RICK NOGUCHI, PRESIDENT AND CEO
Rick joined California Humanities as its President and CEO in 2023. Previously, Rick served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles, where he led the strategic direction of the museum and oversaw programs and external relations. Positions at the James Irvine Foundation and California Community Foundation have contributed to his extensive experience in programming, planning, fundraising, management, and strategic grantmaking, while an early professional experience at Arizona Humanities kickstarted a career-long dedication to the public humanities. Rick earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Arizona State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, and serves on the board of the California Association of Museums. He is also a published poet, children’s book author, and avid surfer. 415.391.1474 ext. 302
MARIKA GARCIA, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Marika is based in Marysville, California. Previously, she served as a Development Officer for Sutter County, where she supported fundraising goals for Sutter County Library and the Sutter County Museum. During this time, Marika was selected to participate as part of California Humanities’ 2022 Library Innovation Lab cohort, where she designed and implemented “New Neighbors,” a series of Farsi and English podcasts to engage and share resources for Afghan immigrant women throughout the Yuba-Sutter region. Previous positions also include as a Development Manager with Young Audiences of Northern California, based in San Francisco, and serving as the Executive Director for the Marysville-based arts agency Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture. 415.391.1474 ext. 315
NANCY OLIVARES, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH MANAGER
Nancy is based in Los Angeles, California, where she assists with advocacy efforts on the state and national level and with outreach to communities throughout California. Previously, she served as a public policy fellow at UCLA Pritzker Center for Children & Families, and as a consultant for the ACLU of Southern California’s Education Equity Project. Nancy‘s work with Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis’s office and with The Children’s Partnership nonprofit have also contributed to her deep experience with advocacy and community outreach work. She received her master’s in Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and grew up in East Los Angeles. 415.391.1474 ext. 305
ZURIEL ORTIZ, BOARD AND EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR
Zuriel is based in Riverside, where he assists the President and CEO with the coordination of Board of Directors affairs and executive administration. Previously, he served as the Marketing and Communications Assistant at Californians for the Arts, and as an Archival Intern at Claremont Graduate University. He has an MA in Arts Management and an MA in Archival Studies from Claremont Graduate University, and a BA in Art History from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2022, Zuriel worked with Dr. Romeo Guzmán, an Assistant Professor of History at Claremont Graduate University, on the California Humanities-supported public history and archive project, East of East: Mapping Community Narratives in South El Monte and El Monte. Zuriel enjoys reading, watching horror films, weight training, and visiting museums. 415.391.1474
BETH SEGURA, OPERATIONS COORDINATOR
Beth joined California Humanities in 2021, after working several years in public education administration and operations. She has lived across the state of California her entire life: in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, along the coast in Santa Barbara, in the desert of San Diego county, and in the urban San Francisco Bay Area. She has a background in visual and performing arts and is thrilled to support the valuable work of humanities-based programs across the state. In her spare time, Beth enjoys sitting in coffee shops (ideally with a cat in her lap), dancing, and getting lost in a variety of art, literature, and music. 415.391.1474 ext. 312
KERRI YOUNG, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Kerri joined California Humanities in 2023 as the Communications Manager. Born and raised in San Francisco, Kerri has a background in public history and promoting community-based programs within the cultural heritage sector. Before joining the organization, Kerri led communications and managed neighborhood programs at preservation organization San Francisco Heritage. She also led the standards-aligned Teaching California project at the California Historical Society, which spotlighted the state’s rich archival resources. Kerri holds an MA in Public History from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a BA in History from the University of California, Berkeley. Kerri’s passion is for community history and she has enjoyed working with several San Francisco Bay Area history-based organizations over the years. 415.391.1474 ext. 303
