MEET OUR 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. During her five years at Catholic Charities Santa Rosa she worked closely with CAP Sonoma to build the Disaster Case Management program for Rebuilding Our Community (ROC) and subsequently the Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) network. She has had a lifelong passion for reading, dance, games, and environmental and social justice. She and her wife enjoy spending time with their two dogs, and her two boys who attend Santa Rosa High School. 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. Her work at CAP is committed to realizing the full potential of every individual in our community.

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.

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.

CPA comes to Community Action Partnership with over 30 years of finance related experience. For the last 18 years, Heather has served local government in various finance and administration roles. A Sonoma County native, Ms. Ippoliti holds a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting & Finance from California State University, Sacramento and has received certificates of completion in Electronic Technology from the Santa Rosa Junior College, and in Human Resources Management from Sonoma State. Heather oversees all matters fiscal related for CAP Sonoma.

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.

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.

Katie was born in San Francisco, grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Sonoma County three years ago. She holds a BA in Literature from California State University Northridge and a Theatre Degree from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. With over 10 years of marketing and communications experience and her background in theatre and production, Katie is grateful to be a part of the communications team and helping to tell the stories of this important, change making agency.

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.

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.

Marcus comes to Community Action with 15 years of community development experience. After receiving his Graduate Degree from University of California Berkeley in City Planning, he primarily implemented business attraction and retention programs in the cities of San Francisco, San Mateo and Detroit. At CAP, Marcus manages the fundraising and agency communications activities. He is a proud Montgomery High School graduate and Sonoma County native. For fun he likes fishing, camping and playing basketball, while hoping he won’t turn an ankle at his age.

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.

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.