Tapio Taina Jr. entered the field of Social Work to be able to give back to communities in need. Specifically, he hopes to get involved with agencies like Adult Protective Services. Tapio is a San Diego native and spent his formative years in foster care. Having interacted with social workers firsthand, Tapio has a perspective on what the profession requires. He knew early on one day he would pay it forward and return this service to others.
Simone Fraga has always loved working with older adults as she had strong bonds with her grandparents. She finds learning from their lifetime of memories and experiences so valuable. For the past year, she has been interning at Alzheimer’s San Diego as part of her Master’s program in Social Work. When choosing her program, she realized if she wanted to work with this population, she would need to learn more about dementia, something she describes as still being “on the whole, very misunderstood.”
Lourdes Cabret, LMHCA, joined Alzheimer’s San Diego in 2021 as a Clinical Care Coach. For her, our mission is very close to home. Keep reading to get to know Lourdes!
When Gaby Mendoza was looking for a new job opportunity, she knew she wanted to find a role that helped people – especially those that are underserved like the older adult Spanish-speaking population of San Diego County.
Alison Hranek realized she had a knack for working with people with dementia when she began volunteering with Alzheimer’s San Diego in 2017 as an ALZ Companion volunteer, in-office assistant, and education assistant. She was so inspired by the people she met there and the mission of the organization that she knew serving this population was part of her purpose. Keep reading to get to know Alison!
Jessica Cortez was looking for a new opportunity to challenge herself when she learned about the job opening at Alzheimer’s San Diego. She's always worked in the nonprofit world and was excited to hear about the organization's reputation for serving its own community.
Working at Alzheimer’s San Diego seemed to be a natural fit for Brooke Silveria – she’s always been passionate about stigma reduction for those with cognitive differences and/or mental disabilities. After all, Brooke’s grandad had Alzheimer’s.
Ellen Boucher, a San Diego native, joined the staff at Alzheimer’s San Diego as a Dementia Care Consultant and Support & Discussion Group Coordinator in early 2020. But she’s been a familiar face around the office well before then – she’s spent many years serving as a volunteer.
Our own Marcie Hanna, LCSW, addresses some of the challenges dementia care partners are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic – and shares how we all can preserve our mental health.
Not many of us had “getting through a global pandemic” on our list of worries. But here we are.
