I started close to the work
My path into leadership was not a straight jump into an executive role. I started in frontline and volunteer work and moved through program coordination, management, director-level responsibilities, and eventually executive leadership. That progression matters to me because I learned the work from several levels of the organization.
At Casa Alitas, I ultimately led a $12 million multi-site humanitarian reception system serving up to 1,800 asylum seekers nightly with 62 staff and more than 600 volunteers. During the busiest periods, the challenge was not simply sheltering people. It was making staffing, transportation, partnerships, funding, data, volunteer systems, communication, and basic human care work together at the same time.
What I value most from that experience is the relationships
Large humanitarian systems only work when people trust one another. At the border, that meant county and federal partners, nonprofits, faith communities, volunteers, funders, transportation providers, staff, and the people we were receiving all had to be part of the same response. I learned that scale is important, but relationships are what make scale possible.
Systems became part of the job because they had to
I did not enter human services intending to become a data-systems person. That grew out of necessity. When the work became too complex for informal processes, I started building forms, dashboards, referral workflows, reporting structures, and shared data practices that helped people coordinate more reliably.
Later work with Catholic Charities USA and Cherokee Federal expanded that experience into multi-agency referral systems, high-volume data, national capacity dashboards, operational reporting, and service-planning tools. More recently, I have been experimenting with local-first AI, automation, and knowledge systems. I am interested in technology when it solves a real problem, not simply because it is new.
Casa Alitas humanitarian leadership record →
My LMSW adds another perspective
I am now a Licensed Master Social Worker in Arizona and practice clinically in Tucson. I do not see that as a completely separate career. Direct practice gives me a different view of the same questions I have worked on at the organizational level: trauma, access, family systems, service coordination, and what happens when a policy or process reaches a real person.
Research helps me ask better questions
I have also contributed to peer-reviewed and conference work related to migration, public health, Indigenous communities, asylum, and local humanitarian response. I value research most when it helps clarify what is happening in practice and gives leaders better information for decisions.
Education
- Master of Social Work — Arizona State University
- Master of Public Administration — Arizona State University
- Bachelor of Arts, Theater Education — University of Arizona
- Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies — University of Arizona
- Doctoral study in public health — University of Arizona
Governance and service
I currently serve on the Center for Victims of Torture Board of Directors and as Board Secretary for Kaleidoscope Humanitarian Aid. Historical professional biographies also document service on the NASW Arizona Board and the Refugee Council USA Asylum Task Force.
Recognition & Professional Service →
Where I am most useful
I am strongest in work that needs someone to move between the big picture and the details: understanding the purpose of a program, working with the people involved, building partnerships, identifying where the process is breaking down, and helping turn an idea into something that can actually operate.