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Our Team
Staff
Rita Casaverde - Executive Director
ed@diversityslo.org
Rita Casaverde was born and raised in Lima, Peru and moved to California in 2012. In Peru, Rita received the Green Youth award by the United Nations. This award recognized her conservation work with communities in the Andes of Peru where she helped protect an endemic forest and multiple watersheds.
After moving to California, Rita had the opportunity to build a career in the Tech industry as a Product Manager, but after eight years working for local tech companies, she decided to join the office of Congressman Salud Carbajal to streamline her passions. In 2020, Rita and other community leaders helped found SLO County UndocuSupport with the goal of financially supporting immigrant families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rita joined the Diversity Coalition as Executive Director in 2022.
Board of Directors
Cornel N. Morton - Board President
Cornel N. Morton, Ph.D. is Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Vice President for Student Affairs, Emeritus. He has served as a consultant to public and private organizations in areas including diversity awareness, student success, inclusivity, strategic planning, team building and conflict mediation.
His community service includes membership on the French Hospital Community Board, Board Member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Committee and Life Long Learners of the Central Coast Advisory Board. Cornel and his wife Regena live in San Luis Obispo County.
Kristina Forrester - Treasurer
Kristina is the Chief Financial Officer for Lumina Alliance and brings a people-first approach to financial leadership, shaped by her experience working her way up through the finance world outside traditional pathways. Describing herself as “not your average CFO,” she is passionate about community impact, representation, and creating spaces where people feel supported and seen. She believes that if we are not part of the solution, we become part of the problem.
Kristina serves on the LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health Campaign Advisory Panel, is a member of the Lumina Alliance DEI Committee, and is committed to lifelong learning, equity, and supporting communities often left out of decision-making spaces. She values using both her professional expertise and lived experience to help build stronger, more inclusive organizations and communities.
Michael Boyer - Founding Director
Michael Boyer has been a business and community leader in San Luis Obispo County for more than 20 years, with involvement in businesses including Epic Entertainment, Doc Burnstein’s, and Pismo Beach Homes. He currently serves as CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast, supporting youth and families across the Central Coast through programs focused on academic success, healthy lifestyles, and leadership development.
Michael has served on numerous local boards and committees, including the Lumina Alliance, Cuesta College Foundation, Leadership SLO, Rotary District 5240, and the City of San Luis Obispo Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force. He has been recognized by both the Pacific Coast Business Times and The Tribune for his leadership and commitment to community impact.
Kathleen Minck - Director
Chair of Education Committee
Kathleen taught at the Lucia Mar school district for 32 years. Promoting an acceptance of diversity and teaching about our different cultural experiences were always passions of hers. She sat on her district’s Wellness Committee and was her school’s Bully Prevention Coordinator. CTA (Cal. Teachers Association) awarded her their Peace and Justice Human Rights award for the work she did at her school and throughout her district, partnering with the Canadian organization, Free the Children, and Heifer International, among others. She continued her passion in her travels as well, helping to build a school in Kenya, studying health and education concerns with Witness for Peace and SOA Watch in Venezuela, Cuba and the Philippines, and doing a Habitat for Humanity build in Thailand. As an advocate for unions, she was her school’s LMUTA union rep and sat on their board, and was the Human Rights contact person for CTA’s local service center. She was also elected to CTA’s State Council, sitting on the Civil Rights in Education committee, and to the NEA National Assembly. She truly believes that public education, both here and around the world, is the key to a peaceful future for our children and grandchildren.
Kathleen retired from teaching in 2015 and currently volunteers for Wilshire Hospice, Human Rights Watch, and SLO4Home (resettling Afghan, Syrian, and Ukranian refugees in our county). She has 3 grown children, 3 beautiful granddaughters, and a great-grandson, and resides in Arroyo Grande.
Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth - Director
Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth is the Tourism & Community Promotions Manager for the City of San Luis Obispo. Prior to joining the City team in March 2023, Jacqui was the Director of Communications at the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. During her nearly five-year tenure at the SLO Chamber, she oversaw all internal and external communications, programming for events like Good Morning SLO and the Annual Dinner, and supported the successful launch of impactful programs including Family-Friendly Workplaces.
Before coming to the Central Coast, Jacqui worked in sales management leading teams up to 100 people, both during and after graduating from California State University San Marcos with a degree in Mass Media Communications. As part of the Office of Economic Development & Tourism, Jacqui’s role is to facilitate the Community Promotions program to enhance the quality of the San Luis Obispo experience for both visitors and residents alike. Jacqui serves as the staff liaison to the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC), managing the daily operations for both highly visible and significant programs for the City of SLO.
Outside of work, Jacqui loves reading, creating, exploring new places, and spending time with her husband, toddler son, dog and their friends - preferably outside. You can usually find her in the garden, climbing a local peak, or enjoying local libations in the sunshine.
Rick Mayfield - Director
Rick Mayfield joins the Diversity Coalition Board of Directors with 37 year career in public education. Rick Mayfield moved to San Luis Obispo after graduating from high school in 1979, originally dreaming of starting his own business. While that path didn’t unfold as planned, it led him toward a deeply rewarding career in education. After re-entering school at Cuesta College, Rick spent six months in South America learning Spanish before earning a degree in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara.
His passion for teaching and global service took him abroad with the Peace Corps in Belize, where he trained teachers, followed by a position on Los Angeles’ Skid Row at 9th Street Elementary. He then spent three years teaching in Namibia, gaining a wealth of cross-cultural experience. When Rick returned to San Luis Obispo in 1996, he began teaching second grade at Pacheco Elementary, where he helped establish the school’s innovative two-way language immersion program.
Rick has worked on social justice issues across his different roles, including being Principal at the local Pacheco Elementary. Rick led the DEI initiative of the San Luis Coastal School Unified School District for 5 years. His work spans across the CA Central Coast and has always prioritized student success.
Alison Yeh Cheung - Director
Dr. Alison Yeh Cheung is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies Department at California Polytechnic State University, where her teaching and research focus on rhetorics of race, critical media studies, and Asian American rhetoric. She received her PhD from the University of Utah in 2021 and joined Cal Poly in 2022 as part of a faculty cohort focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching and research.
Originally from Los Angeles, Alison’s work explores race and ethnicity in popular culture, with a focus on Asian American cultural production and transnational identities. She serves in several DEI-focused leadership roles at Cal Poly, including the AANHPI Advisory Committee, the United States Cultural Pluralism Review Committee, and as cochair of the Communication Studies Diversity and Inclusivity Committee. She is also involved in mentorship and student support initiatives for underrepresented students and student organizations on campus.
Alison is passionate about educational programming, coalition building, and supporting equity and social justice efforts across the broader San Luis Obispo County community.