Officers

Mary Ann Walker was born in Los Angeles and raised in Sonora, Mexico. With a degree from Webster University, she embarked on an entrepreneurial journey that led to the creation of Walker Advertising, which seeks to bridge the gap between a law firm’s need to grow and an underserved community’s need for trustworthy legal services. Walker recognized that many Latinos did not receive the justice they deserved simply because they did not speak English well. She shared her concerns with attorneys and proposed to publicize their services in the Hispanic community, leading to the creation of Los Defensores and, later, 1-800-THE-LAW2.

Chris Caras earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
Providence Little Company of Mary has long been a philanthropic priority for his family, with Chris continuing his father’s legacy of service on the foundation board.

Rich is a graduate from the State University of New York at Buffalo, with a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management. His career with enterprise computing technology companies spans over 30 years.

Kathie Eckert earned her BBA degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago. She’s lived in South Bay for over 20 years.

Serving as Chief Philanthropy Officer for Providence Little Company of Mary Foundation since 2017, Kurt Hinrichsen brings more than two decades of leadership experience in fund development to the South Bay ministry. In this role, Hinrichsen works in close collaboration with the Foundation board and development colleagues as well as with ministry and regional leadership.