Board of Directors
Board of Directors 2023-2024
Executive Committee:
Luis Monteagudo, President
Retired;
Former Vice President, Community Relations, 2-1-1 San Diego
Luis Monteagudo joins the Board of Directors with an extensive and successful career in communications and journalism. Most recently he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Communications for County Supervisor Greg Cox. In that role, he was introduced to 2-1-1 San Diego during the 2007 wildfires and later briefly served as Vice President of Community Relations for 2-1-1, where he worked closely with leadership and staff on projects, events, and initiatives to help the organization grow and thrive. During his service with Supervisor Cox and the County of San Diego, Monteagudo earned experience in crisis communications and emergency operations, having served as a public information officer during the 2007 regional wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. Monteagudo enjoyed a distinguished journalism career that included serving as a staff writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune and its Spanish-language newspaper, Enlace, and as an editor at USA Today. He is active in the community, previously serving as director of an annual multicultural high school journalism workshop, serving as a judge for the annual Kensington-Normal Heights Friends of the Library Student Essay Contest, and serving as a member of the San Diego Padres Hispanic Community Advisory Council.
Enrique Meza, Vice President
Community Affairs Manager, U.S. Bank
Enrique Meza serves as the San Diego Community Affairs Manager for U.S. Bank. In this role, Enrique positions U.S. Bank as a leader in the community and works to achieve regional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals. In addition to setting the direction for community grants, investments, and civic sponsorships, Enrique leads strategic relationships with organizations that align with the CSR strategy to drive community, employee, and business impact. Prior to U.S. Bank, Enrique was with Mission Federal Credit Union, where he began his career in 2016 as a Community Relations Officer and served most recently as Communications and Segment Marketing Manager. Much of his work focused on expanding the credit union’s growth and outreach within San Diego’s Hispanic community. Prior to joining Mission Fed, Enrique was Director of Programs at the San Diego Diplomacy Council, a nonprofit focused on fostering global engagement and mutual understanding between the U.S. and foreign countries. Active in his community, Enrique has served as a mentor for Unidos in Finance, a program that seeks to increase the number of bilingual Latinos working in financial services. He is a 2023 graduate of LEAD Impact, a leadership development program, where he was recognized by his classmates with the Herb G. Klein Memorial Award, presented annually to the member of the class who demonstrates the potential to lead significant change in the community.
Paul Espinosa, Treasurer
President & CEO, Espinosa Productions
Paul Espinosa is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked at the intersection of social justice and Latino history for over 40 years. He is a California-based, New Mexican-raised filmmaker who uses the power of media to recover stories about unsung heroes whose lives inspire us. Before founding Espinosa Productions in 1996, Paul served as Senior Producer and Executive Producer with PBS stations KPBS-San Diego and KERA-Dallas. His work has been supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Humanities, PBS, the Ford Foundation, ITVS, Latino Public Broadcasting, the U.S.-Mexico Fund for Culture and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Paul’s films capture the transformative energy of the men and women of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands examining topics like: key events in the contentious history between Mexico and the U.S. (The Lemon Grove Incident, The Hunt for Pancho Villa and The U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848); the productive intersection of art, music and civil rights (Singing Our Way to Freedom, Ballad of an Unsung Hero and 1492 Revisited); and the struggles of both documented and undocumented Mexican immigrant families (…and the earth did not swallow him, In the Shadow of the Law and Uneasy Neighbors). With over 15 national broadcasts on PBS, Paul’s films have screened at festivals around the world and have won many awards including eight Emmys. He holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University and is Professor Emeritus in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. Paul was a Founding Board Member of the Media Arts Center of San Diego where he has served as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. He previously served on the Boards of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC), the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, the California Council for the Humanities, the Arizona Latino Arts & Culture Consortium, and the Arizona Humanities Council.
Michael Caro, Secretary
San Diego Regional Manager, Assistance for Veterans;
Cox Communications
Michael Caro first learned about Media Arts Center San Diego while working for a national print publication in Hollywood. The San Diego Latino Film Festival was his first exposure to MACSD and he’s been a proponent of the festival and MACSD’s Teens Producer Project ever since. Mike was a New York transplant in Los Angeles, who first came to San Diego while in the Navy in 1977. He went to boot camp at the now Liberty Station grounds. Since then he’s pursued a career in I.T. and technical support. Mike has lived in San Diego for 20 years and has worked at Cox Communications for twenty years. Mike has also sat on the Cox Charities Advisory Board where he has championed the Teens Producer Project and helped elevate MACSD’s profile in his corporate arena. He continues to bring to spotlight issues and organizations that help lift up those with whom they interact. A Veteran of the US Navy and the California Air National Guard, Mike Caro is the San Diego Regional Manager of Assistance for Veterans (AFV) a nonprofit whose mission is to deliver food to needy veterans thus replicating efforts of the Los Angeles team of AFV.
Members-At-Large:
Adolfo Ventura
Chief Operating Office, MAAC
Adolfo Ventura made a career dedicated to building stronger communities, with a focus on education, economic development, and real estate development. He’s committed to strengthening the nonprofit sector and transforming organizations by developing strong systems and pathways for leadership development. A natural relationship-builder, Ventura is successful in community engagement and advocacy on behalf of under-invested communities and poverty-related issues. Ventura is the Director of Operations at MAAC, a social service organization that spans 32 sites across San Diego County and includes over 400 staff members and an annual budget of $43 million. In that role, he has a broad range of responsibilities including management of procurement, contracts, facilities, and IT. He’s also in charge of safety and risk management. Throughout his career at MAAC, Ventura has gained extensive experience in and responsibilities for real estate development, including affordable housing, educational facilities, and commercial projects. Additionally, he plays a key role in MAAC’s labor management and negotiations team, which works directly with two unions that represent MAAC staff members. Ventura earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, where he majored in Latin American Studies and minored in Portuguese and Spanish Language and Literature. He earned his master’s degree at the University of San Diego, where he studied Nonprofit Leadership and Management.
Lorena Mostajo
Founder, Taller California Press;
University of California San Diego Professor
Lorena Mostajo is an artist whose photographic practice spans Mexico and the United States and Bolivia. Her practice also includes the production and dissemination of printed matter. She is the founder of Taller California, a small press for artists, writers, and community members from the Tijuana-San Diego area. Originally from Mexico City, Lorena Mostajo completed her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BA in Hispanic American Literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In addition to her artistic practice, she has written about photography for the prestigious Mexican photo journal Luna Córnea as well as for different magazines and newspapers in Mexico. With Mara Fortes, she co-edited Inmemoria, a volume of essays about the French filmmaker Chris Marker and the first translation into Spanish of Amos Vogel’s Film As a Subversive Art, both published by Ambulante Documentary Film Festival (Mexico). She is an assistant professor in visual arts at the University of California San Diego.
Alex Montoya
A-MOtivational Communications, Founder Chief Motivation Officer, COO
Development Coordinator, Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center
Alex is the Development Coordinator at Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center in San Diego. He is also a thought leader who has written nine books – including a children’s one about inclusion. His Alex Montoya Foundation provides education on immigrants and people with disabilities. All of this has come after a successful corporate career with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Padres. Alex earned his Bachelor Degree at the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s from the University of San Francisco. He also has a Personal Development Certification from Harvard, where he has spoken. He has also spoken at Google, NASA, and the Denver Broncos.
Cynthia Morales
Producer, Choreographer, Leader in Arts Education
Cynthia Morales served as an arts educator for forty years in public and private schools teaching and mentoring students in K-12 and university settings. She is a recipient of National Arts Teacher’s Fellowship and Prime Teacher Travel Grant to present art educational work in Japan. She has worked as a performer, choreographer, director, administrator, producer and teacher in South America, Japan, New York City, Los Angeles and San Diego. Morales achieved a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School where she was mentored by legendary dance artists. The MA in Dance Education from UCLA, included founding and directing Music, Movement and Media Arts Project, an arts outreach that offered diverse dance styles, music education, theater and animation film to underserved elementary school students in Los Angeles. As an arts administrator, Morales produced many years of original and classic dance repertoire in concert and dance film for generations of young, underserved artists and their communities. She has also served as a producer for arts festivals including UCLA’S first Mexican Arts symposium. Morales’ performance credits include working as a featured dancer with New York’s Ballet Hispanico, Ballet Metropolitano of Caracas in Venezuela, in classic modern repertory works, creating original choreographies for regional theater, musical theater, concert work and as an actress in commercial TV and film. Morales is blessed to enjoy professional and creative collaborations with fellow artists and with her immediate and extended family of artists and educators. Cynthia Morales cherishes creative collaborations that enrich all involved with dynamic and profound impact.
Ruben Morfin
International Client Advisor, Vice President, Morgan Stanley
Ruben Morfin will say he is a fronterizo, having lived, studied and worked on both sides of the US/Mexico border in California, which he calls home. Volunteering with MACSD is part of his life-long interest in community improvement – and to pay back for all he has received. Morfin completed high school in both the US and in Mexico, and graduated from the University of California (UCSD, BA, Urban Studies), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Master’s in City Planning); and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC, International MBA) – with complementary coursework in Harvard University and other institutions. Morfin has 30+ years of direct managerial experience in business, non-profits, and government; in industries including finance, services, manufacturing, engineering, construction, higher ed., and social services – with Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Rain Bird International, MIT, the City of Boston, United Way, Budget Rent-a-Car, Union Pacific Railroad, among others. Morfin’s diverse experience, and passion for cross-pollination and knowledge-sharing led also to engagements as Management Consultant (J. Bergman & Associates) and Leadership Coach (CoreStrata Management Consulting, in alliance with the University of San Diego). At present, Morfin is an International Client Advisor with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Christina Rounds
Solutions, Realtor, Landing Collective Real Estate
With 14+ years in San Diego real estate, Christina is a seasoned professional. From bank-owned properties to property management and sales, her true calling emerged. In property management, she excelled in problem-solving and fostering tenant-landlord relationships, driven by protecting clients’ assets. In sales, guiding buyers through San Diego’s home-owning complexities is her pride. Her approach centers on strong connections, open communication, and meeting client needs. Beyond real estate, she’s deeply involved in community service, serving on boards of non-profits and organizing drives. Christina’s diverse experiences and commitment empower exceptional client experiences, making a positive community impact.