Our Zona Seca Staff
A
- Olga AGUILERA, M.D.
- Parent Education Coordinator
- Connecting with a bi-lingual, bi-cultural, female physician to help us develop our prevention initiatives has been a great blessing for Zona Seca. Dr. Olga Aguilera graduated from the School of Medicine, at the University of Mexico, U.N.A.M., and also completed postgraduate studies, in Family Practice and Epidemiology Investigation, at the University of Toluca, Mexico, making her ideally suited to helping bi-cultural families in Zona Seca's Youth Prevention Programs and Parenting Education Seminars. Currently, she is also working with Gunnar Heuser, M.D., Ph.D., in neuroimmunotoxicology research, particularly with multiple chemical sensitivity patients.
B
- Frank BAÑALES
- Executive Director
- As Founder, President and Executive Director of Zona Seca, Inc., Frank Bañales has served fifteen years as an administrator of the Zona Seca enterprises. After two years of Business Administration at Santa Barbara City College, Frank established himself, during the past fourteen years, within the Allstate Insurance Company, as a Neighborhood Office Agent & Exclusive Agent.
- Frank Bañales serves his fellow Californians, as well as the greater Santa Barbara community, by acting as President of the Board of Directors of the California Hispanic Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and also as President of the Board of Directors (Governor's Appointment) of the 19th District Agricultural Association; he is also on the Board of the Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM) program, and the Human Services Association of Santa Barbara. As a member of SABER (Santa Barbara Executive Roundtable), Frank Bañales shares the SABER vision: to establish a strong network for area executives; to share information that helps members develop more efficient businesses; and to encourage the highest standards of business ethics and professional behavior.
- Phyllis S. BOYAJIAN, B.A.
- DUI Instructor
- Having completed course work in Alcohol & Drug Counseling and Counseling Skills Certificate Programs at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Phyllis Boyajian is enthusiastically pursuing a career in the field of alcohol and drug services. She has been an instructor in the DUI Program at Zona Seca for the past year.
- Prior experience in teaching is the result of Phyllis's undergraduate degree in History/Behavioral Science and Secondary Education. For 12 years as a volunteer, she worked with persons with AIDS and substance abuse. She has also served four years as treasurer for the Ryan White Consortium of Federal Funds for AIDS in the County of Santa Barbara. She is also a counselor with the Substance Abuse Treatment Court (S.A.T.C.) in Santa Barbara.
C
- Maria J. CABALLERO, CAADC
- Family Violence Program Coordinator / Counselor
- Maria Caballero, a bi-lingual, Certified Addiction Specialist, who heads up the Family Violence initiative at Zona Seca, has worked full time for the agency for nearly five years. Her duties include counseling of drug and alcohol dependent clients and their families in groups and individually. She has provided services in prevention, drug diversion, anger management, DUI, and case management. Maria is particularly competent with culturally diverse individuals.
Maria Caballero came to Zona Seca after several years experience in the field of chemical dependency, having counseled in a bi-lingual setting in the Community Recovery Center, the Battered Women's Shelter, and similar agencies. She is a California Association for Alcohol & Drug Educators certificated counselor; holds the ADS Certificate from Oxnard Community College; and is certificated in Nonviolent Conflict Resolution, as part of her on-going training in the national Nonviolence Alternative to Violence Project.
- Ceci CASTELO.
- Youth Offender Program Assistant
- Ceci is new to the agency and hopes to become an asset. For two and one-half years Ceci worked in a Physical Therapy office as a receptionist, where she became aware of people's health needs and developed a desire to work in recovery services. Before that she worked full time for Monarch Health System and part time in retail sales.
D
- Alicia DONDERO, M.A., Ph.D., M.F.C.C.
- Clinical Director
- Dr. Dondero has served Zona Seca as the Clinical Director since 1991/1992. She came to us with a long and distinguished history among clinical care providers and human services administrators. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Isla Vista Health Initiative and Medical Clinic. She also is the Director of the Prevention Program.
Over the years Dr. Dondero has provided clinical consulting and training to state governments, the federal government, and the international community, and is the recipient of national and international awards for her work in Prevention and Training. As the Clinical Director, she supervises the Zona Seca treatment staff. Clinical training and supervision take place every Thursday morning. Dr. Dondero has authored training materials in both English and Spanish. Her own Parenting Manual in Spanish is used in the teaching of local parenting classes.
F
- Babatunde FOLAYEMI
- Director of the Pro-Youth Coalition
- Babatunde Folayemi, who accepted the Pro-Youth Directorate in January, 1997, has an excellent history in the business sector, the human resource arena, and the many other areas of creative social endeavor in which he has so highly achieved. The California State Board of Education recognized him for development of innovative curriculum; the Human Services Association elected him the Distinguished Agency Professional of the Year; and the Multi-cultural Educational Consortium presented him with the Community Service Award.
- As a current Resident Services Specialist with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, a position he has been holding since 1992, Babatunde designs and implements programs for H.A. resident youth and their families, provides counseling for youth and family, acts as school liaison to three Santa Barbara high schools for resident youth, develops training for low-income families, and coordinates the Family Self Sufficiency Program. Zona Seca, the agency that administrates the Pro-Youth Coalition, is very proud to have Babatunde Folayemi on our team.
H
- Robyn HERRERA
- DUI Counselor
- Certificated in Drug & Alcohol Counseling through the University of California Santa Barbara, Robyn has worked for Zona Seca for more than six years, providing instruction in Drinking Driver Education, as well as developing curriculum for traffic violation driving school. In prevention efforts she has conducted presentations to elementary and secondary students; and in the intervention programs, she has established and facilitated support groups, managed intake/outtake, and provided one-on-one counseling. Previously Robyn was an instructor in the National Traffic Safety Institute, licensed by the State of California.
K
- Kelly KANNENBERG
- Program Director of the First Offenders Drinking Driver Program
- Kelly holds the Drug & Alcohol Counseling Certification (U.C.S.B., 1993). Having academic training from the Therapeutic Recreation/Sociology Program, University of Northern Colorado, with an emphasis on Corrections, Minimum Security Facilities, Kelly began work at Zona Seca in 1993 as a part time Instructor in the First Offenders program, became a full-time Counselor and Instructor in 1994, and Program Director in 1996.
- Kelly has worked as a Prevention Specialist at the Santa Barbara Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse with Fighting Back. She has worked also with Junior High School students, planning and implementing programs and events that promoted healthful, drug-free lifestyles. She has experience working with troubled youth in group home settings, with brain-injured adults in residential care, and also worked at Devereux for four years as a Vocational Counselor. She has been a Program Director for Summer Youth Programs with the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department.
- Christina E. KENNEDY, R.N., M.S. (Counseling), M.S.N., M.F.C.C.
- Case Manager/Counselor
- Christina Kennedy has been with Zona Seca for six years, during which time she has worked extensively with a homeless and near-homeless population. She came to us, however, with 20 years experience as a Registered Nurse, Community Health Nurse, and Research Nurse. During her nursing career, Christina was involved in research with geriatrics and traumatized children. She has specialized in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and applied training in art therapy, with children, to the needs of severely traumatized homeless clients suffering from trust issues born of truncated human development during abusive childhood.
In Christina's own words, "PTSD leads to a piling up of emotional cyst formation, of inner stress and persistence of psychological trauma. This results from the victim's efforts to forget or repress the memory of the injurious event. Once piled up--cysted--the psychological trauma joins with existing physical injury to prolong pain and disability."
As a certificated Social Security Disability Specialist, Christina has seen the overwhelming needs of severely troubled populations and has labored intensively to provide a safe and sharing environment in which to stabilize alcoholics and drug addicts seeking rehabilitation. Such stabilization requires Crisis Counseling & Advocacy Services, which Christina provides. [Mrs. Kennedy is certificated in Clinical Hypnotherapy by Transpersonal Psychology Research & Education, R.N. Provider Number, CEP 9468.]
L
- Cecy LEWIS
- Office Manager
- During her eighteen years of office experience in the field of alcohol and drug abuse, including service at Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara; Daniel Hospital, Inglewood; and St. Joseph's Hospital, Burbank, California, Cecy Lewis has spent eleven of those years as an office supervisor, at times filling in as a receptionist and ward clerk, as need arose. When she began her work for Zona Seca, Cecy attended workshops on data form procedures for alcohol and drug admission and discharge, sponsored by NIAAA, and since then has continued training in every aspect of Medi-Cal billing procedures, which she oversees for all Zona Seca outpatient admissions and discharges.
- Aside from shouldering the enormous responsibility of agency billing, Cecy supervises the office staff at "Headquarters" and provides on-going training for clerical, secretarial and volunteer help, including purchasing and receiving. Because of her long involvement in the development of Zona Seca, as well as her bi-lingual and bi-cultural civic history with the Santa Barbara community, Cecy Lewis has been selected to serve also on the Zona Seca Board of Trustees. At the same time, Cecy is both a wife and a mother, often demonstrating her devotion to the good of the greater Santa Barbara community through a variety of civic endeavors, including volunteer work with the Goleta Valley South Little League and the San Marcos High School. "Our Cecy," as she is often called at Headquarters, is a major leaguer in our Zona Seca "family" of hard workers.
M
- Janet R. MURPHY, M.A., C.D.A.C., M.F.C.C. Registered Intern
- Counselor & Mental Health Dual Diagnosis Group Specialist
- Janet has been with Zona Seca three years and works in the Outpatient Treatment Program as a counselor, offering both individual and group sessions. She also liaisons for Zona Seca in the Day Treatment program of Santa Barbara County Mental Health, where she runs groups for dually diagnosed clients, in cooperation with the S.B.C.M.H. Day Treatment staff. Moving into high tech, Janet has begun to develop her own professional Web Site for your perusal. [MFCC Reg. Intern #26741]
R
- Lisa ROBERSON
- Bookkeeper/Benefits Administrator
- Lisa has been working for Zona Seca for five and one-half years as the full charge bookkeeper. She is also the Benefits Administrator, as well as the Personnel/Human Resources & Safety Officer. Altogether, Lisa has twelve years of bookkeeping experience, nine and one-half of which have been in the not-for-profit sector.
- As Benefits Administrator & Safety Officer, Lisa Roberson holds in-service safety trainings for our workers, as well as benefits sessions, to help Zona Seca employees develop appropriate medical benefits packages and retirement portfolios. We are grateful to Lisa for getting the entire staff involved in recycling both aluminum and paper, and addressing other ecology issues as good residents of Santa Barbara County.
Refreshed June 24, 2000