Lyndsey C. Wilson is the Chief Executive Officer of First Star, Inc. Lyndsey began her career with Teach For America as a science educator in Atlanta, GA, where she led several initiatives that significantly increased student achievement. These efforts resulted in Lyndsey earning the prestigious Atlanta Families Award for Excellence in Education. She partnered closely with organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The MLK Center in Atlanta, GA, and The Turner Foundation to positively impact the trajectory of students’ lives. Lyndsey served as a school leader for five years in Inglewood, CA, where she developed a robust leadership model used to support the dynamic growth of her middle school.

At First Star, Lyndsey has increased the organization’s budget allowing her to increase its national and academy staff sizes and to expand the number of foster youth served across the country while maintaining the success of its Academy program. 98% of First Star youth graduate from high school, and 89% go on to post-secondary education, a remarkable accomplishment when compared against the national benchmarks of ~50% and 10%, respectively. Several media outlets that sought out her expertise in foster youth and education have recognized these efforts. Time magazine, ABC Nightline News, NBC, NewsNation Prime, and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children are a few of the entities that have uplifted Lyndsey’s voice as a foster care and urban education expert. Her time in education includes travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia; Oaxaca, MX; Santiago, Dominican Republic; and Hanover, South Africa, to facilitate science classes and workshops on leadership.

Lyndsey’s professional and community affiliations include Spelman College, Teach For America, Foster Youth Education Fund, Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Leadership for Educational Equity, Los Angeles County’s Education Coordinating Committee, and the Foster Youth SCP Executive Advisory Council. Lyndsey has an MA in Education Leadership. She lives in southern California with her husband, Keith, and their mini-husky, Daz.

Robin Winston León has been involved in the local nonprofit community for over fifteen years. Prior to First Star, Robin worked with DoSomething.org as the Los Angeles Director where she oversaw expansion of the New York based teen social-action organization, and before that spent seven years as a senior associate at Levy Pazanti, an LA based event coordination firm that specialized in events in the non-profit sector. There, Robin spearheaded dozens of successful events for organizations such as the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, MOCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, HRC, Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, Women in Film, Heal the Bay and First Star. A graduate of UCLA, Robin remains an active volunteer for many of the nonprofit organizations she worked with previously. Prior to working in the nonprofit field, she worked in the entertainment industry.

Brian oversees the implementation of the First Star Foster Youth Academy model across the United States, as well as identifies and cultivates relationships with strategic partners to expand First Star Academies’ programming.  Prior to joining the First Star National team, Brian was the First Star Academy Director at George Washington University in Washington, DC.  There he was responsible for the development and implementation of diverse programming that fit the specific academic and psychosocial needs of the cohort of students. Brian has a background in Special Education as a high school teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools and an unyielding enthusiasm to be a positive influence on young people!  

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