Ricardo Perez brings lived experience, professional training, and years of direct community work to his role with Direct Community Impact. Raised by a single mother in Watts, Ricardo grew up surrounded by gang involvement and became involved in that lifestyle at a young age. His path led to juvenile hall, incarceration, violence, and nearly two decades spent cycling in and out of prison.

Over time, Ricardo made the decision to change the direction of his life and use his experiences to help others avoid the same path. After returning home, he became a gang intervention worker and completed Community Violence Intervention training, building on his lived experience with professional skills in mediation, outreach, and violence prevention.

For the past four and a half years, Ricardo has worked in community intervention and youth programming, helping coordinate food distributions, toy drives, neighborhood events, and enrichment opportunities for young people. He has worked directly with youth and families affected by street violence, helped mediate conflicts between communities, and maintained relationships across neighborhoods to support communication and reduce violence.

Ricardo has also shared intervention strategies and lessons learned with organizations in cities including Chicago, Memphis, and communities in Louisiana, helping other teams adapt approaches that have worked in Los Angeles.

At DCI, Ricardo is committed to giving back to the same kinds of communities he once struggled within. His goal is to help young people see that change is possible, strengthen relationships between neighborhoods, and create safer, more supportive opportunities for the next generation.

Kelly Raye brings lived experience, professional training, and a deep belief in second chances to her work with Direct Community Impact. Growing up with parents affected by addiction and incarceration, she entered foster care at age seven and later became involved in gang life. Motherhood became her turning point, inspiring her to break the cycle of generational trauma and build a different future for her sons.

Kelly began her career as a mental health worker in psychiatric care and graduated from the Urban Peace Institute’s Community Violence Intervention program in 2023. Through hospital-based violence intervention, she provided case management, supported grieving mothers and families, and connected people affected by violence with resources and referrals.

At DCI, Kelly combines her professional experience with a personal understanding of adversity to provide intervention, mentorship, and compassionate support. Her commitment is to meet people without judgment, help them see a path forward, and strengthen the communities they call home.

Raised in Los Angeles, Joshua Ferdman is an entrepreneur, investor, and nonprofit board member whose work spans finance, technology, and the arts. As Co-Founder and Partner of The Locust Group, he brings experience building businesses, developing partnerships, and helping ideas take shape. His Jewish heritage and his family’s history as Holocaust survivors add a personal dimension to his commitment to community and service.

Joshua brings a practical, entrepreneurial approach to Direct Community Impact, helping connect people, resources, and ideas to support families in South Los Angeles. His involvement includes organizing community events and food giveaways, supporting program development, and strengthening the organization’s ability to turn plans into action. He is also helping develop an AI education initiative designed to give adults and young people practical tools for learning, employment, and starting businesses.

At DCI, Joshua combines business experience with a personal commitment to showing up and following through. His focus is on building an organization that listens to the community, responds to immediate needs, and creates opportunities that last beyond a single event.

Raised in Los Angeles, Rachel Silver brings a multicultural perspective shaped by her mother’s upbringing in China and her family’s Jewish heritage. Fluent in Mandarin, Rachel is an accomplished ballet dancer and harpist who also excelled in mathematics from a young age. Her background combines creativity, discipline, and analytical thinking, qualities she carries into her professional work and community service.

Rachel works directly under the Chief Executive Officer of a leading commodities firm, supporting executive priorities and complex day-to-day operations. She has also developed systems that help high net worth individuals organize payments and manage financial responsibilities, taking on many of the practical functions of a business manager. Her strengths lie in bringing structure to complicated tasks, anticipating needs, and following through with care and precision.

Her commitment to service includes preparing meals for people experiencing homelessness through Big Little Kitchen, performing harp for residents of senior living homes, leading children’s activities at JEM Community Center, and helping organize Shabbat dinners and community celebrations at Chabad at Chapman. At Direct Community Impact, Rachel brings that same hands-on dedication to strengthening operations, offering fresh perspectives, and helping ensure resources reach the people and programs that need them most.