Yami Villanueva

Yamileth (Yami) Villanueva (Chief Development Director) joined CISLA in 2020, becoming the organization’s first Chief Development Director, overseeing strategic fundraising to support CISLA’s mission. Yami is charged with building the organization’s development team, creating and implementing CISLA's strategic fundraising plan, growing CISLA’s budget, establishing an organization-wide culture of fundraising, and supervising CISLA’s donor relations, grants, corporate, volunteer engagement, and marketing and communications.

Yami brings tremendous experience in grantmaking, fundraising, and grants management. She has dedicated her professional career to serving low-income communities of color and a wide range of exceptional nonprofit organizations with an eye towards social justice and racial equity. Yami comes to CISLA from Para Los Niños (PLN) as the Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations where she managed the organization's foundation and corporate fundraising for seven years. She previously worked at the California Community Foundation (CCF) as the Program Officer of Housing and Neighborhoods, working with a variety of LA County nonprofits in affordable housing development, homelessness, housing policy, advocacy and community organizing. She has also worked at East LA Community Corporation (ELACC) helping immigrant families in Boyle Heights and East LA improve their housing and economic opportunities. Yami began her career at the Community Coalition in South Los Angeles, where she served as the youth academic coordinator working with black and brown youth to ensure they graduate from high school and pursue a college education. Yami grew up in South LA during the 80s and 90s and is a product of its public schools. She holds a deep and personal understanding of the importance of education and the impact is has on the lives of young people of color living in poverty.

Yami earned both her M.A. in Urban Planning and B.A. in History with double minors in Education and Latin American Studies from UCLA. She resides in Boyle Heights with her two children, Nick and Ella.