Board of Directors

Thanh phaM
chairman

Thanh Pham, CPA serves as California International Bank’s President. Mr. Pham responsibilities range from managing credit risk, daily bank operations and leading business development activities including overseeing compliance matters.

Pablo Ocasio
vice-chairman

Pablo Ocasio is a Managing Director at Corporate Finance Associates. A military veteran, Mr. Ocasio has honed his civilian/military aviation skills over the past 30 years with stints at Goodrich, Honeywell Systems and Lockheed Martin as a management professional.

Cassaundra Johnson
Treasurer

Cassaundra Johnson serves as SVP and Orange (Plaza) Business Financial Center Manager at Citizens Business Bank as a banking professional with over 35 years’ experience, including commercial banking, wealth management, treasury solutions, and private banking services.

catherine nguyen

Catherine Nguyen is chief executive officer and principal of Venturezen, Inc., a corporate finance advisory firm. Ms. Nguyen is also a board member for the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce. A native of Paris, France, Ms. Nguyen speaks three languages. She holds a bachelor’s in finance from CSU Fullerton.

Dominick Betro

Dominick Betro led Moreno Valley-based Family Service Association for nearly 33 years, growing it into a multi-service, community-based human service agency with a $25MM budget and 450 staff members. He is a business owner, consultant, lecturer and instructor and has previously served as a Riverside City Council member.

Larry Trujillo
SECRETARY

Larry Trujillo served as the SBA Director of Lender Relations in Oregon and Southwest Washington as well as Director of Financial Oversight for the Office of Small Business Development Centers in Washington, DC.

Michael Karr

Michael Karr is Sr. Executive Vice President/Chief Risk Officer for Pacific Premier Bank, a position he was appointed to in 2018 after 12 years as the bank’s Chief Credit Officer overseeing all lending and portfolio operations. Mr. Karr oversees the Bank’s credit and enterprise risk management functions.

Dr. Gil Keinan

Gil Keinan works on Opportunity Zone development and is a real estate development, management, and finance professional. His background covers expertise working with local government and developers to create successful Public-Private projects, as well as with multiple hotel real estate deals.

michael a. ocasio
ceo

Michael A. Ocasio is Chief Executive Officer of Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County. He has been an economic developer for more than twenty years and former senior commercial banking executive.

Eric Bell

Eric Bell is a tenured and experienced investment professional with more than 30 years of service. Has worked for several firms including State Street Global Advisors, BNY Mellon and BNP Pairbas US (Bank of the West).

Dr. John Thomas

John Thomas is Dean of the Zapara School of Business and Bashir Hasso Professor of Entrepreneurship at La Sierra University. Dr. Thomas holds a doctorate in political economy from Claremont Graduate University and master’s degrees in marketing, finance, and international political economy.

Kirk Dowdell

Kirk Dowdell is President and Chief Executive Officer of Dowdell Consulting, which provides comprehensive financial solutions to governmental, for-profit and not-for-profit clients. Prior to founding his firm in 2013, Mr. Dowdell spent 26 years as an executive in the financial services industry. He holds an MBA from Louisiana State University with a concentration in banking and a BA from the University of Southern California.