Mark Lillis is the Executive Director of The Leaven, an award-winning program providing after-school and summer tutoring for children living in under-developed communities in Fairfield. The Leaven, under his leadership, has become the fastest growing grassroots nonprofit in Fairfield, California, and expanded its programming to Southern California.

Lillis is responsible for the strategic leadership of The Leaven’s after-school tutoring centers and “Summer Success Program,” volunteer recruitment and donor development.

The Leaven’s achievements under Lillis’ leadership have been extraordinary: last school year, 88 percent of Leaven students improved their reading skills and comprehension, 69 percent had improved classroom participation, and 100 percent participated in a minimum of two hours of physical activity each week and were given four nutritious meals a week.

Additionally, Lillis is the Vice President of the Fairfield and Suisun Public Education Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing student academic achievement for every student in Fairfield and Suisun City California. He also teaches a course on the art of being an entrepreneur at Solano Community College in the Small Business Development Center. Recently he was selected as a U.S Air Force Thunderbirds Hometown Hero. According to Fairfield Mayor Harry Price, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and for the Thunderbirds to select a guy like Mark brings great honor upon Fairfield.”

Prior to joining The Leaven, Lillis served as an assistant to the Mayor and City Council in Santa Barbara, California. He was also an assistant to a member of the United States House of Representatives during that time. Mr. Lillis holds a Bachelor’s degree from Westmont College in Santa Barbara and a Master’s degree in Organizational Development from Azusa Pacific University.

Mark and his wife, Melinda, are currently residents of Suisun City and active in several community activities in Solano County. He enjoys reading, running and hiking.

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Keli Bilafer is the Direct of Development for The Leaven, responsible for marketing the organization and The Leaven’s annual events, including the always sold-out fall Wine and Cheese Auction Event.

Ms. Bilafer has a background in event marketing for Nordstrom, supporting stores at the retail level in their fashion shows and charity events. She also provided risk control coordination for Nordstrom, including staff training and consulting with state planning boards on construction. Prior to joining Nordstrom, Bilafer worked in retail management and product marketing.

Ms. Bilafer studied communications and human and environmental sciences at California State University. She and her husband, Jeff, have two daughters. Ms. Bilafer enjoys golf and is a volunteer in youth programs in Solano County.

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Pamela Barden is The Leaven’s Southern California Operations Director. Barden is a 30-year veteran of nonprofit management, and currently runs a marketing consulting business for nonprofits.

As a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Barden publishes regularly for the fundraising profession and is a frequent lecturer and speaker on nonprofit management. She is active on a nonprofit board, and mentors young adults beginning careers in the nonprofit sector. Additionally, she is an instructor for the extension program of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Barden, a native of the Midwest, has a degree in Communications from Wheaton (IL) College, and an M.B.A. from Dominican University. She is presently working on a Doctorate in Business Administration from California Southern University.

Barden and her husband, Gary, have one grown daughter. She enjoys swimming, bike riding, photography and reading.

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Joseph Lugo is The Leaven’s Church Relations Director. Prior to joining The Leaven, he worked with youth in Texas, Missouri, Zimbabwe, San Francisco and Vacaville (CA).

Lugo has previously directed a children’s adventure camp in inner city San Francisco; helped construct an orphanage in Mexico; led Christian outreaches in the Dominican Republic and India; and served on the pastoral staff of a church in Northern California.

Lugo received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Baylor University (Waco, TX); a Master of Science Degree from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri; and a Master of Divinity Degree from the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California.

Lugo and his wife, Denise, have two daughters.

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Paulina Polk is the Site Director for The Leaven’s flagship location, the PACE Tutoring Center.

Polk was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, immigrating to the United States after high school. She received her college degree in Early Childhood Education, and was awarded her California Teaching Credentials.

Prior to joining The Leaven, Polk taught at the Anna Kyle Elementary School in Fairfield, CA. In her leadership role with The Leaven, her fluency in the Spanish language allows her to be of particular help to children and their families in Fairfield’s immigrant community.

Polk and her husband, Jacob, have two children and live in Fairfield.

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Maribel Lozoya is the Site Director of The Leaven’s newest center in Fairfield, located on Grande Circle. Prior to taking over the leadership of this site, Lozoya interned at our PACE center.

Lozoya has worked in preschool education and volunteered at a shelter for homeless youth. She grew up in situations similar to many faced by our Leaven students, and has a first-hand understanding of the challenges children experience from living in low-income, under-served communities.

Lozoya studied at Briarcrest Bible College (Canada), and is currently enrolled in the Criminal Justice program at Solano Community College. She enjoys scrapbooking and photography, and is engaged to be married later in 2011.

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Kara Lugo is the Site Director for the Leaven center at The Groves in Fairfield. Lugo was a volunteer for The Leaven throughout high school, as well as valedictorian of her class. She completed a one-year internship at the Ministry Training Institute in Vacaville, CA.

While interning with The Leaven, Lugo also worked as a private tutor, and continues helping students through her work at the Kumon Math and Reading Center.

Lugo, an accomplished pianist, participates on the worship team of her church. She is an avid reader, as well as a preschool Sunday school teacher.

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Josh Ortega is Site Director at Quail Ridge, The Leaven’s first tutoring center in Southern California. A graduate of Azusa Pacific University with a Master’s degree in Theological Studies, Ortega also has a degree in Biblical Studies from Life Pacific University.

Ortega has a background in sales, and has developed an artist relations program for a manufacturer of electric guitars. He also is a volunteer in the youth program at his church, where he leads the worship music program.

Ortega, a native of Southern California, is an active mentor of high school students, and an accomplished musician.

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