Team Members

Meet our team of passionate mentors, community leaders, and students who are dedicated to support young entrepreneurs as they explore and create their business ideas.

Casey Sanchez
Founder

Hello, my name is Casey Sanchez, and I am the founder and executive director of Youth Empowered Flips. I am responsible for teaching, mentoring, and creating opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. Having developed an entrepreneurial growth mindset over the years has changed my life completely, and I hope my knowledge and experience can be a benefit to others. In addition to being an executive director for YE Flips, I am also a CFO of a successful commercial painting company. Having created such value for my business partner, he now actively supports our nonprofit. Such an end result is what our nonprofit wishes to accomplish; a win-win opportunity for all that scales over time.

Casey is a dedicated person who enjoys working out, traveling, and eating chocolate chip cookies.

Rebeca Lopez
Co-Founder / Treasurer / Social Media Manager

My name is Rebeca Lopez and I am a Senior at California State University - Los Angeles, majoring in Marketing Management. I am responsible for Y.E Flips Social Media, website, and being vice director. I'm currently an intern at a cosmetics company, aspiring Graphic Designer, and a Bookkeeping Intern.

Rebeca is a proactive and ambitious person. She loves playing video games, plushies, and her pet hamster.

Natalie Stromberg
Board Secretary

Natalie is the Business Development Coordinator at the Davis Catalyst Center where she works with industry partners to find real-world projects for students. Students develop professional skills as they take ownership of their future. Natalie is the project manager directing student projects in Cyber Security, Web Design, Culinary Arts, Drones, Audio, Video, Construction Management, Business and Marketing.

Natalie is the mother of 4 amazing children. She loves traveling with and supporting them in all of their adventures! Natalie loves humanitarian travel and has served people in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador, India, and Nepal.

Ian Roy
Board Member

Ian is on the Founding Team of Savor Lining, where he works with companies and nonprofits to make mental health easily accessible and less stigmatized. Their therapist-led team events help to increase mental fitness and reduce stigma. Ian has previously worked on a number of education and community based nonprofits, including with Youth Entrepreneurs (now Empowered), as the California lead in growing entrepreneurship curriculum and collaboration across schools and educators, for the benefit of their students.

Ian is a happy husband, uncle and turtle dad, spending most of his time enjoying botanical gardens, live music, poetry and going on new food adventures.