Our Team Members

Lyndsey C. Wilson
Chief Executive Officer

Lyndsey Collins Wilson, M.A. is a nationally recognized leader working at the intersection of education, foster care, and public policy. As Chief Executive Officer of First Star, Inc., she leads a national nonprofit that partners with universities and child welfare systems to improve educational and life outcomes for youth in foster care.

Since becoming CEO, Lyndsey has guided a period of strategic growth, expanding First Star’s national footprint, strengthening its university partnerships, and launching new initiatives designed to support youth from high school through college and career. Under her leadership, First Star has developed alumni services, a virtual STEAM curriculum, and cross-sector collaborations such as the California Foster Youth Pre-College Collective. These efforts have helped secure more than $35 million in public and philanthropic investment while contributing to strong outcomes for participating youth: 97% graduate from high school and nearly 90% pursue postsecondary education or career pathways.

Lyndsey began her career as a Teach For America science educator in Atlanta, where her classroom leadership earned the Atlanta Families Award for Excellence in Education. She later became the youngest female principal at the Inner City Education Foundation in Inglewood, California, where she earned the Leadership Award and was recognized by the Black Business Association receiving the Young Achievement Award. In 2024 she was honored by her alma mater as the Alumnae Honoree of the Spelman College Los Angeles Chapter and in 2025, she was entered into the CA Black Women’s Trailblazer Hall of Fame.

Her work and advocacy on behalf of youth have been featured by TIME Magazine, ABC Nightline, NBC, FOX, and the Los Angeles Times, and she has led workshops and leadership sessions internationally in Bosnia, Mexico, and South Africa. Lyndsey’s commitment to equity and opportunity is deeply rooted in her family’s legacy of service, including her grandfather, Rev. Mansfield Collins, a close confidante of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Robin Winston León
Chief Operating Officer

Robin Winston León is the Chief Operating Officer at First Star, a national nonprofit advancing educational and life outcomes for youth in foster care through long-term partnerships with universities and child welfare agencies. First Star operates a growing national network of university-based Academies designed to support foster youth from high school through postsecondary education and into adulthood.

Based in Los Angeles, Winston León brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in nonprofit operations, strategic planning, fundraising, and organizational growth. As COO, she oversees national operations, development strategy, and cross-functional planning, with a focus on scaling impact, strengthening systems, and ensuring financial and operational sustainability across multiple regions.

Prior to First Star, Winston León served as Los Angeles Director for DoSomething.org, leading West Coast expansion for the national youth social action platform and building partnerships to engage teens at scale. Earlier, she spent seven years at Levy Pazanti & Associates producing major fundraising and awareness events for organizations including the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, MOCA, Human Rights Campaign, Women in Film, and Heal the Bay.

Winston León holds a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA and remains actively engaged as a volunteer across the nonprofit sector. She also brings early experience from the entertainment industry, which continues to inform a collaborative, audience-centered approach to leadership, communications, and fundraising.

Her work centers on building strong organizations that translate mission into measurable outcomes for young people.

Brian Ritchey
Sr. Director of Academy Partnerships

Brian Ritchey, MPA, serves as the Senior Director of Academy Partnerships at First Star. In this role, he leverages his programmatic expertise, strategic vision, and operational experience to develop, oversee, and support initiatives that advance the organization’s mission and both its short- and long-term goals. Ritchey also cultivates and manages strategic university partnerships that help strengthen and expand First Star’s national network of Academies.

Prior to joining the First Star national team, Ritchey served as the First Star Academy Director at George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he developed and implemented programming tailored to the academic and psychosocial needs of foster youth participating in the Academy.

Ritchey began his career in education as a Special Education high school teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools. He brings a strong commitment to supporting and empowering young people through education, mentorship, and innovative program development.

Ismael Soto
Senior Director of Development

Ismael Soto brings nearly 30 years of experience in education and a deep commitment to creating opportunities for young people, especially those who are too often overlooked or underestimated. Raised in Commerce, a small city in East Los Angeles, Ismael knows firsthand the power of education to change lives.

He began his career as a Visual and Performing Arts teacher and went on to lead arts education across multiple schools. From 2015 to 2022, he served in senior leadership roles at Magnolia Public Schools, where he helped shape the district’s mission and built impactful programs in fundraising, communications, enrollment, and community engagement.

Now serving as First Star’s Senior Director of Development, Ismael is focused on building strategic partnerships and expanding resources to support foster youth nationwide. Across every role, his mission remains the same: advocating for youth and expanding access to opportunity.

Education:
M.A. in Leadership Development, Chapman University
B.F.A. in Communication Arts, OTIS College of Art and Design