Our Leadership

Gina Lobaco, CFRE - Vice President of Development and Marketing
Joining the team in April, 2011, Gina is responsible for establishing and executing a multi-year fund development plan that aligns with the organization’s long-term strategic plan and supports general operations, programs and special initiatives.

Gina brings wide-ranging development and marketing experience from three decades of fundraising for some of the region’s leading nonprofit institutions. Most recently she served as Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s first development officer, where she led the first phase of a capital campaign and helped to raise approximately $80 million.

Gina spent nine years with Bet Tzedek, where she doubled annual fundraising revenue and helped develop and produce The Justice Ball©, a popular annual summer fundraising concert and event that draws thousands of attendees. Prior to that, she served for five years as Development Director for the ACLU Foundation where she established their annual Law Luncheon and secured foundation funding for their landmark Proposition 187 litigation. Her career began in journalism, as a copy-editor for the L.A. Times Syndicate and later in New York as an editor for the pioneering rock magazine, Crawdaddy. She has extensive freelance writing experience for a range of national and local publications.

Gioconda Lopez - Vice President of Human Resources and Risk Management
Gioconda Lopez is responsible for planning and directing all aspects of the organization's human resources policies, objectives and initiatives in the fields of employment, compensation, employee relations, benefits administration, safety, communications, legal compliance and risk management.

Gioconda started working at Para Los Niños in 1982 and has held several positions including the Vice President of Administrative Services, Director of Human Resources and Contract Administration, among others. She received a bachelor's degree in business administration from California State University, Los Angeles, a master's degree in business administration from University of La Verne and a graduate certificate in Human Resources from Chapman University.

Lisa Hirsch Marin, MSW, LCSW - Vice President of Programs and Integrated Services
Lisa was hired in December 2006 as a Clinical Coordinator at Para Los Niños. Less than a year later she was promoted to Director of Family Services. Today, as the Vice President of Programs and Integrated Services, she is responsible for deepening programmatic quality and integrating the family support and mental health services into our charter schools and Early Childhood Education centers.

Prior to coming to Para Los Niños, she served as a Supervising Children's Social Worker for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Prior to DCFS, Lisa worked for the Immigrant and Refugee Children’s Project of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.
Lisa earned a Bachelor of Art degree in Child Development and Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from California State University, Northridge. She earned a Master of Science degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, with an emphasis in Public Child Welfare and Family Preservation. In 2009, she was the recipient of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women’s Woman of the Year award.

Lisa lives in Silver Lake with her husband and two children.

Martine Singer - President and Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Para Los Niños in February, 2012, Martine served as Hollygrove’s Executive Director for six years. She began her work there as a consultant to Hollygrove’s Board of Directors after having been a longtime supporter, volunteer and neighbor.

During her tenure, she oversaw Hollygrove’s transition from residential to community-based services and its merger with the statewide agency EMQ FamiliesFirst. While at Hollygrove, she helped triple its annual budget, expanded services to South LA and initiated a master plan for its 3.5-acre campus. She also served on the team that won national accreditation for the first time for EMQ FamiliesFirst.

Prior to joining Hollygrove, Martine held executive positions in several global media companies. She founded and served as publisher for the first foreign-language edition of The New York Times and launched the Los Angeles Times' award-winning online service in 1993. Martine also founded her own consulting firm serving media and communications clients as well as nonprofit organizations.

A native New Yorker, Martine holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She resides in Brentwood with her 17-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter who attend Oakwood Secondary School.

Katheryn Steward - Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Katheryn Steward began at Para Los Niños in March 2007 as Director of Finance and Contract Compliance. Proving her expertise in the field, she earned the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in January 2008. Katheryn’s professional experience includes 20 years in accounting. She has held several leadership positions and has worked for such organizations as Southern California Presbyterian Homes, Dow Chemical Company, Blue Cross of California and the YWCA of Glendale.

Born in Chicago, Katheryn holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Maryland. She has a special interest in problem solving and uses this skill regularly to ensure that Para Los Niños’ programs get the most out each contract.

 

 

 

Fast Facts

 

Success Stories