Program
Shane Goldsmith
"When I was 10, my dad led our neighbors to city hall to demand an end to parking tickets they could not afford to pay. That’s how I learned about organizing." Shane became an organizer, then senior deputy for City Council President Garcetti, and then executive director of PATH Ventures. She joined Liberty Hill in 2009. Shane holds an M.A. in Public Policy and Administration from Cal State Long Beach.
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Michele Prichard
"When I was 14, teaching Vacation Bible School in a public housing project in St. Louis, I became outraged at the poverty and isolation of the children, and committed myself right then to make a difference in the world." Michele joined Liberty’s Hill’s Community Funding Board in 1982, became Director in 1989, and transitioned to special projects in 1998. Michele holds an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA and has served as a senior fellow to the UCLA School of Public Affairs since 2007. She serves on the boards of GREEN LA Coalition and the Venice Community Housing Corporation.
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Margarita Ramirez
"I graduated from high school in 1970 and started to work for Catholic Charities which drew me to an interest to social service work. That summer I attended the national Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War and this shifted my attraction to social change work." Margarita's subsequent years of college activism at St. Mary's College and political activism brought her to Liberty Hill in 1981, where she has been central to Liberty Hill's work investing in strong and viable organizing.
Vincent Jones
"I led the keep-the-peace effort at my high school during the civil unrest following the Rodney King trial. I’ve been organizing people to overcome challenges or achieve shared goals ever since." Vincent staffed several political campaigns and was an aide to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and New York City Councilmember David Yassky. He was executive director of Center for Health Justice, currently serves as board co-chair of the National Teen Leadership Program and is a Camp Courage trainer. He has a B.A. in History from Swarthmore College where he was a Eugene M. Lang Scholar and a Public Policy & International Affairs Fellow.
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Joe Bernardo
"The Philippines' #1 export is its people. My parents are among millions of Filipinos who left, and continue to leave their homeland to labor in the First World. Understanding that this phenomenon is historically rooted in global injustice and racism got me involved in social justice work." Joseph holds a B.A. in Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara and an M.A. in Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University. After graduating from SF State, he worked for four years for Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti. In addition to working for Liberty Hill, Joseph is pursuing a Ph.D. in History from the University of Washington. He also continues to be involved in the Filipino American community in various capacities.
Finance and Administration
Preeti Kulkarni
"I grew up in Montgomery and my parents won a discrimination lawsuit against University of Alabama. The university had rejected my mom from the residency program because she was a foreign medical graduate. This proved to me that everyone can fight against injustice." Before joining Liberty Hill in 2009, Preeti worked at Connections For Children as their fiscal director for 9 years. She serves on the Board of Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) and Center for the Pacific Asian Family(CPAF). Preeti holds a B.S. from Duke University and an M.A. in Accounting from University of Southern California.
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Esmeralda Martinez
"When I began to look for a college to attend, I realized that everyone should be entitled to equal opportunities despite any circumstances they may have lived under or gone through in the past. That’s why I joined Liberty Hill." Esmeralda joined Liberty Hill in 2009. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Managerial Accounting from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Vivian Jojola
"My parents are working-class liberal Democrats but not really activists. We lived in Orange County. When I first started becoming politically active, I went from 0 to 60 pretty fast. I got very involved in the anti-nuke movement and was arrested with Daniel Ellsberg. I hadn’t told my dad I was going to a demonstration. The first he knew of it was when he saw me in handcuffs being taken to jail on TV. He said to me later: ‘I know it’s what you believe in, mija, but can’t you just vote like everybody else?’" Vivian joined Liberty Hill in 2003. She attended college in Orange County.