Mentors
Kathy Córdova
Santa Maria Urban Ministry
Kathy Córdova is a longtime local nonprofit leader, most recently having served as the Executive Director of Santa Maria Urban Ministry. She previously worked in development and fundraising for a variety of organizations including Asians Americans for Community Involvement, West Valley Community Services, Somos Mayfair and Sacred Heart Nativity Schools. Her work experience also includes years working for the County of Santa Clara, for the Board of Supervisors, Probation Department and Office of the County Executive. Ms. Córdova, a San José native, and has been active in community service for more than 30 years. Her Board experience includes the Association of Fundraising Professionals Silicon Valley Chapter; Bellarmine Mother's Guild, Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus, the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley , Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council, and Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women. Ms. Córdova holds bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University, where she also served as ASB President. She also earned a Certificate in Fundraising Management, from Indiana University. Additionally she studied Compassion Cultivation and alcohol and drug counseling. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, working in her garden and cooking. Kathy is also an avid baseball and performing arts fan.
Site Information: http://recoverycafesj.org/mission-vision/
Mary Ann Dewan
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Mary Ann Dewan, Ph.D. is the Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools. She has served in education over 30 years. Dewan believes that all students deserve high quality, equitable, and inclusive education. She serves on a number of committees and boards and promotes effective system’s change at local, county, and state levels.
Dewan is recognized for her work in early learning, data driven decision-making, special education, education reform, change leadership, and for her commitment to serve the community and underserved, vulnerable youth. She is passionate about diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice. She is a champion of youth, whose leadership is driven by a commitment to ensuring all youth have quality educational opportunities. Dewan is an experienced educator having served in a variety of leadership roles.
Dewan earned her doctorate in educational administration from Indiana State University. She received a master’s degree in educational administration and elementary education from Butler University, and a bachelors’ degree in elementary education, with a minor in special education, from Marian University.
Site Information: https://www.sccoe.org/aboutsccoe/Pages/default.aspx
Kathleen King
Healthier Kids Foundation
Kathleen King is a Silicon Valley community leader recognized for delivering civic, health, and technology initiatives over a 30+ year career. Since 2008, Kathleen has been the CEO of the Healthier Kids Foundation.
In 2002 and 2006 Kathleen was elected to the Saratoga City Council where she was also selected to serve two terms as mayor, in 2005 and again in 2010. She was influential in designing programs, developing partnerships, and resolving issues that led to an enhanced, more financially solvent, and safer Saratoga.
Ms. King was appointed as Trustee Area 2 to the Santa Clara County Office of Education board, elected in 2018, and is currently serving as Vice President of the Board. She is the liaison to the Strong Start Coalition and focused on Early Education for youngest children.
Kathleen began her career with Applied Materials, Inc. Over a 19-year span, she grew to manage an organization of 200 sales, service, marketing, and engineering professionals. She was integral in the company’s growth from $63M to $10B, holding responsibility for more than 3% of all company revenue. Kathleen was the first woman hired into sales and promoted into sales management in the company.
Kathleen has been awarded at the state and local levels for her contributions to the health and well-being of the community. These awards include Woman of the Year from the California Assembly District 24 in 2004, California Community College Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007, Woman of the Year from Senate District 13 in 2010, San Jose Business Journal 2010 Women of Influence Award, Santa Clara County Medical Association’s 2011 Citizen of the Year Award, and PACT’s Community Builder Award for 2012.
Kathleen has also been a board member of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan for 5 years, one of the local Santa Clara County Medi-Cal plans.
Ms. King and her husband have a special needs son, Robert who has a syndrome only 300 people in the world have been diagnosed with. Her passion for children’s health stems from her son’s experience with two bone marrow transplants and 38 surgeries.
Site Information: https://hkidsf.org/about-us/
Sarita Kohli
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Sarita Kohli is President & CEO of AACI, Asian Americans for Community Involvement. AACI’s mission is to strengthen the hope and resilience of our community members by improving their health, mental health and wellbeing. Since its inception in 1973, AACI has served and advocated for the marginalized and vulnerable ethnic communities in Santa Clara County. AACI’s many programs are based on the belief that providing care goes beyond health, it also provides a sense of hope and new possibilities.
For over 20 years, Sarita has worked to expand access to culturally sensitive primary care and behavioral health services for low income, linguistically isolated underserved communities. She has championed innovative approaches to increase access to care. Sarita is an avid advocate for equity in health and social services, particularly for individuals and families that are impacted by poverty, mental illness and domestic violence.
Sarita holds an MBA and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Sarita served on the California Board of Behavioral Sciences for eight years. She currently chairs the Behavioral Health Contractor’s Association and is Vice Chair for the Community Health Partnership.
Site Information: https://aaci.org/
Ky Le
Office of Supportive Housing, Country of Santa Clara
The County established the Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) in 2014 to implement countywide strategies to prevent and reduce homelessness especially among men, women and families with special needs. The OSH administers the County’s $950M Affordable Housing Bond and other housing development programs, coordinates the countywide network of supportive housing programs, and serves as the lead agency for the local Continuum of Care. Since 2015, the County and its partners have helped nearly 14,000 homeless men, women and children move into permanent housing.
Ky’s a California native and was born at Camp Pendleton where his parents arrived as refugees from Vietnam. He earned Bachelor’s Degrees in History and Political Science from UC Davis. While at UC Davis, Ky also earned his commission through the UC Davis Army ROTC. After college, he served on active duty for four years as an Army Intelligence Officer, spending most of his time in Germany and Kosovo. Prior to joining the County of Santa Clara in 2008, Ky held senior management positions at a local nonprofit, providing supportive housing and services to homeless persons.
Site Information: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/osh/Pages/home.aspx
Michele Lew
The Health Trust
Michele Lew serves as CEO of The Health Trust, a nonprofit operating foundation focused on building health equity in Silicon Valley. Formed from the sale of three local nonprofit hospitals in 1996, The Health Trust operates as a local funder, advocate, and direct service provider. The Health Trust believes that everyone in our community should have the opportunity to be healthy. A person’s income, race, immigration status, language, age, or zip code should never act as a barrier to health.
The Health Trust focuses on improving health through food, making chronic diseases more preventable and manageable, and prioritizing health in housing. Current initiatives include expansion of medically tailored meals to improve health outcomes and policy change to make insulin more affordable.
Prior to joining The Health Trust in 2018, Michele served as the Local Government and Community Relations Director for Stanford Health Care. Previously, she served as President and CEO of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) from 2005-2016, a nonprofit community-based organization focused on strengthening the hope and resilience of community members by improving their health, mental health and well-being.
Earlier in her career, Michele served as District Director for California State Senator/Assemblymember Joe Simitian. A Santa Clara County native, Michele holds a B.A. in economics from Yale University and a Master’s in Public Policy degree from Harvard University. Originally a pre-med student, Michele began her career in banking before moving into health and social services.
Site Information: https://healthtrust.org/
Tom Myers
Community Services Agency of Mountain View and Los Altos
Tom Myers is Executive Director of Community Services Agency of Mountain View and Los Altos (CSA), a nonprofit, social service agency serving low income and homeless individuals and families. He has been in the Chief Executive role at CSA for 20 years.
Tom began his career in human services with a three-year tour of duty in the Peace Corps in the African nation of Liberia. After returning to the USA, he worked in Washington, DC for two years. He came to CSA from ARIS (AIDS Resources, Information and Services of Santa Clara County) in San Jose.
Tom received his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University. He received a fellowship from the Center for Social Innovation and attended the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was a member of the Leader’s Institute at the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits, and is a graduate of the Leadership Mountain View program.
Tom served on the board of directors of United Way Silicon Valley, and was Chair of the Association of United Way Agencies. A former member of the Human Relations Commission for the City of Mountain View, Tom served as that body’s first chair. He served as President of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC). He has been President of the Mountain View Rotary Club. And he is a past member and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce.
Tom is currently the Chair of the Emergency Assistance Network of Santa Clara County. He is also a part of an American Leadership Forum cohort of nonprofit CEO's working on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Leadership in the nonprofit sector.
Site Information: https://www.csacares.org/
Erin O'Brien
Community Solutions
Erin O’Brien, LCSW, President & CEO of Community Solutions, has dedicated the past 20 years to creating positive and lasting changes in the human services arena in Santa Clara County and beyond. She is a passionate and tireless champion for survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault, as well as a full continuum of behavioral health services for children, families and individuals who face mental health and substance abuse challenges. Services range from prevention and early intervention outpatient programs to highly intensive outpatient and residential services.
Erin is a respected leader in the county’s nonprofit sector, with a gift for designing programs and advocating for policies that maximize the strengths of the community and opportunities for those in need. Erin is active in various County and State efforts that impact vulnerable and under-served populations. She is an executive committee member of the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Contractors Association, and the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Association. She also serves on the Jail Diversion and Behavioral Health Committee, the SVCN Leadership Team, as well as other strategic leadership positions, acting as a voice for children, families and adults.
During her tenure, Community Solutions has grown from a staff of 60 serving South County to a staff of over 330, serving over 8,000 clients annually across Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and a Master of Social Work degree, both from SJSU.
Site Information: http:/www.communitysolutions.org