The Visionaries Behind the Compass
Meet the architects and navigators who will help you lay the groundwork for your future. At Breakthrough Silicon Valley, our team assembles the tools, charts the courses, and clears the path, but the destination? That's all you.
Staff
Click on a photo to learn more about each member of Breakthrough Silicon Valley’s team.
John Hiester
Executive Director
jhiester@breakthroughsv.org
Eduardo Arellanes Loeza
Senior Director of Programs and Instruction
eloeza@breakthroughsv.org
Tamaya Garcia
VP of Development
tgarcia@breakthroughsv.org
Tony Alvarez
AmeriCorps Program Director talvarez@breakthroughsv.org
Abigail Brenneman-Azibuke
College Access Program Manager
abrenneman@breakthroughsv.org
Wes Cheung
Dir. of Admissions and Middle School Program
wcheung@breakthroughsv.org
Emily Greulich
College Advising Coordinator
egreulich@breakthroughsv.org
Lizbeth Huerta
College Access and Success Manager
lhuerta@breakthroughsv.org
Rebeca Lopez
College Advising Coach
rlopez@breakthroughsv.org
Thao Nguyen
Associate Director of College Access
thao.nguyen@breakthroughsv.org
Javier Ortega
Family and Community Engagement Manager jortega@breakthroughsv.org
Marisol Ponce
Development Events Manager mponce@breakthroughsv.org
Sergio Quinones
Middle School Program Manager squinones@breakthroughsv.org
Christa Salazar
Operations Manager
csalazar@breakthroughsv.org
Joshua Salazar
Operations Coordinator
jsalazar@breakthroughsv.org
AmeriCorps Members
Breanna Banh
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (9/10th Grade)
breanna.banh@breakthroughsv.org
Susana Duran
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (9/10th Grade)
susana.duran@breakthroughsv.org
Alexandra Garcia
AmeriCorps Volunteer Engagement Coordinator
alexandra.garcia@breakthroughsv.org
Stacy Garcia
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (11/12th Grade)
stacy.garcia@breakthroughsv.org
Kelly Lelapinyokul
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (7/8th Grade)
kelly.lelapinyokul@breakthroughsv.org
Tiffany Leong
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (9/10th Grade)
tiffany.leong@breakthroughsv.org
Claudia Melendez
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (7/8th Grade)
claudia.melendez@breakthroughsv.org
Luke Patusky
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (11/12th Grade)
luke.patusky@breakthroughsv.org
Aylin Velazco
AmeriCorps Academic Advisor (11/12th Grade)
aylin.velazco@breakthroughsv.org
Board of Directors
Griselda Panozo (Chair)
Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Minh Virasak (Vice Chair)
Associate Vice Provost, Santa Clara University
Bianca Fischli (Secretary)
Community Volunteer, Customer Success Advocate
Ramón Garcia Gomez (Finance & Treasurer)
Go to Market Strategy and Operations, Google
Roneeta Guha (Governance)
Principal, Education First Consulting
Carol Tinsley (Development)
Community Volunteer
Jocelyne Cardona
Talent Development Professional and Facilitator
Rita Chen
Community Volunteer
Ellen Lintz Dempsey
Community Volunteer
Neeraj Goel
Senior Engineering Manager, Adobe
Christina Lai
VP, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Robinhood
Diane Lu
VP, Senior Counsel, SoftBank Group International
Allison Railo
Art Historian and Curator
Antonio Romero
Director of Medicinal Chemistry, Cytokinetics
Liza Smyth
Customer Experience Executive
Suchitra Subrahmanyan
Vice President, Business Development, Applied Materials
Michele Wyman
Director, Communications, Google Workspace