Board of Directors — SUN Scholars Inc.

SUN Scholars Inc. Board of Directors

SUN Scholars Inc. prides itself in having a diverse, representative, and highly professional Board of Directors - in light of our mission, over half of our board are professionals with a lived experience in the child welfare system. All of our board members are leaders in their respective fields and bring forward their insight, expertise, and guidance to SUN Scholars Inc.

SUN Scholars Inc. holds a quarterly Board Meeting, with reoccuring sub committtes in the inter-session. If you are interested in joining the board, you may submit a resume/CV and letter of interest to Ria Esteves, the chair of our governance Committee. Email: Ria@sunscholarsinc.org.

Executive Board: Lino Pena Martinez (President), Tony Lodge (Vice President), Ria Esteves (Vice President), Nicole Elsinger (Treasurer).

Directors of the Board: Steven Hernandez, Jahmil Effend, Wyatt Bosworth, Lexie Gruber, Justin Abbasi, Nathaniel Okpych, Jeff Blanchette.

SUN Scholars Inc.’s Executive Director, Christopher Baker-Scott, serves as a non-voting member of the Board of Directors.

Lino Pena-Martinez, President

Lino Pena-Martinez is a board member of SUN Scholars. Pena-Martinez graduated from University California Santa Barbara with his Bachelors degree in both History of Art and Architecture in 2016. Pena-Martinez currently works for the committee on Energy & Commerce in the United States House of Representatives. Pena-Martinez published and presented a child-welfare policy report to the U.S. Congress & Whitehouse in 2019.

Tony Lodge, Vice President

Tony holds his Masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Gordon Ford College, A Graduate Certificate in Environmental Health & Safety from Western Kentucky University, and a double Bachelors Degree from Western Kentucky University in Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Sciences. Tony is currently a consultant in Washington D.C., and aged out of the foster care system in Kentucky. Tony has become a prominent advocate on child welfare reform and issues at a national level through his involvement in a multitude of agencies within Washington D.C.

Nicole Elsinger, Treasurer

Nicole Elsinger is a fourth-year student at Central Connecticut State University, double majoring in Accounting and General Mathematics. She is very involved with the Student Government Association (SGA) at CCSU, serving as the SGA Treasurer, in which she oversees the allocation of the contribution of Student Activity Fees. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and playing video games.

Ria Esteves, Vice President & Governance chairwoman

Ria Esteves serves on the Board of SUN Scholars. Esteves is a graduate from Rampo College of New Jersey with her Bachelors degree in Social work, and currently serves as an AmeriCorps member. Esteves presented and published a child welfare policy report to Congress & The White House in 2019.

Steven hernandez, board member

Steven Hernández, Esq. is the Executive Director for the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity. Prior to serving as Executive Director, he served the CT state legislature as Director of Public Policy and Research for the Connecticut Commission on Children. Mr. Hernandez served seven years as legislative and budget director in the office of Washington, D.C., Council member Jim Graham. He served as a clerk to two judges in the District’s Court of Appeals and as a consultant to the Washington law firm Baker & Miller, PLLC. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bennington College in Vermont in 1995 and a Juris Doctor Degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.

jeff blanchette, board member

Jeff Blanchette served as a music teacher and Department Chair at Plainville High School for 31 years. Jeff currently serves as a mentoring manager at the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.

Nathaniel Okpych, board member

Nathanael Okpych is a Professor at UCONN’s school of social work. He received his doctorate from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. Nathanael’s work focuses on improving outcomes of and services for adolescents and young adults transitioning out of foster care. He is especially interested in increasing rates of college entry and completion among foster care youth, and he draws on his several years of practice experience in schools, communities, and colleges to inform his work.

Lexie Gruber, board member

Lexie Completed her Bachelors Degree at Quinnipiac College, is a former Foster Youth Intern within the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and is a renowned national speaker on child welfare advocacy.

Wyatt Bosworth, Board Member

Wyatt Bosworth completed his Bachelors degree in Political Science & Economics at Central Connecticut State University in 2017. Bosworth went on to complete his J.D. at UCONN Law School, and served as a legal aide for the office of the Child Advocate during his law school career. Bosworth his currently practicing the field of law.

Jahmil Effend, Board Member

Jahmil Effend was born and raised in Hartford & Bristol Connecticut. He graduated from CCSU with a duo-degree in Finance and Marketing in 2017. Effend went on to complete his Masters in Student Development in Higher Education at CCSU. Effend is now an Assistant-Director of Student Affairs at Emmanuel College in Mass.

Justin Abbasi, Board Member

Justin Abbasi was raised in South Carolina by his biological parents who had immigrated from Iran until he and his older sister entered foster care in 2008. Justin began advocating for youth in foster care four years later as a member of GOALL, South Carolina's advisory board to the Department of Social Services. Justin maintained his involvement with child welfare advocacy after he moved to Connecticut to attend Yale University and interned for state and federal child welfare organizations. Prior to graduating, he co-founded Harbor Scholars: A Dwight Hall Program at Yale, which socially and financially supports undergraduate students who have experienced familial instability as he did. Justin now attends UCLA’s Medical School.