Who We Are
Our Team
Sky Allen
Executive Director
Sky Allen is the Executive Director of IE United Education Fund. She got her start in the field as a policy fellow with the Warehouse Workers Resource Center before working as IE United Education Funds Program Director from 2019-2022. As Program Director, she managed the table's Census outreach, Redistricting advocacy, Justice Leadership Academy pipeline, and electoral field campaigns. She graduated from UCR in 2018 with a B.S. in Business Management and a Minor in Ethnic Studies. She earned her Masters of Public Policy at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs in 2023.
Mayra Jackson
Finance Director
Mayra Jackson is the Financial Director for IE United Education Fund. Being born in Ecuador and raised in the U.S., after high school Mayra went back to Ecuador to obtain a Bachelor’s in teaching at the Universidad Politecnica National Del Ecuador. She’s worked with non profits since 2017, serving as an organizer, field director, additional leadership roles.
Lisa Fink
Operations Manager
Lisa Fink is the Operations manager at IE United. Lisa was raised in a military family which offered her the opportunity to see the country and even the world. Lisa’s childhood consist of Japan, Hawaii, New York, and beyond! Lisa began operations management in 2000 with Morongo. Lisa oversaw large transactions, guest services, and operations for the entire property. Lisa joined the 2024 campaign to lead the team! Lisa made such an impact in the work we do we found space for her to continue this impact with us.
Ayla Lopez
Organizing Manager
Ayla Lopez is the Field Director for IE United Education Fund. Ayla has dedicated their career to empowering the community of the Inland Empire. They spent the last ten years organizing youth across San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Ayla is committed to transform and revitalize the Inland Empire. Ayla has worked towards raising voter turn out for local elections, increase access to mental health resources, and access to voter education. Ayla has since led several outreach campaigns, with the focus to engage tens of thousands of young voters ages 18-34, infrequent voters and voters of color.
Brian Diaz
Program Manager
Brian Diaz is the Community Organizer at IE United Education Fund. Brian joined us for the 2024 election with immense passion and determination for the region. Brian began organizing at an early age with voter registration drives in communities often left out. Brian supported voter outreach efforts in Arizona during the previous election cycle.
Resa Barillas
Policy Manager
Resa started her career in digital marketing, and quickly parlayed those skills into community organizing work when she moved to the High Desert community. Following her graduation from the Movement School Campaign Fellows program, she continued her career in field organizing and campaign management for both candidates and ballot initiatives. She has also served as Vice Presidents of Operations and Membership of California Young Democrats, Regional Organizer with California Environmental Voters, and Senior Field Representative for the California State Assembly. She is currently pursuing an AA in Social Justice Studies at Mt. San Antonio College.
Oscar Giovanni Ruiz
Senior Data Director
Oscar Giovanni Ruiz is the Data Director and Software Developer for IE United Education Fund. He became an activist during the Occupy Wall Street Movement in 2011 and has been involved with local activist groups since. He graduated with a B.S. in Physics from Cal Poly Pomona in 2014 and M.S. in Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2017.
Kyle Karanja
Researcher
Kyle Karanja is the researcher for IE United. A native of the Inland Empire, Kyle began his political career in 2020, taking a semester off from college to volunteer for the Raphael Warnock campaign in Georgia. After the campaign’s success, he returned to California and completed his bachelor’s degree in Political Science. In August 2024, Kyle joined IE United as an Organizer, where he quickly demonstrated a strong passion for the field and was promoted to the role of researcher.
Our Values
IE United was created with the intention to restructureleadership and governance culture in the Inland Empire to more accurately represent the identities and progressive values of the residents. We aim to do this by building coalitions of grassroots, labor, and community leaders that are committed to transforming our local communities. We have a record of identifying corrupt policies and ineffective leaders that have sold out our communities for too long. We remain focused on ensuring those in positions of power reflect and prioritize the needs of the people who need their services the most.
Our coalition is made up of community leaders and organizations committed to affecting transformational change in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. We believe this sort of change can only be effective if it is intersectional and inclusive by nature. Each of our policy platforms were drafted to ensure racial, gender, and LGBTQ equity are core to the agenda. We welcome you to click on any of the following pieces of our platform to learn what our partners are doing to advance that vision.
Coming Soon!