Board of Directors
Rachel Hudson
Rachel Hudson is one of the founders of the Olivia Hudson Foundation. She started OHF after losing her daughter, Olivia Rae Hudson, to childhood cancer. Rachel’s personal commitment is seeing OHF succeed and helping kids who battle the same type of cancer that took Olivia’s life. Her goal is to help further the research that could save another child’s life.
Rachel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and has experience in business management. Formerly a Store Manager and Manager Coach Mentor with Starbucks, Rachel is currently a Quality Assurance Officer for Wyndham Hotels.
Andre Hudson
Andre Hudson is a Co-founder of the Olivia Hudson foundation alongside his wife Rachel. Andre is passionate about bringing practical assistance to children and their families fighting cancer based on the personal understanding from his own experience.
Formerly working with kids in afterschool programs throughout San Diego, Andre has been a full-time Pastor since 2014, giving back to the local community and also serving in missions around the world.
Ken Hudson
Co-founder Ken Hudson has been in the education field for more than 30 years, with experience at every level from children of preschool age to teaching adult classes. For 23 years, he taught, coached, and traveled the world for the Department of Defense Dependent School System. During this period Ken lived in Korea, Italy, Spain, and Japan while traveling to many other countries worldwide. During his career, Ken has served as athletic director, interim principal/administrator, Director of Christian Education and Dean of Education. All these experiences brought him to the doorstep of The Olivia Hudson Foundation.
Ryan Dillon
Ryan Dillon brings a wealth of experience and entrepreneurial skills to the foundation. A former basketball standout at Cal State Fullerton and Azusa Pacific University, Ryan majored in business administration and sociology, and developed his people skills. Ryan spent three years as the assistant basketball coach at San Diego Christian College before being promoted to Associate Athletic Director of the school. He served in this position and directed the athletic programs to the best overall success in school history. Since leaving this position in 2013, Ryan and his partners started Teras Marketing LLC where he is the Vice President of Business Development. Ryan has already been instrumental in bringing thousands of dollars to OHF, and he is looking forward to future endeavors as a board member.
Santiago Ruiz
Santiago Ruiz brings a diverse background to the Olivia Hudson Foundation. An energetic self-starter, Santiago has been responsible for more than $1B in school facilities construction for various K-14 school districts over the past 12 years. As an entrepreneur, Santiago has owned and operated Es Dee Apparel, a screen printing, embroidery and digital graphics company for the past 10 years. Additionally, in 2017, he and his wife Rebecca founded Cornerstone Behavioral Health Specialists which serves the special needs community by providing training and resources to schools, communities and families of children with special needs. As a Board Member, Santiago is dedicated to spreading the message of hope that OHF represents and to develop and foster positive working relationships with the community, businesses and others who support our mission. Santiago holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from the University of Redlands.
Rebecca Ruiz
Rebecca has more than 10 years of experience in the special needs industry and specializes in inclusion programming and curriculum development. Rebecca received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, San Diego; a master's degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Autism from San Diego State University; and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Rebecca founded Cornerstone Behavioral Health Specialists in 2017 with a desire to positively impact children with special needs and to support their families and extended communities. In her spare time, Rebecca serves on the Board of Miracle 139 International, a non-profit organization that provides training and other special-needs resources to third-world countries. Rebecca is an adjunct professor at Pt. Loma Nazarene University, teaching in the Special Education department. She currently serves as the interim director for the children's ministry (Rock Kids) at the City Heights Campus of the Rock Church in San Diego.
Rel Holmes
Rel Holmes has lived in California most of his life, and came to San Diego for college. The city has since held a special place in his heart.
Working in the defense industry, he spends his days leading teams in the diligent work of keeping America and its brave soldiers safe from harm. He combines his technical experience with the Foundation's social media framework to promote the Olivia Hudson vision.
Rel wants to help families coping with pediatric brain cancer and give them hope for the future.
RJ Emerick is the Technical Director for the Rock Church East County campus, where he has worked for the last four years. RJ’s experience in the production field has spanned 13 years with several megachurches in the San Diego area, providing creative input and technical expertise to worship services and their environments.
RJ personally ensures that a member’s experience, from the moment they walk in the door, is exceptional, personal, and undistracted. RJ offers his services as a consultant to other organizations seeking to improve their overall aesthetics, whether that includes stage design, sound engineering, or website content.
Being a longtime friend to the Hudson family, RJ is honored to be part of OHF and offers his unique skillset to benefit the organization however he can.
Joanne Emerick
Joanne Emerick is an administrative analyst with the County of San Diego. She has 15 years of experience as an administrative professional in both private and public sectors, with the last seven years as a public servant with various County executive offices.
Her time in public service has provided many
opportunities to meet with and learn from different communities and San Diego residents of all backgrounds and passions. She received her bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from San Diego State University, excelling in business writing and communication.
She hopes to apply these
administrative proficiencies to OHF’s goals, as well as dedicate compassion and creativity to further OHF’s mission.