She holds a BA from the University of California at San Diego.

In January 2023, Rachael joined the Global Employee Relations organization to lead the Communications, Employee Experience, and Infrastructure team.

Prior to her role in People and Communities she was the Director of Strategy and Planning for Cisco’s Global Enterprise West (GESW) sales team. She partnered with the Area Vice President and leadership team to provide strategic direction and translate the high-level strategy into field-level functional impact for the $2B sales organization. This included developing and implementing business processes with associated success metrics, training programs and executive level communications. She also partnered with key stakeholders across the area and segment to build strong strategic partnerships and joint strategies. Operationally, she led the yearly Fiscal New Year Planning process with the Finance and Sales Advisor teams.

She served as the co-chair for the Global Enterprise Segment Culture team focused on programs that drove employee recruitment, recognition, retention. Rachael also leads the GES Give Back initiative for the Covenant House. For the last 7 years, she’s successfully led the global give back effort that resulted in Cisco being awarded the top fundraising team and “Partner of the Year” for 4 years in a row. The global efforts have raised over $15M across fundraising, technology grants, and emergency funding. In 2019, she was inducted into the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame for the “Don’t Give Up” award and in 2022 was awarded the “Cash, Sweat, and Tears” Award from the Peer to Peer Professional Forum.

Rachael currently serves on the California Covenant House Board of Directors and volunteers for multiple animal rescue organizations.

Her family includes her husband of 22 years, two children, 5 dogs, many cats, and various other rescued creatures. She is an avid photographer, loves hiking along the California coast, and is a huge San Jose Sharks hockey fan.

Paul Daneshrad is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of StarPoint Properties, a private real estate firm, which he founded in 1990 and has built into one of the most respected real estate investment and development firms in the industry with $1.5+ billion of transactions over its history. StarPoint prides itself on delivering, decade after decade, market leading returns to its investors and providing asymmetrical returns that have proven to outperform most alternate investments. Mr. Daneshrad’s 30 year tenure and extensive experience in the real estate industry ultimately built the company into the vertically integrated real estate firm that it is today. Mr. Daneshrad is considered an expert in the real estate investment community, often speaking at national conferences, a noted expert by multiple real estate publications including: Net Lease Forum, Multi-Family Executive, California Real Estate Journal, Multi-Housing News, National Real Estate Investor, Real Estate Southern California, and Commercial Property News. Mr. Daneshrad joined the board of Covenant House California in June of 2022.

Rick joined the Covenant House California’s Board of Director’s in 2015. He is a Director at BlackRock, Inc. and Market Leader in their U.S. Wealth Advisory Business. He and his wife Carolina have two boys, Liam and Aidan, and live in Los Angeles County, CA. Rick graduated from Princeton University, and earned his CIMA from The Wharton School.

Stacy Jorgensen is originally from Deland, Florida. She moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, where she studied theatre and cinema. Over the course of her career in the film industry, Stacy has held key positions at prestigious film finance and production companies, including Cutting Edge Group and Elijah Wood's SpectreVision, where she was promoted to role of Chief Operating Officer at Company X Productions, an all-female production company spun off from SpectreVision. As an Executive Producer, Stacy had pivotal roles in the financing, packaging, and sales of numerous films including SEVEN STAGES TO ACHIEVE ETERNAL BLISS, DANIEL ISN'T REAL, COLOR OUT OF SPACE, ARCHENEMY, and NO MAN OF GOD. As a Producer, Stacy's credits include GREY SKIES, TO THE STARS, and THE APOLOGY. Her films have premiered at festivals such as Sundance, Tiff, SXSW, and Tribeca. Stacy is honored to serve on the Board of Covenant House California.

Daryl Kueter is a Senior Vice President and National Business Banking Executive at Bank of America. In his current role, Daryl works closely with Business Banking teams to create and execute strategic business initiatives that support clients and the growth of business banking. Since joining BofA in 1984 he has held various leadership positions crossing many lines of businesses within the company including Consumer Bank, Premier Bank, Small Business & Global Wealth Management. As a member of the board of directors for Covenant House California, he is passionate about providing youth a safe haven from homelessness and helping them thrive to meet personal and professional goals. He joined the board in 2013.

Mike Kibler joined the Covenant House California board in October 2013 and has served on its Executive Committee, Governance Committee, as co-chair of the Executive Sleep Out Task Force, and as Chair of the Chief Executive Officer Search Committee. He was elected Vice Board Chair in 2019. Mike is the Managing Partner of Kibler Fowler & Cave LLP, a Los Angeles-based commercial trial and litigation boutique law firm. Prior to co-founding Kibler Fowler & Cave, Mike was a litigation partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. In addition to serving on the CHC Board, Mike’s community involvement has included serving as a member of the Western Los Angeles County Council Scout Executive Board, coaching baseball in the Beverly Hills Little League, and serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster of BSA Troop 223 in the Pacific Palisades. He lives with his wife, Ann, and children, Andrew and Beatrice, in Beverly Hills.

Liza Pano is responsible for overseeing global localization operations for all theatrical and non-theatrical product. Ms. Pano joined Paramount Pictures Corporation in 2006, when DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures Corporation merged. She began her tenure at DreamWorks in 2005, serving as Vice President, Worldwide Technical Services, supervising the international delivery of all theatrical and non- theatrical DreamWorks product. In 2014 Ms. Pano was also named one of the most Influential and Powerful Latinos in Entertainment by the Imagen Foundation. She’s been a member of the Covenant House California Board of Directors since March 2014.

Pavan Pardasani serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Tao Group Hospitality overseeing all corporate marketing initiatives with a special focus on the guest experience.

Pardasani has been with the company since 2016, initially joining as Vice President of Marketing responsible for heading the Tao Group Hospitality's expansion to Los Angeles. As a native New Yorker, Pardasani began his hospitality career in 1998 while still in college as a young, nightlife entrepreneur. He played a major role in the Hamptons nightlife scene and further honed his skills in nightlife marketing while at Catch Hospitality (formerly known as EMM Group). As part of the organization, Pardasani was part of the team that launched Catch in New York City and while overseeing the group's programming, live entertainment and experiential marketing initiatives. Prior to joining Tao Group Hospitality, he moved to Las Vegas in 2013 and was Executive Director of Nightlife Marketing for Hakkasan Group overseeing the development of the Hakkasan and Omnia brands. Pardasani is an active member of the community and serves on the Board of Directors for Covenant House, which is focused on serving and protecting homeless youth. He is involved with various causes and charities including the Covenant House Annual Sleepout to raise awareness and funds for homelessness, Tao Group Hospitality Cares, and the Malibu Foundation, which was integral to helping Californians affected by the wildfires. He graduated from NYU’s Stern School of Business with a degree in Marketing & International Business and currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Ryne is a counsel at Skadden, Arps, specializing in advising clients across a broad range of industries on the full spectrum of labor and employment matters, including compliance and counseling, litigation and alternative dispute resolution, and transactional matters. Prior to his legal career, Ryne was a middle school math teacher and high school football coach. Ryne serves on the board of various organizations, including Covenant House California, Teach For America Los Angeles, and KIPP SoCal Public Schools. Ryne lives in Los Angeles with his wife and beautiful daughter. He has been on the board of Covenant House California since April 2022.

Jim Rossiter is a veteran of the Healthcare Information Technology industry. Mr. Rossiter has held a variety of leadership roles with technology companies such as IBM, Siemens, NextGen Healthcare, CyberPlus, Velos and CurData Solutions. Mr. Rossiter was the co-founder and CEO of Whimstay, Inc. and provides advisory and board management services to nCoup, Lionrock Behavioral Health, Medcurio and LifeData Systems. He and his family were introduced to the Covenant House in 1974 in New York City. He has been on the board of Covenant House California since March 2016.

As a lead engagement partner, at KPMG, Subash brings more than 20 years of IT internal and external audit as well as advisory experience in various industries. She has substantial experience leading and coordinating IT audit and advisory engagements across global companies in the financial services, automotive, technology, and telecom sectors. Currently she leads the Pacific Southwest Technology Risk practice for KPMG’s Consulting practice. Personally, Subash founded a non profit supporting those at risk in Johannesburg, South Africa over 20 years ago. Subash has served on the Board of Directors of the Exceptional Women Alliance, until 2021.

Kaleef Starks is a multimedia journalist who holds a master's degree in journalism from USC Annenberg. She also holds a bachelors degree in gender studies and a minor in LGBTQ studies from UCLA. She currently serves as the editor-in-chief of Our Weekly News Los Angeles, a local Black newspaper. Kaleef was featured in ABC’s special “Our America: Who I’m Meant To Be,” where she shared her journey as a Black trans woman overcoming homelessness while pursuing a career in journalism.

Deeply committed to community involvement, Kaleef volunteers with organizations such as the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the National Association of Black Journalists. Her passion for advocacy began at the age of 15, when she started as a youth advocate at the nonprofit Day One Pasadena.

As a former homeless youth, Kaleef is especially passionate about the challenges faced by Black, transgender, and LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. From 2015 to 2020, she lived in and received services from all of the programs at Covenant House California in Los Angeles. Her lived experience fuels her dedication to advocacy and to being a visible example of resilience and leadership.

Kaleef is proud to serve on the Covenant House California board and looks forward to contributing to the organization’s ongoing work and mission.

Dr. Ryan J. Smith serves as the President and CEO of the St. Joseph Center in Los Angeles, CA. St. Joseph Center has been at the forefront of supporting working poor families, as well as unhoused men, women and youth across Los Angeles County. Dr. Ryan J. Smith has served as the Chief Strategy Officer for Community Coalition—an organization founded by Mayor Karen Bass with the mission of transforming the social and economic conditions of residents in South Los Angeles and beyond. In this capacity, Dr. Smith spearheaded the organization’s strategy and power-building efforts. His commitment to civic engagement is underscored by his recent receipt of UCLA’s first-ever Excellence in Civic Engagement Award.

Jason is Founder and Lead Creative Officer of Third Floor, a multidisciplinary creative agency at the intersection of art, design and technology. With over two decades of experience in the industry, Jason has established himself as a trailblazer in the creative landscape and is known for his innovative approach to design, delivering impactful and brand enhancing results for some of the world's largest brands.

Jason Valles graduated from Pepperdine University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising. He has served on both the Associate Board and Advisory Board at Covenant House California. Jason is an LA native and lives locally with his wife and two boys.

Mr. Wilcox is President of the Wilcox Family Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to collaborating with other non-profits to find and promote sustainable solutions to the issues affecting poor, underserved and underrepresented communities. The solutions currently funded are in the areas of health, education and employment. The Foundation’s goal is to improve the lives of individuals and families living in marginalized communities. Stephen Wilcox is the former Chancellor of the Diocese of Oakland. He was responsible for all “outward facing” ministries within the Diocese. He also served as the Victim Assistance Coordinator responsible for the care of the survivors of child sexual abuse. Mr. Wilcox also served as the Bishop’s Liaison to the Catholic Schools’ Department and one of three Bishop’s appointees to a Catholic network of elementary schools known as the Lumen Christi Academies. Prior to his time as Chancellor, Mr. Wilcox was senior executive of Accenture, LLP. He spent 28 years with Accenture, the technology and outsourcing company. Steve has received numerous awards and recognition for his leadership in philanthropy.