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Lori M. Kaplan

Executive Director

Lori joined the LAYC as a volunteer in 1979, as a staff member in 1980 and as Executive Director in 1987. She has her BA degree in Anthropology from Antioch College and her Master’s Degree in Education from George Washington University. Over the years she has worked with Center youth, staff and board members to build the Center from a small neighborhood grassroots effort into a comprehensive multi-service community of organizations, social mission businesses and charter schools. Originally from Texas, Lori has lived in Washington, DC since 1976. She lives in Mt. Pleasant with her family and is the proud mother of Max!

Mai Fernandez

Legal & Strategic Director

Mai Joined the LAYC in 1997 as Managing Director. Prior to joining LAYC Mai was an Associate Attorney at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell & Bank Llp. Mai also served as a Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General for the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Before working at the Department of Justice she served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and was also an aide to Congressman Mickey Leland and Congressman Jim Florio. Mai received her undergraduate degree from Dickinson College, her Juris Doctor from American University, and her Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University's JFK School of Government.

Sandy Gutierrez

Chief Operating Officer

Puerto Rican born, Sandy Gutierrez joined LAYC as the Chief Operating Officer in 2008. She is responsible for day-to-day operations in DC and Maryland and brings over twenty-five years of youth development experience from her work in New York City where she successfully developed exciting youth engagement programs in a multiservice settings.

Before joining the LAYC, Sandy served as Chief Programs Officer at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. In this role she was responsible for overseeing all of the programs at the clubs in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Prior to moving to the District of Columbia, she served as the Bronx Regional Director for the Children's Aid Society, a nationally recognized multi-service agency dedicated to supporting children and families in crisis. Sandy also served as the Executive Director of metaNetworks Center for the Next America, a national youth leadership development company where she implemented a national youth led research project for the US Department of Education. She launched her career in youth development and organizational development in the CityKids Foundation and has been a consultant to the After School Corporation, New York City Department of Education, Department of Health and United Way of NYC. She has held adjunct positions at Columbia University Teacher's College where she provided training in mediation and conflict resolution and at Vanderbilt University Peabody School teaching Organizational Development.

Sandy has a BS Degree in Psychology from Pace University and a MS in Public Administration from the College of Human Services in New York City.

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Linn Shapiro

Development Director

Linn Shapiro comes to the Youth Center with over two decades of experience in development work for community-based nonprofits, international NGOs, and scholarly associations. Her previous positions include executive director of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, and manager of new project development for the American Historical Association. She has a Ph.D. in American History and teaches writing to adult learners.

Ron Elum

Chief Financial Officer

Ron recently joined the LAYC as Chief Financial Officer. Ron previously served in executive financial position in health systems in the Philadelphia area and several cities around the nation. He has served as a board member and treasurer of a community health center for the past 15 years. Ron, who grew up in South Bend, Indiana, received his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Ricardo Flores

Ricardo Flores graduated from law school at the City University of New York in 1999. He began his legal career as a NAPIL (National Association of Public Interest Law) Fellow at the Public Justice Center, focusing on representing immigrant workers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. After the fellowship ended in 2001, Ricardo continued with successful litigation and policy advocacy work until becoming the PJC’s Public Policy Director in 2005. As the director of public policy, and in significant part drawing on his pre-law school experience as a community organizer, Ricardo orchestrated and participated in numerous successful legislative initiatives in the areas of child welfare, civil rights, education, health care, immigrant rights, prisoner rights and tenant rights. Ricardo was born in Maryland to immigrant parents from Peru, Orlando and Martha. He currently lives in Germantown with his wife Monica, their newborn son Esteban Mateo, and their dog Bandido.

Carlos Vera

Jose Carlos Vera was born in Lima, Peru. He graduated from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and majored in Clinical Psychology. He was a recipient of a three-year scholarship from the Konrrad Adenauer Foundation to pursue post graduate studies in Germany. Mr. Vera took courses in Psychology at Konstanz University and obtained a Masters Degree in Administrative Sciences at the Post Graduate School for Administrative Sciences Speyer: Major in Organization and Personnel; minor in International Studies. Mr. Vera worked for the Health Ministry in Peru and the Pan-American Health Organization before moving to the United States of America.

In 1996, Mr. Vera earned his masters in Social Work from the Catholic University of America. He is a clinical licensed Social Worker in Maryland and the District of Columbia, a Clinically Certified Domestic Violence Counselor and a Certified Addiction Counselor III. Mr. Vera joined the LAYC in 1991 and since then has provided services in various capacities. As program developer, he was one of the founders of the Transitional Living and the Street Outreach Programs for homeless and runaway youth.

As a Director for the Social Services/Family Connections Division, Mr. Vera plans, develops implements, organizes, directs, coordinates, oversees and evaluates the day to day operations. Major goal of the Division is to support and strengthen the family unit as the primary foundation for the development and advancement of youth. The Division includes three major components: Housing, Prevention and Treatment. During the past years, Mr. Vera has dedicated part of his time in the reorganization of the division which has been critical for the LAYC in obtaining and renewing its credentials in the mental health, substance abuse and foster care areas. Mr. Vera is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, American Psychotherapy Association and the American College of Certified Forensic Counselors.

Marie Moll

Art & Media House Director

Marie Moll-Amego has over ten year’s experience directing community arts programs and teaching art to at-risk youth. Before becoming director of the Art & Media House, Ms. Moll-Amego worked with youth on numerous LAYC media projects including Que Pasa, a 12-minute documentary about teen life in D.C.; HIV: It’s Real, two 1-minute bi-lingual public service announcements; and Kommunity, a documentary photo project. She has also served as an artist-in-residence teaching video and photography, as a youth program director at Video Action Fund and Shooting Back, and as coordinator of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s ArtReach Community Studios program, training BFA students and artists-in-residence to implement arts programs with community-based youth organizations. Ms. Moll-Amego has designed arts curricula for public schools and served as video production instructor at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, DC. She has an M.A. from George Washington University in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in bi-lingual special education, and a B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.

Isaac Castillo

Isaac joined LAYC in February 2005 to serve as the Research and Evaluation Specialist. He oversees all of LAYC’s research and evaluation efforts including the implementation and maintenance of a center-wide database system to track demographic and outcome information on all youth attending programs at LAYC. Isaac also provides direct assistance to each LAYC program with the intent of improving outcome measures and facilitating effective reporting to funding agencies.

Prior to joining LAYC, Isaac worked with a private research and evaluation firm in Bethesda, MD and completed program and cross-site evaluations for community-based organizations on topics such as youth development, violence prevention, and health promotion. Isaac received his M.S. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Rochester in 1998 and received his undergraduate degree in Human Resource Management from Syracuse University in 1996.

Luisa Montero

In 2005 LAYC added a new site to their family of organizations, the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC). Operating in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, MMYC’s purpose is to replicate LAYC’s proven model of serving youth. Luisa Montero-Diaz joined the LAYC in October 2005 as the Maryland Managing Director, and is responsible for the start-up and day-to-day management of the Maryland sites.

Luisa comes to LAYC with over twenty years of experience working on a variety of local, national and international projects. Prior to LAYC, she worked for the District of Columbia Government, as Director of Resource Development and as Deputy Director for the Office of Partnerships and Grants Development in the Executive Office of the Mayor. Previous to that, she was the Project Manager for an USAID international development project, which provided training to 1,100 Central Americans in the U.S. Her first job out of graduate school was with Prince George’s County Public Schools. Luisa was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador in the mid-80’s. She has a B.S. from Appalachian State University and an M.A. from the University of Maryland. Luisa lives in Takoma Park, teaches meditation and enjoys time with her son, Julian.