Team

Dr. Ciriaco “Cid” Pinedo

President & CEO

In April 2022, Dr. Ciriaco "Cid" Pinedo was named President and CEO of MAOF. He guides the organization and its dedicated team in realizing its vision of being the preeminent provider of comprehensive human services that empower families to attain self-sufficiency and contribute to a dynamic community. Dr. Pinedo was previously the President and CEO of Children's Fund, which helped children experiencing poverty, abuse, and neglect. He is the former President of the Hope through Housing Foundation, Chief Operating Officer of National CORE, and Associate Superintendent of Business Services and Economic Development at Chaffey College.

Dr. Pinedo, the son of Mexican immigrants, is a first-generation college graduate. He attended Rio Hondo Community College, earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from St. John's Seminary College, and a doctorate in organizational leadership and management from the University of La Verne. In 2021, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Union Institute& University in recognition of his contributions to transforming lives and communities. Alongside his wife, Dr. Teresa Pinedo, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the El Monte City School District, they are dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families by ensuring access and support.

Vicky Santos

Chief Operations Officer

Vicky Santos is MAOF's, Chief Operating Officer. She oversees the Early Child Education Services division, which includes Early Care and Education, Preschool, Head Start, R&R, CalWORKS, Child Care programs, Facilities, and IT departments. She has been with the organization since 1995. Vicky is responsible for the overall implementation of MAOF’s comprehensive Programs and Services divisions. She began her career at MAOF as a teacher in the Head Start program.

Vicky holds a B.A. in Child Development from Cal State Los Angeles and an M.S. in Leadership and Management from the University of La Verne. She resides in Chino Hills with her husband and three children.

Ralph Dao, Ph.D.,

Chief financial officer

Ralph Dao, Ph.D., was appointed the Chief Financial Officer for MAOF in March 2023. Dr. Dao is a financial management and leadership professional with twenty years of experience in accounting and finance solutions for higher education, not-for-profit, and quasi-governmental organizations. Dr. Dao is adept at handling non-profit financial statements with significant federal, state, and county grants and has extensive experience in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), OMB Uniform Grant Guidance Single Audits, and servicing major grant-specific and program monitoring audits, strictly adhering of the Non-profit Integrity Act, Government Auditing Standards (GAS), AICPA, and The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of2002. As chief of finances,
Dr. Dao has strong leadership skills, empowering and coaching employees to work effectively and efficiently, resulting in high levels of team member engagement with attention to accountability, innovativeness with scalability, collaboration, analytical, team-oriented, strategic, ethics, integrity, and vision.

Kristan "Kris" Venegas, PhD

Chief Learning, data and evaluation officer

Kristan “Kris” Venegas, Ph.D., joined MAOF in November 2022. Dr. Venegas is the inaugural Chief, Learning, Data, and Evaluation Officer. In this role, she works to nurture a culture of learning, support strategic planning and evaluation efforts, and collaborate in the development of educational partnerships and advancement. Prior to joining MAOF, Dr. Venegas was an AssociateProvost and LaFetra Endowed Professor of Teaching and Learning at the University of La Verne (ULV). She formerly was a Professor and the Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC). She is a former American Council on Education Fellow, an alumna of the HOPE (Hispanas Organized for PolicyEquality) Institute, and a USC Latino Alumni Association Scholarship recipient.

Dr. Venegas is a proud Chicana from El Monte, CA, where she lives with her partner, Dr. Adrian Huerta, and their two children. Kris holds a BA in English, Creative Writing, MSEd in Education, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy from USC.

Claudia Rufino

Chief Human Resources Officer

Claudia Rufino is the Chief Human Resources Office of MAOF. She oversees implementing programs relating to recruitment, retention, job evaluation, benefits, performance management, safety, workers’ compensation, and employee training/development. Prior to her current position, Claudia served as Director of Human Resources since 2000. She previously served as an HR assistant with MAOF for six years. Claudia holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and has completed numerous trainings which have enabled her to become a trainer in staff development. Claudia is a Society for Human Resources (SHRM) and Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) member. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.