Gwen M. N. Garcia
Director of Operations
Board Member
Specialty: Violence Prevention, Company Administration
Gwen is a naturally compassionate person. She has time to devote to making sure each part of the operational plan is achieved. Her area of specialty is in violence prevention and as a former victim of domestic violence. She is understanding and a good example of a successful survivor. She currently has a certificate as a Community Health Worker, yet we all want to upgrade to the UC Merced program! We know from experience that dreams do come true. We greatly value her compassion, organizational skills, and thoroughness.
Joseph Gonzalez, RN, CCRN
Director of Health Care Services and Ethics
Specialty: Oversight, Recovery Standards, Medical Documentation
Mr. Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from National University, Fresno, CA campus. He works in the local trauma center, which serves many socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. He was an Extern at the Veterans Administration. His academic and career achievements are excellent and he will exhibit exceptional leadership in his areas of specialty. We greatly value his oversight.
Janice Lacy
Community Health Worker
Board Member
Specialty: Street Outreach, Business Development, Justice Involved Individuals, Substance Use Disorder
Janice Lacy has a Bachelor's Degree in Science, in Business Administration from California State University, Fresno. Her background professionally was working in stock brokerage, completing bookkeeping, and working for the IRS. When she faced a life-threatening medical issue, she faced homelessness and incarceration. Throughout that time she has been the voice of reason and recovery. Now, this is the only career path that is for her. She is most grateful to be alive, has no hard feelings for hardship and wants to help others to navigate the situation. The combination of education and disadvantaged circumstances is very rare and will provide great insight.
Gabriel Hernandez
Board Member
Future CHW
Specialty: Street Outreach, Justice Involved Individuals, Substance Use Disorder, Peer-to-Peer Counseling
Gabriel is a dynamic, caring and strong individual. At this time he will provide oversight as a board member, yet his future as a Community Health Worker, Navigator and/or Peer-to-Peer Counselor. Gabriel has lived experience due to prior homelessness and incarceration, for minor offenses. Now that he is back on his feet, he would like to share the joy of housing, good health and hard work with the community. He is a good listener, with an outgoing and caring personality. Please be patient as each one of us learns on the job. We believe that Gabriel will be successful in everything that he does.