Our Board of Directors guides our mission, governs our budget and assists in building community partnerships.
OurBoard of Directors is:
TREASURER
Mary Ellen Mitchell
Treasurer Dora Jacildo has served as the Executive Director of Child Lane since 2016. Child Lane serves roughly 5,900 children and their families each year in Long Beach, the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, and parts of Orange County. Previously, Jacildo was the first Executive Director of SAHARA (South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency), and was the Executive Director of Children Today for close to 11 years. Jacildo currently serves on the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families and on the Board of The Nonprofit Partnership in Long Beach. She has held Board leadership positions with EveryChild California, the Villages of Cabrillo Collaborative, Harbor Community Health Centers, Child 360, and was the former 4th Supervisorial District appointee to the Los Angeles County Policy Roundtable for Child Care and Development and the Los Angeles County Commission on Women.
SECRETARY
Gwen Shaffer
Secretary Gwen Shaffer is a professor in the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at California State University Long Beach. Her telecommunications policy research focuses on data privacy, particularly the implications of “smart city” technologies like security cameras, automated license plate readers and mobile apps. She is the principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project aimed at advancing Long Beach’s vision to use residents’ data in ethical ways. Gwen served on the city’s Technology and Innovation Commission from 2015 until 2022, including four years as chair. Before her academic career, she worked as a reporter for more than a dozen years in Philadelphia and as an editorial assistant for National Public Radio in Washington, DC.