Who We Are

The Staff

Nancy Sherrod Executive Director	Nancy brings more than 25 years of experience working in education, the arts and children’s services to her current position as Executive Director of CASA of Santa Cruz County. Her previous work includes being a parent educator and trainer at the Child Development Resource Center and the program director for more than 13 years at the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, where she managed the SPECTRA arts in education program. The award-winning SPECTRA program offered professional artists who worked with children in all 40+ public K-8 schools in the county. She was Deputy Director at Community Bridges and was a lead on the team that started two comprehensive one-stop Family Resource Centers in the county. She is the happy mother of four children who all miraculously live in Santa Cruz and the proud Grammy of one!
Linda Bixby Resource Development Manager	Linda comes to CASA from the field of journalism, with a B.A. in English from Portland State University. She has a long history of service to non-profits for children, literacy and the arts. She is a trained CASA advocate and joined the staff in 2006. Linda has two wonderful daughters and a much loved son-in-law. She lives in Santa Cruz with her yellow lab Joey.
Joanne Sanchez Outreach & Public Relations Manager	Joanne has worked at CASA since June 2005. A native of Los Angeles, Joanne attended San Francisco State University where she received a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts. Before coming to CASA she was the Pajaro Valley community reporter at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Joanne lives in Watsonville with her husband and canine children Sofie and Vegas.
Gail Jack Education Advocate & Case Supervisor	Gail has been associated with CASA in Santa Cruz since the Fall of 2002. She was a volunteer advocate for two years before joining CASA staff as the Case Supervisor & Court Liaison. She holds a BA degree in Economics, an MBA from Stanford University, and a MA in Human Development. After retiring from a career in business, she worked as an Early Childhood Educator for 12 years. She was a volunteer for the Child Abuse Prevention Center in San Mateo for two years. Her two grown children live in California. Her daughter teaches preschool in Santa Cruz, and her son is a school substitute in Berkeley and teaches the after-school Video Production class in the high school in Emeryville. She lives with her labrador, Teddy, in Santa Cruz.
Kelly Wolf Program Manager & Trainer	Kelly has been with CASA of Santa Cruz County since April of 2005. Before moving to California in 1999, Kelly worked in the domestic violence field as a victim advocate and the coordinator of a batterers' intervention program. Since moving to Santa Cruz, she has been a supervisor at a residential program for homeless teenagers, a social worker for a transitional housing program for emancipating youth (ages 16-18), and a clinician for EMQ Children & Family Services' wraparound program. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in Psychology. Kelly mentors three teenagers and hopes to be a foster parent for teens someday. She lives in Santa Cruz with her husband, 2 cats, a California King Snake & their canine son Jasper.
Juan Ascencio Case Supervisor & Court Liaison	Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Juan has lived in Santa Cruz since 1986. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz Juan has an extensive background in working with youth and their families. His most recent job was working as a Mental Health Client Specialist through Youth Services. In that position, he worked with youth in the juvenile probation department, ensuring that youth stayed "on track" with positive social and educational goals. He also supported their families in the process. He has a great deal of knowledge of community resources, the schools and working with other community agencies.
Fred Koehler Case Supervisor	Fred was born and raised in Los Angeles but had the good sense to move to Santa Cruz 25 years ago. He owned and operated restaurant and catering businesses and worked in the corporate world of high tech manufacturing. He is a former CASA advocate and has worked in the non-profit world for many years. He was president of the board for Native Images helping to link youth and artist mentors. He produced and organized workshops, teaching and speaking events for two Native American elders and consulted on the establishment of an American Indian educational and cultural foundation. For the last five years he has worked with the Mankind Project teaching, coaching and facilitating personal growth work in small groups as well as trainings and workshops of all sizes with a focus on integrity, emotional literacy and personal responsibility. Fred lives in Felton with his furry friends June and Fergus.
Deborah Taylor Administrative Coordinator	BIO COMING SOON

Board of Directors

Officers:
Marilyn Koll President	Marilyn is a Real Estate Agent with Bailey Properties. Her early career years were spent in counseling and social work, but she has been a sales and marketing professional for the last twenty years. Marilyn is currently Vice President of the Board and Chair of the annual CASA fundraiser. Marilyn received her BA in Psychology from UCSC. She lives in Aptos.
Leola Lapides Vice President	Leola was born in Nagoya, Japan to a Japanese mother and U.S. military father who was originally from the Ukraine. She moved around quite a bit but ended up back in Japan as a teenager, and graduated from Yamato High School, a Dept. of Defense school in the Tokyo area. She is a product of a “Cold War” education, having experienced firsthand living near a military outpost at the height of the Vietnam War. Leola graduated from UC Berkeley in 1975 and Santa Clara Law School in 1978. She married Bob Katz, a fellow SCU law graduate, in Japan in 1978. Soon thereafter they opened a law practice in San Jose and eventually Capitola, where they practiced primarily civil litigation. For the past decade, Leola has worked exclusively with nonprofits and volunteer work. She has a particular interest in organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and children, as well as those that nurture and support the performing arts. Leola has two children in college.
Karen Semingson Treasurer	Karen is a CPA and partner with Hutchinson and Bloodgood LLP in Watsonville. She has extensive audit experience, including many non-profit clients, and is a member of the firm’s Accounting and Auditing Committee. Karen relocated to the Santa Cruz area in 1999 after having spent most of her life in far northern California. She is actively involved in the Capitola Aptos Rotary Club and is a member of The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County’s Community Advisor’s Network. Karen has one son who recently graduated from college, and she enjoys playing tennis in her spare time.
Kathryn Bates Secretary	BIO COMING SOON
Members:
Carmen Arriaga-Kumasaka	BIO COMING SOON
Charlene Ebey	BIO COMING SOON
Sheila Gottehrer	BIO COMING SOON
Dale R. Johnson	Dale Johnson graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s in piano performance and music composition. He served 2 years in the military as a member of the 7th United States Army in Seoul, Korea during which time he studied Korean music with Korea’s most distinguished musician, Hwang Byonggi and was the first foreigner to perform with members of the Royal Court Orchestra in a Seoul radio broadcast in 1958. In 1960 he was awarded an NDEA fellowship to study Chinese at the University of Michigan, and graduated with a Ph. D. He joined the faculty of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio and was named Chair of East Asian Studies and by the mid-70s the East Asian program at Oberlin was unequalled at any other institution of comparable size. Dale resigned his professorship at Oberlin in 1988 to accept a teaching position at the UCSC, where he concluded his teaching career and retired.
Patrice Keet	BIO COMING SOON
Jane McKenzie	BIO COMING SOON
Rogelio Ponce, Jr.	A native of Watsonville, Rogelio attended San Jose State University and graduated with a degree in Finance. He now manages his family’s strawberry company located in the heart of the Pajaro Valley. Amongst having sat on various steering committees for local nonprofits, Rogelio's community involvement also includes the development and construction of one of the first non-smoking apartment complexes in Santa Cruz County. He currently lives in Watsonville with his wife of 4 years and enjoys cycling in his spare time.
Michelle Simon	Michelle Simon moved to the Santa Cruz area in 2000 after living in North Florida, Southern California (where she grew up), the Washington DC area and Seattle. She is currently a general pediatrician in the Watsonville area. She has been a researcher and medical school faculty member at UC Irvine, on the East Coast (Georgetown University College of Medicine and University of Virginia) and most recently, in Seattle (Craniofacial Division of the University of Washington Children's Hospital) and is also a neuropathologist. She has had extensive experience with children with multiple complex medical problems and is a devoted advocate for children. She loves sailing and any on- or near-the-water activities and weaves and knits and quilts.
Jeff Talmadge	Jeff was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to the Santa Cruz area with his wife, Adele in 1984. Together, they own and operate Talmadge Construction, Inc. a Design/Build residential remodeling company located in Aptos. Jeff and Adele have been married for 23 years and have a son attending Aptos High School. Jeff was a key to the successful relocation of Valencia Hall and served on the Board of Directors for Santa Cruz Montessori School for three years.
Michael Watkins	BIO COMING SOON
Suzanne Yost	Suzanne Yost is a REALTOR® with Bailey Properties, Inc. in Aptos and also teaches continuing education courses for real estate agents. Prior to moving to Santa Cruz County in 1995 she owned a real estate and property management office in San Luis Obispo. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara University School of Law, Suzanne is also a member of the California bar. Suzanne is currently on the Board of Directors for the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS®, is Secretary of RE Infolink, Inc. multiple listing service and a member of Capitola/Aptos Rotary Club. Suzanne lives in Seascape with her two cats, Thelma and Louise, and enjoys tennis, traveling, reading and cooking.