Damien Pirro
SVP and Business Banking Regional Manager for Orange County
US Bank

Damien Pirro is currently the Senior Vice President and Business Banking Regional Manager for Orange County. Prior to this role he built out and managed the Southern California Emerging Business Banking team. He has been in banking for 18 years spending time in both mortgage and business banking. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, he spent 8 years at Chase also managing business banking.

Outside of work, Damien enjoys spending time with his wife and 4 children. He loves food, trying new restaurants, and hosting dinners. He also likes working out to off-set his love for food, really enjoys basketball and tennis. His favorite show – The Office.

James Kim
Vice President and SBA Business Development Officer
US Bank

James is an accomplished financial services professional with 16 years of achievement and advancement through increasingly responsible consumer/investment/business banking positions. His group the U.S. Bank SBA Lending Division focuses on providing a financial solution for manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, import/exporters, and successful small business owners.

James, with help from a talented and hard-working SBA Lending Division Team in Irvine, continues to expand his portfolio book with diversified affluent clientele. James is an experienced lender who knows SBA and commercial lending products and his market. He always takes very good care of U.S. Bank customers and partners.

Outside of work, James enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and adorable three kids. He “occasionally” plays golf if permission is given from his wife.

Lynn Nguyen
Vice President, Relationship Manager
Pacific Premier Bank

Lynn Nguyen is a Vice President/Relationship Manager with Pacific Premier Bank. Her expertise in Commercial Lending, Sales, and Marketing. In the past 23 years, she has worked for various commercial banks within the financial industry. Lynn Nguyen has a Master Degree in Business Administration specializing in Human Resource Management from University of Phoenix. After a few years in retail banking, Lynn found her passion to help entrepreneurs with growing their businesses. She then transition into being a commercial banker. Lynn has the unique ability to relate to others and her ability to talk to anyone has helped her be successful.

Sam Overton
SVP, Head of SBA Lending Business Banking
Banc of California

Sam is a US Marine Corps Combat Veteran who served 13 years on active duty (1998-2011). Sam is responsible for Banc of California’s SBA Lending throughout Southern California with focus on creating meaningful relationships with California business owners. Providing impeccable service, offering a full suite of SBA products that range from, SBA 7a & SBA 504 Owner Occupied Commercial Real Estate financing, Working Capital Lines of Credit (Revolving & Term), Term Loans for Tenant Improvements, Equipment financing, and Treasury Management and Depository Services. Sam believes that a consultative approach to every relationship established and nurture, is the key to successfully building California’s economy.

David Rouhafza
Senior Vice President, Head of Bankruptcy & Treasury Management Sales
Banc of California

David Rouhafza is Senior Vice President, Head of Bankruptcy and Treasury Management Sales at Banc of California, managing a team of Treasury Relationship Managers supporting bank-wide frontline bankers with subject-matter-expertise in Treasury Services to deepen client relationships. In addition, David focuses on Specialty and Private Deposits.

David has extensive experience in relationship-focused Treasury Management, Private and Specialty banking. Prior to joining Banc of California, David spent 4 years at City National Bank in progressive roles, ending as a Senior Relationship Manager, where he managed a team focused on increasing non-interest income through Treasury Services, and growing relationships, loans and deposits.

David is a Los Angeles area resident for the past 20 years, and is involved in the community, specifically teaching financial literacy. David received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside.

Tony Tran
Small Business Banking Specialist II
Comerica Bank

Tony Tran currently serves Orange County as Vice President, Small Business Banking Specialist, at Comerica Bank. As a Small Business Banking Specialist, Tony’s focus is bringing fresh ideas about managing cash and managing growth to owner-operated businesses from Orange County to the Inland Empire. His niche is helping businesses with annual revenues up to $5 million, especially with commercial real estate transactions. Tony uses a truly consultative process to understand clients’ strategic objectives and financial goals. With 24-plus years’ experience helping business owners, Tony has extensive experience across multiple industries.

Tony’s career in financial services began in 1996, working for several large financial institutions across the area and developing his consultative expertise. He joined Comerica Bank in 2012 as a Banking Center Manager and not only proved himself as a top performer but developed many of his colleagues for promotional opportunities and career enhancement. Tony has been recognized by Comerica as Top Overall Loan Producer in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and National MVP for Community Banking in 2017.

Tony has a finance background and is fluent in Vietnamese. Tony currently lives in Eastvale, CA, with his wife and two children.

Stuart Matsuda
VP Commercial Relationship Manager
Pacific Western Bank

Stuart Matsuda is a VP Commercial Relationship Manager for Pacific Western Bank where he has worked for over 9 years. He has over 16 years commercial lending experience at various financial institutions throughout Southern California. His expertise are of R/E lending, franchise lending, and General C&I Lending. Stuart’s favorite part of working at bank is helping businesses and the community grow and prosper. He is a graduate from Loyola Marymount University (BBA) and Pepperdine University (MBA).

He was born in Portland Oregon and now resides in Irvine, CA with his wife and 4 children. In his free time he enjoys golfing, fishing, going to the beach with his family.

Mark Morales
Vice President, SBA Division
City National Bank

Mark Morales is Vice President of the SBA Division of City National Bank. Mark has over 20 years of business banking experience and specializes in SBA financing and loan programs for diverse owned businesses. Mark is the SBA Los Angeles District Office – 2016 Financial Services Champion of the Year and the State of California Department of Insurance – 2018 Insurance Diversity Trailblazer.

Like his professional work, Mark’s humanitarian efforts lie at the intersection of business and community development by way of board involvement (Treasurer, Vice President and President) at the Los Angeles Gay &vLesbian Chamber of Commerce (LAGLCC) where he currently serves as President Emeritus. Serving with thevLAGLCC allows Mark to use his skills to help cultivate strong relationships with professional leaders, corporate partners, sponsors and business owners.

His experience as a business owner, a community leader, a minority advocate and a commercial lender give him a unique perspective in all of his endeavors.

Lisette Blancas
US Bank

Lisette Blancas current role is as a U.S. Bank Talent Acquisition Recruiter for the Los Angeles Retail Banking Division. Her 14+ years of experience she has been able to recruit for various facets of the work force. Her diverse background consisted of such industries as solar & construction companies, window/door manufacturer, medical, call center, administrative, project management, customer service, mortgage, accounting, engineering, IT, construction, manufacturing, plant management, aerospace to more specialized positions for diamond graders for Gemological Institute of America. She is a result driven, efficient and resourceful leader dedicated to helping ambitious candidates, as well as helping others achieve their career goals in a career they love.

Tom Nguyen
WinCorp Solutions

Tom Nguyen, a founding partner, established WinCorp Solutions in 2009; an Irvine, CA family owned business specializing in recruiting and staffing. The core mission is to fill a major void in the staffing industry by differentiating with a less commoditized, more analytical and concierge client based approach in acquiring talent for client companies.Tom holds his MBA from Pepperdine University and Entrepreneurship education from UCLA and Dartmouth. Tom also is devoted to the community and has been past President and also Board of Director of ABAOC (Asian Business Association of Orange County), and volunteer Scout leader with Boy Scouts of America in Irvine, CA, serving as Cubmaster, Scoutmaster and Commissioner since 2012.

Kimberly Tash
Certified Master Life and Career Coach
Kimberly Tash Life Coaching

Kimberly Tash is a Certified Master Life and Career Coach, owner and founder of Kimberly Tash Life Coaching, as well as a speaker and instructor of numerous career courses on such topics as Microsoft applications, social media marketing, and job searching to name a few. Prior to this she was a Senior Management of Data Management in Global Commercial Operations at Amgen in Thousand Oaks. She started working for the Career and Professional Development at Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School in early 2020 and is enjoying working with students, staff, and faculty alike. She received her own MBA in Marketing from Cal Lutheran and her BA in English Literature from U.C.L.A.

Marlene Nantell
Director of Business Development and Community Outreach
SCMSDC

Marlene Nantell is the Director of Business Development and Community Outreach for the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council, a non-profit organization headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles that provides minority-owned entrepreneurs opportunities to compete for large corporate contracts by providing MBE Certification, as well as professional development programs, relevant workshops and networking events. In addition to helping grow the number of Minority Businesses and Corporate members, her role is to represent the council at various diverse business events and present on the value of certification; cultivate and maintain relationships with entrepreneurs, partnering organizations and Corporate sponsors; create and develop programs and services for MBEs, specifically seeking to build capacity for large contracts; provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to partner and build their businesses through networking; serve as a liaison to the Minority Business Entrepreneur Input Committee (MBEIC), a standing committee of the SCMSDC Board of Directors, and ensure that MBE Certification is in compliance with national guidelines under the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).

Rockette Ewell
Vice President, Community Affairs Manager, Southern California
US Bank

Rockette Ewell is Vice President, Community Affairs Manager, Southern California. In this role, she leads local market efforts in San Diego, Inland Empire and Orange County in support of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance, as well as manages each market’s U.S. Bank Foundation grantmaking, corporate giving and sponsorships. She also helps identify and develop strategic community partnerships that support the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) priorities, offer meaningful opportunities for employee volunteer engagement, and help drive business results. She has over thirty years of experience in the areas of community relationship management, community development and corporate social responsibility.

Rockette is active in the community, currently serving on the boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Diego, NeighborWorks Orange County (where she is vice chair) and the San Diego Museum of Man (where she is secretary of the executive committee). She is also a member of San Diego Community College District’s San Diego Promise Development Committee, and life director (and former board chair) of Shoes and Clothes for Kids (Cleveland, Ohio). In addition, she is U.S. Bank’s representative on the San Diego City-County Reinvestment Task Force and a 2015 graduate of Lead San Diego’s IMPACT program.

A native Texan, she is a graduate of Princeton University, where she majored in Religion. She and her husband reside in north San Diego County. Rockette joined U.S. Bank in June 2014.

Tom Nguyen
WinCorp Solutions

Tom Nguyen, a founding partner, established WinCorp Solutions in 2009; an Irvine, CA family owned
business specializing in recruiting and staffing. The core mission is to fill a major void in the staffing industry
by differentiating with a less commoditized, more analytical and concierge client based approach in acquiring
talent for client companies.Tom holds his MBA from Pepperdine University and Entrepreneurship education from UCLA and Dartmouth. Tom also is devoted to the community and has been past President and also Board of Director of ABAOC
(Asian Business Association of Orange County), and volunteer Scout leader with Boy Scouts of America in
Irvine, CA, serving as Cubmaster, Scoutmaster and Commissioner since 2012.

Ruth Cossio Muniz
Director
Orange County Small Business Development Center

As director of the Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Ruth leads a professional team of business advisors that share their expertise and provide no-charge, 1-on-1, confidential consulting to entrepreneurs throughout the region. In addition, Ruth and her team offer complimentary webinars online for small business owners to train in various aspects of business development that help clients launch and/or improve their business in the marketplace. Under her leadership just this year alone, the Orange County SBDC team has served over 1,200 small business owners, helped clients secure over $5 million in disaster loans from the SBA, and supported over 8,000 jobs. Ruth is a strong advocate of collaborative partnerships and is proud to support the Asian Business Association of Orange County with continued assistance to its membership.

Rose Arevalo
COO
Industrial Listing Services, Inc

Rose Arevalo has extensive corporate business development and strategy expertise. She is COO at Industrial Listing Services, Inc., the organization delivers commercial property data & services. Rose launched the Latin America market expansion for Active Storage among other technology development and management roles.

A strong work ethic intertwines leadership, professionalism and community engagement: Commercial Real Estate Women, ALPFA OC, Latina Golfers Association, National Hispanic Business Woman Association, Pepperdine Alumni, and Women In Technology. Rose holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Marketing from California State University, Fullerton and an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University School of Business and Management.

Roger Cheng
Chief Business Relationship Officer
Meijun, LLC

Roger Cheng, Chief Business Relationship Officer for Meijun, LLC, is responsible for global business development and sales leveraging Supplier Diversity as a key strategy. Roger also oversees strategic partnerships with key OEMs and solution providers.

Roger, also known as “the Voice,” has served as emcee or VOG for a number of organizations, including NMSDC, WBENC and their respective Regional Councils, Fortune 500 companies such as Toyota and Honda, and multiple culture Chambers of Commerce. In 2017, Roger was recognized as the #Hes4Shes Champion at the WBENC National Conference.

Roz Huang
President, Dandelion Global, LLC
CEO /Co-Founder of Athena Music & Wellness Therapy, LLC

Roz Huang is the President of Dandelion Global, LLC, CEO /Co-Founder of Athena Music & Wellness Therapy, LLC, a mental wellness solutions provider through music wellness therapy.

Roz Huang is an accomplished global Business expert with 20+years of success in global investment/business development, She has an exceptional record with global vision, strategy and execution excellence, key partnership in cross-border market-entry consulting, Investor relations，women leadership between the U.S and China/Asia Pacific in healthcare/wellness, education, and technology.

Member of Board of Directors to Alzheimer’s Association Orange County.
Member of Board of Directors to AppTech, Corp.
Member of Advisory Board of directors to Intivahealth, Inc.

She is also the founder / Chairwoman of International Music & Wellness Council, a 501 ( C ) (3) organization. Ms. Huang’s past awards include multiple recognitions by the Women Breaking Barriers Award at the 2019 Women of Influence Awards in Orange County.

Brittany Tran
The Good Hause

Brittany Tran is a visionary creative, marketer, growth expert and producer. Her career spans television and film, digital marketing, emotional marketing, and product creative. She’s known for becoming deeply embedded in clients’ businesses, and leading with heart, brains and analytics. The best part: she cares about her clients – sincerely and deeply. Their success is her success.

Brittany has a track record of delivering rapid growth. Through Good Hause, Brittany seeks to reinvent and build upon her earlier success, with an exclusive focus on female-led businesses and forward-thinking brands.