About Us
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The Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) advances health equity in behavioral health outcomes of marginalized communities throughout San Mateo County. ODE works to empower communities; influence policy and system changes; develop strategic and meaningful partnerships; and promote workforce development and transformation within the County’s behavioral health service system.
Meet Our Staff
Maria Lorente- Foresti
She/ Her/ Hers
Office of Diversity and Equity Director
mlorente-foresti@smcgov.org
Andrew Tardiff
He/Him/His
Workforce, Education and Training (WET) Director
atardiff@smcgov.org
Andrew is the Workforce, Education and Training (WET) director for San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. The BHRS WET Team strives to deliver educational training opportunities for our workforce, including contract providers and community members, in order to promote a responsive, anticipatory, trauma-informed system of care focused on recovery, resilience, and wellness.
Andrew has been with San Mateo County since 2013 and has worked as a provider in both the correctional health and community mental health sectors. He has assisted in overseeing doctoral-level practicum training programs and worked with clients to provide both individual and group therapy where he employed a variety of empirically validated approaches to better assist those we serve. Andrew is passionate about supporting our workforce and clients while holding the equity and trauma-informed practices at our core.
Camille Hicale
She/ Her/ Hers
Office Specialist
chicale@smcgov.org
Camille provides administrative and office support for ODE. She brings 10 years of experience as a former San Francisco Unified School District educator. Born and raised in San Mateo, Camille is grateful to be part of a team whose work empowers the diverse communities throughout the County.
Charo Martinez Resendiz
Ella/ She/ Her
Peer Support Worker
mmartinezresendiz@smcgov.org | 650-542-1447
Frances Lobos
She/ Her/ Ella
Community Health Planner
flobos@smcgov.org
Frances coordinates the Parent Project, a program that helps families build stronger relationships. She is also a Co-Chair of the Latino Collaborative, which is dedicated to reducing social and health disparities in the Latino community. She is passionate about preventive programs and expanding access to health care for vulnerable communities.
Frankie Anguiano
She/ Her/ Hers
BHRS Intern
fanguiano@smcgov.org
Frankie is an intern for ODE. She recently graduated from University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Specialization in Clinical Psychology.
Frankie was born and raised in the Bay Area, and truly appreciates the diversity that comes with living here. Being immersed in such a variety of cultures has deepened her understanding and appreciation of them.
Throughout her career, she has gained valuable experience in roles such as a behavior specialist, eating disorder counselor, and mental health peer educator. Currently, Frankie works full-time as a Crisis Intervention Specialist for CARES, where she assists law enforcement with mental health crises along the coast side.
She will be focusing on suicide prevention and stigma reduction, areas she is deeply passionate about. She’s excited to contribute to such an amazing team and continue her work in the mental health field.
Irene Pham
She/ Her/ Hers
Community Program Specialist I
irpham@smcgov.org | (650) 573-2637
With a strong belief in the importance of community and celebration of diverse cultures, Irene is grateful to be a team member of the Office of Diversity and Equity. She will be supporting different areas of ODE including the WET team, MHSA planning and various HEI activities. Irene has received her Master in Public Health from the University of Southern California and maintains her certification as a health education specialist (CHES). She values integrative and individualized care, prevention, and cultural humility especially as we continuously learn and grow from the communities we serve.
Kai Thornton
He/She/They
Program Coordinator II
kthornton1@smcgov.org
Kai is one of the program coordinators of ODE. They work to directly review and update the Multi-Cultural Development Plan as well as supporting the sub-committees with resources and education regarding equitable practices. Kai comes to the county with over 6 years of direct case management, BHRS documentation training, and trauma informed care experience in the San Mateo County. A southern California transplant; They have a love for cats and horror movies and received their psychology degree at Cal State East Bay in Hayward.
Kristie Lui
She/ Her/ 她
Community Program Specialist I
kflui@smcgov.org
Kristie received her B.S. in Public Health at Cal State East Bay. Starting off as an intern for BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity’s Parent Project Program, she now heads communications for the team, manages the communication campaign for Mental Health Month and Suicide Prevention Month, and co-chairs for Mental Health Month. Kristie is also trained as a Cultural Humility facilitator for BHRS and supports the Behavioral Health Commission. Kristie values community, radical empathy, and authenticity and hopes to bring these values into her work. In her free time, Kristie hangs out with her dog, Morty, and dances with her dance team.
Maria Martinez
She/Her/Ella
Health Education Associate
msmartinez@smcgov.org | 650-372-6157
Maria is committed to advancing health equity by supporting community empowerment programs, such as the Parent Project and the Health Ambassador Program. She is passionate about partnering with our community members in their journey to enhance their mental well-being, overall health, and quality of life. Maria’s guiding principles include her beliefs in prevention, holistic care, and the connection of mind, body, and soul.
Michelle Armand
She/ Her/ Hers
BHRS Intern
marmand@smcgov.org
Michelle Armand is an intern for ODE. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Diverse Community Development and Leadership from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UCLA.
Over her academic and career journey, Michelle has always been driven to advance health equity—especially in terms of correcting injustices in underprivileged areas. Through her profession in healthcare, Michelle has had the honor of serving Los Angeles County’s most underprivileged populations, therefore strengthening her resolve to guarantee fair access to high-quality treatment. This internship provides a valuable opportunity to connect that passion with the practical skills needed to make a difference in the behavioral health field, and she’s excited to contribute to the Workforce, Education, and Training (WET) program.
During her internship, she will be focusing on learning more about workforce development, cultural humility, and the intersection of mental health and equity. Michelle is thrilled to work with a team that’s committed to creating meaningful change, and she’s eager to both share her perspectives and gain new insights that will help her grow, not just professionally, but personally.
Nicoletta (Nica) Kelleher
She/ Her/ Hers
Program Coordinator II
nkelleher@smcgov.org
Nica’s main responsibility is to coordinate the Parent Project, a program targeted help teach parents and/or caregivers ways to strengthen and improve relationships with their children through a series of parenting skills and practices. Nica also supports other community programs, such as the Health Ambassador and Storytelling/Photovoice Programs. In an effort to pursue her passion for equity in mental health that considers marginalized groups, she received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon.
Stacy Williams
She/ Her/ Hers
Workforce, Education and Training (WET) Internship Coordinator
swilliams@smcgov.org | 650-400-3750
Stacy is the Internship Coordinator who oversees the BHRS Internships within the Workforce, Education, and Training Team of the Office of Diversity and Equity. She provides internship and interagency supports, program oversight and development as well as diversity, equity, and inclusionary implementations. She has many years of experience in federal to county governmental systems. She spent 20 years in the North Bay where she created the Disaster Recovery Crisis Counseling Model, California H.O.P.E, while serving as a Team Lead & Crisis Counselor for the California wildfires. She moved to Oregon where she created Coos County’s System of Care for at-risk youth and families, served homeless systems in Washington County and the Police Equity Advisory Committee in Portland, OR before coming back to the Bay Area.
Sylvia Tang
She/ Her/ 她
Community Health Planner
Stigma Discrimination Reduction
Suicide Prevention
Evaluation Support
stang@smcgov.org | 650-578-7165
Committed to advancing health equity, Sylvia focuses on building coalitions that cultivate self love, community empowerment and social justice. Her main areas of work are stigma discrimination reduction (of mental health and substance use issues), suicide prevention and evaluation support. She co-chairs the Suicide Prevention Committee and Mental Health Awareness Month Planning Committee. She is also a member of the Chinese Health Initiative. She has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Public Health from UC Berkeley and Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Her passions also include singing, making photo books and being civically engaged.
Tia Bell
She/ Her
Health Equity Initiative Program Coordinator
TBell1@smcgov.org | 650-216-877
Tia (she/her) is trained as a psychologist and spent the last 14 years providing culturally congruent and trauma-informed clinical care to marginalized folx in community-based organizations. In her quest for providing wellness from a culturally sound, affirming, and inclusive lens, Tia is earnestly passionate about developing relationships and motivated to make lasting community connections grounded in safety and trust. In her free time, she enjoys painting by numbers, playing with her plants, and spending time with her husband and her dog, Domino.
The Health Equity Initiatives work collaboratively to bring together mental health professionals, residents, clinicians, organizations, community members, and stakeholders to provide outreach, programs, and advocacy for community-driven solutions that are rooted in cultural humility practices.