Marisa Moonilal Montes

Director of Institutional Advancement

Marisa joined IILA in 2021 as a Housing Coordinator to help meet the immediate need of welcoming nearly 900 Afghan refugees to Los Angeles over a five-month period. She worked with IILA's Immigrant and Refugee Services team to arrange temporary and permanent housing for Afghan clients, as well as served as a liaison for volunteers on the ground. Her background in volunteer coordination and ministry programming with Holy Family Church in South Pasadena from 2017 to 2021 allowed her to hit the ground running and address urgent issues as a team player.  

Since then, she has shifted roles to continue addressing key needs on an agency-wide level for volunteer and donor support across programs, as well as advancing PR, marketing, and larger development goals. She now serves as the Director of Institutional Advancement, working alongside a small, dedicated team to share IILA's mission and stories of impact broadly with community partners, supporters, and the media. She cares deeply about IILA's work and is honored to be part of the team. 

Marisa holds a BA in Theological Studies, as well as an MA in Pastoral Theology, from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.