Meet Our Newest Board Members
Welcome to our newest members of the Breathe Board of Directors! With the start of July 2020, we welcome four new members to our passionate Board of Directors: Samantha Hoshida, Mia Lopez, Dean O’Brien and Chris Flores.
Samantha Hoshida has over 12 years of experience in community engagement and staff management, more than four years in marketing, publicity and social media, and a lifetime of passion for community development. She is dedicated to cultivating non-profit relationships in her work.
In 2019, Samantha became the Leadership Sacramento Alumni Chair. She has also served on the Board of Directors at the Rotary Club of Point West since 2015. In 2002, Samantha received the Gold Award while working for the Girl Scouts of America, the highest award achievable from the Girl Scouts. Currently, Samantha is a Program Developer for City of Sacramento, a career she’s been proud to be working in for over 16 years.
Mia Lopez Mia Lopez is passionate about supporting organizations and causes that are committed to improving our community in a diverse range of sectors, including environmental, public safety, education, community engagement, entrepreneurship and business.
Mia is currently the Marketing Diretor at Uptown Studios, Inc., where she works with her clients to help solve their communications challenges by creating the framework for projects and leading them to completion. She has a strong focus in developing strategic marketing efforts in addition to her work as a Human-Centered Design facilitator and project manager.
Dean O’Brien is a native to West Sacramento, and currently lives in Midtown, Sacramento. Dean is a cycling advocate, bike commuter, and avid road cyclist, riding more than 10,000 miles a year. Dean’s connection to Breathe started through the Bike Trek – he’s been a proud member of Team VeloCity for several years. He even became the unforgettable highlight in 2018 when he biked from Sacramento to Petaluma to get to the event!
With a professional background in business, Dean has 17 years of experience in commercial lending, financial analysis, risk management, and real estate development. He has worked in both the private and public sectors and is currently the Health Construction Finance Officer at the Cal-Mortgage Loan Insurance Program, where he focuses on healthcare facility development financing.
Dean has demonstrated a passion and commitment to the Sacramento community through his leadership and involvement with: the American River Parkway Foundation (Immediate past President and Ride the Parkway Chair), Urban Land Institute Sacramento District Council (Mentorship Program Chair), Cool Projects Bike Tour (Co-Founder), Drexel University Sacramento Alumni Network (Founder and Past President), and Amateur Athletic Union youth basketball (Volunteer Coach for the Sacramento Scorpions).
Chris Flores has worked as the Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer/General Manager at Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) since 2017. Chris assists and serves the General Manager on a daily basis by providing executive level management oversight and strategic direction to assigned projects, programs, administrative matters, and special assignments. He also oversees SacRT’s Government Affairs Department, providing supervision to SacRT’s legislative portfolio.
Prior to joining SacRT, Chris was a Senior Field Representative and Policy Advisor in Congresswoman Doris Matsui’s office where he provided assistance on matters related to transportation, the environment, energy, small businesses, labor and more.
He holds a BA in Political Science and Communications from the University of California, Davis. Chris lives in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Sacramento with his wife Kellie, his newborn son Ryan and his dog Mason.
“I am excited to join the Breathe Board to further the organization’s mission, help improve air quality and to promote our regional public transit network.”
Chris Flores
We cannot wait to work with our newest Board members and continue to work toward a clean air future in the Capital Region with the entire Breathe Board of Directors, staff and supporters!