Kafi Blumenfield
Kafi Blumenfield most recently served as Executive Director of Discovery Cube Los Angeles, which inspires and educates young people through engaging science-based programs and exhibits. Prior to Discovery Cube Los Angeles, Kafi served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Hill Foundation, one of the nation’s most admired social change foundations. She has a lifelong track record as a bridge-builder, forging links across issues and between people of different demographic backgrounds. Kafi has direct experience working on an array of political issues, including voter empowerment, the environment, human rights and housing. She previously served as Deputy Director of Neighbor to Neighbor, a national organization dedicated to grassroots political empowerment of working families, Director of Programs for the Fair Housing Council of San Gabriel Valley and as an Associate with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Kafi currently serves as an appointee to the Los Angeles County Women and Girls Commission. She is a board member of Tides, the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands and the James Irvine Foundation. She holds a law degree from UCLA and a B.A. from Pomona College. She and her husband live in Southern California with their two children.
Tanya Branch
Tanya Branch is the owner of Tanya S. Branch, CPA, PA, bringing 20 years of experience in accounting and audits of non-profit organizations and credit unions. She also serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the NC Institute for Minority Economic Development, a nonprofit organization representing the interest of underdeveloped and underutilized sectors of the state’s economic base. From 1999–2010 Tanya served as Vice President/CFO of the NC Minority Support Center, where she worked closely with community development credit unions providing technical assistance in accounting and program services. Prior to joining the Center, Tanya worked as an audit supervisor for Cherry, Bekaert and Holland. She holds a BBA in Accounting from North Carolina Central University and is a CPA and CFP.
Caty Padilla
Caty Padilla is the executive director of Nuestra Casa and has been guiding the organization since 2018. She is the daughter of immigrants who settled in the Lower Yakima Valley in 1990. She was raised like many farm workers’ children, migrating along the Yakima River throughout the valley as her parents looked for new job opportunities. She attended Heritage University and graduated with a degree in business administration. Through her work with Nuestra Casa, she has developed programs to help immigrant women in the community obtain learning opportunities and resources that help empower them to battle inequities in the community. Motivated by her strong belief that access to education has transformative effects and is the key to living a happier and healthier life, she has been able to grow the organization’s impact. In 2021, the Yakima Herald-Republic featured Caty in their “39 Under 39” publication, honoring her alongside other local leaders who are creating an impact in the nonprofit sector.
Gary Perez
Gary J. Perez has served as the President and CEO of USC Credit Union (USCCU) since 1988, guiding its growth from a modest $15 million limited service credit union serving USC employees to a full-service $730 million institution serving the entire Trojan Family—including faculty, staff, students and alumni—as well as residents and small businesses in the historically underserved and underbanked low-to-moderate-income communities of color surrounding USC’s urban campuses.
Under Gary’s leadership, USCCU has earned distinguished recognition as one of fewer than 100 credit unions nationwide simultaneously certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Minority Depository Institution (MDI) and Juntos Avanzamos Credit Union (a designation recognizing credit unions committed to serving and empowering Hispanic and immigrant communities). His strategic vision and dedication to financial inclusion have positioned USCCU as a leading advocate for accessible and equitable financial services.
Gary’s extensive career in the credit union industry spans nearly five decades, including key roles such as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Los Angeles Schools FCU, Regional Manager for Richards and Associates, CPAs, and Portfolio Manager at Loan Data Systems, Inc. His commitment to financial empowerment extends beyond USCCU, serving on the Boards of the African American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC), the Education Credit Union Council (ECUC), the Southern California Credit Union Alliance (SCCUA) and Rightway Foundation, a non-profit supporting emancipated foster youth.
Gary, a native Angeleno, holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Azusa Pacific University and a Master of Leadership from USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, Planning, and Development. He and his wife Sally maintain deep personal and professional ties to the USC community, proudly noting that all three of their children are USC graduates.