Sandra Ainslie
CEO
Leadership
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Sandra Ainslie
Sandra Ainslie is CEO of Girls Inc. of San Diego County. She is a strong advocate for youth and committed to creating equity for young people in San Diego. Sandra’s responsibilities at Girls Inc. of San Diego County (GISD) include increasing impact, developing organizational strategy and driving financial growth.
Sandra brings 20 years of experience building and leading innovative youth organizations and programs. She has spent the majority of her career working with underserved and multi-cultural communities, who often face compounded and complex challenges. She is deeply committed to working with youth through asset-based approaches, which enable young people to harness their power, confidence and potential. She is a collaborative leader who believes that community partnerships and connected ecosystems are the best path toward sustainable social change efforts. As a leader she enjoys creating an environment of support, growth and learning.
Prior to joining GISD, Sandra served as Executive Director of the AjA Project, an organization utilizing participatory photography with refugee and immigrant youth. Her work at AjA Project earned Sandra the, Coming Up Taller Presidential award for excellence in youth programming.
Following her work at AjA Project, Sandra served as Senior Director for the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation where she developed a college and career pipeline for disconnected youth.
Sandra holds a bachelor’s degree from University of California San Diego in Cultural Anthropology and a master’s degree in Leadership and Nonprofit Management from the University of San Diego. In addition to her academic work she has done field work with youth in Africa, Central America and Asia. Sandra immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico at age 8.
Rosa Alvarado
Program Manager
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Rosa Alvarado
Rosa Alvarado is a former Girls Inc. of San Diego County participant, formerly known as Girls Inc. of Vista. She has worked with youth for ten years through mentorship organizations, gang-prevention programs and after-school programs. She graduated from California State University San Marcos with her B.A. in Human Development with an emphasis in Counseling Services and earned her M.A. from Point Loma Nazarene University in Organizational Leadership.
Rosa is passionate about her role at Girls Inc. of San Diego County, not only because she has come full circle in her role, but
because she has the opportunity to work with girls with similar upbringings she faced growing up. A daughter of immigrants and a first-generation Mexican-American, Rosa uses her experience to create meaningful relationships with her schools and communities.
Rosa's experience working with multicultural, cross-cultural and diverse schools and districts has provided her the opportunity to provide research-based programs to girls in K-12 settings all over San Diego County. Her goal is to create meaningful and long-lasting impact in the schools that she serves and the girls she meets with every day.
Becky Espinoza
STRONG Programs Coordinator
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Becky Espinoza
My name is Becky Espinoza. I am a Mexican American entrepreneur, humanitarian, and strong advocate for mental health and happiness.
My field at Sacramento State University was in business management and child development. My experience includes over 8 years of extensive background in community outreach, global mentorship, data analysis, and event coordination/facilitation.
I am passionate about the belief that service to many leads to greatness and therefore strive to live a purpose drive life of integrity, compassion, collaboration, community, connection, transformation, and growth. The pandemic inspired me to create a space for the community that focused on self-empowerment, fitness, and overall wellness through how we speak to ourselves. I vow to be a direct representation that you’re never “too broken” or “too far gone” to make something for yourself, you belong here and you are worthy.
Stephanie Guizar
Program Facilitator
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Stephanie Guizar
Stephanie Guizar has worked with all ages from infancy to elders for six years. She graduated from National University and received her B.A. in Psychology. Stephanie has found her passion and devotion in guiding adolescents through obstacles and being the mentor she never had growing up. She hopes to use her experiences and challenging upbringing to help empower and mentor adolescents. Her goal is to be able to help adolescents build solid and positive mindsets, habits, and perspectives for their future. Coming from a single-parent household and believing growing up she would not be able to pursue higher education and obtain a career, she now shares her story with the goal to inspire and motivate adolescents with similar backgrounds.
Olivia Kasik
SMART Programs Coordinator
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Olivia Kasik
Olivia Kasik has had the honor of working with Girls Inc. since 2018.
Olivia’s work began in Omaha, Nebraska as the Eureka! Coordinator, inspiring and cultivating interest in STEM careers for young women and girls. Now as the STEM Specialist at GISD, she's continuing that passion for middle schoolers to engage in holistic, hands-on, minds-on, STEAM learning.
In addition, Olivia is certified in mindfulness and yoga. She continues to educate and learn about how bodies hold trauma. In her free time, Olivia enjoys exploring San Diego with her husband and checking out vegan restaurants. She is a graduate of Grace University.
Lauren Perry
Program Facilitator
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Lauren Perry
Lauren Perry is the former Executive Director of The Beautiful Foundation; a nonprofit organization that provides a safe space for adolescent girls to learn and express themselves. Upon graduating from Loyola University in 2008, she launched her career as a production makeup artist but soon thereafter realized that she had a passion for empowering adolescent girls by providing them with the tools and resources needed to advocate for themselves. Lauren is currently in pursuit of her Master's in Social Work degree at California Baptist University and serves as an independent consultant to small businesses and non-profit organizations.
Nancy Vasquez
Program Facilitator
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Nancy Vasquez
Hi my name is Nancy Vasquez Flores. I was born and raised in San Diego, but I am Chicana with Mixteca blood. I come from a big family who have pushed me to become the woman I am today. I studied within SDCCD with an interest in criminal justice. I’ve always had this deep drive of getting involved with my community and giving back by helping those in need. After receiving my associates degree, I decided to continue my career at SDSU where I would then receive my bachelors in science for criminal justice. While in school I had an urge to get my creative side out and because of that, I opened up a small jewelry business. My small business has helped me to meet and collaborate with several amazing small businesses in all of San Diego.
Jillian Winkler
BOLD Programs Coordinator
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Jillian Winkler
Jillian’s passion for human rights and activism began at a young age leading her to pursue her studies in Diplomacy and International Relations. She is now working toward achieving her Masters in Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. Jillian has led grassroots outreach campaigns to educate and empower community members in New York City to engage in and support progressive issues including Reproductive Justice, Refugee Rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and Racial Justice.
Prior to starting graduate school, Jillian worked at Open Society Foundations on projects centered on Economic Justice and Civic Space while ensuring a gender justice and grassroots lens. Jillian’s passions for gender justice, grassroots organizing, and advocacy have now led her to join Girls Inc. of San Diego. As a new member of the San Diego community Jillian is excited to delve into gender justice wholeheartedly and is looking forward to working, learning, and connecting within this changemaker community. Through this opportunity, Jillian hopes to collaborate and work with girls in San Diego to realize their agency, autonomy, and power, and in turn, fulfill their mission of being Strong, Smart, and Bold.