Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors guides our mission, governs our budget and assists in building community partnerships.

CHAIR

James Ahumada

James is the senior vice president and deputy CEO of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, and is the former chief of staff and advisor to then-Mayor Robert Garcia and a former legislative advisor to Congressman Henry Waxman handling labor relations, small business and education.

TREASURER

Mary Ellen Mitchell

Mary Ellen has lived in Long Beach for decades and is the former executive director of the Women Shelter Long Beach and as the Chief Financial Office of Rancho Los Alamitos.

SECRETARY

Gwen Shaffer

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.

DIRECTOR

Danny Lemos

Danny is a Long Beach resident and the recently retired media advisor of the student-run 22 West Media at Cal State Long Beach and board president and general manager of the nonprofit public radio station KLBP-FM (99.1). He has been an on-air personality for decades, as well as a podcast producer, DJ, writer, coach and more.