ENCOMPASS - Key Persons
Ashley was born in Eugene, OR, and raised in Arcata, CA. She attended and swam competitively for San Jose State University. Before starting her career in public accounting, she took a year off to train for Olympic Trails in the 100-meter backstroke. Ashley worked in public accounting for three years with Grant Thornton before entering corporate accounting. She currently works as the Corporate Controller at Universal Audio, Inc. Ashley is the mother of two amazing boys, an almost 5-year-old and a 7-year-old. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys working out, cooking, and hanging out with her family. She is honored to be part of such an incredible organization and looking forward to helping make a difference.
Job Titles:
- Policy Council Chairperson
Ashley was born and raised in Watsonville. Her parents are second-generation American citizens. Ashley's Grandparents are from the Philippines, Spain, Portugal, and New Mexico. She is the mother of four amazing children; the eldest is attending the University of Sacramento, the second is in high school, and her two toddlers are in Head Start. All of her children attended Head Start, so she is honored to give back to the program in any capacity, especially as an elected Policy Council and Board Member. She is a proud Healthcare worker and Athletic Director/Coach at the local School District. Child health, wellness, and education are so important to her. Ashley thrives in coaching and supporting Students/Athletes, their siblings, and often their extended family members. Watching them grow and become amazing young adults is a simple yet powerful joy. She is happy to be a part of such an essential building block of early education and family support. Ashley thanks you for the opportunity to serve you!
Elaine Johnson is from the Bronx, in New York City, and has been living in Santa Cruz for 20 years. For as early as Elaine could remember, community, collaboration and working toward a playing field that is leveled for all to have access to has always been at the forefront of her mind and what has led her to do the work that she does. In her childhood, she saw people she knew entering the criminal justice system and not have the means to access programs that would assist in the healing, restoration, diversion, or recidivism to make a change. She has always had a love for the law and vowed to do what she could to bring about change.
Elaine spent several years mentoring students as a way of supporting youth to reach for their highest potential regardless of any barriers that may have been placed in their way. Elaine is also the founder of the Santa Cruz County Neighborhood Courts Program, a diversion program that serves participants throughout Santa Cruz County. Elaine has worked in the fields of juvenile dependency, Community and Divorce mediation, criminal law, and has extensive experience working in collaboration in Santa Cruz County in restorative justice, housing, mentoring programs, (Santa Cruz County High School Mock Trail and Elementary Law program). Elaine is committed to her continued work with community leaders of all levels throughout the County of Santa Cruz.
Elaine holds a bachelor's degree from Binghamton University in Political Science and a Juris Doctorate from Monterey College of Law. Elaine is a certified mediator and currently serves on several boards, which includes Encompass Community Services, Monarch Services, Your Future Is Our Business. She is Past President of Women Lawyers of Santa Cruz County, a Member of Rise Together Coalition, serves on the Santa Cruz Police Chief Advisory team, and is a member of the Santa Cruz County Bar Association. Elaine served on the Executive Committee of the NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch, as a board member at Inner Light Ministries, and has been a member of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Advisory Team.
Elaine enjoys singing gospel music, and lives in Live Oak with her partner Shinehah.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Residential Programs
Erin oversees Encompass's Adult Behavioral Health Residential Programs, which afford adult clients the opportunity to address challenges related to mental health and substance use in a safe, structured environment. These whole-person-centered, evidence-based programs include residential mental health programs, substance use treatment facilities, and an innovative peer-respite house.
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Erin strives to support positive community change, empower disenfranchised groups, and create opportunities for others to heal. Erin has worked for over twenty years in Community Mental Health, focusing on clinical work in the areas of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, behavioral health, substance use disorders, LGBTQ community empowerment, incarceration, and homelessness within the communities of Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. Erin's educational background includes a Master's Degree in Psychology, with an emphasis in Women's Studies from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master's in Business Administration from Chapman University. Working with Encompass Community Services since 2013, Erin strives to promote high standards of care for people accessing the agency's residential services and supports building resiliency for residential staff who do the important work of providing services to clients. She also works to build strong connections with Encompass's community partners to build treatment bridges across Santa Cruz County's system of care.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Healthcare Leader
Gisela Taboada is a healthcare leader committed to improving and expanding quality healthcare access to our most vulnerable community members. She works at Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance) as the Member Services Call Center Manager, has worked in Provider Relations, and has previous experience as a medical assistant for Sutter Health Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Gisela is currently enrolled at San Jose State University and is pursuing a degree in Sociology with a concentration in Community Change. She is a first-generation Latina and looks forward to bringing her life experience to advocate for health care for underserved community members. Gisela is excited to join the Board of Encompass Community Services and have opportunities to positively impact the community and support healthcare equity and social justice.
Job Titles:
- Director, Clinical Practices & Staff Development
Inbal oversees Staff development, training, and the Encompass internship program across the agency.
In her work, Inbal is guided by person-centered, strength-based, trauma/resiliency care principles. Inbal has a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and more than 25 years of experience providing behavioral health treatment in community settings. Inbal is a lifelong learner and a long-time practitioner of mindfulness meditation and is passionate about its clinical applications and contributions to organizational well-being.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
- Director of HR
Jennifer oversees all agency-wide human resource efforts including hiring, recruiting, and staff development.
Jennifer comes to Encompass with over 15 years in human resources and community relations. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Southern Illinois University. She is a long-time volunteer with Meals on Wheels in Santa Cruz County.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager for Transition - Age Youth
Johanna Molnar is a licensed psychologist with over 20 years of experience. She graduated from the University of Texas, Austin with a Ph.D. in educational psychology and specializes in serving children, adolescents, and families from diverse backgrounds.
Johanna has worked in a variety of settings, including outpatient clinics, school districts, private practice, universities, and hospitals. Her former professional roles include serving as an Attending Psychologist at Stanford University Medical Center, a Counseling Psychologist at the University of California, San Diego, the owner of two successful private practices, and a School Psychologist for the Elizabeth School District in Elizabeth, Colorado. Johanna also served as an original Board Member and assisted in creating and launching Parker Performing Arts School in Parker, Colorado. She is an accomplished researcher and a published author. Johanna is a Santa Cruz native, who is deeply invested in making a positive difference in the lives of youth and families in her community.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Youth Services
Kelly is responsible for overseeing Encompass's youth counseling services, including low-cost and Medi-Cal-covered mental health counseling for youth and their families, as well as school-based mental health counseling and free substance use and prevention counseling for adolescents and young adults.
Kelly is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a passion for serving individuals, families, and communities. Over the past 25 years, she has supported youth and families in varying capacities within both educational and therapeutic settings. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and her Master's degree in Expressive Arts Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Kelly adopts a holistic approach to healing and wellbeing and believes strongly in free/accessible supportive services for all individuals in need.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- in 2017 As Chief Financial Officer
Kim leads all finance, payroll and accounting activities across the agency and oversees the properties and maintenance teams that manage Encompass's more than 30 facilities.
Kim Morrison joined Encompass in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer. She brings extensive experience in corporate finance, accounting, forecasting, analysis and information systems. She was most recently at Monterey Peninsula Horticulture, with previous positions at Monterey Mushrooms and Sprint Nextel. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston University and a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Health & Housing
Kristie oversees Encompass's Health & Housing programs, which include programs that outreach to and connect community members with treatment, emergency shelter, case management, education, permanent supported housing, sober living environments, and support for those with HIV/AIDS.
Kristie Brenda believes everyone has the potential to experience Joy through Health and Healing. She joined Encompass Community Services in 2009 and since then has had positions of increasing responsibility in Case Management, Program Development, Program Management and is currently the Senior Manager of Health and Housing. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from California State University Chico. She has trained extensively in trauma reduction and mindfulness techniques, and incorporates these teachings into her daily work supporting our clients.
Job Titles:
- Family Physician
- Medical Director
Leelia Franck, MD, is a family physician by training from MCP Hahnemann in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a residency completed in the Worcester Family Medicine program in Massachusetts. Her previous areas of focus include women's health, intrapartner violence, and working with vulnerable populations affected by social determinants of health. She has worked as a hospitalist, as a primary care physician and, most recently, as a substance use disorder treatment specialist and Medical Director for Encompass Community Services. She received a degree in Medical Acupuncture from Joseph Helms School in 2015.
Dr. Franck has worked for Santa Cruz Community Health Centers since 2015, first as a primary care physician and then as a Site Medical Director, helping to create a medical safety net for vulnerable populations in our community. She worked on pain management guidelines for Santa Cruz Community Health Centers in the setting of the national opiate crisis. Dr. Franck helped grow and develop the Medication Assisted Treatment Program at her Health Center. She has been a part Safe Rx Santa Cruz since 2015, helping to develop pain management guidelines in the Santa Cruz community.
Although she is a native of Massachusetts, she has fallen in love with the beautiful ocean wildlife of Santa Cruz, California. She resides in Santa Cruz County with her partner Matt, a former professional surfer, and her young son.
Linda leads while serving the agency by providing the guidance and framework to coordinate the implementation of the agency's strategic plan. She oversees compliance & quality improvement, IT & data analytics, service line development & impact, and communications programs & initiatives.
Linda is passionate about using data to improve systems and processes in an effort to drive social change. Linda is a licensed clinical social worker with a Master's degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy. She has over 15 years of experience providing direct services as a medical social worker in a variety of health settings and over 10 years of experience conducting policy analysis and program evaluation studies to improve the policies and programs that serve our communities. Linda is bilingual and bicultural.
Lisa works in partnership with the agency's Program Leaders team to oversee Encompass's more than 40 programs that provide direct health and human services to the Santa Cruz County community.
Lisa is a California native who is passionate about promoting healthy, thriving communities. Her most recent experience includes executive leadership roles at Janus of Santa Cruz where she focused on client reported experience and outcome monitoring, evidence-based practice implementation, and data informed process improvements. She has worked extensively in program development, implementation, and evaluation and held senior positions in applied research. Lisa has contributed to the proposals of numerous federal, state, and locally funded projects which have yielded a variety of co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations, and professional reports. She has Master's and Doctorate degrees in Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Monica is a community champion with a reputation of using evidence-based, outcome-driven strategies to achieve results. She believes our most basic human right to healthy lives is intrinsically tied to dignity, equity and justice for all people. Her earlier experience includes leadership roles at a consulting management firm and large nonprofits focused on social justice issues. Monica is currently a member of the Santa Cruz County Human Services Commission, sits on the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, and is Board Chair of FoodWhat, a youth empowerment and food justice nonprofit. She has completed the Women's Policy Institute Fellowship, has a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Myra was born and raised in Watsonville, California. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2010. Her career trajectory reflects her deep commitment to equity and to thriving communities. Myra became a Deputy Probation Officer in 2012 with the Santa Cruz County Probation Department and developed expertise in pre-sentence investigations and issues regarding domestic violence. She has dedicated her career to the principles of restorative justice, where there is compassion and healing for victims as well as offenders.
Myra has experience working with diverse populations. As a probation officer, she works with adults in challenging circumstances and has prior experience working in the classroom with children with developmental disabilities.
Myra is delighted to continue contributing to the Santa Cruz community in promoting equity, well-being, and social change by serving on the Encompass Board of Directors.
Oriana is a public health practitioner working in medical education at Natividad Family Medicine Residency and community health programs with Access Support Network. Her work has centered on culturally driven, community-led responses to health issues, including HIV, Hepatitis C, harm reduction, access to care, mental health research, and domestic violence prevention. Oriana grew up in Santa Cruz and studied biology and public health at UC Berkeley. She learned Spanish while living in Mexico and Ecuador, where she worked in capacity building and community development in both rural and urban areas. Oriana returned to Santa Cruz in 2015, where she has been involved in syringe exchange services, Hepatitis C treatment access, and collaboration across institutions to improve care for marginalized groups. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, skiing, and exploring the wilderness with her partner and two children.
Witnessing the injustices that marginalized people, especially people of color endure due to the lack of accessible quality healthcare, has inspired Oscar to use his voice to champion for those who feel powerless and too often silenced. A strategic, enthusiastic, and innovative healthcare leader, Oscar has a passion for reducing health disparities by creating systems of change. Oscar hopes to replace inefficient systems with culturally humble, innovative, and integrated models of care to break the cycle of inequity. His past experiences included a supervisory role in a federally qualified health center however, Oscar was interested and committed to the broader mission of helping the underserved population.
Currently, Oscar works for Central California Alliance for Health, the county's award-winning regional non-profit health plan, which serves over 370,000 members in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Merced counties. In his role as a Project Specialist, Oscar coordinates, participates, and leads several quality improvement and population health initiatives.
Oscar is a first-generation college graduate and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Education from UC Santa Cruz, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Health Care Administration from Cal State East Bay.
Job Titles:
- Director of Integrated Behavioral Health, Youth & Family
Sabina oversees Encompass's Integrated Behavioral Health, Youth & Family service area, which includes programs designed to support children, youth, young adults and families who are working to increase positive behavior, cope with trauma, navigate the juvenile justice system, improve parenting skills, reduce alcohol and drug use, and successfully transition to adulthood.
Sabina has a master degree in health administration, and a long history of working with diverse populations of seniors, foster youth and their foster families. She has a passion for and commitment to her community. She has spent her career supporting her community in different capacities, and as a bilingual person she has been able to reach diverse populations and devoted time to bridged services with underserved populations.
Throughout her 17 years as a social worker and social work supervisor, she has grown to appreciate and value people for their differences. Always fostering a culture of inclusivity, diversity, and equity, Sabina believes that when we address inequalities, we are able to provide safe environments for all those around us. When we listen and understand disparities, we are all able to work hand-in-hand towards the common goal of creating a better place, and a better world.
Job Titles:
- Director of Integrated Behavioral Health, Adult
Sara oversees all of Encompass's Adult Integrated Behavioral Health programs, which include both residential and outpatient services that offer a full spectrum of trauma-informed, evidence-based mental health and substance use disorder services for adults.
Sara is a Watsonville, California native who grew up inspired by the richness, beauty and diversity of the south county community. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and then her master's degree in social work at San Jose State University. As a bi-lingual civil servant, she began working with individuals and families in Santa Cruz County providing therapeutic services. The past 10 years as a clinical social worker taught her the importance of individualized and holistic care for people to achieve life change.
Job Titles:
- Director of Compliance and Quality Improvement
Sarah and her team support Encompass in following all rules, laws and standards related to the way the agency provides behavioral health services to clients; keep track of quality data to find ways to improve the services provided to clients; and support programs in testing ways to improve services.
Sarah oversees behavioral health services regulatory compliance and quality improvement activities across Encompass.
Steve Glynn is honored to be on the board of an organization that performs such vital work in our community. He is currently a Director of Finance for Universal Audio for forecasting, budgeting, standard costing and financial support. He has worked for a variety of companies here in Santa Cruz and over the course of his career he has held many roles in both Operations and Finance and has been involved in areas ranging from M&A work, opening and managing a factory, implementing standard costing and forecasting systems, pricing and jungle tours. He has a B.A. in Economics from UCSC and a Certificate in Operations Management from Cal Tech. He lives in Watsonville with his wife Julie and a couple cats named Ash and Ember.
Tristan's nursing career started in Santa Barbara where she worked for the county's behavioral health unit and volunteered her time in providing free basic medical care to individuals struggling with homelessness. Her career later took her internationally to the Dominican Republic where she spent her time improving medical care systems within local clinics and public hospitals. Upon moving to Santa Cruz in 2014, she joined Encompass as the RN at one of the mental health residential programs, El Dorado Center. Tristan's role quickly expanded into integrating new medical systems into other residential programs and providing medical case management within the outpatient setting to individuals struggling with chronic homelessness, substance use disorders, mental illness and complex medical vulnerabilities. As Director of Nursing and Health Services, Tristan has continued to be a leader in development and integration of agency-wide medical systems, including a Nurse-Based Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program, pandemic response protocols and establishment of behavioral health student nurse rotations with our local college.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager for Integrated Behavior Health, Adult Outpatient
William oversees Encompass's Adult Integrated Behavioral Health Outpatient programs, which include a full spectrum of trauma-informed, evidence-based mental health and substance use disorder services for adults.
William believes in creating a supportive environment for positive growth where all persons can become their truest self and achieve their full potential. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from San Jose State University and a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Palo Alto University. He is also a registered member of the California Board of Behavior Sciences as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He has been a key contributor to our Santa Cruz county community, serving in numerous roles as a clinician and clinical program manager in substance use disorder residential treatment services. William grew up in Accra, Ghana. He moved to Santa Cruz in 1997 where he currently resides with his family.
Wilma Gold is an expert in early childhood education. She began her career working as a preschool teacher. She began teaching while in school and became a director upon graduation. Wilma has directed parent co-ops, state-funded, faith-based, private-for-profit, and not-for-profit programs for infants through after-school. She is the founder of Simcha Preschool, a faith-based program in Santa Cruz County. She also opened the Tamien Children's Center for Bright Horizons, sponsored by the Santa Clara Transit Authority. She later served as a regional manager for Bright Horizons for four additional years. Wilma then took the position of Director of Children's Services at UC Santa Cruz, where she served for six years.
Wilma has also served as the chair of the Santa Cruz Child Care Planning Council, President of the Peninsula Association for the Education of Yong Children (PAEYC), and sat on the California Association for the Education of Young Children Board.
She taught in the early childhood education department at UC Santa Cruz Extension, Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, and most recently, Pacific Oaks College in San Jose, CA. As an instructor, she taught both the bachelors and graduate programs in Human Development.
Wilma is also on the planning and development committee as treasurer for Educators for Peaceful Classrooms and Communities. In addition, she conducts teacher, parent, and community workshops and classes in that role. Wilma has a BA from Pacific Oaks College and a Master of Social Work from Yeshiva University.