our team

Dean is heading The Twenty Million Minds Foundation after 20 years of legislative policy making in the higher education field. As a past Assemblyman and Senator, Dean was elevated to the position of Senate Majority Leader in November 2008, the Senate's second most powerful position. During his tenure in the State Legislature, Dean was an outspoken leader in the areas of clean air, higher education, policy, food safety, animal rights, government accountability and infrastructure financing and development. His emphasis during his tenure in the Legislature was overseeing high technology implementation and educational reform. Specifically, Dean chaired the Senate Select Committee on Wireless Technology and Consumer Driven Programming and the Senate Governmental Organization Committee that oversaw major technology purchases and implementation. Prior to his election to the Legislature in 1998, Dean worked in higher education policy as the Senate's Chief consultant to the Senate Committee on University of California Admissions and staffed the California Joint Master Plan of Higher Education Review. Dean is a past investment banker, having received his MBA from Harvard in 1993. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UCLA where he also served as Student Body President.

Phil Kim

Chief Financial Officer

Phil comes to 20MM from the entrepreneurial and venture capital worlds. In addition to his role at 20MM, Phil helps manage the development of the venture capital platform at Karlin Asset Management, a Los Angeles-based investment firm with over $1.4 billion in unleveraged capital under management. At Karlin, he focuses on seed to growth stage education technology opportunities. Phil also serves as a mentor for the Kaufman Venture Fellows Program and is actively engaged in a number entrepreneurship programs across the country, including those at Wharton, MIT, and Stanford. Phil graduated with A.B from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Certificate in Finance from Princeton's Bendheim Center for Finance.

Mayra Lombera

Director, Program Development and Outreach

Mayra joins Twenty Million Minds with an extensive background in the field of education. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and holds degrees in Political Science and Education, in addition to a teaching credential from the California State University, Northridge. As a former classroom teacher she has developed curriculum and refined content across disciplines, engaging the use of a plethora of learning tools, including open educational resources. With a long-standing student centered approach Mayra joins the foundation in its efforts to address textbook affordability issues and student access.

Sergio Rosas

Project Manager, Strategic Program Initiatives

Sergio comes to The Twenty Million Minds Foundation with experience in the public policy and non-profit fields. As part of the California Senate Fellows program he worked alongside then Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez on matters concerning higher educatio, childhood obesity, and outdoor workers. For the past years, Sergio worked at a Lon Angeles based non-profit managing capacity building programs in advocacy and non-profit developmentin the Central Valley. He graduated from Stanford University in 2009 with degrees in Political Science and Comparitive Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Sergio comes to the foundation committed to improving access and affordability by leveraging innovative technologies.

Elizabeth "Liz" Gonzalez

Executive Assistant

Elizabeth "Liz" Gonzales has been a dedicated and successful public sector employee for the past 11 years. As Executive Assistant for Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, her duties ranged from legislative research, principal scheduler, campaign logistics, and office manager to the Senator's high - functioning and active leadership Office. Liz interacted with high-level CEO's, elected officials at the local, state and national levels on issues important to the Senator.