Board of Directors
Bishop L.J. Guillory
Board Chair
Compton Public Safety Commissioner and Ombudsman General to both National Ombudsman and Ombudsman International, Inc.
Bishop L.J. Guillory - Bishop is Ombudsman General to both National Ombudsman and Ombudsman International, Inc., which are 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations that act as Government Oversight Agencies to investigate complaints of corruption by public employees as well as government agents and contractors., as a Unitarian Minister, his lifetime experience crosses national, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. In 2023, Bishop was appointed to the Compton Public Safety Commission by the Mayor and City Council, currently serving as Chairman of that Commission.
Alen Amini
Board Vice Chair
Project Leader at Boston Consulting
Group (BCG) & Atlantic Council
Millennium Fellow
Alen Amini is a 2022 Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership fellow and a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. He was born in Ohio and was later a math teacher and vice principal in Arkansas; he has experience running a rug business and a food truck. Alen has a passion for geopolitics and is a Council on Foreign Relations term member, is a Presidential Leadership scholar, and was a Fulbright scholar. Alen is an alumnus of Harvard University (where he was a Center for Public Leadership fellow), earned his MBA at Dartmouth College, and earned a computer science degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ray Hollans-Everette
Board Treasurer
Vice President Community Manager,
JP Morgan Chase
Ray Hollans is a Community Manager within Contra Costa County for Community & Business Development at Chase Bank. He serves as a local ambassador whose job is to build and nurture relationships with key community leaders, nonprofit partners, and small businesses at the neighborhood level. Ray hosts financial health workshops, facilitates non-profit partnerships and offers community programming. With over 13 years of experience within the financial service industry, he is helping to advance racial equity by supporting Black and Hispanic communities with tools and resources to help them improve their financial wellbeing.
Dr. Brett Lane
Board Secretary
Chief Marketing Officer,
SEO Outsourcing
Brett Lane is a CMO with over 20 years of Digital Marketing experience. He specializes in various digital marketing strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, PPC, Video, and Content Marketing utilizing AI (GPT4), and social/viral link building. His primary focus is assisting large companies, and Fortune 500 businesses develop their digital marketing activities and strategies to achieve growth. Brett has extensive experience as a CMO and has previously worked with hundreds of companies. His comprehensive approach to digital marketing has resulted in remarkable success with various brands across multiple industries.
JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist
Board Member
Executive Director, ACLU of Alabama
JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama, a nonprofit committed to preserving and protecting the civil liberties and civil rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. She joined the ACLU of Alabama in 2015 before being selected as the organization's first Black woman to serve as executive director in August 2020. While centering statewide initiatives in Alabama around voting rights, criminal legal reform, and gender justice, JaTaune has also been instrumental in developing nationwide priorities as the visionary and co-creator of the ACLU’s Southern Collective, focused on collaboration and power building among the ACLU’s 12 affiliates based in the South. An advocate for community building, leadership development, and equity-focused initiatives, she is a TEDx speaker and serves as the vice chair for Renascence House, a Montgomery-based re-entry program.
Royal Ramey
Chief Executive Officer &
Co-Founder
Royal Ramey is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FFRP. As the CEO, Royal is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and delivery of the strategic plan of the organization. Royal leads FFRP's fundraising, marketing, and outreach efforts.
Royal grew up in San Fernando Valley, CA, and met FFRP Co-Founder, Brandon Smith, while incarcerated at the Bautista Adult Conservation ("Fire") Camp in Riverside County. After his release, Royal spent eleven months pursuing a professional career in fire. Despite the extensive barriers, Royal finally received an opportunity to join the Mojave Greens (US Forest Service) crew in San Bernardino, CA.
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Royal spent more than ten years as a wildland firefighter in the US Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and continues to engage in wildfire prevention and suppression efforts with the Buffalo Handcrew -FFRP's employment social enterprise. He is intensely aware of what is needed to train individuals to excel at an advanced level within the forestry and fire sector. Royal co-founded FFRP to help create this comprehensive pathway for individuals just like him that are coming home from prison, and are seeking opportunities to be a professional firefighter.
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In 2022, Royal received a Pardon from Governor Newsom on behalf of the State of California. He is a 2023 Obama Leaders USA Program Participant & 2024 TED Fellow. Royal is currently a member of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice Advisory Council and the Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) Regional Forest & Fire Capacity (RFFC) Regional Priority Plan (RPP) Advisory Committee.
Executive Leadership
Cari Pang Chen
​Chief of Staff
Cari Pang Chen has always focused on helping community organizations and initiatives in achieving their goals in a positive, collaborative, and effective manner. She joined FFRP as a consultant in November 2021 to support the organization's expansion to the Bay Area. After shifting to a permanent role as the Bay Area Director and launching FFRP's first Bay Area Career Training Program in August 2022, she went on to work with Chief Royal Ramey as the Director of Innovation, Strategy, & Planning. Cari added Interim Director of Operations to her role in July 2024 before shifting to a new role as Chief of Staff in September 2025.
Cari has worked with nonprofits, foundations, and local government partners in the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaii for more than 30 years, including leadership roles at Rebuilding Together Peninsula, Thrive - The Alliance for Nonprofits in San Mateo County, and the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University. She is an active community volunteer, currently serving on the Koshland Committee for the San Francisco Foundation, the Board of Thrive - The Alliance for Nonprofits in San Mateo County, the Board of Governors for Stanford Associates, and as a volunteer with the Domini Hoskins Black History Museum & Learning Center. Cari lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and has a BA in Urban Studies and MA in Education - Policy Analysis & Evaluation, both from Stanford University.
Sean Sunahara
​Chief Program Officer
Sean Sunahara is a veteran fire service executive with more than 32 years of public safety, military, and emergency management experience across California and federal systems. He joined FFRP in January 2024 and currently serves as Chief Program Officer, providing executive leadership for workforce development strategy, training operations, interagency coordination, and program compliance.
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Sean’s career spans CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Marine Corps, with extensive experience in wildland fire suppression, hazardous materials response, training center administration, and incident management. He has held leadership roles at every operational level, including Firefighter, Engineer, Captain, Battalion Chief, Assistant Chief, and Director of Fire Training, overseeing large, multi-disciplinary teams, complex training programs, and multi-million-dollar budgets. Throughout his career, Sean has led fire service training initiatives aligned with national and interagency standards, bridging structural and wildland fire training systems. His work includes academy administration, curriculum oversight, instructor development, and performance evaluation, with a consistent focus on regulatory compliance, operational readiness, and workforce pipeline development across CAL FIRE, State Fire Marshal, NWCG, ICS, and OSHA frameworks. Sean holds an Associate of Science degree in Firefighting and is currently completing his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Learning, Innovation, and Development at Southern Illinois University. He is a decorated combat veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Storm and has received multiple professional awards recognizing leadership, service, and instructional excellence.