Insider: Kicking Off a New School Year with Opportunities
Looking Back at the 2025-2026 School Year
There is something about the start of a new school year that always fills me with hope. New classrooms, new relationships, and, most importantly, new opportunities for young people to discover something about themselves they may not have known before.
This summer, I had the privilege of seeing so many of those moments firsthand. I watched students step into their first professional experiences through the EXP Internship Program—some nervous and unsure of what to expect—and come away more confident in themselves and what they are capable of. I saw our alumni return to EXP, reconnect with one another, and remind us that the relationships we build with our students can extend far beyond high school.
These are the moments that stay with me. Because behind every number we report and every program we celebrate is a young person beginning to see a future they may not have imagined for themselves before.
As we begin this new school year, we are also entering an important new chapter for EXP with Unlocking Tomorrow 2030, our newly adopted strategic plan. At its heart is a simple promise: to continue opening doors for young people and ensure they have the experiences, relationships, and opportunities they need to step confidently into tomorrow’s workforce.
We cannot do this work alone. Every internship offered, every classroom visited, every introduction made, every hour volunteered, and every dollar invested represents someone choosing to believe in the potential of a young person.
To everyone who makes those moments possible—thank you. Your belief in our students is what turns possibility into opportunity, and I am so grateful to have you alongside us as we begin another year.
With gratitude,
Mary Tran
CEO
Meet Our New Executive Board Members
We’re excited to welcome new leaders to the EXP Executive Board! Each brings a wealth of professional experience, community commitment, and a passion for expanding opportunities for young people.
Please join us in welcoming our newest Executive Board members and learning more about the experience and perspective they bring to the EXP family.
Chris Green, Chair | Technical Services Manager, Marathon Petroleum Los Angeles Refinery
Daniella Ruiz, Vice Chair | Cargo Marketing Manager, Port of Los Angeles
Joseph Hower, Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair | Project Officer & Vice-President - Mechanical Engineering, Ramboll Americas Integrated
Michelle Quevedo-Penn, Secretary and Fundraising Committee Chair | Vice President, Branch Manager, Poppy Bank
Michael Leue, Member at Large | CEO, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority
Patrick Wilson, Member at Large | Founder, Fast Lane Transportation
Dr. Adriene “Lexy” Davis
Welcome New Board Member
Dr. Adriene "Lexy" Davis
CEO/President, Intermediary Development Corporation
EXP is proud to welcome Dr. Davis to our Board of Directors!
A workforce intermediary, strategist, nonprofit executive, and higher education leader, Dr. Davis brings more than 20 years of experience advancing educational equity, workforce innovation, and economic mobility across California. She is the Founder and CEO of Intermediary Development Corporation (IDC), a nonprofit focused on workforce systems alignment, career pathway expansion, strategic partnerships, and ecosystem development. She also serves as Executive Director of the Southern California Apprenticeship Network and has held leadership roles spanning higher education, workforce development, and regional career education.
Dr. Davis’ deep experience connecting education, employers, workforce systems, and community organizations makes her a natural fit for EXP’s mission of connecting young people to meaningful careers. She is especially passionate about expanding access to internships, apprenticeships, mentorship, and career pathways for students who have historically faced barriers to opportunity.
Your Gift Can Go Twice as Far at Long Beach Gives - September 24
EXP’s Executive Board members are coming together to provide a collective $8,000 matching gift for Long Beach Gives, challenging our EXP community to join them in investing in the futures of young people.
On Thursday, September 24, every dollar donated to EXP will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $8,000, doubling the impact of your generosity and helping us create even more opportunities for students to explore careers, gain real-world experience, and build the confidence and connections to shape their futures.
Our Executive Board is leading the way with their own personal commitment to EXP’s mission. Now, they’re inviting our entire EXP family—partners, alumni, volunteers, friends, and supporters—to join them and help us unlock the full $8,000 match.
Together, let’s make this our biggest Long Beach Gives yet!
Want to help? It’s easy:
Save the donation page and be ready to give as early as Thursday, September 17!
Make your gift and double your impact. Every dollar will be matched, up to $10,000.
Spread the word and invite others to join you! Share our Long Beach Gives campaign and why you believe in EXP with your friends, family, and colleagues. Help us reach even more people who believe in opening doors for young people.
Visit EXP at Long Beach Gives LIVE Expo and Festival on Sunday, September 20, 2-5 p.m. at the Shell at Rec Park. Come meet the EXP team and other Long Beach nonprofits and enjoy an afternoon of music and performances, featuring the CSULB Concert Jazz Orchestra.
GPS Your Future® - October 29 at CSUDH
97% of the students we serve participated in EXP career exploration programs like GPS Your Future® Career Discovery Day. Will you help 400+ students discover their career passion?
The 16th annual GPS Your Future is taking place on Thursday, October 29, at CSU Dominguez Hills. This career discovery day showcases high-growth industries and introduces high school students to career paths. The program includes guest speakers, breakout career panels, and an interactive career discovery expo.
Sponsorship opportunities are now available. Please contact Mary at marytran@expfuture.org for more details.
Celebrating Our 2026 Internship Program Cohort
We wrapped up another incredible EXP Internship Program with a full house for our Internship Culmination celebration on August 7 at Los Angeles Harbor College! Students, families, internship host sites, and community partners came together to celebrate a summer of learning, growth, and real-world experience.
Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner Lee Williams helped set the tone for the celebration, recognizing the importance of giving young people meaningful opportunities to explore their futures.
We also celebrated some very special honorees, including Collab CDC, our Internship Host Site of the Year, for going above and beyond in supporting EXP interns, as well as our five Outstanding Interns of the Year for their exceptional work, growth, and dedication.
Angelo “Ace” Edmund, Gardena High School | Pizza Parlor
Payton Funk, San Pedro High School | Children’s Dental Health Clinic
Alejandro Orantes, Tustin High School | SPEC Services
Emma Ruano, Sato Academy of Math & Science | Yusen Terminals
Theodore Wong, Legacy Magnet Academy | Management Cue
Investing in His Potential: Theo's Story
For Theo, applying to the EXP Internship Program meant competing with more than 100 applicants for an opportunity to gain real-world experience. Living with cerebral palsy, he knows that people may sometimes notice the challenges he faces before they recognize what he is capable of. But EXP and the team at his internship host site, Management Cues, saw something different: his determination, curiosity, professionalism, and potential.
That belief became the foundation of a transformative summer internship at Management Cues, a company that develops stronger leaders through neuroscience-informed training, workshops, diagnostics, and performance analytics. Theo took on meaningful business development work, building an ideal client profile, analyzing target industries, researching prospective clients, and creating outreach materials. Through coffee chats and conversations with professionals, he learned that business is built not only on strategy but also on relationships and listening.
The internship was more than a chance to gain professional skills—it was an opportunity to prove what Theo could do when someone was willing to see beyond his disability.
"Thank you, EXP, for creating opportunities for my fellow interns and me that change our futures," said Theo in his speech at Culmination. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you for seeing beyond my disability, believing in my ability, and allowing me to prove what I can do."
Through EXP, Theo didn’t just gain an internship; he gained confidence, experience, and a powerful reminder that the right opportunity can help anyone see their potential in a new way.
Thank you, Program Partner
Your Support in Action
Summer may be winding down, but the impact is still going strong. Here’s a look at what your support helped make possible over the past few months.
Career EXPedition: Cal Maritime
Thanks to program sponsor Port of Los Angeles, twenty EXP students—9 girls and 11 boys—headed to Cal Poly Maritime Academy for our latest Career EXPedition in July. Students got an inside look at maritime education and careers while exploring what it could look like to build their futures in one of Southern California’s most important industries.
For many students, career exploration starts with simply seeing what’s out there. Experiences like Career EXPedition help turn “I never knew this was an option” into “Maybe this could be for me.”
EXP Alumni Network Summer Mixer
Our EXP Alumni Network came together for a summer mixer filled with good conversations, new connections, and plenty of catching up at Warehouse 9 in San Pedro on July 29. (Special thanks to San Pedro's favorite Big Nick's Pizza for our dinner.)
It was great to see so many alumni reconnect with EXP and with one another, and to watch new relationships form across different generations of the EXP community. A few Carson HS alums went on to win the trivia contest that night and donated the prize back to the EXP Alumni Network. Colt Love, indeed!
The journey doesn’t end when an internship or program does. Our alumni remain an important part of the EXP family, and we’re excited to keep creating opportunities for them to connect, network, and grow together.
EXP/ITEP alums! Let's stay in touch! Sign up for our emails here or join our Facebook group here.
Upcoming Events
September 17: Early giving begins for Long Beach Gives!
September 20: Long Beach Gives LIVE Expo and Festival. 2-5 p.m. at the Shell at Rec Park.
September 24: Long Beach Gives
October 29: GPS Your Future® Career Discovery Day at CSU Dominguez Hills. Sponsorship opportunities are available now. Contact Mary at marytran@expfuture.org.