Melissa Trujillo - President & CEO

Melissa Trujillo is Co-founder and President of the Be A Leader Foundation which she and her husband created in 2002. The Foundation is a platform for young aspiring students and serves as an incubator to develop academic and leadership skills required of elementary and high school students to become college bound, focused and prepared.

Mrs. Trujillo has been a steward of education throughout her life and started focusing on helping underprivileged youth with her husband in 1991. As a couple, they committed themselves to helping provide much needed technology in the Roosevelt School District and ultimately created the Roosevelt Community Technology Center to provide free access to computers for all members of the Roosevelt Community.

Mrs. Trujillo is personally familiar with the challenges that one faces while growing up in a single parent home. Born in New York City and raised there until she was a teenager, Mrs. Trujillo moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1981 and began her uphill climb to achieving a college education. While maintaining several jobs to help alleviate her family’s financial challenges, she remained focused on her dream to obtain a college degree, the first in her family. She attended Scottsdale Community College and ultimately received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in 1991. With no outside support, Mrs. Trujillo understood what a college degree would mean for herself and her family and was able to achieve her dream completely on her own. She became an avid supporter of promoting the need to obtain a college education and to provide the mentorship and guidance needed to those who, like herself, must achieve it on their own.

After graduation, Mrs. Trujillo held several senior finance management roles including Chief Financial Officer for Commac, a commercial real-estate securitization company based out of Washington, D.C. and Southwest Harvard Group Venture Capital in Phoenix, Arizona. Longing to be an entrepreneur, Mrs. Trujillo became the President & Managing Partner of Sunven Entertainment Group in 1997 which owned and operated the Red River Music Hall, a 1,000 seat concert venue located near Arizona State University. Mrs. Trujillo was instrumental in the turnaround of the company and continued to operate it until it was successfully sold in 2003. After selling her business, Mrs. Trujillo and her husband, Gary, decided to focus primarily on creating and building the Be A Leader Foundation to support aspiring youth to obtain a college education. However, Mrs. Trujillo still keeps her entrepreneurial efforts going as a partner in Cambios y Servicios, a retail joint venture group that operates airport concession stores.

She and her husband, Gary, reside in Central Phoenix and have two small children, Alexander and Sophia.

Karla A. Robles - Vice President of College-Going Initiatives

Karla Robles is the Vice President of College Going Initiatives for the Be A Leader Foundation. In fact, Karla was the recipient of BALF's first college scholarship at Arizona State University and also participated in our Be A Leader Institute College program. Since then, she became an active volunteer and was instrumental in creating BALF's first college-going program and mentor program.

In 2006, BALF was very fortunate to have the opportunity to hire Karla as their first employee. Karla has been a critical resource in helping BALF establish and implement each of its college access programs and clubs. Today she leads the organization's efforts to partner with like-minded organizations, secure resources for the students in the programs and continue to expand college access programming to students throughout the State of Arizona.

Prior to joining the Be A Leader Foundation, Karla worked for the Hershey Company as a Retail Sales Representative carrying out the company's marketing strategies throughout the State of Arizona. In May 2006, she received a Bachelor of Science in Global Business and Marketing from Arizona State University.

She is currently on the board of the Hispanic Business Alumni, the Arizona Ivy League Project. She is a founding member of the Latina Giving Circle and a proud graduate of Valley Leadership's Class 30. Today, she continues to lead the charge of building a community of college-going students and personally mentors students throughout the Valley to reach their dreams of a college education.

Anahi Godinez - Program Director

Anahi Godinez serves as the Program Director for the Be A Leader Foundation. In this role Anahi coordinates each of BALF's college-going programs. She greatly enjoys the opportunity to nurture the development of leadership skills and a college-going mentality in the students she serves.

Anahi is an Arizona native growing up in Avondale, Arizona. She received her bachelor's degree in Business Management from ASU in 2006. Anahi began her career with Arizona Public Service in the Talent Acquisition organization. As a talent acquisition specialist she focused on the college intern program developing recruitment and retention tactics in support of the organizations overall diversity and sourcing strategies.

Anahi greatly enjoys giving back to her community and prior to joining the BALF team as an employee, she volunteered her time as a mentor coordinator for the organization. She continues to be involved in the community through her current role with BALF and through various organizations she serves on now and in the past including American Dream Academy, Phoenix Collegiate Academy, Mujer Inc., and ASU's Hispanic Business Alumni Association.

Anahi strongly believes education us a lifelong process and in leading the students she serves by example. For these reasons she takes advantage of opportunities to learn and grow including graduating from the Arts and Business Council's Business on Board Program, Valle Del Sol's Hispanic Leadership Institute and is an alumni of Valley Leadership Class 31.

Monica Angulo - High School Coordinator

Monica Angulo serves as the High School Coordinator for the Be A Leader Foundation. Her involvement with the organization started in the summer of 2010 where she volunteered at several Phoenix Union High Schools helping BALF staff recruit students during Freshman orientations. Monica also spent her time that summer recruiting students for BALF's Senior Boot Camp as well as assisting with BALF's 2nd annual "Taking Steps Towards College Success" Walk-a-thon. Her efforts and enthusiasm led her to a part-time position facilitating an 8th grade Valedictorian Club program that fall.

Monica's commitment to education drives her to encourage and motivate students to realize their full potential. As High School Coordinator, Monica oversees the student-run Be A Leader Clubs on high school campuses across the State in addition to coordinating all aspects of the Be A Leader Institute High School program and the most recently adopted Senior Boot Camp. In collaboration with student officers and campus sponsors, Monica is responsible for organizing club activities and extensive curriculum, with the goal of effectively reaching an increasing number of students. As an advocate of lifelong learning, Monica hopes to provide opportunities for students to pursue their dreams of obtaining a college education.

Prior to joining the Be A Leader Foundation, Monica served as an Elementary School teacher within the Tempe Elementary School District. For 5 1/2 years she worked at Nevitt Elementary School, with at-risk children as an English Language Development teacher. Monica is a proud graduate of Arizona State University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in May 2005.

Recently, Monica was recognized at ASU's Hispanic Convocation as the "Outstanding Alumni of the Year" by the Hispanic Business Alumni Chapter at Arizona State University. Serving the community is very important to Monica. Currently, she volunteers as a Sunday School Teacher at Grace Community Church. Monica also volunteers with the ASU Hispanic Business Alumni chapter by reviewing scholarship applicant essays as well as contributing her time and effort to their spring signature event "Noche De Loteria." Other community involvement includes preparing meals for the less fortunate at the Andre House, wrapping gifts at the Chicanos Por La Causa - Angeles del Barrio event and mentoring high school seniors.

Karina Cuamea - Elementary Coordinator

Karina serves as the Elementary and Mentor Coordinator for the Be A Leader Foundation. A first-generation student from Oxnard, California, Karina attended the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) upon graduating from high school. During her undergraduate career she worked with students and parents in underserved and underrepresented communities. As part of the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) and Engaging Latino Communities for Education (ENLACE) she gained a greater passion to help students and families gain resources in order to obtain a higher education.

After receiving her Bachelors of Arts in Chicano/a Studies went on to pursue a Master's degree at Arizona State University (ASU). Here she worked as the coordinator for Students Providing Awareness, Resources and Knowledge to Start College (SPARKS). She was also involved with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) and in 2009 was selected as a Graduate Fellow. Karina holds a M.Ed. in Higher and Postsecondary Education and hopes to pursue a Doctoral degree in the near future.

At an early age Karina was taught the importance of obtaining a college education. Her mother was a farm worker for over 30 years and was only able to obtain a second grade education from Mexico. Karina is passionate about creating a college-going culture among all students and families. She greatly enjoys working with BALF and being part of an excellent team that is always motivated and ready to engage students and families in every sector of life.

Esmeralda Peralta-Aroz - College Going Counselor

Esmeralda Peralta-Arozserves as the Be A Leader Foundation’s College Going Counselor. After several years in the marketing and advertising field, Esmeralda saw a need in working with and preparing students for a college education. Prior to joining BALF, Esmeralda served as an Academic Counselor and team lead with the University of Phoenix. While at University of Phoenix, Esmeralda worked with the service men, women, and their families in the Military Division. There she gained a deeper understanding of the needs of college students both before and after they started their degrees. With a passion for higher education she jumped at the opportunity to help students achieve a college education through the Be A Leader Foundation.

Working alongside our Program Director, Esmeralda works directly with High School Seniors to ensure that these students have the tools necessary to go to college through their involvement in our Senior Boot Camp. This extensive program is designed to provide individual assistance to over 100 high school seniors in all phases of the college and scholarship application process including, editing scholarship essays, completion of financial aid applications, SAT/ACT test preparation, and career/college research.

She is the eldest of four sisters, an ESL student, a Gates Millennium Scholar, and a first generation college graduate. Esmeralda received a bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a focus in Marketing in 2004 from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and recently completed M.B.A coursework at University of Phoenix.

Esmeralda and her husband Jacob currently reside in Phoenix Arizona with their two young daughters, Alessandra and Samantha.