Meet Our Team
Hali Wolf
Founder, Executive Director
Hali, mother of three and former salon owner/ hair stylist, founded His Little Feet in 2014. She has built His Little Feet from the ground up with her whole heart.
When she is not working to help at risk children get the shoes they need , Hali is doing hair at a local salon in Seal Beach. Throughout her 20-year career as a stylist, she has worked on the red carpets of the Emmy’s, ESPY’s and Grammy’s. Her hobbies include paddle boarding, cycling, gardening and traveling the USA and touring state capitals around the country.
Hali has toured 12 of 38 state capital buildings and her current favorite is in Austin, Texas. When she’s not taking her daughter to the mall , son to work and after school actives. On the weekends Hali enjoy attending a local nondenominational Christian Church, family time with her adult son and enjoys relaxing at the local beaches!
Hali runs HLF from the warmth of her own home. She manages all operations of HLF including donor oversight, warehouse management, events & planning and publicity.
Susan Silvestri
President / Executive Board Chair
Susan has served the HLF team since 2018. She is a Senior Manager for a waste and recycling company located in the City of Industry. She currently oversees all administrative, sales, marketing, and customer support operations for the company. Her corporate experience is the foundation of the executive board.
Susan is the President of Puente Hills Republican Women Federated, an alternate member for the OCGOP Central Committee, a scholar of the Marian Bergeson Excellence in Public Service Series, a member of the Women in Solid Waste and Recycling, Los Angeles Women’s Leaders Association, and titleholder for Ms. Southern California Cities 2020 & 2021.
She prides herself in being a role model to her two daughters by working hard and giving back to the community. Susan’s leadership skills, philanthropic nature and professional knowledge guides the HLF mission to make big impressions with His Little Feet.
Marjorie Cardenas
VP of Fundraising
Marjorie just joined HLF for 2022! She lives with her husband in Long Beach where she raised her two children, Sean and Katherine. Marjorie received her B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Education from the University of Southern California.
Marjorie recently retired after working in education for 31 years as a dual language immersion teacher, outreach coordinator, curriculum specialist and Vice Principal at LAUSD, LBCC, LBUSD, and SAUSD.
Marjorie was inspired by Hali’s work to seek donations of gently used shoes and start a
nonprofit out of her garage. She supported Hali’s efforts by taking bins of socks and shoes to several schools in SAUSD for students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Some donations also included school supplies, books, and uniforms.
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Marjorie appreciates nature and the outdoors. She has participated in several half marathon
races and enjoys hiking. As Vice President, she hopes to expand the mission of His Little
Feet through fundraising and increasing awareness in communities across Southern
California.
Blanca Sofia Crocker
Executive Board Member
Blanca joined the HLF executive board in December 2021. Currently Blanca resides in Temecula, CA. with her husband and son although was born in Colombia!
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Blanca has a strong passion to help underprivileged children as she served on a mission team based out of Flower Mound TX. The team regularly made trips to Mexico where they would construct 3-5 homes from the ground up for families that were financially struggling.
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Blanca is bi-lingual and speaks, reads and writes in both Spanish and English which is an asset to the HLF team.
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Blanca has owned her own business as well as managed real estate investments for her own family trust.
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In 2005 Blanca and her husband Todd Crocker adopted a little boy from Guatemala. Their son is now 17 years old, where he is thriving and developing into a mature responsible young man.
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Blanca has been searching for an opportunity to get involved in a socially responsible charity that is focused on actually impacting children in need. Meeting Hali via Blanca’s sister has provided an excellent opportunity for Blanca to focus her passion to make a difference in young people’s lives.
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Blanca looks forward to digging in and helping the team where she can to make a difference and assist the executive board in their effort to impact young children with real need. Fun fact about Blanca is she likes gardening and creating beautiful arrangements from the yard!
Kristina Galias
Executive Secretary
Kristina is an elementary school teacher. She holds a dual Master's in Educational Leadership and Curriculum from the American College of Education. Her passion for helping youth began when she was in high school volunteering with underprivileged children living in the Villages at Cabrillo at the time. She learned about His Little Feet through a Long Beach volunteering project several years ago and fell in love with the mission and vision of the organization. Kristina is the former Miss Long Beach 2017 and she has been an active volunteer in the community since 2014. She was born and raised in Long Beach and the city holds a special place in her heart.
Kristina enjoys living an active lifestyle. She has participated in many 5K/10K races including the first annual HLF Stomping out Poverty race in October 2020. As the Executive Secretary, she hopes to spread the mission of His Little Feet and inspire others to get involved in giving back to those in need.
Gail Freedman
Treasurer
Gail joined the His Little Feet family in 2019. She is a mom to two sons, and a rescue pup, and has a passion for giving back to children and families in the community. She co-founded a group of singers that sing in convalescent homes in Silverlake LA, called the “Sunday Sound” that features annual Sunday performances. Locally she has served in various roles on the boards of Hadassah (President, Treasurer), the Alpert JCC, Newcomb Academy Foundation (Marketing), Newcomb Academy PTSA (Grade Level Chair), as well as Temple Israel. Gail has served the community through SPCA LA Long Beach and recently concluded 7 years of volunteer work with a local B.S.A. Troop. She is also Ms. Long Beach runner-up 2020.
Professionally, Gail is a software product manager for United Healthcare, guiding developers’ work on various provider payment system projects. She is also a project manager with a passion for process improvement. When not working, parenting, or volunteering, Gail enjoys singing with the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in LA, with local Temple Israel musicians, and on local hiking trails.
Lelani Duckwitz
Executive Board,
Public Relations Manager
Lelani is an award-winning public speaker, marathon runner and veteran of the Unites States Army. Having grown up in an economically challenged environment, Lelani was the first in her family to attend college.
She has emerged as into a community leader with a heart for service. She regularly speaks at schools to encourage our youth to continue their education beyond high school and make education decisions about their future. She is a professional meeting and event planner and has coordinated hundreds of weddings.
A wife and mom of two young daughters and a dog, she is Mrs. Southern California Cities 2018. She sees life as an adventure, loves growing in new challenges and once spent six days on a deserted island. Her passion and work ethic lead the HLF executive board.
Antonio Appling
Advisory Board Member
Antonio has been a part of the HLF team since 2018. He is a loving husband and father of a 2-year-old baby boy. Antonio is actively involved in the Long Beach community and is a business owner of The Nest located in Bellflower.
He received his credentials to teach high school English from San Francisco State University. Antonio’s passion for the community reflects in his resume as a founder of the art based non-profit Definitive Soap Box and Board Chair for Kingdom Causes non-profit.
When he’s not giving back to the community, he’s dabbling into poetry and collecting the hottest sneakers on the market. One fun fact about Antonio, is that he interned for MTV when he was nineteen in the Florida Keys. As an executive board member, Antonio brings an irreplaceable creative flare to the HLF team.
Dan Bacchetti
Advisory Board Member
Dan Bacchetti started working with HLF in early 2018 and has been involved with special projects at HLF as their inhouse consultant. Dan is currently the President and Owner of Bacchetti Advisory Services. He also serves on the Board of Headwater Companies in Denver, Colorado.
He received his MBA from the University of Southern California and undergraduate degree from San Diego State. During Dan’s 38 year career at Franklin Electric he served as their National Sales Manager and Regional Manager. His job required extensive travel thru the USA, Canada and Latin America.
Dan now enjoys spending time with his family, personal travel, civic duties and managing his consulting company. Dan is married with two sons and four grandchildren. Dan and his wife, Noel, enjoy seeing new places and have visited 22 countries and 48 states so far!
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Uyen Lam
Advisory Board Member
Uyen just joined HLF for 2020! She is Mrs. Long Beach runner-up 2020 and last year’s runner up for Mrs. Southern California Cities 2019.
She is the first college graduate from her immediate family at CSULB. A transfer from LBCC, she was honored with 'Woman of the year' by the National Exchange Club of Long Beach for her commitment to community service and received the highest recognition with the Viking award that LBCC rewards for the last 20 years.
Uyen teaches hula dancing at a transitional program for special education and is a proactive mother of 2 young children. In her spare time, she loves Tahitian dancing and serving her community She resides in Long Beach with her Marine Corp veteran husband.
Uyen's dream is to own a small business in the arts and creative photography and creating her own nonprofit that cultivates her passion to serve and leave her legacy that 'kindness goes a long way' to future generations.
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She believes her heart belongs in Hawaii but continues to be a California girl with family-oriented values and her parents being her "home" here in Southern California.
Christine Haley
Advisory Board Member
Christine has been a part of the HLF team since 2017. She has built her career in the credit union industry, where she has used her expertise in finance and management to live out the credit union motto of“people helping people,” leading both at her credit union and as an active member of several committees and collaboration organizations all working to serve others better.
Her passion for children in need was ignited by a mission trip to Kenya in 2013, and since then she has returned several times and currently serves on the board of Tumaini international, an organization dedicated to bringing hope to under-served children there.
A wife and fiercely dedicated mother of seven, she can often be found outside in her vegetable garden or just hanging out with her family.