Our Governing Board

Josh Kinoshita
​Board Chair

Josh Kinoshita is the Manager of Common Enrollment at Great Public Schools Now. In his role, Josh leads ApplyLA, a commonsense system that makes it easy for families to understand and apply to multiple charter public schools in Los Angeles.  Prior to his work at GPSN, Josh was the Director of Technology at Ednovate, a Charter Management Organization that operates personalized learning, college-prep high schools in Southern California. Josh began his career in education as a Teach for America corps member, teaching 6th grade math and science.
Josh holds a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Alaina Pariano
​Board Vice Chair

Alaina Pariano is the Dean of Instruction at Equitas Academy #3. In her role, she develops teachers in their leadership abilities and coaches them to provide the best education for their students. She also oversees the special education program at EQ3. Raised in a small town in rural Ohio, Alaina was the first person in her family to graduate from college. She was a Teach for America (TFA) corps member and began her career as a resource specialist at ICEF Vista Middle Academy, providing special education support to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. She also worked as an intervention teacher and 5th grade math teacher at KIPP Academy of Opportunity before becoming the founding special education teacher at Equitas Academy #3. 
 Alaina holds a B.S. in Middle Childhood Education from Ohio University and a M.A.Ed. in Special Education from Loyola Marymount University. ​

Brent Lowry
Board Treasurer

Brent Lowry is Controller at Focusrite Novation Inc.  In his role, Brent is responsible for strategic planning and analyzing the financial performance of US retail operations and global e-commerce.  Prior to his business career, he joined Teach for America and taught 7th and 8th grade math for three years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 
Brent holds a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University, and an M.B.A. from Georgetown University.

Armando Guerrero Jr.
​Board Secretary

Armando Guerrero Jr., Ph.D. is a Lecturer in Hispanic Linguistics and Academic Coordinator of the Spanish as a heritage language program in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UCLA. Dr. Guerrero, who was raised and currently lives in the city of Lynwood, brings an indispensable wealth of knowledge of the community to Soleil Academy. His research agenda seeks to promote inclusion of underrepresented minorities in higher education through critical pedagogy and research. He strives to encourage speakers of Spanish to use their linguistic repertoire to empower themselves and their communities.
 Dr. Guerrero completed his Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics from UCLA where he also earned an M.A. in Spanish. He graduated with a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese, and a minor in Education & Applied Psychology: Educational Studies from UC Santa Barbara

Katie Michiels Cano
Board Member

Katie Michiels Cano is passionate about education and learning - most importantly, providing those opportunities to all children.  She is currently a mentor providing support to a new educator through U.C. San Diego’s mentor program.  For over ten years, Katie taught in elementary classrooms. She has been a teacher and held leadership roles in different school settings including private, public, and charter schools.  She was a member of the founding faculty at the LEARN Charter School in Northern Illinois.  To further her development as an educator, Katie attended wide variety of institutions and nationally acclaimed programs, including Harvard University’s Project Zero and Columbia University’s Teachers College Readers Workshop.
 Katie holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Augustana College with teaching credentials in Illinois and California.

Andres Elizalde
​Board Member

Andres Elizalde is the associate director of foundation and corporate relations at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. He was born and raised in the community of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Inspired by his parents’ work ethic, and following his older siblings’ example, he made higher education a top priority growing up.
Andres served as a founding teacher at Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School, before going on to develop college readiness, after school, and enrichment programs at local community based organizations. Prior to his current role, he served as the development director at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, where he was a part of the team that helped the organization secure a $417 million grant for The Gates Scholarship, a next generation scholarship program for minority students.
Andres holds a B.A. in History from Harvard University. 

Daniel Murillo
​Board Member

Daniel Murillo is a Managing Director at AQP Capital, a Real Estate private equity firm that acquires and rehabilitates apartment buildings in working class, immigrant communities in Southern California and Colorado.  Daniel oversees investment and operating activities at the company, including acquisitions, dispositions, capital raising, debt financing, investment analysis, property rehabilitation and property management.  Prior to starting AQP, Daniel was the CEO and Founder of Little Black Bag, as well as a Venture Capitalist at Greycroft Partners.  He began his career as a Program Manager at Microsoft.  
Daniel holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Matias Pino
​Board Member

Matias Pino has more than 12 years of experience in Latin American credit markets. He is currently a Partner and Portfolio Manager for AP Structured Finance, a $200mn direct lending fund in Latin America.  From 2013 to 2016 he worked at GoldenTree, a USD25 billion hedge fund, as a research analyst in the Global Emerging Markets group and from 2005 to 2013, Matias worked at Credit Suisse originating, structuring and managed the Latin America structured credit book.  Matias is a founding partner of the New York Chapter of Washington Office on Latin America, a non-profit organization advocating for human rights and social justice in Latin America.  In addition, he was a Board Member of the Lower East Side Printshop, a premier non-profit printmaking studio in NY, est. in 1968.
Matias holds a B.B.A. in Business from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina.