First published in the Dec. 1 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
Jeremy Baker, David Choi and Lisette Gaviña Lopez are joining the Foothill Family Board of Directors.
Each was nominated and elected by the board for their strengths in advocacy, leadership and business acumen. This distinguished group is eager to share their time and expertise in support of Foothill Family’s mission to empower children and families to achieve success in relationships, school and work through community-based services that advance growth and development.
“Foothill Family is delighted to welcome these accomplished and talented individuals on our Board of Directors. They bring remarkable leadership and expertise, which will help us serve the growing and evolving needs of children and families in our communities,” said Steve Allen, chief executive officer of Foothill Family.
Baker has worked in the financial services industry as a registered representative and insurance broker since 2002, founding Arroyo Financial & Insurance Solutions in 2017. His practice works with individuals, families and small businesses. He lives in Pasadena with his wife, Erin, and two children: Annabel and James, who both attend Chandler School. Baker graduated from Loyola High School and currently serves as a class alumni leader. He also spent time on Loyola’s Alumni Board. Baker earned a B.A. from Sonoma State University in art history and spent a year studying abroad in Florence, Italy. He later earned an MBA in marketing from Capella University’s executive program while working full time. Baker currently serves on the Chandler Family Association board and is actively involved in coaching AYSO (American Youth Soccer).
Choi is a multilingual business development executive with a J.D. degree and more than 20 years of legal and multimedia business development experience. Many of his accomplishments as a media business developer have opened new doors for ethnic media programming and also for U.S.-based media platforms, including radio, television, satellite and mobile. His accomplishments in structuring media deals had no prior blueprints as many of these deals were unique and, in many cases, the first of their kind. Choi has extensive experience in bridging the media gap between South Korea, the U.S., and multimedia platforms, and then structuring business models to monetize them. Most recently, Choi has started the AAX Media – Asian-American eXchange Media. It is the first nonprofit media platform (TV, radio, digital, festival) dedicated to advancing AAPI.
Gaviña Lopez is a fourth-generation coffee roaster proudly continuing the rich legacy of the Gaviña family, owners of F. Gaviña & Sons Inc., one of the largest family-owned coffee companies in America and the nation’s largest privately held minority-owned coffee roaster. The family’s coffee experience, as coffee growers and roasters, dates back 150 years to the family’s humble beginnings in the rich coffee-bearing soil of Cuba and has paved the way for a strong presence in wholesale and retail accounts across the country. Gaviña Lopez serves as board chair and managing director overseeing sales and marketing for all the company’s brands including Don Francisco’s Coffee and Café La Llave Espresso. With more than 15 years in the coffee industry and a lifetime of experience in coffee, Gaviña Lopez is also a Q grader, the wine sommelier equivalent to the coffee industry. Born and raised in L.A., she holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. Gaviña Lopez lives in Pasadena with her husband and their 9-year-old son.
Serving the community since 1926, Foothill Family provides a range of community-based mental health and social services to under-served children and families in Southern California. Foothill Family has earned a reputation for providing high-quality services aimed at achieving brighter futures in which individuals and families thrive, communities are strengthened, and generations are enriched. Programs include mental health and school-based services for children, a focus on early childhood development and parent education, youth and family services including child abuse prevention and treatment, domestic violence prevention and treatment, elder abuse prevention and treatment, and services for pregnant and parenting teens. For more information, call (626) 993-3000 or visit foothillfamily.org.
