Alison De Lucca

Executive Director

As the Executive Director of SoCal CAN, Alison works with 120+ organizations to expand college access and completion for low-income students in the region. The network plays an important role in the field by bringing together direct service organizations to exchange effective practices, address existing service gaps, and weigh in on policies and practices that support students’ ability to reach their goal of college graduation. Alison has worked on social change issues in both the United States and Central America for more than 25 years in the women’s, environmental, and immigrant rights fields. Prior to joining SoCal CAN, she served as Program Officer for the Los Angeles Immigrant Funders’ Collaborative, Program Director for Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), Campaign Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International, and Women’s Micro-enterprise Developer for the Costa Rican Ecologist Association.  Alison graduated from University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a B.A. in International Development and received her M.A. in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA ). She is serving on the board of the National College Attainment Network and has been a fellow with the Dr. Beatriz María Solís Policy Institute, the California Education Policy Fellowship and Southern California Leadership Network. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

 Lina Calderón-Morin

Deputy Director 

Lina is a native of Los Angeles, born and raised in East LA and Pasadena, CA. She is passionate about community wellness, education equity, and all things college access and success. Informed by her personal experiences as a first generation college student and her years spent providing direct support and counseling to diverse communities, Lina is continually motivated by the belief that postsecondary education should be a viable option for everyone. As Deputy Director of the Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCal CAN), she serves as an executive leader dedicated to SoCal CAN’s organizational development, sustainability, and strategic growth. In her role, she also strives to amplify the network’s mission of ‘advancing education equity for all’ by building and deepening partnerships, cultivating connections & resources, developing impactful programming, and identifying opportunities for cross-sector collaborations on behalf of our 118+ member organizations.

Since 2010, Lina has partnered closely with public school districts, postsecondary institutions, community-based organizations, and federal and state agencies to design, implement and scale holistic, community and student-centered initiatives. Prior to her role at SoCal CAN, Lina worked at Occidental College as the Assistant Director of Student and Community Engagement and helped institutionalize, expand, and deepen Oxy’s community engaged learning and service opportunities. Before her time at Oxy, Lina worked with multiple community organizations, including College Access Plan, Learning Works and Homeboy Industries where she oversaw the development, operation, and success of nearly a dozen college access programs serving thousands of students across Los Angeles County.

Lina was selected as a Leading for Equity Fellow by the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) in 2022 and has served on numerous committees focused on improving support for BIPOC, first-generation, and low-income students in partnership with Occidental College, California Student Aid Commission, California Community Foundation, and LAUSD. She earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California where she focused on Public Health and Military Social Work & Veterans Services, and a BA in Sociology from the University of San Francisco. Connect with Lina on LinkedIn 

Marcos Montes

Policy Director & Let’s Go Program Manager  

Marcos manages SoCal CAN’s policy agenda, Changemakers student advocacy fellowship, and Let’s Go To College CA. He graduated in 2018 from Cal State LA with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Law and Society. He is the first in his family to graduate from a university and a proud product of college success programs. Marcos brings a wealth of knowledge around student engagement and student advocacy. He served two years as an executive member Cal State LA’s student government and one year as Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Cal State Student Association (CSSA). During his time as a student, he was very passionate about improving college affordability, increasing civic engagement, and supporting undocumented students. He received numerous awards commending his work as a student leader including 2017 CSSA Student Advocate of the Year and a State Resolution from the CA Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in May 2018. Marcos has years of legislative experience, student advocacy, and institutional change. Connect With Marcos on LinkedIn.

Niña Abonal 

Project SOAR Program Director

Niña graduated from Loyola Marymount University with her Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in General Education. She has dedicated over a decade working for educational non-profit organizations focused on providing enrichment opportunities to youth ages 6-18 years old and developing impactful programs for young adults centered on college access and early career development. Her work with students has fostered a deep and passionate fervor for empowering students to succeed and serving her community by continually seeking innovative ways to improve the quality of and access to educational opportunities and resources for all students. As the Project SOAR Program Director, she leads Project SOAR and oversees and supports the SOAR counseling team as they support and guide residents in public housing to achieve their post-secondary goals, develops programs and partnerships, and works to expand the program’s reach across public housing sites throughout Greater Los Angeles. Connect with Niña on LinkedIn.

Jason Vazquez

Policy & Development Associate

Jason is a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from the University of California Berkeley. During college, Jason studied abroad twice and spent a semester in Washington D.C. interning at the United States Trade Representative. Prior to joining SoCal CAN, he was the advocacy intern at the Urban Foundation where he collaborated with college access partners to advance several federal and state policy priorities focused on education equity. This past summer, Jason served as Public Policy Intern with the Lumina Foundation. Now, he’s working with the SoCal CAN team to advance our policy agenda. Jason is passionate about improving access to economic mobility through education because he understands the magnified impact it can have on a person’s long-term success. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Natalie Rios Santiago

Project SOAR Education Navigator 

Tania Torres

Project SOAR Education Navigator 

Alejandra Leon

Project SOAR Education Navigator 

Benedict Lopez Joson

Executive Administrative Assistant

Ben is a queer Filipino immigrant, community organizer, and operations professional.  Ben’s work in the social sector is inspired by his experience growing up in New York and receiving both a private and public education in the nation’s most segregated system. He is deeply committed to the belief that all people should receive an inclusive, equitable, quality education, regardless of who they are and where they are born. As a recent transplant from Queens and a new resident of South Pasadena, Ben is actively engaged in local, national, and global efforts to nurture community and advance justice. Ben joined SoCal CAN in spring 2023 as our first ever Executive Administrative Assistant and provides invaluable support to the SoCal CAN leadership team on administrative projects critical to organizational development and coalition-building. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn.