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For more than 20 years, Los Niños Primero has been committed to empowering Latino students and their families through comprehensive educational programs. Our Advisory Council plays a key role in supporting this mission by offering strategic guidance, professional expertise, and community insight. With a focus on preparing children, youth, and parents for success, the council helps us shape programs that foster academic achievement, leadership, and a lifelong love of learning.

As Los Niños Primero continues to grow and expand its reach, the dedication and expertise of our Advisory Council ensure we stay responsive to the evolving needs of the Latino community, helping us create lasting, generational impact.

Advisory Council

Montreal Bell

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Gina Espinosa Meltzer

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Mercedes Guzman

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Peter Hartman

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Beth Martin

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Randy Martin

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Kenneth Mead

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Luz Ojeda

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Aixa Pascual

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Grant Rivera

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Jackie Stradley

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If you are interested in learning more about our Advisory Council or exploring opportunities to support our organization, we invite you to contact Maite Fuertes at maite.fuertes@losninosprimerousa.org for more information

Together, we can

continue to make a difference, inspire change, and create a brighter future for Latino families.

Montreal Bell 

Montreal Bell is a native of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she earned her undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, Early Childhood Education. She began her teaching career in South Carolina in 1994 but moved to the Atlanta area in 1995 and began working as a Pre-K teacher in Gwinnett County. She has taught all elementary grades in both the Atlanta and Fulton County School systems since 1996 and has almost 30 years of experience in education.

Upon leaving the classroom, she became an instructional coach and then a professional learning facilitator working with the district’s endorsement programs and supporting the professional learning team in the district. In 2010, Montreal was named the Coordinator of Early Childhood for Fulton County Schools and supported elementary pre-k, kindergarten and intervention programs throughout the district. 

Most recently, Ms. Bell has worked as the Director of Federal Programs responsible for managing the district’s ESSER funding that funded the Bridge to Success Plan aimed at transforming student achievement and helping students recover from learning loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In her new role, she will work closely with other grant managers to develop and improve processes that support innovative funding for schools and the district.

Throughout her career, she has earned both her Master’s and Specialist degrees from Georgia State University in Early Childhood Education and Leadership Certification. She is currently enrolled in South Carolina State University’s Educational Leadership Doctoral Program.

Since working in Fulton County, Ms. Bell has had the honor to serve on various committees and focus groups throughout the district, but she especially enjoys being a mystery or guest reader for young children in elementary schools. Montreal Bell has been a resident of South Fulton County since 2005. She has been married to John Bell since 2011 and enjoys traveling and spending time with family and close friends.

Gina Espinosa Meltzer

Gina is an award-winning communications strategist who’s worked with for-profit companies and nonprofits to elevate their brand, increase sales and enhance messaging to both the Hispanic and mainstream markets.  

 Gina is a board member of the International Women’s Forum and Hope Atlanta and a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2025. She is an active mentor and community advocate. 

 Gina has been honored by Atlanta Business Chronicle as a Woman of Influence and inducted by the YWCA into its Academy of Women Achievers. She was recognized by Atlanta Magazine in its 500 Most Powerful Leaders and Georgia Trend Magazine’s GEORGIA 500 – The State’s Most Influential Leaders. 

Gina has received national awards from PR News and PR Daily/Ragan Communications as one of their Top Women in Communications.

Her media relations expertise stems from her years as a journalist — with the BBC, CNN and Mundo Now, among others.

Mercedes Guzman

Mercedes is an international speaker and is a specialist in healing the inner child. She has impacted thousands of people for over two decades. She has appeared in magazines such as Forbes, as well as radio and television programs in CNN, Telemundo, Univision, Mega TV and Televisa. She has given lectures in many parts of the world, including Spain, El Salvador, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and others. She has also given conferences at Coca-Cola and New York Life in the United States, among others.

Mercedes continues to generate change with her ICLP (Inner Child Love Process) technique, a transformative tool that combines elements of psychology, spirituality and personal development. By addressing and healing the wounded inner child, one is empowered to overcome self-limiting beliefs, develop healthier coping mechanisms, and create a solid foundation for personal growth and self-actualization.

Mercedes’ coaching program provides guidance and support to organizations, at a personal and family level, ultimately leading the individual to a healthier and more satisfying life.

Peter Hartman
Peter M. Hartman is a native of New York and has lived in Atlanta for the past 31 years.  He graduated from Vanderbilt University and the Antioch School of Law.  He is a partner and founder of the law firm of Hartman Simons & Wood, LLP which is based in Atlanta and specializes in commercial real estate.  He has recently been on the board of directors for the Georgia Conservancy and the Galloway School.

Beth Martin

Beth can’t keep a steady job — just look at her “career.”  She clearly doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up.

She started her career working for a Former US President to design marketing plans and deliver presentations to Fortune 500 corporations and other countries. These efforts were devoted to creating a center for international diplomacy to foster peace, fight disease  and support human rights.  Later, she consulted to the State of Georgia to attract international businesses, plan and lead dignitary visits.  She briefed Georgia leaders and educated communities to optimize their assets and be welcoming to the other cultures.  Afterward, she established an Americas headquarters for Messe Frankfurt, a global leader in trade shows and conferences, featuring internationally recognized industry leaders. 

Although Beth’s varied career suggests she may be a questionable hire, she found the perfect job— consulting to consulting firms and their clients.  She worked with KPMG and Deloitte to develop their change strategy methodologies and build a consulting practice while also delivering client services to senior executives of Fortune 200 companies.  Beth was also appointed to design a continuous innovation process for a national top-selling book that was identified by CNBC as a leading-edge business publication. Meanwhile, she was a leadership coach to a global Deloitte partner and facilitated the C-suite of Microsoft to redesign their global strategy. 

Finally, Beth has been able to turn to her heartfelt passions — working with nonprofits and other mission-based organizations.  One way she has been working to support nonprofits has been to collaborate with recognized leaders in strategy consulting to develop an affordable software platform for nonprofits to design and implement strategies.  When possible she gleefully works with nonprofits while on her lanai in Kauai surrounded by the ocean, mountains, cliffs, and a diverse parade of comic creatures.

Randy Martin

Randy Martin is an experienced consultant committed to developing innovative strategies for and improving the effectiveness of organizations that deliver social impact. Prior to starting his own consulting practice in 2015, Randy had been a long-tenured principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP. 

Randy’s passion for nonprofit organizations has been long-standing. While at Deloitte Consulting LLP, he was active in supporting several pro bono engagements with the YMCA of the USA and with other nonprofits in the greater Atlanta area.  Through his collaboration with the YMCA, he was invited to be a panelist in the White House Champions of Change program, speaking about issues of diversity and inclusion for the Hispanic / Latino community. Since beginning his own consulting firm, Randy has served mission-oriented nonprofits, social enterprises, and government agencies. His clients have included the Independent Sector, Feeding America, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Latino Community Fund of Georgia, and Georgia agencies addressing issues of mental and behavioral health as well as perinatal care for high-risk mothers and babies.

Randy also pursues his passion for social impact by teaching and being active on several nonprofit boards. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Emory University in both the Goizueta Business School and the Laney Graduate School, speaking on topics related to managing purpose-based organizations and developing the capabilities to deliver social impact. Randy is also affiliated with the Business and Society Institute, an academic center in the business school focused on solving complex social and environmental issues. Finally, Randy is a current board member and former board chair for Global Growers Network, a nonprofit that partners with immigrants to provide access to land to grow fresh food for their families and for local marketplaces. He is also a current board member and former board chair of CDF Action, a nonprofit focused on early care and learning that connects and engages the diverse residents of Clarkston, GA using an asset-based community development approach.

Kenneth Mead

Associated with Los Niños Primero since its inception in 1999, Kenneth Mead has played a pivotal role in the program’s growth and development. He has served on the Strategic Plan Committee for three iterations of 5-year plans and has held various leadership roles, including Treasurer, Chair of the Finance Committee, and Board Chair on the Board of Directors. Currently, Kenneth is an active member of the Martha Barrios Mead Scholarship Committee. 

Luz Ojeda

Luz Ojeda has a bachelors in industrial engineering and a masters in marketing from Universidad del Norte in Colombia. After several years working in Colombia, Luz immigrated to the United States. She applied as a Revenue Management Specialist for UPS-Latin America in Miami. She has had a progressive and exciting career at UPS for the past nine years, including roles in Customer Technology Marketing, Global Freight Forwarding, and UPS Capital. In 2021, she transitioned into a Marketing Automation Manager role, and she was promoted in 2023 to Senior Customer Lifecycle Automation Manager in the Digital Marketing team. Luz is passionate about developing and supporting communities; since 2018, she has been a Crecer member and co-chair of the corporate chapter for 2022-2023 and is currently Chair of the Crecer Corporate Chapter. Due to her involvement with supporting diverse communities, she was nominated and selected to participate in the HACR Young Hispanic Corporate Achievers program in June 2023, gaining the YHCA award. Luz has also earned Leadership certifications from McKinsey. Luz recently married Francisco Ojeda, Sr. Data Engineer at UPS Corporate. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing outside with her two dogs, Sunshine and Tony.

Aixa Pascual

Aixa Pascual has worked with Atlanta’s Latino communities for more than a decade. Between 2012 and 2021, she was at the Latin American Association (LAA), the largest agency in Georgia dedicated to serving Latino families. She currently works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (contractor) as a senior editor/writer and executive speechwriter. Previously, she worked for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Aixa moved to Atlanta in 2000 to work as a correspondent for BusinessWeek magazine. She worked as a Metro reporter for the AJC after that. Prior to moving to Georgia, Aixa worked on staff for Time and People magazines in New York City and Miami. A native of Puerto Rico, she started her journalism career at El Nuevo Día  the summer after graduating high school.

Aixa has a bachelor’s in international affairs from Princeton University, and master’s degrees from Columbia University and Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She is multilingual and spent time living in Athens, Greece after college. To this day, she is a Hellenophile.

Aixa currently serves as president of the Princeton Alumni Association of Georgia. She sits on the boards of North Fulton Community Charities and We Love Buford Highway, and on the advisory board of the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. Until recently she was on the Alliance Theatre’s advisory board. In 2021, she served on the Brookhaven Social Justice, Race and Equity Commission. She served on the Brookhaven Arts Advisory Committee from 2018 to 2020. In 2019, she co-authored a report titled “When Extended-Stay Hotels Become Home.” In 2017, Aixa founded a reading club focused on Latin American literature that she led until 2023.

In her free time, Aixa enjoys taking walks, baking, cooking, traveling, reading works of Latin American literature and writing prose.

Grant Rivera

Grant Rivera has been the proud Superintendent of Marietta City Schools since 2016, leading the district’s 12 schools, approximately 8,900 students, and 1,200 employees. He is a career educator who has served in principal, teacher, and coach positions prior to becoming superintendent. Dr. Rivera believes learning to read and write is one of life’s most fundamental achievements and that a student’s success in literacy development paves the way for future success. He is leading Marietta City Schools in setting a new standard for what it means to invest in literacy education. 

Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in education and social policy from Northwestern University and earned a master’s degree in special education and a Doctorate of Education with an emphasis in school law from the University of Alabama. Dr. Rivera serves as a board member of multiple education-focused organizations, and he is actively engaged in raising funds and awareness of pediatric cancer.

Jackie Stradley

After leading major projects at The Coca-Cola Company for 21 years, Jackie worked seven years as an independent consultant for a British firm to integrate its companies in the United States.  Upon the deaths of Betty and Davis Fitzgerald, Jackie created and ran the Fitzgerald Foundation for seventeen years.  She now enjoys retirement helping non-profits be the best they can be.