Board of Directors
Bishop L.J. Guillory
Board Chair
Compton Public Safety Commissioner and Ombudsman General to both National Ombudsman and Ombudsman International, Inc.
Bishop L.J. Guillory - Bishop is Ombudsman General to both National Ombudsman and Ombudsman International, Inc., which are 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations that act as Government Oversight Agencies to investigate complaints of corruption by public employees as well as government agents and contractors., as a Unitarian Minister, his lifetime experience crosses national, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. In 2023, Bishop was appointed to the Compton Public Safety Commission by the Mayor and City Council, currently serving as Chairman of that Commission.
Alen Amini
Board Vice Chair
Project Leader at Boston Consulting
Group (BCG) & Atlantic Council
Millennium Fellow
Alen Amini is a 2022 Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership fellow and a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. He was born in Ohio and was later a math teacher and vice principal in Arkansas; he has experience running a rug business and a food truck. Amini has a passion for geopolitics and is a Council on Foreign Relations term member, is a Presidential Leadership scholar, and was a Fulbright scholar. Amini is an alumnus of Harvard University (where he was a Center for Public Leadership fellow), earned his MBA at Dartmouth College, and earned a computer science degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ray Hollans-Everette
Board Treasurer
Vice President Community Manager,
JP Morgan Chase
Ray Hollans is a Community Manager within Contra Costa County for Community & Business Development at Chase Bank. He serves as a local ambassador whose job is to build and nurture relationships with key community leaders, nonprofit partners, and small businesses at the neighborhood level. Ray hosts financial health workshops, facilitates non-profit partnerships and offers community programming. With over 13 years of experience within the financial service industry, he is helping to advance racial equity by supporting Black and Hispanic communities with tools and resources to help them improve their financial wellbeing.
Dr. Brett Lane
Board Secretary
Chief Marketing Officer,
SEO Outsourcing
Brett Lane is a CMO with over 20 years of Digital Marketing experience. He specializes in various digital marketing strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, PPC, Video, and Content Marketing utilizing AI (GPT4), and social/viral link building. His primary focus is assisting large companies, and Fortune 500 businesses develop their digital marketing activities and strategies to achieve growth. Dr. Lane has extensive experience as a CMO and has previously worked with hundreds of companies. His comprehensive approach to digital marketing has resulted in remarkable success with various brands across multiple industries.
Toree Elston-Moore
Community Organizer &
Nonprofit Consultant
Toree Elston-Moore is a lifelong community organizer and activist. Hailing from Long Beach, California his works have been instrumental in helping underprivileged children gain access to higher education. Toree has given much time and effort to the nonprofit sector, holding roles that fostered the facilitation / evaluation of programs through Stiles Hall; UC Berkeley’s Community Service Center. He is an alum of Long Beach City College, and the University of California - Berkeley and holds a BA in Theater and Performance Studies.
Royal Ramey
Chief Executive Officer &
Co-Founder
Royal Ramey is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FFRP. As the CEO, Ramey is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and delivery of the strategic plan of the organization. Ramey leads FFRP's fundraising, marketing, and outreach efforts.
Ramey grew up in San Fernando Valley, CA, and met FFRP Co-Founder, Brandon Smith later in life while incarcerated at the Bautista Adult Conservation ("Fire") Camp in Riverside County. After his release, Ramey spent eleven months pursuing a professional career in fire. Despite the extensive barriers, Ramey finally received an opportunity to join the Mojave Greens (US Forest Service) crew in San Bernardino, CA.
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Ramey has spent more than ten years as a wildland firefighter in the US Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and, now with the Buffalo Handcrew--FFRP's own private fire department. He is intensely aware of what is needed to train individuals to excel at an advanced level within the forestry and fire sector. Ramey co-founded FFRP to help create this comprehensive pathway for individuals just like him that are coming home from prison, and are seeking opportunties to be a professional firefighter.
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In 2022, Ramey received a Pardon from Governor Newsom on behalf of the State of California.
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Brandon Smith
Senior Advisor & ​Co-Founder
Brandon N. Smith is the Co-Founder and Senior Advisor to Executive Leadership at FFRP. Through this role, Smith works closely with the CEO and Leadership Team to provide guidance on the organization's strategic direction in order to maximize the impact and mission of FFRP.
Smith grew up in Altadena, California and has a Bachelor of Arts in African American and Liberal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. While incarcerated later in life, Brandon was approached to join a Conservation ("Fire") Camp. While initially reluctant to join, Brandon was ultimately convinced by the prospect of living and working closer to family and loved ones. Ultimately, Brandon was drawn to professional fire fighting after serving in a fire camp and feeling a sense of purpose and recognizing the opportunity to give back to the community. Brandon met his co-founder, Ramey, at the Bautista Adult Conservation Fire Camp in Riverside County.
Smith was released in March 2014 after his sentence was reduced because of his work on a fire crew. After release, Brandon spent 18 months+ applying to fire stations before receiving his first . In the professional assignment to fight the Lake Fire in 2015. Shortly after, Brandon was hired by the US Forest Service.
Later that same year, Smith and Ramey founded FFRP to do their part to help the thousands of others currently and formerly incarcerated in Fire Camps obtain gainful employment within this sector once they come home.