Inland Empire Community Foundation Announces New Chair and Three Members to its Board of Directors

Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) is pleased to announce Jesse Melgar as the next Chair of its Board of Directors, where he will become the first openly LGBTQ+ Chair, first Coachella Valley resident, and the first millennial to chair the Board. Melgar will succeed outgoing chair Nefertiti Long. 

IECF also welcomes two new Board members, Felicia Alexander Elizabeth Romero, and Lou Monville who will serve four-year terms.

“I want to thank Nefertiti Long for her dedication and leadership as Board Chair these past few years, she continued our board’s long tradition of high caliber leadership and guidance to maintain an engaged and diverse board, all while supporting her passion through our Women’s Giving Fund,” said Michelle Decker, President and CEO of IECF. “I am thrilled to welcome Jesse as our new Board Chair. Jesse has proven to be a changemaker and force for good in philanthropy, becoming an immediate leader on our board through his work as founder and chair of the CIELO Fund at our foundation. Importantly, he is a locally-grown leader who has used his talent to serve in senior leadership roles in government, academia, and in the private and nonprofit sectors. His skills, vast network, and strategic mindset will help us continue building a stronger culture of philanthropy in the IE.”

“We are in a critical moment for our region—one that calls on all of us to dream big, invest in lasting change, and work across and through our differences to ensure that our neighbors can live dignified lives,” said Melgar. “As the largest and oldest foundation in the Inland Empire, our board looks forward to advancing inclusive, thoughtful philanthropy that drives forward the ambitions of our communities, fosters new partnerships, and attracts more resources to fund efforts that help our region thrive. As board chair, I am eager to collaborate with our board, the talented IECF team, and partners across foundations, government, nonprofits, faith-based institutions, and our generous donors to continue building a region our future generations can be proud of.”

Chair – Jesse F. Melgar, M.P.P., joined the Board of the Inland Empire Community Foundation in 2021, having recently served as Vice Chair, and as a member of the Policy and Marketing & Grants Committees. He is the founder and chair of the CIELO Fund at the Foundation, where he has led a regional committee in raising over $2 million to support Latino organizations and scholarships in the region. Professionally, Melgar is Senior Advisor for Strategy and Public Affairs at the University of California Possibility Lab where he advises state departments and agencies on engagement strategies and policies that support an inclusive democracy. He is a Governor’s appointee and Vice Chair of the California Volunteers Commission where he advocated to bring millions in funding to the region for the California College Corps program. He is also a co-founder of the Inland Empire LGBTQ+ Center in downtown Riverside, and an advisory board member for the UCR School of Public Policy and Equality California. Melgar spent a decade in state government serving as a communications director and spokesperson for some of California’s top leaders including Gavin Newsom, Alex Padilla, Ricardo Lara, and led communications for the California Latino Legislative Caucus and Equality California. Melgar earned a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in Political science and Chicano Studies from UCLA, and a Master of Public Policy from UC Riverside as a member of the inaugural cohort and full-tuition merit scholar. In 2024, he received the UCR Chancellor’s prestigious Young Alumni of Distinction Award and was an inaugural UCLA Bruin Excellence in Civic Engagement Award recipient. He lives in Palm Springs with his husband, Angel.

Board Member – Felicia Alexander is a San Bernardino City Unified School District Trustee. She is also an Aerospace and Defense executive who has led global supply chain efforts for over 30 years.  She is also an adjunct professor at California State University Long Beach teaching courses in operations management and supply chain management. She earned her BA from UC Santa Barbara and MA from JFK University, as well as a certificate in Project Management and Systems Engineering from California Institute of Technology. Mrs. Alexander is very engaged in the community. Some of her activities include San Bernardino County Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. (Past President of Kappa Omega Chapter), President-elect San Bernardino Assistance League and American Legion Auxiliary. Mrs. Alexander is married to Damon L. Alexander and they have a blended family of 5.

Board Member – Elizabeth F. Romero is the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Government & Community Relations at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Prior to joining UCR, Elizabeth served as the Director of Community and Government Relations for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest in Riverside and Imperial Counties. Elizabeth also managed the Building Healthy Communities Initiative funded by The California Endowment. She has also worked for Desert Arc, University Center for Developmental Disabilities and served as a Legislative Assistant to the late Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor Roy Wilson and Supervisor John J. Benoit. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. She also holds a Masters of Politics, Economics and Business from Claremont Graduate University. Elizabeth is an alumnus of the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Leadership Institute and Women’s Policy Institute sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Desert Regional Medical Center and Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert.

Board Member – Lou Monville is Lou Monville Senior Vice President of the Raincross Corporate Group, a collection of businesses involved in real estate development and entitlement, convention center management, operations and catering, and convention and sports sales and marketing. He also serves as the Senior Vice President of the Riverside of the Building Industry Association of Sothern California, Riverside County Chapter and is the former Chair of the Riverside County Economic Recovery Task Force focused on the economic recovery in the County of Riverside post COVID-19. Monville is a Trustee Emeritus and a past Chair of the Board of the California State University Board of Trustees and a former member of the California Community College Board of Governors. Lou holds a BA in Communications and Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from California State University, San Bernardino.