Board of Directors

"The most rewarding part of working at the center is seeing the children progress over time. I've been here over 20 years now and have seen
many kids give some very passionate testimonies about the center's involvement in their lives. I am very happy to see it."

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Paul Wetmore, Wooten Board Chairperson / Merrill Lynch, Managing Director, Investments

Our board of directors is totally awesome.

They participate faithfully in governance and fiscal oversight via general board and committee meetings and an annual retreat.

 

With expertise in areas including finance, business, nonprofit management, technology, and secondary and higher education, they offer a wealth of experience to help manage our affairs and sustain our programs and operations.

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In addition to meetings, they contribute in a variety of ways, including volunteering with students and staff and serving as sponsors for our dinner and golf fundraisers. Each year our board gives or gets in total more than $100,000.

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For information on board membership, contact our executive director Naomi McSwain at 323-756-7203, or go to Contact to send her an email.

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The Wooten Center is grateful for the people providing support for our operations and programs through membership on our board of directors. We appreciate everyone for the time and expertise they give to provide the most effective and efficient services possible for our youth, families and community.

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Wooten board retreat

Wooten board members at their annual retreat at Pepperdine (above) and volunteering in our programs and activities (below)

Our Board

HONORARY BOARD

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Myrtle Faye Rumph (1931-2015)

Founder 

 

Barbara Clark 

Founding member
 

Ron Glass (1945-2016)

Actor

Board Chair Emeritus

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Current Chair 

Paul F. Wetmore

Managing Director, Investments

Merrill Lynch

 

Members 

Dean Baim, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics and Finance
Divisional Dean, Business Administration Division
Pepperdine University
 

Leighton A. Carter

CFO

Biashara, Inc.

 

Carina Castellanos (parent)

Community Library Manager
Lennox Library

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Robert Clark

Director
Columbus Department of Public Safety
 

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Brian Condon

Partner

Arnold & Porter LLP

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Lotte de Silva

Vice President, Southern California Region (Retired)

Owens & Minor, Inc.

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Saeri Dobson, Ed.D.

Professor of Design

Chair, Studio Arts
Department of Art and Art History
Loyola Marymount University

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Leslie Fishburn, CID, LEED AP
Regional Director of Health Interiors
Principal

HKS Architects

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Rocio Flores, MPA

Chief Social Impact Officer

USC Credit Union
 

Laurie Inman, Ed.D.

Chair, Liberal Studies

Cal State University, Dominguez Hills

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Connie James, Ph.D.

Professor of Business, Strategy, and Ethics

Pepperdine University

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Christopher “Kit” Jennings

Principal

Liquid Venture Partners

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Amy Johnson
Executive in Residence
Pepperdine University

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John Lapham

Managing Director
PineBridge Investments

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Scott Miller, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Finance

John H. Sykes College of Business

University of Tampa​

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Dashan Nettles (alum)

Administrative Officer

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
 

Keith S. Parker

Assistant Vice Chancellor (retired)

UCLA Government & Community Relations

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Camille Richardson

First VP, IT Solutions Delivery

Kinecta Federal Credit Union

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Brett C.S. Roberts

Parking/Traffic Commissioner
City of Inglewood

Metro Community Relations

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Kathy Talley-Jones

Independent Writer and Planner

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