Welcome to Our New Leadership Team Members!
The Leadership Team is the primary governing body of the California AfterSchool Network. The Leadership Team is responsible for providing leadership, strategic direction, and support to the committees and participants in the California AfterSchool Network.
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Sergio Barragán
Committed to June 2024, Strategy Committee
Community Services
Supervisor, City of Fontana
Sergio Barragán is the Community Services Supervisor for the City of Fontana, overseeing 35 Fontana Expanded Learning Program sites in partnership with the Fontana Unified School District, Etiwanda School District, and the Colton Joint Unified District. His role in the city is to lead and support staff in the delivery of high-quality programming to the children and youth of the community. Sergio has been in the field for over 15 years working from frontline staff to program leadership. Sergio’s dedication to the expanded learning field comes from understanding the benefits he received as a youth participant in after school activities and knowing the impact that can be provided to youth as a professional in the field. Sergio joined the California Afterschool Network to continue his commitment to making positive contributions in the field that serves youth.
Pablo Garcia-Hernandez
Committed to June 2024
Chief Program Officer, Los
Angeles Conservation Corps
Pablo Garcia-Hernandez is the Chief Program Officer for the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. Pablo has worked in the youth development field for 25 years. His first experience was as an arts educator for Los Angeles Conservation Corp’s Clean and Green Program at Carver Middle School in South Los Angeles. He has worked in a wide variety of capacities and job titles in the field since then. He is currently responsible for overseeing grant operations for over 600 ASES, ASSETs, and 21CCLC-funded schools within LAUSD. He is also currently on the Founding Advisory Board for a new Los Angeles-Based organization, Rainbow Labs, that will pair Queer and Gender Non-Conforming Youth with mentors and leadership programming. His strong commitments to authentic youth-led programming and empowering young people to shape their own communities have made True North throughout his career, and in his choices for groups that he works and volunteers for.
Mariana Lopez Quintanilla
Committed to June 2027
Industry Director – Bay Area
Community Resources (BACR)
Mariana Lopez Quintanilla is a native of Venezuela who started her journey in the educational field in 1998 working in early childhood education and academic support for students with ADHD. In 2007, she worked with refugees and immigrant communities in Miami-Dade County. There she ensured that families understood the educational system and that students received services that supported their academic and social development.
In 2009, Mariana joined Bay Area Community Resources, where she worked in the out-of-school field in different capacities, serving thousands of students every year. She is now supporting a team of youth development and family services professionals in San Francisco and Marin County. She is passionate about working toward equity in education, implementing strategies to develop quality programs, and finding resources that inspire students and staff to learn and grow.
Lupine Reppert
Committed to June 2027
Executive Director,
California School-Age Consortium
Lupine is a Central Valley native who has been working in the out-of-school time (OST) field for over twenty years. She started as a summer camp counselor and later served in various roles at various youth development organizations, including LA’s BEST after-school program and the American Camp Association. Most recently, Lupine was Vice President of Client Services for Arrowhead Management Company, a fundraising consulting firm responsible for raising millions of dollars for non-profit organizations each year. Currently, she is the Executive Director at the California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC), for which she has served as a staff member since 2015 and as a volunteer since 2009. Lupine has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Music from UCLA and a Master of Public Administration from USC. You’ll find her outdoors in her free time – running, hiking, camping, kayaking, or indoors – swing dancing.
Harlyn Santos
Committed to March 2023, Leadership Development Committee
Director of Programs &
Operations, Think Together
Harlyn Santos is Director of Programs and Operations for Think Together in the Santa Fe Springs Region. Harlyn has been in the Expanded Learning field for over 20 years. In her role, she leads strategically, acts intentionally, and works collaboratively across several platforms in order to ensure that students benefit from participating in OST programs. Her primary responsibility is to ensure the quality and fidelity of all programs by supporting daily operations, and oversight of the region. She collaborates with district partners and community partners to ensure that policies, procedures, and protocols are followed to benefit the students served. Harlyn was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team because she is passionate about closing the achievement gap and giving all students an opportunity to develop as a whole. She wants to be part of the catalyst for change that is needed across our state for benefit of those in the field and for the field.
Erin Sipes
Committed to June 2027, Leadership Team Co-Chair
Director of Expanded Learning,
Elk Grove Unified School District
Erin Sipes currently serves as the director of Elk Grove Unified School District’s Office of Expanded Learning, overseeing district summer learning programs, credit recovery, intersession, and before and after school programs that serve over 9,000 youth daily. During her 25+ years as an educator, she has worked as a site administrator, curriculum specialist, classroom teacher, and inclusive education specialist and first became involved with after school programs in 2006. Ms. Sipes wholeheartedly believes that it is our responsibility to enable all students to realize their greatest potential by building capacity within and empowering those who directly serve them to provide every student with purposeful opportunities to learn and grow. In addition to her work with EGUSD, her passion for leadership development has led her to work with the Sacramento County Office of Education as a facilitator of professional learning and coach for new administrators. Erin currently serves as a member of the California Department of Education Expanded Learning Division’s Sustainability Committee and as a member of the California Afterschool Network’s Whole Child Health and Wellness Collaborative.
Mara Welsh Mahmood
Committed to June 2024
Executive Director,
University-Community Links (UC Links), Strategy
Committee
Mara Welsh Mahmood is the Interim Executive Director for University-Community Links (UC Links), a network of university and community partners working together to develop expanded learning programs that connect K-12 young people with university faculty and students in engaging, informal learning activities. Mara has been involved with UC Links since 1996, when she was a graduate student at UC Riverside, teaching the UC Links undergraduate practicum course and serving as the site coordinator for the UC Links program at a local elementary school. Mara went on to join the UC Links statewide office in the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley as the Director of Site Development and Evaluation and later as Associate Director. Mara has explored, studied, and written about learning within and across multiple contexts including K-12, higher education, and after-school across California and the US, as well as out-of-school (OST) learning in São Paulo, Brazil, and other countries. Mara was motivated to join the CAN Leadership Team to leverage this unique “pandemic as portal” moment and work collaboratively to re-imagine expanded learning opportunities and rebuild the systems and structures to support California’s children, youth, families, and the OST field.