We are excited to welcome three new board members to our Partnership Scholars Program community: Brian Ishida, Sara Potter, and Walter Garcia. PSP is excited about this addition to our leadership and vision as we continue to advance our mission of providing academic and cultural enrichment to help our scholars succeed! 

Brian Ishida

As a Senior Vice President at California United Bank, Brian Ishida has the opportunity to work with many nonprofit organizations. Last year, he was introduced to Partnership Scholars Program and the work the organization does by his colleague, Sharon Hauptman. Brian was looking for the right fit for an organization to get involved with and he was instantly moved by the mission of the organization “I’m a big believer that without the right opportunities people will never expand outside of their comfort zones,” says Brian. “That’s something that really touched home with me.”

A native Angeleno, Brian grew in Gardena, a city with a very diverse socioeconomic make up. “I saw firsthand the difference an opportunity can make,” says Brian. “Friends during my youth who were exposed to various cultural and educational opportunities flourished, while those who weren’t fell into a closed mindset and couldn’t get themselves to expand out of their comfort zones. I look back and realize the opportunities I had, and want to give back.”

Brian has experience working with other youth organizations and was formerly the treasurer at the Gardena-Carson YMCA as well as sitting on the board at Pediatric Therapy Network in Torrance where he served as the audit committee chair. With years of financial expertise, he looks forward to being able to provide advice and guidance on the financial health of PSP.

Brian has four children, the oldest of which is a senior in high school about to start at UCLA – his alma mater – this fall. Outside of being a banker and a dad, Brian’s passion is coaching youth basketball. “Teaching and mentoring are very important to me,” says Brian. He’s excited to help PSP in any way that he can.