In May, Youth on Their Own welcomed two new members to its Board of Directors: Katina Koller and Deb Salaiz.
Katina Koller was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Wisconsin, where she attended the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, earning her degree in English with a focus on communications and multicultural literature with a minor in psychology. She moved to Montana and then back to Wisconsin before coming to Tucson with her family in 2012. She is an executive coach and business strategist working with CEOs and owners of small and mid-cap companies to create growth. Katina first became aware of YOTO shortly after she and her family arrived in Tucson and saw bus benches advertising the organization. She has previously served on the board and as a member of the finance committee of the nonprofit Osceola Medical Center, and also serves as a Literacy Connects board member. Katina embraced the opportunity to join YOTO and finds it rewarding to lend her skills to an admirable cause.
“Together, the greater Tucson community can positively impact the lives of thousands of our young people and our entire socioeconomic system at the same time,” Katina says. “These efforts are vital for the health of our residents, neighborhood and businesses, and it is important to me to align my focus to serve the needs of others for the greater good.”
Deb Salaiz was born and raised in Southern California. She enrolled at the University of La Verne, majoring in accounting and economics; she then went on to earn her master’s degree in business from the University of Phoenix. She moved to Tucson after her employer, General Dynamics, was bought out by Hughes Aircraft. Deb started working for Raytheon, and she is now the senior manager of proposals excellence. She heard about YOTO from Nicola Hartmann after she had just been named chief executive officer. The two had previously served together on the Sunnyside Unified School District Foundation Board. Deb chose to join YOTO because she wanted to support the cause.
“I enjoyed working with Nicola in the past and saw the success she was able to bring to charitable organizations,” Deb says. She adds that she looks forward to seeing what kind of contributions they could both make at YOTO.
