Board of Directors

Ariel Rodriguez, Board President

Ariel Rodriguez, Chair

Ariel Rodriguez is an experienced finance and technology leader driving transformative outcomes using the power of data for business success. He is the founder and CEO of Ambient Point Corp., an early-stage venture operator advancing data-driven, human-centered innovations across select industries.

Ariel was previously Head of Real-Time Analytics Solutions at JPMorganChase, Vice President of Fraud and Financial Crimes at TD Bank, and Vice President of Mortgage Trading and Securitization at Luminent Mortgage Capital. He has also held leadership roles at high growth technology companies, including Chief Data Scientist at Scuba Analytics, a real-time analytics platform used by top-tier clients including Microsoft, Salesforce, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Comcast; Head of Data Science at Jornaya, a customer journey data company, now part of Verisk; and Product Leader of the Behavior Change Analytics Platform at Mobiquity, a digital consultancy and cloud solutions provider, acquired by Hexaware.

Ariel is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Puerto Rico, and is a certified analytics and data privacy professional. A passionate volunteer for social impact, he has served at several Philadelphia nonprofit organizations and institutions: Board Member at Xiente; Member of the Advisory Council at Drexel University’s Center for Business Analytics; Officer of the Philadelphia Chapter of INFORMS; Board Member at the French International School of Philadelphia; and Board Member at the American Street Financial Services Center (now FINANTA).

Marjorie Dugan, Ph.D., Vice President

M.P. Dugan Associates, LLC.: CEO & Consultant

Dr. Marjorie Dugan has served on the Board of Xiente for eight years; before joining the Board, Dr. Dugan had been engaged to undertake paid as well as pro bono projects for Xiente. She has been involved with Xiente since 1992. Currently, Dr. Dugan is serving as a consultant to Philadelphia FIGHT, a remarkable FQHC that serves those usually forgotten.

Dr. Dugan has extensive, senior level experience in education and health care strategic planning. She designed and led a team to implement and market a state-wide (PA) community college project to increase the numbers and success of women receiving public support to complete college and enter the workforce. Dr. Dugan developed an implementation model based on her strategic plan for restructuring prison health care for the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (City of Philadelphia); this model resulted in improved inmate health care as well as a $10 million cost reduction (year one) for the City of Philadelphia; she also completed an evaluation and strategic plan that to improve inmate services and broad-based operations at PDP. Dr. Dugan evaluated Tamaa, a project of the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center, for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Dr. Dugan interrupted her consulting to serve as Director of Policy and Planning for the City of Philadelphia.  In that role she developed initiatives for children, health care, university/city partnerships, workforce development (including literacy, youth development and welfare to work). During her career, Dr. Dugan served as Executive Director of the Fellowship Commission, one of the oldest civil/human rights organizations in the country; Executive Assistant to the President of the Medical College of Pennsylvania and completed her career at the Community College of Philadelphia as founding Dean of the Division of Educational Support Services. While at CCP, Dugan received the Lindback Award (1978). She was also selected as a Fellow of the American Council on Education. She has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and served as an evaluator for the Middle States Review of Schools and Colleges. Dr. Dugan was recognized by the Soroptimists and the National Conference of Christians and Jews, for her work to end bigotry in all its forms and address issues of inequality. She received an AB and MS in Biology (Immaculata College and Boston College, respectively) and an MS and Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania). Dugan’s daughter is Human Rights Counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, American team.

Kisha Vargas, Treasurer

Assistant Director of Finance, Small Business Development Center, Temple University

Kisha Vargas is the Assistant Director of Finance for the Small Business Development Center at Temple University (SBDC), where she plays a pivotal role in overseeing the center’s financial operations, strategy, and budget. With a background in accounting and nonprofit management, she brings over 15 years of experience in her various roles. Kisha is responsible for managing financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and ensuring the integrity of financial records.

Kisha holds a master’s in business administration from Bloomsburg University. Outside of work, Kisha enjoys making memories with her family, and going to Broadway shows.

Larry Garfield, Board Member

Maridarlyn Gonzalez, Board Member

Maridarlyn Gonzalez is a senior researcher with Pew’s Philadelphia research and policy initiative, focusing on immigration, equitable infrastructure, and the annual State of the City report.

Gonzalez has prior experience in housing, transportation, public engagement, and community development. Before coming to Pew, she worked in shelters and managed a bi-state housing and energy conservation program. Gonzalez also supported transportation and English proficiency initiatives at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Mari serves as the President on the Board of Philadelphia’s League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) council. While serving on LULAC’s board, Mari brought meaningful programming through the Cafe Con Leche Series. Through her leadership and knowledge of geospatial information, LULAC Philly created a map of people whose first language is Spanish and provided that map to poll office volunteers to better place interpreters. She is also a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves as the ULI Americas, Young Leaders Group DEI co-chair. ULI YLG steering committee oversees programs in Canada, the US, and Latin America. In this role, she advocates for equitable development and challenges people to consider cities and their neighborhoods as ecosystems.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in geoscience, energy, and policy from the Pennsylvania State University and a master’s in geospatial technology and geodesign from Thomas Jefferson University. Of all her achievements, Mari is most proud of her humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic and those unexpected lessons she learned in her youth in North Philadelphia that drove her resiliency, creativity, and purpose.

Frederic M. Krieger, Board Member

Stradley Ronon: Partner

Frederic Krieger is a partner at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, a Philadelphia-based law firm with offices in major metropolitan areas across the United States. Fred has been engaged in the practice of law for many years, both in private practice and in various in-house positions. At Stradley Ronon, Fred is co-chair of the firm’s broker-dealer practice, which focuses on the various laws and regulations applicable to financial services firms in their capital market activities and in their operation as regulated entities.

Fred’s roles have embraced issues relating to governance, ethics, compliance and statutory interpretation. He has taught courses at several law schools. Fred has also served on several boards of directors of not-for-profits, including Jewish Vocational Services in San Francisco, a nonprofit working to close opportunity gaps in employment, and the Center for Anti-Violence Education, a New York-based not-for-profit that aims to address violence and threats of violence in local communities through educational programs.

A lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, Fred grew up in the region and resides in the city. He has two wonderful, happily married children and four grandchildren.

Lawrence McComie, Board Member

Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Senior Vice President & Chief Credit Officer, Financial Services

Lawrence McComie serves as a Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of the Financial Services Group at the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, also known as PIDC. He has over 13 years’ experience at PIDC and 34 years of overall commercial lending and real estate finance experience. Mr. McComie currently manages 17 staff members responsible for originating, structuring, underwriting, closing, and asset managing all PIDC’s financial services loan and grant products comprising a $500 million portfolio of loans and investments.

Previously employed at Wells Fargo Bank for 21 years, Mr. McComie underwrote a variety of commercial real estate and business loans focused on affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and economic development. Many of these projects required multi-layered capital structures, including federal, state, and local government subsidies, private equity, subordinated debt financing, and the Bank’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Equity, Historic Tax Credit Equity or New Markets Tax Credit financing.

Mr. McComie also served on the Boards of the Cooperative Business Assistance Corporation in Camden, NJ (2000 to 2005), Philadelphia Urban Finance Corporation in Philadelphia, PA (2010 to 2012), FINANTA (MBE CDFI) in Philadelphia, PA (2012 to 2020), and FINANTA formerly Community First Fund (MBE CDFI/CDE) in Lancaster, PA (2020 to Present). Member of the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund Loan Committee (2022 to Present).

Rosa Montijo, Board Member

Rosa Montijo is a highly experienced banking professional with over 17 years in financial services. As an Assistant Vice President at TruMark Financial Credit Union, she specializes in developing customized financing solutions, data analytics, participates in the creation and implementation of strategic initiatives, including systems and training. With a strong focus on member relationships, employee engagement, and a commitment to exceptional service, Rosa has been able to navigate and excel in various roles, ultimately landing in her most current position as AVP, Retail Data and Sales Insights Manager.

Nikki Pumphrey, Board Member

The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

Nikki Pumphrey is a leader in workforce development committed to advancing economic mobility and racial equity through public-private partnerships. She has dedicated her career to ensuring that race, neighborhood, and country of origin no longer determine access to opportunity in the Philadelphia region.

Currently, she serves as Vice President for Talent and Workforce at The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, advancing inclusive talent strategies to support the region’s economic growth. Prior to joining the Chamber, she was Senior Managing Director at Per Scholas, a national organization focused on connecting women and people of color to careers in technology. Nikki has also served as the Deputy Director at The Welcoming Center, where she secured $250,000 in national philanthropic funding to support a comprehensive, employer-informed immigrant workforce strategy for Philadelphia, in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Commerce. She has also provided guidance on immigrant integration policy and practices for 16 U.S. states and cities and presented on innovative workforce models at the White House Summit on Immigrant Integration in 2016.

Nicole is an active community leader and has served on the executive leadership team of the City of Philadelphia Workforce Professionals Alliance since 2019. She currently serves as Board Chair for the Technology Learning Collaborative as well as on the board of Amplify Philly. In 2019, she founded PHL Women in WkDev, a community of 100+ leaders and professionals to address the need for connection, collaboration, and career advancement in the field of workforce development.

Alex Robles, Board Member

Real Estate Investor

Mr. Alex Robles was born to parents from the Dominican Republic and raised in in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. A first-generation college student, he attended Penn State University, majoring in Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management. After graduating in 2009, he spent seven years working in operations at HEI Hotels & Resorts, a private hotel real estate investment firm. In his time with HEI, he spearheaded sales & marketing efforts for hotels within brands such as Le Meridien and Westin prior to leading business travel strategy for a 17-hotel cluster.

In 2017, he enrolled as an MBA student at The Wharton School with the goal of transitioning from hotel operations to real estate. The passion for real estate derives from his desire to contribute to low-income communities by improving existing housing for residents and generating jobs for individuals of different education levels. In 2019, Alex launched Voyage Investments, an impact-driven real estate firm that has developed over $15M in Philadelphia projects.

Alex serves as Board Chair of the Kensington Corridor Trust, a community land trust in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, and board member of Xiente. Alex is married to his college sweetheart, Lee Anne, and has twin sons, Lorenzo and Christian.

Maria Sourbeer, RA, Board Member

Mosaic: Senior Vice President of Development

Maria Sourbeer has made a career out of bridging the gap between her capabilities as an architect/developer and her responsibilities as a community member. She believes that a beautiful and well-designed space has a positive influence on a basic human level. She’s carried this idea through from her experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer, to her current position as Senior Vice President of Development for Mosaic Development Partners.

At Mosaic, she leads and manages the development team and is responsible for creating enduring company policies and culture that strengthens the workplace. Her mentorship provides direction for the team from project inception to completion. Maria’s passion for revitalizing urban neighborhoods shines through in her dedication to bringing jobs, homes, and commercial enterprise to communities in need.

Maria has over 25 years of professional experience and continues to grow through her love of family, work and play. Outside of Mosaic, she dedicates volunteer efforts to Xiente and Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation. Maria’s commitment to excellence and community empowerment sets the standard for development leadership.