Lisa Drake
Board Treasurer
Chair of Finance Committee
Lisa Drake is one of the founding board members of Pomona Hope, serving the organization since 2003 in a variety of capacities. Lisa relocated with her family to live and invest in the city of Pomona. Lisa is a professional educator and has worked for the Pomona Unified School District for 9 years.
Tom Hsieh
Chair of Economic Development Committee
Community Organizing and Programs Committee Member
Tom Hsieh is the CEO of SplinterRock, Inc. a technology consulting and brokerage firm. SplinterRock is a start-up company with a focus on the social entrepreneurial applications of its products and services. Prior to SplinterRock, Tom was an executive at EarthLink, Inc. where he served for over 10 years beginning from its early start-up phase. Beyond managing Earthlink’s engineering and IT functions Tom was also responsible for creating EarthLink’s Voice business and growing it to a $50M unit from 2005 to 2006. Tom received his Executive MBA from the Drucker School of Management in 2004 and his bachelors of science in Physics from Harvey Mudd College in 1993. Tom lives in Pomona with his wife Bree and daughter Kadence, where he has been active in community transformation for the past 13 years. He and his family practice a financial discipline of living at or below the national median household income level and giving the rest of their money away. Tom currently serves as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Pomona, and also on the board of directors of Pomona Hope, Partners In Urban Transformation, the Pomona Rotary Club and Servant Partners.
Karen Hwang
Board Secretary
Finance Committee Member
Karen Hwang was motivated to move to the city of Pomona in 2006 to increase her capacity to love and serve the poor. Karen has been volunteering with Pomona Hope Kids for three years and became a Board Member in 2008. Karen received her Bachelor’s in Child Development and a Masters in physical therapy. Karen currently works as a physical therapist with a pediatric therapy company.
Jonathan Lew
Chair of Personnel and Board Affairs Committee
Jonathan Lew has served on the board since 2008, but has been a friend and supporter of Pomona Hope from its inception, having previously lived in the city of Pomona. Jonathan serves as Western Regional Director for The Veritas Forum, developing and guiding its events at colleges and universities in the western United States through partnerships with campus ministries and local churches. Prior to that position, he served as Assistant to the CEO and Secretary to the Board for the Claremont University Consortium, and has over 16 years experience in higher education administration at institutions including Azusa Pacific University and the University of California, Irvine. Jonathan received a B.A. in Economics and Government from Claremont McKenna College, a M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Biola University, and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Higher Education at Claremont Graduate University.
Kenneth P. Miller
Community Organizing and Programs Committee Member
Kenneth Miller is an Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College, where he currently teaches courses in American politics, California politics, and constitutional law. He has also taught courses in poverty policy. He holds a B.A. from Pomona College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. in political science from U.C. Berkeley. Ken has been an advisor to campus ministry groups and has participated in urban ministries in Oakland and Pomona, California.
Beth Price
Chair of Community Organizing and Programs Committee
Beth Price joined the board in 2008. Beth works as the lead Math Small Group Instructor at Options for Youth, a Charter school in Upland, CA. She volunteers and chairs the WASC Visiting Committees for Public High Schools. Beth has worked as a professional educator for 16 years. She feels strongly about her committee to Pomona Hope and her desire to spread God’s love and increase opportunities for the people of Pomona.
Nathan Robinson
Board Chairperson
Personnel and Board Affairs Committee Member
Nathan Robinson is a High School Mathematics Teacher at Montclair High School in California, who is dedicated to bringing social justice by providing a quality education to all of his students. Nathan also spent 10 years in the private sector as an HR professional working for ESRI the global leader in the GIS arena. For the past 10 years Nathan and his family have lived and ministered in Pomona. Nathan also serves as an Elder on the Board of First Presbyterian Church of Pomona; a church that has been ministering for over 100 years to bring transformational change and hope to the Pomona community. Nathan holds a B.A. in Applied Psychology with a minor in Physics from Eastern Washington University and a M.A. in Education from Claremont Graduate University.
Stephen Vander Hart
Personnel and Board Affairs Committee Member
Stephen Vander Hart joined the board in 2008. Stephen is the Vice President of Business Development & Marketing with Allstate Materials Inc. He has a long track record of working with and investing in youth. Stephen worked as a full time youth pastor for 17 years before his position with Allstate Materials (he worked with a church in Chino, CA, bordering Pomona) and continues to serve as a part time staff member with Chino Valley Young Life. Stephen founded Positive Alternative, an inner city youth program in his home town of Grand Rapids Michigan working with gangs and ask risk teens. Stephen received a Masters degree from Calvin Seminary in 2001, specializing in education and leadership.
Tanya Eveleth
Interim Executive Director
Finance Committee Member
Tanya joined the board in 2004 and has a ministry and development background. After college Tanya served as a Team Leader for a campus ministry for three years, supervising all functions of the ministry including staff development, student leadership, volunteer recruitment, weekly meetings, community relations and fundraising. In 2003 Tanya joined the staff at Pitzer College beginning in Public Relations and continuing with the Advancement Team. She worked as the Director of Parent Relations and Director of the Annual Fund, overseeing all aspects of raising a 1.4 million dollar fundraising goal. Tanya has participated in Urban Ministries in Los Angeles, CA, St. Louis, MO, and Manila, Philippines. Tanya serves as a deacon at La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church, sings in the choir and enjoys running marathons.
Emily Peine
Pomona Hope Kids Coordinator
Emily Peine received her BA in Sociology and Spanish in 2005. While in college, Emily pursued multiple opportunities to engage in cross-cultural, social justice oriented experiences, within urban settings. She was an intern at the Bresee Foundation in Los Angeles, where she led young adults in an urban immersion experience. With the Resurrection Project in Chicago, IL, she interned to promote immigrant healthcare and housing opportunities. She helped provide safe-house resources for battered women and children as an intern at Lewis House in Hastings, MN. And, as an intern with Casas por Cristo in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, she supervised short-term missions groups in building two room homes for residents. After college Emily accepted a position with the Bresee Foundation in Los Angeles, where she led student employees and community volunteers to inspire learning among the youth, address studentsÂ’ academic needs and engage student leaders in creating and carrying out a peer tutoring program . During this time Emily also received additional training in racial reconciliation, social justice, and urban ministry, by interning with Servant Partners in Pomona, CA. After working with Bresee, Emily accepted a new position as a Youth Ministry Coordinator in Pomona, CA. This position has given her continued experience in volunteer coordination and training, intensive mentoring of at-risk youth, leadership development, event coordination and fundraising. Emily joined the Pomona Hope staff as the Pomona Hope Kids Coordinator in 2007.
