
Jackie Bastard
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A first-generation college graduate, Jackie earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Houston-Downtown with a minor in Political Science and her M.A. in Criminology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Prior to joining Jolt, she gained eight years of experience in human resources, operations, and youth programming. Her educational achievements and hands-on experience at Jolt uniquely position her to guide our organization into its next decade with strength and purpose.
Jackie is excited to be part of Jolt, an organization that empowers, equips, and mobilizes individuals to speak up not only for themselves but for those who are afraid to do so for fear of reprisal.

Maria Tolentino
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Maria is a proud Texas native, Chicana, and first-generation Mexican-American. She is the granddaughter of migrant farmworkers and daughter to immigrant mother from Monterrey, Mexico. Maria has been in the non-profit sector for 16 years working with underserved communities, single-parent households and at-risk youth to remove barriers while developing employment and educational opportunities. She is a proud mother of five and a hobby sugar artist/baker for local and national charities.
Through her personal experiences of the injustices facing the Latinx communities and political issues that were near and dear to her heart, she was drawn to become involved with Jolt. She wants to be a voice of empowerment and become a force for positive change in the Latinx community.
She hopes to encourage, educate and mobilize the Latinx community to use their voting power for positive change in addition to advocating for those who cannot vote.

Israel Salazar
Operations and Human Resources Director
Israel “Izzy” Salazar Jr. is a dedicated leader in Human Resources and Operations Management, a first-generation college graduate, and the proud son of migrant farm workers. His academic journey includes a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Chicago, an Ed.M. in Human Resource Development from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University. Currently, he is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration with a specialization in Human Resource Management.
With over 18 years of experience, Izzy has held senior leadership roles in state government and higher education, where he has focused on Human Resources and Operations Management. In addition to his executive career, he is a part-time professor at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, where he teaches Business Law and Human Resource Management.
A proud native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Izzy has long been involved in advocacy and leadership organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Gulf Coast Council of La Raza, and the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation. He is deeply committed to empowering the Latino community and strongly supports Jolt’s mission to equip Latinos with the tools to create meaningful change.
Beyond his professional and advocacy work, Izzy enjoys fishing, attending car shows, and exploring parks with his wife and two children.