MARK WILSON

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.

SELERIN NTAHITAGABIRA

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.

JAHRELL THOMAS

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 18 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 education inclusion/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 that 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 developing systems to scale CRCD’s workforce development, leadership development, and education services that can be replicated in other workforce development organizations. He currently has a focus on serving re-entry youth, transition-age youth, and residents at risk of homelessness and unemployment. As a professional who experienced similar trauma and barriers as a youth, he is personally and professionally invested in changing the lives of youth who can be redirected with love, support, and opportunities. 

Above and beyond his education and certification 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.” 

ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ

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.

RICARDO MENDOZA

CHIEF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Ricardo Mendoza has close to 20 years of experience in a variety of government and community relations positions. Ricardo currently serves as the Chief Business Development Officer. In this role, Ricardo is responsible for developing growth strategies for CRCD and its community partners. Ricardo develops and administers tailored engagement and coalition building programs from initial stages to project completion. He is accustomed to working with a variety of partners including senior government officials, elected officials, business leaders, philanthropy, grassroots community leaders and the community-at-large. 

Prior to joining Coalition for Responsible Community Development, Ricardo served as the Vice President at Lee Andrews Group, a premier boutique public affairs firm in Downtown Los Angles providing strategic advice to government agencies, municipalities and private developers on engagement strategies for diverse stakeholders. Ricardo previously served in key leadership roles for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. He additionally served the South Los Angeles community through his work under Councilmember Jan Perry.  

Ricardo graduated from UCLA and received his MPA in Leadership and Management from California State University, Northridge. Ricardo is a native of South Los Angeles. Ricardo is fluent in Spanish.  

Aissa Cerda

Chief Programs Officer

As the Chief Programs Officer at the Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD), Aissa Cerda provides oversight and guidance for the Workforce Development for Youth and Adults and the Housing and Support Services Department. Mrs. Cerda leads a team of housing, workforce development, and education practitioners that are all dedicated to changing the lives of South LA residents. As the CPO, she will also oversee the scaling of programs, implementation of integrated service delivery strategies, and evaluations of programs and services.

Aissa was born and raised in Boyle Heights, East of Downtown Los Angeles. Her grandfather, followed by her father, has owned an upholstery business in Boyle Heights since 1964. Her mother grew up in the same neighborhood, specifically the Aliso Pico Village housing projects. She is the oldest of six siblings and the product of both the public and private school system, attending eight different schools, all before high school.

Her undergraduate studies took place at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where she majored in Communications and minored in Spanish Literature. After graduating in 2010, she moved back home and started working for a non-profit that operated One-Stop Centers and Domestic Violence shelters. She grew extremely fond of workforce development and pursued her Master’s degree in Commerce and Economic Development from Northeastern University, graduating in March 2020.

Aissa has been managing WorkSource Centers and America’s Job Centers since 2010. Her most recent position was Director for the Rancho Dominguez AJCC, operated by Community Career Development, Inc., which operated youth, adult, dislocated worker, and special programs. Previously, she was the Regional Workforce Development Manager for Associated General Contractors of California, which gave her direct and unique insight into the construction industry. One of her goals was to attract Generation Z into the construction industry by managing a workforce campaign known as Build California.

While at UCSD, she joined Phi Lambda Rho Inc., a Latina/Chicana service-based sorority, where she continued to be active and recently served as the National Board of Directors Executive Vice-President from 2021-2022. She is a strong advocate for women’s rights, specifically revolving around reproductive rights and infertility awareness. She married her college sweetheart in 2016 and currently resides in Ontario, California.

Veronica Garcia

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.