Family first foundation
26 years of championing young people and families
Family First Foundation was built on a simple promise: when opportunity finds you, help create it for someone else. Since 2000, we have worked alongside schools, families, athletes, first responders, universities, businesses, and community leaders to help at-risk and overlooked young people see a future larger than the circumstances around them and prepare for college as the path toward it.
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Los Angeles • Volunteer-led since 2000
2000
FOUNDED
23K+
youth served
PROGRAMS
3
26+
years running
90%
college- bound rate
WHY WE BEGAN
IT STARTED WITH A SIMPLE IDEA: GIVE BACK WHAT LIFE GAVE YOU
2000
"We didn't start because it was the right thing to do. We started because no one else was doing it."
Family First was not created to build an institution. It was created because a group of people who had been fortunate in their own lives believed they had a responsibility to open doors for families and young people who had fewer of them.
That principle has guided the Foundation for more than a quarter century. Our directors and volunteer leadership have not taken salaries. The work has grown through relationships, service, persistence, and one belief that has never
changed: access matters most when someone stays long enough to help a young person turn it into direction.
IF OPPORTUNITY FINDS YOU, HELP CREATE IT FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
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26+ YEARS - THE CHAPTERS OF FAMILY FIRST
2000
FAMILY FIRST FOUNDATION. A volunteer-led Los Angeles nonprofit focused on community service, family support, and youth opportunity.
2001
CITY OF ANGELS. First responders and young people meeting on school campuses to build trust before crisis hits.
2004
LA FUTURES. Using professional sports, colleges, and entertainment to bring the conversation back to education and college readiness.
2020
TECH HUB. An experiential program for high-potential middle-school students needing more challenge and access.
TODAY
Three flagship programs. One mission. Opening doors so opportunity can become a lifelong trajectory.
AI ORIGIN
A volunteer giveback to one school district revealed a national gap in how students learn to use AI, giving rise to the Artificial Intelligence Institute and a national goal: AI Driver's Education for every K-12 child.
WHAT WE STAND ON
THE PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE NEVER CHANGED
CHILD FIRST
The decision begins with what helps the young person
COLLEGE FORWARD
Education remains the clearest path to lasting opportunity
EXPERIENCE MATTERS
Students believe possibilities faster when they can see and touch them
TRUST IS EARNED
Schools and families open doors because relationships have been built over time
ACCESS + STRUCTURE
Opening the door matters. Guidance helps students walk through it prepared.
SERVICE BEFORE SALARY
Family First board and volunteer leadership have served without taking salaries.
we never asked children to rise above their circumstances.
We changed the circumstances.
Founding Leadership
visionary advocates driving community impact
Family First grew from people already working inside schools, communities, sports, public service, education, science, and family life, people who could open doors because they had spent years earning the trust to do it.
Richard Awni
Founder & Chairman, Family First Foundation
Richard Awni founded Family First Foundation in 2000 and has led it for 26 years, building youth programs that have served more than 23,000 young people, with a 90% college matriculation rate. He is Executive Director of the Artificial Intelligence Institute, which grew out of the AI program he and Dr. Russell Knight began for a local school district. Earlier in his career, Richard helped guide DIRECTV's shift from hardware sales to a subscription model, worked on security integration at AT&T's Bell Laboratories, and founded one of the early U.S. electric mobility brands, Plug-n-Go Electrixx. An Eagle Scout, he focuses on service, access, college aspiration, and building institutions that last.
Lea Ubas
President. Community, family, and civic leadership; school and local government experience.
President of the Family First Foundation and a City Commissioner for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, where she plays a key role in shaping initiatives that uplift underserved communities. With a strong background in STEAM education, she is a passionate advocate for gender diversity and greater representation of minorities in the technology sector.
Brian Taylor
Director of Sports & Education, Family First Foundation
Vice President, Strategic Alliances and National Development, Artificial Intelligence Institute
Brian Taylor is a nationally experienced education systems builder and a Princeton All-American who captained and led the scoring on the 1971 U.S. Pan-American Games basketball team, then played ten professional seasons in the ABA and NBA. He was named ABA Rookie of the Year, was a two-time ABA All-Star, and started at point guard for the New York Nets' 1974 and 1976 championship teams. After basketball he built a career in education and access, including ten years at Harvard-Westlake School and a partnership with the Inner City Education Foundation, which grew from a single school into a network of fifteen Los Angeles charter schools. Since 2012 he has deepened his role with Family First, building the partnerships that brought students into the Rose Bowl, the LA Clippers, and the Dodgers, before joining the board and becoming Director of Sports and Education. He also serves as Vice President, Strategic Alliances and National Development, at the Artificial Intelligence Institute.
FAMILY FIRST BOARD / GOVERNANCE
Getting inside Los Angeles classrooms at scale requires more than a mission statement. It requires someone who has sat on both sides of every table, the parent side, the teacher side, and the governance side, for decades.
Family First Foundation is guided by directors and volunteer leaders who bring experience across education, community service, sports, science, finance, and civic life, with one shared responsibility: protect the mission and put the child first.
STEWARDS OF A 26-YEAR MISSION
RUSSELL KNIGHT, PH.D.
President, Artificial Intelligence Institute | Senior Technologist of AI, NASA/JPL
Dr. Russell Knight is President of the Artificial Intelligence Institute. For nearly three decades he has been a senior technologist in AI at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he oversees engineering teams working on the autonomous AI that guides spacecraft to the Moon and Mars. His systems include ASPEN, CASPER, and CLASP, AI architectures built for mission-critical autonomy. NASA and JPL granted him a formal dispensation to help build the Institute alongside his full-time work there. He did not leave NASA to do this. They made room for both. He also advises Family First's STEAM education program
Josef Palik
Chief Financial Officer
Josef Palik is a finance professional who supports Family First's compliance and fundraising efforts. who brings a fresh perspective and new ideas to the team for our Compliance and Fundraising efforts. With a B.S and M.S. in Professional Accountancy and Finance from Cal Poly Pomona, Josef has a strong desire to simplify the complex in the world of finance. His past and current professional experience at a local firm in North Los Angeles, working intimately with Small Business Owners in a diverse set of industries, has given him a unique understanding of the intricacies of financial management.
ISAAC JEAN-PAUL
DIRECTOR OF ELITE SPORTS PARTNERSHIP & PROGRAMMING
Isaac Jean-Paul is a two-time Paralympic medalist , elite high jumper, author, and dedicated advocate for inclusion and community empowerment. Competing in the T13 classification for visually impaired athletes, he has earned international recognition for his performance on the world stage and continues to pursue excellence at the highest levels of sport.
ALEX RICHARDSON
Director of Science & Program Development
Alex Richardson is a technology innovator whose work spans artificial intelligence, machine learning, visual effects, automotive technology, and emerging technologies. As Director of Science & Program Development at Family First Foundation, Alex helps develop STEM programs and experiences that connect young people with real-world science, technology, and innovation.
An early adopter of AI-driven image and video technologies, Alex has worked at the cutting edge of the entertainment industry, applying advanced visual effects and digital techniques to major Hollywood productions. His work also extends into the automotive sector, where he has contributed to projects involving Honda and Toyota, developing real-time machine learning systems for traffic monitoring, passenger behavior analysis, and autonomous-vehicle vision systems.
At Family First, Alex brings that real-world experience into program development, STEM education, and youth engagement, helping create opportunities for students to explore the technologies shaping their future.
LEGAL ADVISER & IP COUNSEL
BRANDON DORSKY
Brandon Dorsky has served as legal counsel to Family First Foundation, providing ongoing guidance on organizational matters, entity structure, intellectual property, governance, contracts, and compliance. Through the Law Offices of Brandon Dorsky, P.C., Brandon has generously provided his legal services to the Foundation pro bono, helping protect and strengthen the organization as it has grown and expanded its community programs.
Beyond legal counsel, Brandon has been a longtime supporter of Family First’s mission and its commitment to creating opportunities for children, families, and communities. His continued service provides the Foundation with trusted legal guidance while allowing more of its resources to remain focused on the people and programs it serves.
ALEXZANDER AWNI
STEM Ambassador
A student at Penn State University pursuing a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. Alexzander serves as a Physics Lab Assistant at Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, supporting students in the university’s physics program.
Before attending Penn State, Alexzander was an active participant in the Family First Foundation’s youth programs, where he served as a liaison and mentor to younger students. Even while away at college, he continues to give his time to Family First and support its youth programs.
As a STEM Ambassador for Family First, Alexzander uses his passion for science, technology, aerospace, and service to inspire the next generation of innovators. Alexzander’s STEM experience also includes previous involvement with the UCLA Space Institute, where he expanded his exposure to space science, aerospace, and research.
Through mentorship and service, Alexzander works to expand access to STEM opportunities and encourage young people from all backgrounds.
RECOGNITION
honored by the city we serve.
Over 26 years, Family First Foundation and its leadership have been recognized by the City of Los Angeles, state government, education partners, and peer organizations for sustained impact in underserved communities.
2024
CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Community Impact Award - AI Literacy & Youth Education
2022
LAUSD PARTNERSHIP
Exemplary Nonprofit Partner - College Access Programs
2019
LA COUNTY SUPERVISOR
Certificate of Recognition - 18 Years of Civic Programming
2015
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Community Excellence Award - Youth & Family Services
2010
LAPD COMMUNITY BOARD
Civic Trust Award - Police-Community Relations Initiative
2005
CITY COUNCIL
Proclamation of Service - First Responder Outreach Program
IN THE COMMUNITY
this is what 26 years looks like.
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"The most radical thing we ever did was stay.
Twenty-six years in the same neighborhoods."
GET INVOLVED
every program
needs a village
For 26 years, Family First has worked because schools opened doors, families trusted us, volunteers showed up, companies hosted students, athletes shared their stories, first responders gave their time, and donors made the next experience possible
The next young person is already out there. The next door is waiting to be opened