MEET THE FOUNDER OF LOS COURAGE CAMPS

Giselle Carrillo, Founder and Executive Director

Giselle Carrillo was born and raised in East Los Angeles. Her parents,

immigrants from Mexico raised on her of their blue collar paychecks.

In order to uplift her family from their socioeconomic status, education

became Giselle's sole focus. Leisure and sports became non-existent

activities in her life. But at 25, she decided to find her inner joy again

and embark in a journey to overcome her fears. Surfing was one of those

fears that she was also secretly curious about. Growing up, she never knew

a Latino surfer, and built the mindset that surfing was not for her. But she

decided to try it anyway- against her families' approval. In the waves of the

Venice Beach "Breakwater", Giselle found something she had lost for many

years - her courage. The idea for Los Courage Camps came in 2017, when

Giselle and her friends decided to take 2 friends surfing. 2 friends, grew to 5,

which grew to 30. Each Summer, Giselle continues to bring new families

from underrepresented neighborhoods in Los Angeles to enjoy a day at the

beach and teach the new generation a sport that has completely changed her life.

John Acevedo, Board Member

John Acevedo is an entrepreneur/real estate agent and is a well-respected

surfer with over 58 years of experience in the sport. He has acted as a bridge

between Los Courage Camps and the surf community, supporting our growth

by engaging with allies across the beaches of Southern California. Additionally,

he is present at surf camps, teaching lessons in the water and guiding lessons

on the beach. John holds a degree in business, economics, and accounting from

the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Monica Medellin, Board Member

Monica Medellin is a filmmaker who is passionate about making the art of

filmmaking more accessible to women and people of color. Since 2018, she has

directed, produced, filmed and edited content for companies including Nike,

The Olympics, Amazon, McDonald’s, Disney, Red Bull, Vans, Patagonia,

Women’s Health, Togethxr, and Hello Sunshine, and for nonprofit organizations

including the ACLU and Color of Change. Her work has also been featured by

Elle Magazine, the Washington Post, Shondaland, LA Magazine, the Huffington

Post, VICE, and during the first Women’s March on Washington in 2017. And

she has worked at the World Surf League, Define American, Los Angeles Times

and Univision. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, CA, Monica first began filming surf and skate

videos on her family camcorder at a young age and was the inaugural mentor for

Los Courage Camps meet “Meet An Inspiracion” series. Monica holds a degree

in journalism from the University of Oregon.

Samantha Avitia, Board Member

Samantha Avitia (she/her) is a certified California Naturalist, artist and

community organizer. She grew up in Boyle Heights and feels deeply connected

to the land that is now known as Los Angeles. She currently serves as the Arts

Internship Program Specialist for the Los Angeles County Department of Arts

and Culture. In this capacity, she plays a crucial role in managing the country's

largest arts internship program, overseeing a grant that provides funding for

228 paid arts administration internship positions for local college students.

From 2019 to 2023, Samantha worked as the Community Engagement Program

Manager of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County developing

programs and curriculum on the intersections of history, nature, and public art

in L.A. She co-developed free programming for her community, such as the

Urban Birders of Boyle Heights and LA Nature Fest. Samantha has a B.A. in

History from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters in Public

Administration and Nonprofit Management from California State University,

Northridge. She is a graduate of the 2017/2018 Arts for LA, ACTIVATE Cultural

Policy Fellowship and the 2020 Nature For All, Leadership Academy.

Stephanie Whyte, Board Member

Stephanie Whyte is a non-profit leader and community builder. Born in Miami and

raised in Rio de Janeiro, Stephanie believes in the intersections of environmental

and community resilience. Stephanie is an experienced builder and leader working

across public industries to scale various organizations as the Director of Programs

and Partnerships at Stoked Mentoring Inc. to other critical roles at the Zero Waste

Company, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, All About Waste, The 5 Gyres

Institute, to most recently working alongside the National Recreation and Park

Association. In 2020, Stephanie founded Skate To The Polls - a nation-wide,

non-partisan movement to inform, educate and mobilize the skate community

around local and national elections. Stephanie holds degrees in Early Childhood

Education from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Human Biology

and Environmental Studies from the University of Southern California (USC),

and Regenerative Finance from The Next Economy MBA (LIFT Economy).

MEET THE FOUNDER OF LOS COURAGE CAMPS

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