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.
Oscar Giovanni Ruiz
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.
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.
Kisha Collier
Program Director
Kisha Collier is the Program Director of IE United Education Fund. Prior to joining the IE United Education Fund team, Kisha was the Program Director at Community Health Action Network (CHAN) and held several similar positions with Estee Lauder Companies, Proctor & Gamble, & JCPenny. Collectively her experience and passion drive her efforts as a racial/ social justice and equality advocate for the Inland Empire/ High Desert community. She earned a B.B.A. in Ministry & Business from Oral Roberts University and an A.A. in Beauty Merchandising & Marketing from FIDM.
Bernard De La Garza
Communications Director
Bernard De La Garza is the Communications Director for IE United Education Fund. Bernard began community organizing with Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) as a high school student in San Bernardino, CA. He has spent his career organizing in the greater San Bernardino and cultivating his graphics and content creation skills. Bernard is currently a student at California State University San Bernardino to study Sociology.
Ayla Lopez
Field Director
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.
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!