Next Gen 2022-23

Ameilia Post

Director of Learning and Leadership Development at SOMOS Mayfair

Amelia is the Director of Learning and Leadership Development at SOMOS Mayfair. She supports SOMOS’ economic justice, restorative practices, and mutual aid programs. Amelia also helps lead the Universidad Popular de Mayfair, a community institute where members share knowledge and skills to carry out solutions for our collective wellbeing. She is a longtime popular educator and organizer and follows in the footsteps of generations of women in her family who have organized communities of care. Amelia graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Before moving back to the Bay Area, she was based in Tennessee, helping to build a youth organizing program and organizing campaigns around education access, worker rights, community defense, and language justice.

When not working: Amelia loves good stories, making art, spending time with family and in community, and being in forests and water. 

I’m excited to learn from and build community with everyone in the cohort.

Bibiana Vega

Program Supervisor, Healthier Kids Foundation

Bibiana Vega joined Healthier Kids Foundation in 2017 and is currently a supervisor. Healthier Kids Foundation’s mission is to remove barriers impacting Silicon Valley youth’s health, learning, and life success. Bibiana supervises Appointment Management Services, a pilot program that supports the County’s efforts to ensure foster children receive required medical and dental exams while placed in foster care. She is also responsible for supervising the Diaper Program, a First 5 program that has given out over 3.2M diapers in the County since the pandemic. Bibiana earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Latin and Latinos Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz.

When not working: Bibiana enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews and visiting Redwood National Parks.

I am looking forward to receiving coaching to develop management and leadership skills to help me to better advocate and serve my community. I come from an immigrant background, and I want to support marginalized and underprivileged communities.

Camie VanKeuren

Chief Development Officer of the Valley Medical Center Foundation

Camie VanKeuren is the Chief Development Officer of the Valley Medical Center Foundation. In that role, Camie guides strategy for the foundation’s entire fundraising program, including major gifts, direct mail, planned giving, annual giving, grant seeking and more. These past few years especially she is proud to have been a part of the VMC Foundations COVID response effort. Camie has an extensive background with more than 17 years of service in the nonprofit sector, primarily in development. She spent more than 12 years at the American Heart Association Silicon Valley, where she served in roles such as Vice President of Development, Senior Community Health Director and Community Relations Director. Her career and passion for the nonprofit sector started during her work at Sacred Heart Community Service where she led a Bridging Borders program and provided health and wellness workshops for families.   

A San Jose native, Camie holds a BA in Health Sciences with a concentration in Health Services Administration from San Jose State University and an MA in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco. Camie has a true passion for the vital role that nonprofits play in our communities. 

When not working: she enjoys spending time with her husband, and busy 4-year son, backyard BBQ’s with family & friends, camping in Northern Ca, and wine tasting in Livermore & Santa Cruz Mountains.

I’m excited to join the Next Gen fellowship because of the opportunity to strengthen my leadership skills, while connecting with like minded leaders to better serve my community.

Cristal Olivas

Homelessness Prevention Manager, YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley  

Cristal Olivas currently works at YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley as the Homelessness Prevention Manager within our Housing Department. I was born in raised in San Jose and attended UC Santa Cruz where I studied Spanish Literature and Latin American/Latino Studies. Being engaged in community spaces has always been a priority to me and is where I feel the most fulfilled. In 2019, I hosted a community reading group in which we read and discussed 3 books with the intent of discussing socio-political topics peer educational space. In 2020, in partnership with Silicon Valley Debug, I provided community teach-ins around tenant rights and how to navigate eviction moratoriums. 

When not working: In my free time I enjoy powerlifting, making music and art and spending time outside with my dog. 

I am looking forward to strengthening my leadership skills and I am excited to meet others with similar goals and values in San Jose.

Cynthia Melchor

Associate Director of Community Support Services for YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley

I am currently the Community Support Manager for YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley in our central region. YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley a multiservice agency committed to eliminating racism and empowering survivors through direct services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. The Community Support program specifically provides support to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. I oversee multiple contracts that include partnerships with San Jose Police Department (both the sexual assault and domestic violence unit), Santa Clara county’s CalWORKs program, and San Jose State University. Our program’s goal is to empower survivors, provide information on survivor rights, and deliver trauma-informed services.  

I have been working in the DV/SA field since 2015 where I’ve held multiple roles. I started as a Domestic Violence Advocate providing services to survivors of intimate partner violence. I then got promoted to a Domestic Violence Coordinator where I worked alongside Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and trained over 100+ health center staff on how to identify intimate partner violence and how to normalize conversations about healthy relationships. I then transitioned to becoming the agencies Volunteer Manager and helped facilitate our Crisis Intervention Training. 

I have a Master’s in Public Administration from San Francisco State University and obtained my BA in Psychology with a double minor in child family development and counseling and social change from San Diego State University.

When not working: you can find me binge-watching suspense/thriller type movies and shows. I also love visiting different national parks. One of my goals is to go to all the national parks in the U.S.  I also enjoy doing daily mediations, cuddling with my dog Rose, and reading. 

I’m very excited to be part of the this Next Gen cohort! I look forward to learning from my peers, strengthening my leadership skills, and for personal and professional growth!

Laura Clendaniel

VP of Operations at Healthier Kids Foundation

Laura Clendaniel is the Director of Operations at Healthier Kids Foundation. In her 5 years there, Clendaniel has held an array of roles that have allowed her to work closely with the foundation’s program management, executive team, and board of directors to effectively meet children’s healthcare needs within their own community. She plays an integral role in the foundation’s development of programs and key relationships, within Santa Clara County. Clendaniel is experienced in project management and program implementation, including grant writing, resource management, analysis and reporting. She holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor’s of Science from Oregon State University in Human Development with a focus on Healthcare Management and Policy. 

When not working: She enjoys spending time outside–skiing, hiking and camping–with family and friends. 

She is excited to be a part of this Next Gen cohort to hone her leadership skills and meet other emerging leaders in the nonprofit community.

Maria Gallardo

Early Childhood Education Programs Manager at Sacred Heart Community Service   

Maria Gallardo is the Early Childhood Education Programs Manager at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose, CA. She has worked at SHCS for the past 21 years in the Education programs, where she recognized the importance in getting involved in the community, as well as involving the community itself. Advocacy for children and families is of the utmost importance for her. Maria has many years of experience working in the Early Childhood field promoting parenting that supports healthy development for children. She is passionate about preparing children to overcome the systemic barriers that low-income families face in our society. Her dream is that every parent is highlighted for their assets, and joins communities that are supportive and working towards a just world where justice with parents and children exists.

“Parent leadership is the backbone of Sacred Heart Community Service’s Safe, Secure and Loved: Resilient Families program. Creating a community of trauma informed, trained and compassionate parent leaders (Promotoras) allows us to reach further into their communities to find at-risk parents and provide opportunities to build and empower those families to engage and actively participate in policy decision- making without stigma or judgment. “

When not working: Maria enjoys spending time with her family, reading, doing community service, spending time outdoors, gardening and hiking.

I am grateful for the opportunity to develop my leadership skills, and learn from others and how to harness my strengths to better serve the non-profit community.

Maria Huerta

Food Connection Senior Manager at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Maria Isabel Huerta is the Food Connection Senior Manager at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley where she is responsible for the overall management for CalFresh outreach efforts, managing a multi-lingual team to increasing participation in the CalFresh Program and Food Bank food programs to help alleviate food insecurity in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. She started with the company in 2013. During the pandemic, Maria led efforts to completely transform the way the team conducted outreach through innovations to still connect the community to food while keeping the outreach staff and clients safe. Prior to her work with Second Harvest Food Bank, she worked in outreach and education for a number of community based organizations in both the Bay Area and her native, Los Angeles.

When not working: Maria hustles as a full time mother of two and enjoys spending time with family, eating good food, hiking, and reading the latest Chicana literature.

I’m a strong believer that food is a human right and I’m looking forward to strengthening my leadership skills to continue to break inequalities affecting racial and ethnic groups.

Marisol Mota

VP, Information Systems and Quality, Healthier Kids Foundation

As the Information Systems and Quality Manager at Healthier Kids Foundation I manage our Salesforce database, maintain data quality, produce reports needed for funding, and drive continuous improvement across the organization.

One of my greatest accomplishments has been expanding the capabilities and responsibilities of the data department. I took the team from being data entry focused to having varying levels of expertise in order to fulfill the needs of the organization. This has allowed us to make major improvements to our processes, quickly implement new programs, and better support the other departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am also proud of implementing a request management system that has allowed us to make smarter task assignments based on better prioritization. This has increased our ability to manage all that is asked of us and allowed us to better support staff through more efficient communication. Last, but definitely not least, I am proud of taking a leading role in our Motivation Committee. Together with the committee, we are on a quest to empower employees, improve company culture, and drive the mission through meaningful connections within the organization.

I received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Business Analytics) from San Jose State University. I am also a certified Salesforce Administrator since 2020.

When not working: I like getting lost in conversation with my partner. We like to discuss and analyze everything from personal and professional growth, to technology, finances, and mental health.

I am excited to take part in this Next Gen cohort because I’ll get to share this experience with some of my peers and I’m excited to learn how to be a better leader.

Marita Zavaleta

Homelessness Prevention manager at Sacred Heart Community Service.

My name is Marita Zavaleta and I am the Homelessness Prevention manager at Sacred Heart Community Service.  We are a rental assistance program designed to prevent households from becoming unhoused, and work with them to achieve housing stability by providing case management, support,  and resources.  I manage a team of 10 case managers and it is my job to provide my support during difficult cases, maintain morale, coach and train as needed, review cases, process rent/deposit  payments, and ensure that contract numbers are being met. I am proud of taking on this new opportunity to be a manager and starting grad school at the same time and surviving both. Currently, I am enrolled in the Counseling Psychology graduate program at Santa Clara University, taking it very slowly (one class at a time). I did my undergrad at UC Santa Cruz and it was a very long and bumpy road, but finally attained my degree in Latin American and Latino Studies.  I have worked at Sacred Heart for almost 13 years and have occupied many roles within the agency. From being a volunteer coordinator to a First 5 community case worker, to a domestic violence survivor advocate. I have grown as a person and a professional in this agency and want to continue working alongside the community. 

When not working: I love spending time with my daughter, my husband and our dog Boris Bean. I try to read for fun, I love watching television and trying very hard to practice self-care. I am so pumped to be part of this  Next Gen cohort because I feel that as a new manager I want to learn from shared experiences, reflect and build on my current skills as well as  learn new skills on team management and communication.

Oladotun Hospidales

Programs Manager with the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA)

Oladotun J. Hospidales, also known by friends and colleagues as “”Dotu,”” serves as a Programs Manager with the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) in Downtown, San Jose. Since joining the African American Community Services Agency (AACSA) family in October of 2020, Oladotun has worked to develop, implement, and support various programs, services, and activities aimed at providing quality educational, cultural, social, and recreational experiences to bolster both the African American community and greater community as a whole. In September of 2021, Oladotun was recognized as a Rising Stars Award recipient by California State Assemblymember Evan Low. Oladotun earned his BA in Political Science and a minor in Public Relations from San Jose State University in 2019.

When not working: Oladotun enjoys time with family, creating different forms of art, basketball, and traveling to new places.

My life has taught me that it is necessary for individuals from underserved backgrounds to lead and advocate for equitable opportunities for generations to come. I am excited to be a part of the Next Gen Program because it is an extraordinary opportunity to develop my leadership skills and learn from other professionals.

Patricia Alonso

Program Manager for the Parent Advocate/Enrollment Team at Healthier Kids Foundation

My name is Patricia Alonso. I am the program manager for the Parent Advocate/Enrollment Team at Healthier Kids Foundation. I oversee the parent advocates casework of student referrals from our Vision, Dental, Hearing, and MyHealthFirst screening programs. I also offer support for my team with community resources for the families we serve. I work with partner health clinics to help with scheduling Vision and Dental appointments for our families. I also oversee the enrollment process, where we identify families who need assistance with health insurance, we then refer them to an outside partner for assistance in applying for Medi-cal. Some of my accomplishments are that I helped develop a mental health App for middle school students. Accomplishing this project was difficult because I did not have any prior experience with App development. I am also proud of accomplishing multiple promotions within one year of working within a company. I am a very goal oriented individual, I love to perfect what I work on to move closer in reaching my goals. I graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelors in Philosophy. My degree in Philosophy has helped me adapt great critical thinking skills, and has helped me strategize and execute decisions. 

When not working: I like to go to the beach to relax my mind. I also like to catch up on Netflix shows or movies. I

I am excited to be a part of this NextGen cohort to enhance my current leadership skills, and to receive coaching on how to become a better leader.

Rhea Munoz

Senior Manager of Learning and Development at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Rhea is the Senior Manager of Learning and Development at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley where they ensure that training and professional development across the agency is equitable, accessible, and inclusive. Rhea also focuses on promoting and implementing new approaches around racial equity and social justice through every level of the organization. Rhea is passionate about social justice as well as the outdoors. They are a proud board member of Camp Phoenix, a justice-centered nonprofit that empowers youth to develop a strong sense of community and self-discovery through the connective power of nature. Rhea received her BA in Social Work from San Jose State University and a Master of Public Administration from San Francisco State University.  

When not working: Rhea can be found at a thrift shop, on a hiking trail, or planning a menu to host her loved ones in their home for a dinner party. Rhea is also actively working on deepening her cultural connections to their Mexican and Filipino heritage through Spanish lessons and attempts at new recipes in the kitchen. 

I am excited to join the Silicon Valley Next Gen cohort to learn with and from my fellow nonprofit leaders. I see this program as a chance to further grow into my goal of being an uplifting and ever-evolving leader.

Nha Nguyen

Program Manager at Healthier Kids Foundation

Nha Nguyen is currently the program manager at Healthier Kids Foundation. She joined the agency in 2016 as a health screener and now overseeing the health screening program and oral health education program. She’s from a family of immigrant, born in Vietnam and grew up in the Bay Area. She received her bachelor degree in public health at UC, Irvine and master in public health at University of San Francisco.  She believes that public health can elevate individuals’ well-being and quality of life as well as improving the community as a whole. In her role, Nha and her team lead efforts to provide health screenings (vision, hearing, and dental) and health education to thousands of children and parents throughout Santa Clara County every year. 

When not working: Nha spends time with her family and friends. She enjoys cooking, baking, reading, and watching movies. 

Being new to the leadership role at Healthier Kids Foundation, I’m excited to learn about how I can become a more well-rounded leader who can help her team members strive and develop professionally.

Tamaya Garcia

Director of Development at Breakthrough Silicon Valley

Tamaya Garcia is currently the Director of Development at Breakthrough Silicon Valley. The organization prepares first gen students for success in rigorous college-preparatory high school programs and entry into four-year colleges. She comes to Breakthrough with an extensive background in nonprofit management, policy advocacy and fundraising. She is a graduate of  the Women’s Policy Institute of California and the  National Urban Fellows Program where she completed a fellowship at The Miami Foundation. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology from San Francisco State University and her Masters of Public Administration from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch, City University of New York.  

When not working:  Tamaya leads Radical Monarchs (San Francisco Troop) and grows mushrooms at home. 

I am most excited about connecting and learning from other Bay Area based leaders. 

Curtis Chang

Founder and Lead Facilitator of Silicon Valley Next LinkedIn

Curtis leads Consulting Within Reach, a firm serving nonprofits and government in strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, and other consulting services. Clients have included multiple MacArthur “Genius Grant” winners, the U.S. State Department, Stanford University, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and hundreds of community based nonprofits. Curtis has won national recognition from the Obama White House for innovative work in the social sector. He holds faculty appointments at Duke University and American University. Curtis graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. summa cum laude in Government, and is a past winner of a Rockefeller Fellowship.

When not working: Curtis enjoys hosting parties with his wife Jody, doing crossword puzzles, playing Pickleball, and learning to play the piano in his middle age (as repentance for short-sightedly resisting lessons when he was 9 years old).

Kris Starr-Witort

Executive Coach and Co-Facilitator of Silicon Valley Next
LinkedIn

Kris is an executive and leadership coach who helps mission-driven leaders and managers amplify their impact, and align what they do in the world with what matters most to them. Prior to her role with Silicon Valley Next, Kris spent nearly 20 years in the nonprofit sector serving in a variety of roles focused on hiring and growing leaders, and cultivating cultures that center equity and belonging.  Some of the organizations where she did this work include Project Inform, James Morehouse Project, Education Pioneers, Teach for America and Beyond 12. Kris holds a Masters in Social Work from U.C. Berkeley. She is a Professionally Certified Coach, consultant, and facilitator for Consulting Within Reach.

​When not working: You might find Kris shuffling around her three kids, cooking, hiking in the Berkeley hills, participating in an impromptu dance party, enjoying a warm cup of tea, or jumping in a cool river.