Staff

Dr. Les McCabe is the President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southern California, bringing decades of experience in non-profit management, youth services, and global education. Before joining JA, he held key roles at Global Green USA and Semester at Sea. A native Californian, Dr. McCabe holds multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. With a passion for youth empowerment, he actively contributes to the community, serving on the Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Kat Delgado Kirkwood is JASoCal’s Chief Impact & Partnerships Officer. Reach out to her if you represent a school district or lead external partnerships for your organization.

When not collaborating with school districts and organizations, she is hiking and enjoying SoCal living.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a criminal defense attorney.”

As COO & SVP of Finance, Susan contributes to senior management decisions, handles daily accounting operations, prepares financial statements, manages investments, advises the development team on contributions, and oversees the donor database.

When she’s not balancing budgets, you’ll find her hitting the trails for a hike, diving into a good book, or baking up treats.

“When I was young, I wanted to run my own business.”

Burgandie Onekea is the Regional VP & Executive Director (OC, IE, BK, KC) and serves on the JASoCal Senior Management Team. Burgandie oversees our regional offices’ strategic direction, operational management, and staff in Orange County, Inland Empire, Bakersfield, & Kern County. She drives the organization’s mission forward, builds partnerships, fundraises, and ensures impactful programming to empower the region’s youth for future success.

Burgandie loves spending time with her family and dancing hula.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a lawyer.”

Davit Barseghyan is JASoCal’s Database Manager for Los Angeles and the go-to person for all things data. He analyzes and reports financial and program data for day-to-day operations and ad hoc requests.

When he’s not diving into data, you’ll find him under the hood of his car, fine-tuning engines, and racing towards the finish line.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a racecar driver.”

Crystal is your go-to guru for branding, storytelling, and PR. From crafting captivating narratives to shaping our website and social media presence, she orchestrates every aspect of our marketing strategy. With her graphic design, copywriting, and creative direction expertise, she ensures our messaging engages our community around our impactful work.

When she’s not designing an annual report or parenting her 3 kids, she enjoys traveling, reading, long walks, guessing your sign correctly, and baking.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a pediatrician, a meteorologist, and an artist.”

Tony Durham is JASoCal’s Marketing & Social Media Content Creator, responsible for crafting engaging content across social platforms, managing campaigns, and supporting key marketing initiatives. Reach out to him for anything related to social media strategy, branding, or content creation.

When he’s not busy telling JA’s story online, Tony enjoys going to the movies, creative writing, podcasting, trying new restaurants, and hiking with his golden retriever.

“When I was little, I wanted to be in a boyband.”

Teagan Jarvis is JA SoCal’s Development and Special Projects Manager for Los Angeles. Teagan is always looking to connect with others and build meaningful partnerships!

When he’s not working on exciting projects, you can find him snowboarding, kicking a ball around, or diving into a good RPG.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a bellhop.” 

Laura Machuca is JASoCal’s Director of Human Resources & Administration for Los Angeles. Reach out to her for any HR management functions, such as hiring, training, and supporting new employees. When she’s not having fun at work, she’s out traveling the world.

When I was little, I wanted to be an Artist.

Carlos Mejia serves as the Director of Development in the Orange County and Inland Empire region. He oversees fundraising and cultivates partnerships to support educational and financial literacy for K-12 students and young adults across Orange County and Inland Empire.

Carlos enjoys a good meal in his spare time, exploring different cuisines and culinary experiences.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a business owner.”

Erin Welch is the Director of Development for the Inland Empire area of Junior Achievement of Southern California. If you are an individual or organization interested in supporting the future workforce in learning about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, or workforce readiness, reach out to her. She will help you connect with your philanthropic goals.

When Erin is not helping philanthropy and youth, she loves to read, especially Historical Fiction.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian.”

Christine Kunishige is director of Experiential Learning Centers for JASoCal’s capstone financial literacy program, JA Finance Park and JA Dream Accelerator. You can reach out to her if you are a middle or high school educator interested in bringing your students to these dynamic programs or if you are interested in volunteering for in one of these spaces. Christine has been in education for 16 years and loves supporting educators and empowering students.

In her free time, Christine cheers for the Los Angeles Rams from home and at SoFi Stadium!

“When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher.”

Alejandro “Alex” Rojas is a Program Director for JASoCal. In his role, he is responsible for implementing programs at schools, collaborating with volunteer sources for opportunities, and supporting schools in the 3DE model. Reach out to him for questions related to in-school programs in the Metro LA region, JA Inspire, and 3DE.

“When I was a child, I wanted to be sports broadcaster.”

Jonathan Ortega is JASoCal’s 3DE Program Manager for the Crenshaw District. Reach out to him if you’re looking to bring JASoCal programs to your school in grades K-12.

When he is not working in the Crenshaw District, he’s playing video games with his kids.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a Police Officer.”

Destiny Lara is the Regional Program Manager for Orange County and the Inland Empire. She’s your main contact for bringing JA programs to local schools and communities—managing district relationships and coordinating with educators and volunteers to make it all happen.

When she’s not supporting students, Destiny enjoys cheering on her boys at their games, walking her dog, and traveling with her family.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a news anchor.”

Eva Melgar is the Program Specialist at Junior Achievement of Orange County & Inland Empire, serving students across these areas. In her role, she aids the Program Managers in delivering JA programs focused on financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship.

Eva enjoys traveling whenever possible in order to experience new cultures and cuisines.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a dancer.”

Lizette Tejeda is JASoCal’s Senior Program Manager and leads key programs including JA Inspire in the LA Region and K-12 Speaker Series. Reach out to her if you’re looking to volunteer in the classroom or if you’re an educator who’s interested in bringing JA to your school.

In her spare time, she likes to paint abstract art for fun and enjoys exploring parks and nature trails around the city.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a psychologist.”

Rebecca Theranciel is the Program & Community Engagement Manager for the Orange County region. She serves the educators and students for middle and high school programs. She also engages with the community and is always looking for volunteers to present our programs at the schools.

When she is not working, she enjoys watching a rom-com or reading a book.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a Criminal Law Attorney”.

Denisse Palafox is the Executive Assistant to the President and the Director of Operations & Special Events. She manages the building, including the production rentals, meeting rentals, and vendors as well as Les’ calendar! She also serves as the primary support for internal and external logistics related to programming, fundraising and special event set up and breakdown. Most importantly, she keeps the snack drawer filled! (okay, not MOST important but we appreciate it so much).

Denisse is a mother of three, which takes up a lot of her free time, and a “Day of” wedding coordinator.

“When I was little, I wanted to be an OBGYN.”

Peter Gonzalez is the new Volunteer Experience & Partnerships Coordinator focused on bringing in new volunteers from our Corporate and Community Partners.

Peter loves to travel to new places and try new foods with his family and friends.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a professional athlete.”

Kelso Dowling is a Program Manager for JASoCal and leads JA Company Program and JA Day K-12. 

In their spare time, they enjoy comedy, hiking, and their continuous search for LA’s best taco.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a grocery bagger.”

Desirae Porres is a Program and Community Engagement Manager for Junior Achievement of Inland Empire. She has a strong background in education and a passion for making change by equipping students with financial literacy, career readiness, and the skills they need for lifelong success.  

When Desirae is not working with Junior Achievement, she enjoys the arts, theatre, and spending time outdoors.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a humanitarian.”

Rosie Manzo is the Development Associate for Junior Achievement of Southern California, supporting the Orange County and Inland Empire region.

She assists with donor relations, event logistics, and stewardship efforts, while also providing executive assistant support to regional leadership to ensure seamless coordination across teams and initiatives.

When she’s not helping bring JA’s mission to life, Rosie enjoys spending time with family, loves going to Disneyland , & cheering on the Dodgers.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher to children with special needs”

Charlie is the Chief Happiness Officer at Junior Achievement of Southern California. A senior Golden Retriever, Charlie takes his role fur-real—trotting from cubicle to cubicle to meet his daily quota of pets and snacks. As CHO, he keeps the office culture paws-itive by attending meetings, joining “walk-and-talks,” and boosting morale with relentless tail-wagging—proving every day that he’s the ulti-mutt team player.

Charlie’s “key responsibilities” include rescuing “lost” treats from trash cans, onboarding new friends with wet-nose diplomacy, and providing under-desk pup-ervision during scheduled nap shifts.

“When I was little, I wanted to star in an Air Bud reboot… but it turns out I’m too much of a ball hog.”