Castro, Victoria – Board Member – Vice-Chair

Board Term of Office – 05/22/2027 – LAAAEBoardmembers@laaae.org 

Los Angeles educator and activist Victoria Castro was born and raised in Boyle Heights. After graduating from Roosevelt High School, she attended California State University, Los Angeles, and earned her teaching credential from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her master’s degree from Pepperdine University. During her college years, she was active in community and college organizations seeking equality, fair representation, and an increase in college attendance for Latinos. She worked in an array of educational posts that ranged from teaching math to administration. In 1986, she assumed her first position as a school principal at Belvedere Junior High in East Los Angeles. In 1993, Castro was elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education. As a member of the Board, Castro worked tirelessly to improve the school system. In 2001, after eight years on the Board (including one year as president), she returned to school administration as the principal of Hollenbeck Middle School, the junior high she attended. Castro retired from Hollenbeck and LAUSD in 2006. She continues serving on several community-based board of directors. Her activism, dedication, and leadership continue to contribute to community empowerment and educational reform and inspire those who follow in her footsteps.

Colop, Astrid – Board Member – Secretary

Board Term of Office – 09/23/2027 – LAAAEBoardmembers@laaae.org 

Astrid Colop (She/Her/Ella) is a passionate educator and advocate for educational equity. With a Psychology degree from UCLA and several years of experience in K–16 education and community engagement, she has led initiatives that expand access and retention for first-generation students of diverse backgrounds. Drawing on her own experience as a first-generation Central American student from a mixed-status family, Astrid builds collaborative campus partnerships at UCLA and creates inclusive, holistic support systems.

Esparza, Moctesuma – Board Member – Chair

Board Term of Office – 06/19/2026 – LAAAEBoardmembers@laaae.org 

The dream and vision for LAAAE comes from founding board member Moctesuma Esparza. He is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, entertainment executive and entrepreneur, and is well known for his contributions to the movie industry and commitment to creating opportunities for Latinos in entertainment. As a partner in the highly successful Esparza-Katz Productions with Robert Katz, he has worked with stars such as Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Andy Garcia, Jimmy Smits, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Halle Berry. Esparza most recently founded Maya Entertainment, a vertically integrated production, acquisition and distribution company. It is the only Latino owned and managed production/distribution/exhibition entity in the United States, dedicated to the growing U.S. Latino market. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Esparza received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master in Fine Arts in Theatre Arts, Motion Pictures and Television, from University of California, Los Angeles, and from the onset of his career dedicated himself to empowering and transforming the images of Latinos in Hollywood. Esparza has received numerous awards and honors including being named one of the 50 “Most Powerful and Influential Latinos” of 2008 by The Imagen Foundation, recipient of the 2013 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award, an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, an Emmy award, a Clio award, Alma Award and a Cine Golden Eagle award.

Padron, Otto –  Board Member

Board Term of Office – 06/25/2026 – LAAAEBoardmembers@laaae.org 

Otto is President and COO of Meruelo Media Holding. Before joining the Meruelo Media team, Otto was Senior Vice President for Univision Television Network, the leading Spanish language Network in the US. Otto is the only executive to successfully have headed programming for both major US Spanish language networks, Univision and Telemundo. His unique media background brings a rich perspective and matchless insight of the Hispanic viewer profile, content and cultural preferences to any project. As a shaping member of these powerhouse brands, Otto skillfully blended solution-based ideas with a value-oriented management style driven by bottom-line results. During his 20+ year tenure programming these competitive networks, Otto developed a keen understanding of relevant entertainment formats and has established a reputation for delivering winning results through production excellence and flawless execution.

Soberanes, Enrique – Board Member

Board Term of Office – 12/15/2029 – LAAAEBoardmembers@laaae.org

Mendivil, Miguel – Board Member

Board Term of Office – 04/22/2029 – LAAAEBoardmembers@laaae.org 

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The Board of Directors is appreciative and recognizes the service of former board members who include: