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Our Leadership
Gisselle Acevedo -
President & CEO
Gisselle Acevedo serves as Para Los Niños’ president and chief executive officer. Acevedo joined the organization in June 2006 after an illustrious career in media, public affairs, law, and education. With a passion for children and the Los Angeles community, she arrived at Para Los Niños ready to address our region’s most critical issues.
Before joining Para Los Niños, Acevedo served as president and general manager of the Los Angeles edition of Hoy, the Spanish language newspaper owned by Tribune Company. Prior to this position, she served as vice president of public affairs at the Los Angeles Times and president of the Los Angeles Times Foundation. Acevedo has also served as executive director of corporate communications and public affairs for AT&T Broadband and as director of government relations and public affairs for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). She began her career in Los Angeles as an elementary school teacher and received her master’s degree in education. Shortly thereafter, Acevedo attended law school and, as an attorney, served as a client’s rights advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness.
Acevedo also serves as a leader of distinction in the philanthropic community. She is a member of numerous boards including those of The John F. Kennedy School of Government, Women’s Leadership Board, the Executive Service Corp of Southern California, Farmers Insurance Company, and Health Net.
She is also a regent at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. She is a McCormick Fellow awardee and has received many awards, but none greater than her thirteen year old daughter, Noelle, with whom she lives in the San Gabriel Valley.
Stefanie Eppe, Ph.D. -
Vice President of Programs
Stefanie Eppe joined Para Los Niños in 2006 as director of quality assurance and research and was promoted to vice president of programs the following year. In her new role, Eppe supervises programs and works to maintain Para Los Niños' high quality standards. Eppe holds a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Southern California (USC) and has extensive research experience with emergent literacy skills, bilingual children, and high-risk children and families.
A native of Costa Rica, Eppe literally danced her way to Los Angeles, first experiencing life in Southern California after receiving a scholarship to study at the Millenium Dance Complex. Falling in love with the diversity and vibrant lifestyle in California, she returned a few years later to attend USC. It was there that Eppe discovered her aptitude for research, and went on to earn her Ph.D.
Still dancing in her spare time, Eppe has hung up her professional dancing shoes to devote her life to children. She spent the early part of her career working with children with behavioral and developmental disabilities, and then later conducted research focusing on early intervention programs, English Language Learners, and emergent literacy skills in young children. With her remarkable background, Eppe has chosen to join forces with a nonprofit organization to put her passion for helping children and her expertise in developmental psychology to work.
Marķa Garay, M.S.W., Ph.D. -
Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Vice president and chief operating officer, María Garay, M.S.W., Ph.D., oversees the programmatic operations of Para Los Niños. Prior to joining Para Los Niños, Garay held many leadership roles at The Salvation Army including serving as the associate director of social services of their Southern California Divisional Social Services, executive director of the family winter shelter program, and interim executive director of their Booth Memorial Center, where she oversaw all aspects of the center’s operations and managed any programs without a director in place. During her tenure at The Salvation Army, Garay led their social service programs to extraordinary levels and implemented best practices and standards which were both locally and nationally recognized.
Garay holds a bachelor of arts in sociology from Pitzer College, and master’s and doctoral degrees in social work from the University of Southern California where she is currently a field instructor. She is a member of the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Social Workers.
Bob Karcher -
Vice President of Operations
Bob Karcher, vice president of operations, manages the facilities services, project management, information technology, and food services departments of Para Los Niños. Karcher joined Para Los Niños in 2007 after a 25-year career in the newspaper industry, including the Los Angeles Times, where he served as chief operating officer of Hoy Publications. He also served as the chief operating officer of La Opinión. Karcher is working toward a bachelors degree from Biola University in organizational leadership. He is a graduate of the 2007 class of Leadership Los Angeles, run by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. A Southern California native, Karcher is continuously active in the communities where he lives and works, serving in many capacities, including at the Los Angeles Ketchum YMCA where he sat on the board of managers. Coming from a large family and having four children of his own, planning organizational activities is a natural for Karcher.
Gioconda Lopez -
Vice President of Human Resources/Risk Management
Gioconda Lopez, vice president of human resources and risk management 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.
Lopez 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, a master's degree in business administration from University of La Verne and is currently pursing a graduate certificate in Human Resources from Chapman University. Lopez is a member of the Professional in Human Resources Association and Society of Human Resources Management.
Elena Stern -
Vice President of External Affairs
Elena Stern serves as vice president of external affairs. A twenty-year veteran of California political campaigns and the public policy arena, Stern is responsible for developing and enhancing relationships for the agency with elected officials, corporations, and grassroots organizations at the local, state and federal levels. She also promotes the work of the agency through aggressive and targeted media outreach.
Prior to Para Los Niños, Stern was with Burson-Marsteller, a global communications company. Previously, she served as communications director to Antonio Villaraigosa in his 2001 campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles, and during his tenure as Speaker of the California State Assembly.
An alumna of USC, Elena earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Administration. She lives in the South Bay community of Los Angeles with her husband and toddler daughter.
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. Steward’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, Steward 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.
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