Built FRF's tech stack and on-site operations infrastructure. California National Guard member with deployments in Kuwait, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Student at Santa Monica College.
Altadena/Pasadena resident since 1999. Runs FRF's distribution operations and media relations. Has built thousands of direct relationships with Eaton Fire survivors. Founded Mary's Churros & Sweets (2020) and Exotic Gift Shop (2022).
Built FRF's partner network, government relationships, and media presence. Leads strategy and external operations. Founder of Actualize. Former UCLA neuroscience student and exercise physiology researcher.
Two days after the Eaton Fire, Jose Velazquez's home on the corner of Glenrose Avenue and Woodbury Road was still standing. His neighbors' homes were gone. He put up a flyer asking for donations. It was supposed to last four days.
Four days became four weeks. Donations poured in faster than we could sort them. Families kept showing up because the millions being raised by national organizations weren't reaching the people who actually lost everything.
So we built a full distribution center at 2150 Glenrose Avenue. We filled it with everything a family needs to survive and start over. We open four days a week, serve 300+ households, and have distributed over $5M in essential supplies to more than 30,000 people. Our total operating budget is under $15,000.
13+ months later, the need hasn't gone away. It's growing. And we're still here, on the same block, serving the same community. We don't leave after the cameras do. We stay for a minimum of two years because that's how long real recovery actually takes.
We're building a deployable distribution center that can be set up anywhere in the country within days of a disaster declaration, run by a single site lead backed by our software platform and a lean volunteer network.
Each site provides full essential goods distribution while a coordinated partner network delivers wraparound services: mental health support, insurance claims assistance, healthcare access, and contractor connections for rebuilding.
The Eaton Fire operation is the proof of concept. The infrastructure, partnerships, and technology we've built are designed to be replicated at every future disaster site.