Our executive leadership team is committed to the South Los Angeles community through compassion and collaboration.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Operations Officer
President, CRCD Partners, LLC
Chief Community Innovation Officer
Chief Human Resources Officer
Chief Human Resources Officer
Veronica Garcia is an accomplished Human Resources Professional with more than 15 years of experience. She has held various roles within the Human Resources from Administration, Payroll Specialist, Generalist, HR Manager, Director, VP of Human Resources and Talent Management, and presently as the Chief Human Resources Officer at CRCD. She has worked in for-profit and non-profit organizations, having served the non-profit sector for the past 12 years. Before coming to CRCD, Veronica spent 8 years serving the formerly unhoused on Los Angeles skid row. Her expertise lies in aligning HR strategies with business objectives, playing a pivotal role in shaping the HR landscape and fostering a positive work environment.
Her education, various certificates, and a member of various organizations, including the Professional in Human Resources Association, Society for Human Resources Management and National Human Resources Association, and 2022 National Human Resources Nomination for Los Angeles Executive of the Year have propelled her to continue to pursue her passion within the Human Resources space. Veronica is a Southern California native, fluent in Spanish, who is family-oriented and enjoys hanging out with family, kayaking, hiking, and bowling.
Chief Community Innovation Officer
Kenta Estrada-Darley has over 15 years of experience working in the social justice sector with a specialization in community economic development in New York City and Los Angeles.
Since joining the Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD) in 2017, Kenta has spearheaded various initiatives that have improved the lives of South LA’s most vulnerable community members while uplifting innovative and community-driven approaches to economic development.
Kenta currently serves Chief Community Innovation Officer at CRCD and leads South LA All In, a collaboration driven, transformative initiative to address deep-rooted racial and socio-economic inequities in South Los Angeles.
Kenta has a Bachelor of Arts from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study from New York University and a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management from Antioch University Los Angeles.
President, CRCD Partners, LLC
As an Affordable Housing Executive, Alejandro has dedicated his professional career to ensuring that underserved communities have access to quality affordable housing and appropriate supportive services in Boyle Heights, East LA, and throughout the City and County of Los Angeles. Alejandro has seen how developing affordable housing in these communities is not only a great tool for revitalizing the built environment but also the human spirit, which in turn inspires people in these communities to participate in civic and social engagement. Alejandro began his affordable housing career in 1999 and has developed many affordable housing projects throughout the City of Los Angeles and in unincorporated East Los Angeles.
Before joining the Coalition for Responsible Community Development as Chief Real Estate Officer, Alejandro was the Vice President of Real Estate and Asset Management at East LA Community Corporation (ELACC), where he led a team of 10+ that included the Real Estate Department, the Asset Management Department, and the Property Management Department. The Real Estate Department utilized every local, state, and federal program imaginable to develop a variety of project types, including single-family subdivisions (for-sale), acquisition/rehab of single-family homes (moderate-income for-sale), permanent supportive housing, and affordable rental housing for seniors, veterans and large families. During his 10-year tenure at ELACC, Alejandro developed more than $250 million in affordable housing projects and an additional $400 million+ in projects in pre-development.
Chief Operations Officer
As the Chief Operations Officer at the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, Jahrell works closely with the President & CEO while supporting Director-level leadership, which includes Human Resources, Facilities, Learning and Evaluation, Marketing and Communications, and Fund Development, with an overarching goal of securing the functionality of the business and driving extensive and sustainable growth. This includes programmatic projects and other special activities that magnify the CRCD brand and family of services.
During his 19-year tenure at CRCD, Jahrell has held a variety of positions at CRCD including youth advocate, program manager, associate director, director of youth development, and chief programs officer. As the Chief Programs Officer, he successfully developed comprehensive workforce development programs rooted in trauma-informed care and reinforced best practice programming across CRCD Workforce Development Departments, including youth programs such as South LA YouthBuild (YouthBuild USA), Jobs for Los Angeles Graduates (Jobs for America’s Graduates), VCN YouthSource Center, and Project Tipping Point for current and former foster youth and the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department-funded Vernon-Central/LATTC WorkSource Center for residents 18 years and older.
Mr. Thomas has been an advocate for workforce development and inclusive education and diversity since joining CRCD in 2005. Since then, he has developed and designed proven model programs for CRCD and expanded services to youth and adults in Los Angeles who experience the greatest barriers to education and employment. After witnessing and personally experiencing social and economic injustices, he decided to prioritize focusing on creating opportunities and alternatives to reduce incarceration, homelessness, and unemployment.
He is currently responsible for the overall administration and operations of the organization. Enhancing the organization infrastructure and internal controls is a key priority for the scalability and sustainability of CRCD. He is responsible for CRCD’s policies and procedures, fund development strategies, learning and evaluation, marketing and communication, strategic planning, and facilities operations. This responsibility allows him to develop systems to scale CRCD’s workforce development, housing and support services, and education services that can be replicated in other communities and community-based organizations. As a professional with lived experience, he is personally and professionally invested in changing the lives of youth and adults who can succeed with the appropriate level of support.
Above and beyond his education and qualifications, Jahrell has extensive experience in partner and funder cultivation that leads to stewardship and commitment of resources that “changes lives and builds neighborhoods responsibly.”
Chief Financial Officer
Selerin Ntahitagabira is an accomplished business management professional and the current Chief Financial Officer for the Coalition for Responsible Community Development. He has more than 15 years of financial management experience at both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Selerin brings significant skills in cash flow management, budgeting and forecasting, financial analysis, internal controls design and maintenance, risk management, financial systems conversion, timely and accurate financial reporting, and superior management/coaching of fiscal and administrative teams. In his previous occupation, Selerin served as Vice President & Controller at United States Veterans Initiative from 2008 to 2016.
Selerin holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Accounting and Finance. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and holds the designation of Chartered Global Management Accountant. Selerin is also active in several humanitarian endeavors, which include acting as board chairman for Burundi Development Initiatives and serving as the treasurer for Rainbow Humanitarian Caretaker Foundation.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mark Anthony Wilson, Jr. co-founded the Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD) in 2005 along with Ruth M. Teague, Noemi Soto, Fernando Miranda, and Hugo Ortiz. Mark served as CRCD’s Executive Director for a decade and now serves as the agency’s President and CEO. Raised in South Los Angeles, Mark previously served as the Director of the Youth Empowerment Project with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference/Martin Luther King Legacy Association, and the Director of Community Development with the Dunbar Economic Development Corporation.
Today, Mark directs CRCD’s comprehensive community development services in housing, education, and jobs for primarily Latino and African American youth ages 16–24 in the Vernon-Central Los Angeles community. He provides leadership on local and national levels to improve the policies, systems, and long-standing neighborhood conditions that impact young people’s lives. In a high-poverty community, Mr. Wilson spearheads effective collaborations with residents, businesses, nonprofits, community colleges, government, and foundations to create real opportunities for youth to stabilize and pursue their dreams. Since 2005, Mr. Wilson has strategically grown CRCD into an agency running 6 housing complexes, a high school, a YouthSource Center, a WorkSource Center, and its separate social enterprise CRCD Enterprises. Mark serves on the board of the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing and the LA Community College District Community Advisory Board (representing LATTC). He was recently honored with a YouthBuild USA Rising Star award.
