PASADENA, Calif. – Foothill Family is proud to welcome community members Cushon Bell, Steve Deschenes, Marcie Sabatella, and Elizabeth Zamora to the Foothill Family Board of Directors. Each was nominated and elected by the Board for their strengths in community and business leadership and are poised to share their time and talent in support of Foothill Family’s mission to empower children and families through community-based services that advance growth and development.
Cushon Bell is passionate about equity and access in all facets of the community, with a particular interest in K-12 education. She has worked professionally as a classroom teacher, a literacy coach, and an educational consultant, and currently works as a city council district liaison in the city of Pasadena. Ms. Bell has volunteered with both local and statewide organizations and sits on the board of directors for the Altadena Library Foundation as well as Foothill Family. Cushon is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles a resident of Altadena with her husband of twenty years, Adam Bell, and their three teenage sons.
Stephen L. Deschenes is a research and development director at Capital Group, home of American Funds. He has 26 years of investment industry experience and has been with Capital Group for seven years. Earlier in his career at Capital, he was a client analytics director, a senior product development manager in investment services, and a senior business manager of defined contribution. Prior to joining Capital, Mr. Deschenes was the general manager for the retirement income solutions division at Sun Life Financial, served as chief marketing officer for retirement income at MassMutual Financial Group, and lead product development and marketing for defined contribution at Fidelity Investments. Additionally, Deschenes is a founder of the online financial advice site mPower (now part of Morningstar), which pioneered investment advice in 401(k) plan administration. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social relations from Harvard University graduating magna cum laude and lives in Pasadena with his wife Sarah and their three sons.
Marcie J. Sabatella is a realtor at Compass Real Estate with decades of sales and operations experience. Ms. Sabatella specializes in residential sales and relocation services, endorsed by the University of Southern California (USC). She works with newly recruited USC staff moving to Southern California from all parts of the United States. As a Pasadena native, she’s had the pleasure of building long-term relationships and has earned the trust of her clients as the operating owner of Carmine’s Italian Restaurants, Magnolia Lounge, and as the Director of Advertising at Pasadena Magazine. Marcie has a passion for serving others, evident through her philanthropic commitments and endeavors. In addition to her board membership with Foothill Family, Sabatella is a Foundation Board Member of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.
Elizabeth Zamora joined Bright Prospect in February 2018 as its second Executive Director. Bright Prospect empowers low-income, first-generation students to get to and through college. They serve more than 2,200 high school and college students from Pomona and Ontario, CA. More than 86 percent of Bright Prospect students complete at least a Bachelor’s Degree, compared to just 11 percent of similar low-income, first-generation students nationally. Zamora previously worked in healthcare, as Executive Director of Women’s and Children’s Health Development at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and as Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the UCLA School of Nursing. In the field of education, she worked to improve academic achievement at public schools by raising funds for academic intervention programs, programs to increase parent capacity, and the construction of new schools. In addition to Foothill Family, she is presently a board trustee at the Westside Neighborhood School and is a former board member of Bright Star Schools. An active civic and community leader, she was the elected Chair of the Planning and Land Use Committee for Council District 11 in the City of Los Angeles and served as the Legislative Officer for the Hispanics Organized for Political Equality Political Action Committee. Zamora grew up in Del Rey, is a graduate of Middlebury College, and went on to earn her Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
“Foothill Family is proud to continue to grow our Board of Directors with dedicated experts and community leaders,” said Steve Allen, Chief Executive Officer of Foothill Family. “We are eager to engage the newest members of our Foothill Family in helping us to better serve the children and families in our communities through our life-changing programs,”
Founded in 1926, Foothill Family empowers children and families to achieve success in relationships, school, and work through community-based services that advance growth and development. Through its leadership in supporting at-risk populations in Southern California, the agency has earned a reputation for providing high-quality services aimed at achieving brighter futures in which individuals and families thrive, communities are strengthened, and generations are enriched. Programs include mental health and school-based services for children, a focus on early childhood development and parent education, youth and family services including child abuse prevention and treatment, domestic violence prevention and treatment, and services for pregnant and parenting teens. For more information, please call (626) 993-3000 or visit www.foothillfamily.org.