Our Team
Matt Schnitzer: Founder + Board President
Matt, a Southern California native, has been a barber at Kings Club Barbershop in Dana Point since 2011. He met his wife Jess in 2014 and they married in Baja California in the Valle De Guadalupe in 2016. Matt and Jess now enjoy making memories in Baja with their daughter who was born in 2020.
Aside from being a barber, Matt enjoys trail running, new challenges, and helping others. His passion for helping others is what lead him to create Barbers For Baja in 2020. Matt’s motto is “if we can change one life it was all worth it.’
Jessee Schnitzer: Vice President
Jess was born and raised on the Outer Banks of North Carolina until her family picked up and set roots in Southern California. She met her husband Matt in 2014 and married in 2016 in Baja California, her happy place. They bought their first house in San Juan Capistrano in 2017 and made it a home when Jess gave birth to their sweet baby girl in 2020. Jess now revels in creating beautiful memories with her family and especially enjoys exploring Baja together.
In addition to being a wife and mom, Jess has a background in curating promotional social media content, personal training, holistic nutrition, and hair styling. She enjoys spending her free time exercising, training others, making and building Barbers For Baja along side her husband.
Nic Smith: Treasurer
Nic was born and raised in Orange County, as was his wife. They both attended Dana Hills High School, where Nic now works as a math teacher, but did not meet until years later on a missions trip to Rancho Santa Marta, outside San Vicente, BCS. They now have three small children and reside in San Juan Capistrano.
In addition to his role as math teacher, Nic coached both boys and girls cross country at Dana Hills for 8 years. Most recently serving as head girls’ coach for 5 seasons before stepping down to focus on his family.
Nic earner his Bachelors of Science in Mathematics from UCLA (2011), where he also completed 4 years on the rowing team. His previous non profit experience includes serving on the Dana Running Foundation board and the Friends of UCLA Rowing alumni group.
Cassra Minai: Secretary
Cassra obtained his Juris Doctor degree with a concentration in Tax with Honors from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2017, while earning various academic awards, including awards for Excellence in Tax and Distinguished Academic Achievement Award for Tax Research.
He is experienced in all aspects of small business and international tax law, enabling him to provide legal guidance as to a wide range of family companies, start-ups, independent contractors, foreign corporations and expats. His areas of focus include tax compliance for small businesses, individuals and non-profit organizations; business tax planning and research; international tax compliance; IRS tax controversy and dispute resolution, including tax litigation in federal court; IRS branerton letters and conferences; and helping taxpayers navigate the tax consequences of foreclosure or debt discharge (Bankruptcy).
Education
J.D., Quinnipiac University School of Law
Certificate of Taxation, Quinnipiac University School of Law
B.A., UC Riverside, Political Science, Minor in History
SUPPORTING BARBERSHOPS: