MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Cynthia has been working for Bay Area county and nonprofit agencies for the last twenty years. She has developed an expertise in navigating the intersection of programs, data, collaboration, and strategy. Over the last five years she has worked in Disaster Response, Recovery and Preparedness across 5 counties and 20 disasters. After completing her masters in Social Work and Public Health she spent ten years as an analyst for Alameda and then Sonoma Counties, subsequently moving to nonprofit work where she developed and implemented innovative and sustainable programs in the areas of Nutrition Education, Food Access, Financial Stability, and Leadership Development. Prior to CAP she spent 2.5 years at a regional association of clinics working on Quality Improvement, Community Health, and managing a Health Center Controlled Network with Community Health Centers in six counties. She has been a practitioner coach with Radical Transformational Leadership for Social Impact since 2017. Her leadership is focused on empathy and connection, and grounded in her values of love, compassion and equity.

Johnny Nolen comes to us with 19 years of leadership experience, ranging from COO of his compliance and community organizing consultancy startup CoMission/421 Group to VP of Operations of the SPARC/Peace in Medicine family of companies. Johnny has a passion for building dynamic, integrated systems that are effective and intuitive to manage. In his free time, Johnny enjoys maintaining a strict bodybuilding routine and playing board games with his husband, Roberto, and his three cats.

Kathy Kane, RDHAP is a 1991 graduate of Loma Linda University and a 2004 graduate of University of the Pacific's Registered Dental Hygienist Program. For the past 13 years, Kathy has owned On The Go Dental Hygiene, a mobile dental hygiene practice that provides preventative dental hygiene services. She has worked for Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County since 2012 as the Assistant Director of Programs for the Health and Wellness Department and the Financial Stability Department. Kathy oversees program development, implementation, grant writing and reporting for the nine programs within her departments.

Lisa has been in Early Care and Education for over two decades. Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County and Head Start are her passion and she is so proud to be the Director of this important program. Lisa is in awe of the work the program does for children and families each and is interested in all of the ways that community can be part of the solutions to the challenges we see. She sits on the Board of Directors for Head Start California to ensure that the voice of Sonoma County is heard at the state level. Lisa is grateful to live in Sonoma County and raise her teenage son in such a vibrant and beautiful place.

Jo is a cross-functional Human Resources professional with experience spanning almost 20 years. Prior to joining CAP Sonoma, and while in her previous role of Vice President of Human Resources, Jo had the opportunity to create and implement highly progressive programs and policies related to diversity and equality in the workplace. She is passionate about maintaining an employee-centric organization, and her focus on promoting diversity, inclusion, and a positive environment for staff is a natural fit for our agency’s values. When not working, Jo loves hanging out with her family, discovering new Sonoma County restaurants, and spending time at home with her three hairless cats.

Iliana graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Sonoma State University, and then from California State University of Long Beach with a Master’s degree in Public Administration. She first joined Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County (CAPSC) as an Outreach Worker for the disaster relief team and, shortly after, advanced to Program Coordinator for the HCA Family Fund Program. Iliana is now our Compliance Manager and oversees agency reporting and our client database system.

As Community Based Service Manager, Rocio oversees our Pasitos, Via Esperanza, and Padres Unidos programs. She has worked with families and their children offering positive parent education for 7+ years (direct services and managing parent support & education programs) and is certified in multiple levels of Triple P. Born in Mexico City, Rocio has lived in Sonoma County since she was five years old. She is a mom of an almost 7-year-old and loves coffee, traveling, and Marvel movies.

Currently the manager for the financial stability programs, Cristal joined CAP in February 2021 where she started as a program specialist for the disaster program. She then became the HCA program coordinator and is now transitioning to program manager. Cristal graduated with a BA in Economics from Sonoma State University in 2019 after transferring from UC Berkeley during her junior year. She worked as an AP/AR Support Specialist at a for-profit company before joining CAP. She is the daughter of immigrant parents and has lived in Sonoma County since she was 3 years old. It was always in her plans to give back to the community that helped her go to college and grow professionally.

As Executive Assistant and Board Clerk, Devon comes to CAP Sonoma with over a decade’s experience as an Administrator in behavior specialized education. Through her work she was able to support the children and their families as well as provide outreach to the larger special needs community. In addition, Devon is an avid baker creating mouth-watering delicacies that closely resemble fanciful works of art. She is also the proud mother of a beautiful pre-teen daughter.

As the agency's Grant Manager, Nathan is dedicated to making the most positive impact on the community and the world at large as he can. As an advocate for the principles of effective altruism and longtermism, he hopes to align his career path in a direction where he can impact his community and help as many individuals as possible. He truly believes in creating non-stigmatizing ways to provide families with a variety of resources that address their concrete needs such as, affordable housing, skill building, and developmentally appropriate parenting, all while also offering opportunities for healing, growth, learning, and personal development. He stands for altruism and compassion for himself and all others and believes that positively influencing the future long-term is a key moral priority of all individuals. He prides himself on being a father, husband, and Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast, and can be found flying his kite on the weekends with his 3-year-old daughter.

Cory comes to CAP Sonoma with over 15 years of experience in the apartment management field, and has worked as CAP's Property Manager for the Aston and Earle Street apartment complexes for the past 14 years. Corey's expertise and hard work ensures that our buildings are safe, compliant and welcoming for our residents. Corey is also a dental hygienist (he was trained by CAP Sonoma's previous Executive Director and current Board Member, Dr. Susan Cooper!), and wearing another hat for the organization, he serves as CAP's Give Kids A Smile Day (GKAS) Ambassador. GKAS is an annual event that provides free dental service to children in Sonoma County ages 0-18 years old. As the GKAS Ambassador, Cory has been nationally recognized by the American Dental Association and sits on the National GKAS Advisory Board. In his free time, Corey likes to spend time with his wife and kids and enjoys all kinds of sports and music.

CAP Sonoma Head Start and Early Head Start

CAP Sonoma Head Start and Early Head Start