Altadena, Calif—(Wednesday, March 8, 2017)
Five Acres announced the addition of three new board members to the agency’s Board of Directors. Celeste Liversidge, Scott Street, and Erica Tejeda will all be joining the Board as new members after years of involvement with various Five Acres committees. The three new members were inducted at the agency’s 129th Annual Meeting, held at the Rococo Room in Pasadena on Wednesday, March 8, 2017.
“We are pleased to welcome Celeste, Scott, and Erica to the Five Acres board and family,” said Chanel Boutakidis, Five Acres CEO. “Each of these individuals brings a high caliber of experience, passion, and advocacy to our agency, as well as a shared commitment to our mission. They will bring great strength to the leadership of Five Acres as we continue to face changes in the child welfare industry and help 20,000 children find permanent family solutions by 2020.”
Celeste Liversidge is an adoption attorney at Adoption Law Group, an adoption law firm based in Pasadena. Celeste has been practicing exclusively in the field of adoption law since 2001. She is a fellow of both the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and the Academy of California Adoption Lawyers. She is a member of the National Association of Counsel for Children, Christian Adoption Legal Services, National Council For Adoption and the North American Council on Adoptable Children. Celeste earned her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Westmont College. She has served on numerous boards and as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine School of Law. Celeste currently serves on the Five Acres Advancement Committee, and has served on the Five Acres Gala Committee for the past two years.
Scott Street is an attorney at Safarian Choi & Bolstad in Los Angeles, where he represents real estate companies, developers, Fortune 500 companies, local businesses, public interest organizations, and individuals. He also continues to advise political candidates and government officials, stemming from his prior work as a political researcher and strategist for political campaigns and companies throughout the country. Prior to joining Safarian Choi & Bolstad, Scott worked at firms such as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Miller Barondess, LLP. Scott received his law degree from Loyola Law School, where he was a Dean Scholar. Scott is an avid golfer, and lives in Pasadena with his wife Emily and their son. Scott serves on the Advisory Board for the Western Center for Law & Poverty. He also currently serves on the Five Acres Advancement Committee, and will be Co-Chairing the Five Acres Golf Committee for the second year in a row.
Erica Tejeda is a 14-year Wells Fargo veteran, and serves as the Vice President and Pasadena District Manager, where she manages over 200 team members at 12 banking stores in Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose and San Gabriel. Prior to this role, Erica served as Vice President and Wells Fargo at Work Director for Southern California with a territory spanning from the Calexico board to Palm Springs. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Whole Child and the Pasadena Educational Foundation. Erica resides in Los Angeles with her three children, daughter Mya and sons Brayden and Cruz. She holds a Bachelor of Science from California State University, Fullerton. Erica has served on the Five Acres Golf Committee for the past two years.
About Five Acres
Five Acres is a child and family service agency that ensures every child has a safe, healthy and permanent family solution through advocacy, prevention and evidence-based services. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers programs spanning a full continuum of care including community-based counseling and support services, intensive residential care, a therapeutic school for students with special needs, and foster care and adoption services. In 2015, Five Acres served over 8,700 children and their families across five counties in Southern California. To learn more, visit us at www.5acres.org.