Originally from El Salvador, Irma Velasquez, a social entrepreneur, has called the San Francisco Bay Area home since 1963. After graduating from the University of San Francisco, she ventured into a career in financial services. However, with the birth of her son, she redirected her focus to family and her lifelong passion for art. In the late ‘90s, Irma founded De Colores, an art school dedicated to nurturing children's innate creativity. Inspired by her son's autism diagnosis, she later established Wings Learning Center to cater to the unique needs of individuals and families affected by autism, earning her the prestigious Jefferson Award in 2005 for her outstanding community and public service.

Irma actively contributes to various Boards, including Autism Society of America San Francisco, Northern California Woman’s Caucus for Art, Bay Area Housing Corporation, Rident Park, and Wings Learning Center. As an artist, writer, life coach, and entrepreneur, Irma believes in the transformative power of the creative process and advocates for positive change through the arts within our global community.

Dahlia B. Uchihara, a Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor at Bank of America Private Bank in San Francisco, California, specializes in wealth structuring, investment management, and banking/credit for high-net-worth individuals. As the newest board member at WINGS Learning Center, Dahlia brings her dedication to providing sound financial advice. With experience at Deutsche Bank Private Bank, she addresses the wealth management needs of ultra high-net-worth clients. Actively involved in her community, Dahlia contributes her time to organizations such as Financial Women of San Francisco, Asia Society of North America, and now WINGS Learning Center. A native San Franciscan, Dahlia resides in the Bay Area with her family.

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La Donna graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with a doctorate in medicine. After her residency in anesthesiology, she entered public service in the United States Air Force followed by a stint in private practice. After the diagnosis of autism in her son, La Donna left medicine to devote her time to her son. 

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La Donna is dedicated to helping her son achieve independence and happiness. She and her son are active in many mountain and lake sports activities. La Donna is committed to working with Wings to guide her son into a productive adulthood.

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Anita has a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a Staff Site Reliability Engineer at LinkedIn and she believes in data-driven decision-making. She is also a vocal director for community musical theatre and has put on several sensory-friendly productions.

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Anita’s son has been at WINGS for over 10 years and he has blossomed while in their care. Anita is committed to helping Wings maintain its special magic while looking for ways to grow.

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Josh Johnson, one of our newest board members, brings over 20 years of commercial real estate expertise as the First Vice President Investments at Marcus & Millichap in Palo Alto. Starting his journey at CBRE in 2003, he worked his way up from a researcher to a successful commercial property appraiser before transitioning into investment brokerage. A Brigham Young University economics graduate, Josh adds a strategic vision to our team.

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Beyond his professional achievements, Josh has fostered a dedication to helping children with ASD access quality instructional programs.

Andie Rich loves supporting students with unique learning needs. She holds a teaching credential in mild to moderate learning disabilities and a master's degree in Special Education with an emphasis in autism from Santa Clara University. Her teaching experience ranges from working in public, non-public and charter schools across all grade levels. Currently, she is the Co- Director and Co-Founder of Thriving Minds Learning Center in Campbell, CA which provides individualized tutoring for students with varying learning challenges. Andie considers it a great honor to have worked closely with so many wonderful children and families over her years in the teaching field.