Board Member Bios

Board of Directors

Angela Padilla - President

Angela Padilla is a passionate mental health advocate. Angela's commitment is rooted in her personal experience with mental health. For nearly forty years, Angela's mother has lived with bipolar and schizoaffective disorders. As a result, Angela became an avid consumer of mental health information at a young age, which motivated her to earn a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Master's in Public Administration (MPA) with a focus on Health Administration. She learned that even in the age of the internet, accurate and reliable mental health information could be difficult for consumers to find.


As part of her advocacy, Angela publicly shares her unique perspectives and experiences with a diverse range of audiences by speaking at schools, to community organizations, and at special events. Before establishing FundaMental Change, Angela worked as an Assistant Vice President/LR Manager for Bank of America.


Angela was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. She graduated from Canoga Park High School, earned an Associate's degree from Los Angeles Pierce College and both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from California State University Northridge. Angela lives in the San Fernando Valley with her husband and their three children.


Carol Alvarado-Velasquez - Secretary

Carol Alvarado-Velasquez has been in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry for 15 years.  She joined Amgen in 2003 in Global Development Operations.  During her time at Amgen, Carol has held various roles of increasing responsibility in Clinical Trial Operations as well as Scientific Communication within Research & Development.  Carol brings significant project management and strategic planning experience, as well as cross-functional expertise.


Carol was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley.  She attended local public schools and earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from California State University Northridge.


Carol spends her free time with her family, her husband Juan and her two children, Mateo and Camila.


Xavier Velazquez - Treasurer

Xavier Angel Velazquez is a Systems & Resources Engineer at Sony Pictures Imageworks. His movie credits include Ghost Rider, I Am Legend, Hotel Transylvania 1, 2 & 3, Angry Birds 2, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.


Xavier was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. Xavier attended public schools in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and graduated from San Fernando High School. He earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studied music at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, and earned a M.A. degree in Multimedia from California State University, East Bay. 


Xavier’s diverse professional experience includes working as a non-profit fiscal manager, a manufacturing engineer, an elementary school teacher, and a Mexican folk musician. He and his wife, Dorothy, are raising their daughter and son in the San Fernando Valley.

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